China

I would NOT recommend anybody to go on any trips with I-to-I! My sister and I went with I-to-I to volunteer for 4 weeks in China. The programme we went for was the 'community work with children' which stated that we would be in either an orphanage, a school for those with SEN or something else that I've forgotten. We both paid over £1000 each, this is for the placement ONLY, not plane tickets or visas or travel insurance etc. We were told we got airport pick up, accommodation and 3 meals a day. Anyway, before the trip, support was great, people were always there to answer questions and were friendly and helpful. However, the trip itself was very BAD! NEGATIVES: 1)We were first told we were going to be going to the orphanage to help. So my sister and I went and purchased loads of stuff to bring for the children. And then like 1 week before we go, we're told the founder of the orphanage is ill so we cant go there (which doesnt make sense as I thought they'd need even more help!) so we wasted the money purchasing the stuff! 2) when getting out visa, we wasnt told we had to provide proof of invitation from the organisation, so we weren't allowed to get our visas, but luckily they answered calls and sorted this out on the spot. 3) we were told we would get an orientation, turns out to be a talk around the dinner table and a 30 minute long video about all the projects they do. 4) the 'meals' they provide is the biggest scam ever. Breakfast was toast EVERYDAY! on the website, it said that toast will be available but I understood this to mean that 'we will provide authentic chinese breakfast with toast as an option' but no.. it was literally toast everyday... and then you get lunch provided at your placement which isnt too bad. but then dinner at the accomodation... there are 2 cooks, the lady is LOVELY, and her food is DELICIOUS, but the guy cant cook at all... so when he cooked, we often just ate junk food! ALSO, when there were left overs from the guys cooking, he would store them for like 4 days and then serve it again!! I DID NOT PAY OVER £1000 TO EAT INEDIBLE LEFT OVERS! also, one day, we accompanied the nice lady to buy groceries for the nights dinner, and the total came up to about £4... and there was 4 volunteers and the 2 workers to feed... so about 65p spent on each person... and I paid over £1000 for this... 5) so yeah, last minute told we were going to be volunteering at SEN school, which was fine, but turned up at the place, and they didnt even need any extra workers! every student either had their parent with them or had an assistant already... so i spent about 80% of my time there sitting in the office reading a book. we weren't even allowed to go home if we weren't needed.. I didnt pay £1000+ to sit in an office and read a book! and because I am actually Chinese.. I could communicate with them a bit,,, but i cant imagine how an english person would cope because staff there didnt speak English.. ALSO, we spoke to the manager at the school.. and he actually said to us that if we come back to China, DONT go with I-TO-I... we told him how much we paid... and he said it was a massive scam! now thats sayin something if the school partner doesnt reccommend I-TO-I! 6) some of the money we paid was supposed to go direct to the school, and we were supposed to go with the in-country team to buy some materials for the school.. but this NEVER happened.. we were also supposed to use the money from the last volunteers who didnt have time to buy materials.. but this NEVER happened either.. so I dont know where that money went... 7) we booked to volunteer for 4 weeks.. and 1 of those weeks actually coincided with Chinas national holiday.. which is 1 week off for everyone so our placement was shut and so was everywhere else. when we booked our trip, we were not told about this, we asked the in country team what was going to happen, and they said our school would still be opened even tho the school themseleves told us they would be closed! so we called over to England to tell them we would not be staying at the accomdation during this period and we're leaving China, but they would only give us £70 refund rather than the full £100 because we're choosing to leave but they still have to pay for the accomodation in case we want to stay!! RIDICULOUS! absolutely crazy considering it was their fault for not telling us about national day! 8) while we were there, we were joined by some REALGAP travellers, who were treated like royalty whilst we were treated like rubbish! we stayed at the I-TO-I accommodation, but when REALGAP came, we had to move rooms for them! Also, the in-country team were completely focused on them and didnt have time to answer any questions we had. I didnt pay over £1000 to be treated like this! And considering I was over there to volunteer, and they were there for a holiday, I expected more help and better treatment! It is also annoying that they paid a lot less to get better things! 9) After a day out, we were trying to get back to the accommodation, but it was pouring with rain and there were no taxis cos everyone gets taxis when it rains! and we didnt know which bus to get back! so we called the in country team who said they'll come get us! and then about 1 hour later in the pouring rain.. still nobody! so we call.. and then he says hes coming now! so we ended up waiting about 2 hours in the rain! luckily we borrowed an umbrella from a nearby restaurant! 10) we had to pay for every trip we made to and from the volunteer placement.. considering I paid £1000+, we expected like transfers or something! Fair enough they didnt say transnfer included, but paying over £1000, and only 65p spent on dinner for you, you'd expect transport! I wonder how much of the money even went on the project! 11) You only get treated nice if youre doing the Panda conservation... the rep for them was nice! we saw pictures were they did activities together and all! but for us.. it was just here's your dinner, good bye. 12) the site said bedding would be changed every week, or more if u requested it... throughout our stay.. it wasnt even changed once! You might think this is just being Petty, but when you spend over £1000, you expect to receive what the programme states! 13) when we were here, we had 2 volunteers join that were doing the Panda conservation. Because REALGAP joined us, there wasnt enough beds for the new volunteers so they had to stay in a hotel. THIS WAS AWFUL! they told us how there was peanut shells all over the floor, and fag butts in the shower and neither of them smoke, and the shower was literally a trickle of water... my sister and I went to see them in their hotel to try and ask for a room change for them.. but they wouldnt let us, so we got their panda rep over... and he was reluctant to change rooms... so the 2 volunteers said they dont mind sleeping on the flood in the apartment because the hotel was that bad! Another exmaple of how REALGAP get priority even tho its an I-TO-I apartment! POSITIVES 1) the lady cook makes very nice food and she is SO lovely! i miss her actually :( 2) the school we went to had very nice staff! One lady even offered to take us around Xi'an =) but this has nothing to do with I-To-I 3) the in country team did offer some support and advice when we wanted to plan days out, but I dont think you would have gotten the same treatment if you didnt speak Mandarin. 4) because the REALGAP people came, we got to tag along to some of their events such as kareoke and THEIR welcome dinner which did make the trip much more enjoyable. 5) the rest of the volunteers were lovely! again, nothing to do with I-TO-I ALL IN ALL I would not go with I-TO-I again! It was SUCH a waste of money, but I did have a great time... which i'm sure I could have had with any other company though!

This was my first time volunteering with a company and IVHQ China was fantastic, i didn't arrive til 3 am on the Monday morning but David, the coordinator of the program in Xi'an was there to let me into the house and to speak to the taxi driver to get me to the right place. I volunteered for 3 weeks in the special needs program, the staff at the school were very inviting and helpful. even though English was limited we could still get our message across. I was able to run my own classes and have total creative control which was fantastic. i could choose what i wanted to the kids to learn, to sing ( lots of sound of music) and to draw. The house itself is very well maintained with plenty hot water and the meals are really great, home made Chinese food, so very different from the western variety. You can also easily access public transport to get around the city and see the amazing sites Xi'an has to offer. David has very good English and was more than helpful organizing anything you needed, including bus passes, sim cards, tours to see the Terracotta warriors or finding where somewhere local and cheap to eat. Coming to China was a fantastic experience and IVHQ China made it so very worthwhile. It is a very interesting country and Xi'an is a beautiful city. Cheers Ian McKerrell of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

I would like to warn other potential travelers that Rustic Volunteer may not be the best program to use if you or a family member wants to volunteer abroad. My husband and I did a huge, extensive fund raising program to send our sixteen year old daughter Maya to Xi'an, China to volunteer in a Chinese orphanage. Maya's sister was adopted from a Chinese orphanage, so she really wanted to volunteer in an orphanage to make a difference in the lives of children like her sister. A lot of our friends who had adopted Chinese children gave their own money to help Maya achieve this goal of helping Chinese orphans. Surprise!! Maya never set foot in an orphanage. Instead, she was placed in two different schools for mentally challenged children. The experience was somewhat rewarding but not at all what Maya dreamed of doing and not at all what we paid for. Not only did these dear children have parents, but in one school, the parents accompanied their children to school every day, all day. This was not an orphan environment. During Maya's trip, my husband and I tried contacting Rustic Volunteer to ask for Maya to be placed in an orphanage, but it never happened in spite of repeated promises that it would. Maya was in Xi'an for five weeks. Also, none of Maya's transportation was provided, as promised in the contract. She had to take 3 city buses to work every day and then back home, and she had to pay for them herself. She walked through a neighborhood teeming with prostitutes and men hanging about leering at her with no one to accompany her. Maya is only sixteen years old, so this was a very bad situation for her to be in, and her program director did not care. No one even drove my sixteen year old daughter back to the airport at the end of the trip. She had to hire a taxi, figure out what time to leave, figure out what terminal to go to and give instructions to her taxi driver in Chinese. She had basically very little support on this trip. Maya was told to arrive a day or so early to allow her body to adjust to the time change before beginning work, but when she arrived, she was charged for a hotel room, and we had no idea that would happen. We couldn't really afford another expense with the airfare being so incredibly high. We had assumed that Maya would be put up in the volunteer house, but she wasn't. I did complain and ask for my money back, but the owner of Rustic Volunteer said that the money had been spent on Maya's food and (get this) transportation. He said that if I tried to bring legal action against Rustic Volunteer, he would cite a clause in the contract that stated that substitutions could be made. So, if it is your heart's desire to volunteer in a particular capacity, do not go with Rustic Volunteer. They feel no need to live up to their promises. They did not have my daughter volunteer in an orphanage. They did not take her on the promised sight seeing opportunities. They did not drive her to and from work. They did not even drive her to the airport! It's simply not a good program, and for younger people, I think it's actually dangerous. Please be careful if you decide to have anything to do with this travel company. Read your contract carefully. Get them to specify everything very clearly, and then travel with your contract with you at all times so you don't end up like my daughter, spending thousands of dollars to have an experience that was not what she signed up for.

Originally, I asked to volunteer at a local orphanage when I went for vacation in China. However, I was informed when I arrived that I will be placed in a special needs centre instead (this is the only reason why I gave 9 instead of 10 stars- I had no experience whatsoever with special needs and I would have preferred if I was told in advance so I could have requested another placement.. However, Im actually glad they didnt. As the week went on, I came to looking forward to each day as there was always something to do with the kids. Staff did not really talk to us but this was understandable as they knew very little English. The volunteers and I relied on our translators to communicate. Even so, they ensured we were involved at the centre. We got to teach them songs during music class, drew colouring pages for them etc. There were times we were left hanging and had to pick up exactly what was going on but I mean, again, I assumed it was due to language barriers. In terms of where I stayed, I was very satisfied. I shared a dorm with 2 other volunteers (1 where I was placed, the other teaching English) with whom I really got along with. Socialization was easy as there was a large rec room we all gathered in for dinner etc. We were provided with maps, useful information, books etc. The project coordinator, David, and volunteers (local univ students) were very helpful. There was always one of them at the dorm in case we needed help and they were very quick to help us! All extremely friendly and got information or tasks done efficiently. Food was awesome! Hot water showers always. David was easily reachable and would go out of his way to ensure we got what we needed. He always presented us additional volunteer opportunities if we wanted so fellow volunteers and I got to do other things than what we signed up for. This immersed in even more culture and locals' daily activities. Would definitely recommend IVHQ and I for sure, would volunteer with them again!

Last December, i went with some friends to China to do some volunteering work. I was assigned to help with autistic and mentally impaired children in Xi An. The whole trip was very memorable for me, and taught me lots of things. Learning how to blend into the Chinese culture, teaching the various children on how to do things the right way, and eating yummy Chinese food, these memories never fail to put a smile on my face. In fact, i grew in love with the city so much that i consistently think about returning there. I definitely recommend this program to anyone who think about volunteering in China. Words alone are insufficient to describe how wonderful the trip was, for both my spirit and mind. You will definitely get a sense of fulfillment there!

Went to China with CSA. Great value. They sent my confirmation docs quickly, and I saved much money and time using CSA services. If you are looking to study abroad in China, and not spend a fortune, then I suggets you consider using CSA. They have programs in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and I heard they will be adding Nanjing and Xian. Do not waste your time with the expensive packaged programs, go direct with CSA instead !

I went on a trip with IVHQ to Xi'an, China back in December 2011 and that was one of the most fun and fulfilling trip I had in a long time. My programme required me to work with kids with disability ie they have special needs and they are either mentally handicapped or autistic. What I did was to help out with this centre which was specially set up for such kids by facilitating their lessons and being there for them (trust me they love the company we provided). So without sounding like i'm over-promoting IVHQ, i would like to tell you briefly why i recommend this programme to you guys who are interested in china and volunteering out there. What I learned, working with those kids was how lucky I was to be blessed in an environment which was relatively more affluent (I'm from Singapore) and the fact that I was normal. If i were a kid with such disabilities, I would still be able to lead a comfortable life back in my homeland but that was not the case for those kids with low incomes over there. Also, mixing with these kids showed me the importance of giving love (as corny as that may sound) and even up till now, I missed them a lot and still think about my trip with IVHQ. Of course, apart from the volunteering there are many other things you can enjoy in Xi'an too. I experienced their culture over there, how they love their noodles, how they love to drink and tried out their different food and stuff at Xi'an. Granted, it's not as happening a place as Shanghai or Beijing, but it definitely has it own unique lifestyle and seeing this transition of a rural area becoming more and more cosmopolitan is definitely an interesting one for me. Last but not least. the host made me feel really satisfied about my trip. He was nice, humble and was always willing to help whenever we asked. I was very much impressed by the hospitality ( I know some of you out there think chinese are rude and crude people) and also by the earnestness he had in interacting with us. Thus, all in all. I would say this. Try this programme out if you are considering visiting Xi'an. What better way is there to experience a country's culture than living life like a local?

I had no idea what to expect when I signed up to work at a law firm in Chengdu, China. But after two weeks, I didn't want to ever leave. In Chengdu, I learned so much, not just law, but also China and their culture. I stayed with a wonderful homestay family. They didn't speak English, so communication was a challenge! But staying with them really broadened my horizons. I got the chance to be fully immersed in Chinese culture. At the law firm, the other volunteers and I got to experience hands-on contact with Chinese law. The Chinese legal system is so different from that of the United States. Learning about their laws and customs made me realize how different American and Chinese viewpoints can be. Although foreigners aren't allowed into the Chinese courts, we were allowed to view an arbitration. We attended lectures on business in China, did research on important Chinese cases and their implications, and spent the weekends exploring Chengdu. What a wonderful experience!

My daughter went to China for a year with AFS in high school. As an overall experience, it was incredible and changed her life for the better. She was adopted from China, and always felt "different", and after this year she was a changed child from knowing that she was accepted, recognized as beautiful, and "fit in." She loved her Chinese high school experience, and loved the general experience of being in China. She was changed for the better as a person. And our local city AFS chapter is wonderful. AFS China, on the other hand, and the support she received from AFS USA while over there, were a different story. Her host family had a frequently drunk father who hit his daughter, greatly upsetting my daughter. She did not want to leave the family because she felt very close to her host sister. There was quite a bit of heavy drinking and sex from the European AFS-ers, and minimal supervision from AFS China. Whoever was supposed to be supporting them over there was not supportive, and when I called the US person, he would take sometimes weeks to answer my calls and was unresponsive. (I was later told he was sick, but needless to say they needed a replacement.) So that part of it was not at all well done. AFS is an old and extremely well established organization, and it is difficult to do a great job in so many countries working only with volunteers. On the other hand, at the least they could have good and responsive US staff. So a mixed story.

This is the third CCS program that I have participated in. I leave China today after a month (which I thought might be too long), and I am so sad to leave. I could not be happier with the in-country staff and with the work that I did here. I worked with an organization that works in partnership with an orphanage to care for special needs infants and toddlers post surgery, to help ready them for adoption. I fell in love with every single child I worked with, and I know how much a little love and TLC can do for a child's development. I felt extremely well prepared for the program in China, and I knew that if I needed anything, the CCS New York staff was a phonecall or email away. Once I was here, I knew the in-country staff offered the same accessability. Even for my weekend trips, they helped me make arrangements, find accomodations etc. I would highly recommend the CCS China trip to anyone interested in not only volunteering, but gaining a real understanding of local culture. During my time here, the volunteers ranged in age from 14 (there was a teen group during my stay) to 60, and eveyone was valued and treated the same. We had many opportunities for cultural activities, including Mandarin lessons, a visit to the Terracotta Warriors, a shadow puppet show, a visit from a calligrapher and a Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor... I could not have asked for more (except maybe more time here!).