• Duration: 6 ½ weeks 
  • Orientation: 4-days
  • Village-stays: Two 3-week sessions

• 2010 Program Dates 
  • Orientation begins: June 24^th
  • Program ends: August 7^th

• Orientation Location: Budapest
• Number of volunteers: 10-15
• Language Requirement: None
• Village Setting: Rural
• Living Conditions:  Ranges from basic (no plumbing) to modern (TV, Internet)
• Students’ Level of English Proficiency:  All levels

For questions not answered on this website, contact the 2010 Program Director, Cascade Tuholske at croatia.romania@learningenterprises.org.

You will begin your Croatia/Romania program experience with a four-day orientation in Budapest.  The orientation will help introduce you to eastern European culture as well as provide an opportunity to discuss teaching strategies with other volunteers.   You can also expect to spend this time exploring the beautiful city of Budapest.  (If you haven’t experienced a Hungarian thermal spa before, you’re in for quite a treat. You would never know water could feel so lush.) 

After orientation, you will travel to your first village, located in either Croatia or Romania, and teach for three weeks. You will reconvene with your fellow volunteers after the three weeks for a two-day mid-point break in Oradea, Romania.  During this break, you will swap stories and teaching ideas with the other volunteers, indulge in some R and R, and lament how much food your host families have served you.  After the mid-point break, you will travel to your second village and teach for another three weeks.  There is no formal conclusion to the program.

As an LE Croatia/Romania participant, you will be placed for 3 weeks in Croatia and 3 weeks in Romania; most but not all volunteers end up teaching in both countries, some teach in 2 villages in Romania.  Those in Romania will live with host families in small villages and offer English classes to members of the community.  Volunteers in Croatia can choose from three different teaching arrangements.  Volunteers can (1) teach in a village while living with a host family, (2) work as a counselor at the Sunny Village Camp, or  (3) organize English lessons and other activities at the Koprivnica Youth Center while living at the Sunny Village Camp. It is important to note that the majority of volunteers in the Program will be in villages; spots at the Camp are limited.

Village Stays (Croatia and Romania):

Your experience living with a host family will be one the most defining and gratifying experiences you will have on the Croatia/Romania program.  Some host families will overflow with children; others will be empty nesters.  Some will have an array of modern amenities in their homes; others might not even have indoor plumbing.  What the families share, though, is that certain Eastern European warmth.  They are not paid for participating in the program and graciously open their homes to Learning Enterprises volunteers.  You will find it difficult to say goodbye after three weeks.

The village experience is quite adventurous. Most households will have limited amenities, but all will abound in liveliness and, of course, food. Volunteers usually will have access to a phone but usually not to the Internet. Those living with host families in Croatia will live close to the town of Jagnkodovec and may enjoy more modern conveniences (just as much food, though).

Sunny Village Camp (Croatia):

Set in beautiful, rural Croatia, the Sunny Village Camp in Jagnkedovec brings together children ages 8 to 12 from Croatia and surrounding countries for an English language experience. As a counselor, you will help in running typical camp activities that focus on the development of kids’ English language skills.  You will work alongside Helena Hecimovic, the camp director, as well as other counselors your age from Croatia. The camp has comfortable lodging and showers, and all meals are provided.  Past camp volunteers have enjoyed working with the enthusiastic children and have appreciated the opportunity the camp provides in connecting with Croatians their own age.

Koprivnica Youth Center (Croatia):

The newly built Koprivnica Youth Center is located in the center of Koprivnica, a lively Croatian city of 25,000.  As a volunteer there, you will organize English language classes, arts and crafts classes, and field trips to other parts of Croatia.  Those interested in event planning may find this option especially appealing. When you’re not teaching at the Youth Center, you will spend your time at the Sunny Village Camp.  While the Youth Center option is similar in many respects to the Sunny Village Camp option, it affords volunteers the chance to break up the structure of their day.

When living in a village, you will be expected to teach for at least three hours a day, five days a week.  Most volunteers divide the students in to groups according to age and English proficiency, and teach multiple classes.  If the adults in the village are interested in developing their language skills as well, you can even offer an adult class in the evening.  You will teach in the local community centers or school, and basic supplies, such as chalkboards, chalk, pencils, will be readily available.  While Learning Enterprises will provide you with teaching ideas, you will have complete freedom in determining how to run your classes.

The students you will be teaching relish the opportunity to study with a native English speaker.  The older students recognized the value in learning an important international language and eagerly ask about English business jargon and colloquialisms.  For the younger students, simply interacting with a native English speaker helps transform the language from work sheets and verb conjugations into something more real.