When I decided to volunteer abroad, my family was not exactly pleased. My dad is a very practical man, and my mom is prone to excessive worry. Between them, international volunteer opportunities did not seem like an ideal pursuits. My dad said that, rather than going on an international volunteer opportunity, I should stay at home and figure out what I was doing with my life. When I told him that that was exactly what I was doing by volunteering abroad, he did not seem convinced. As me for my mother, she was worried sick at the idea. She was worried about terrorists, insects, diseases, you name it and it terrified her.

There are many kinds of international volunteer opportunities, but most of them deal with humanitarian aid. In my case, I was volunteering in Africa. I was sent there to help a city build better infrastructure. We were digging a well, farming, and building a schoolhouse. When I first got there, I immediately began to regret my decision to go. International volunteer opportunities did not seem so hot when I was stranded in the middle of a hot, dry, desert in an incredibly poverty-stricken part of the world. Yes I wanted to help, but I also wanted the comforts of home. International volunteer opportunities are not just about feeling good about yourself. They are about going through horrible hardship in the interest of helping others.

For a while, it was hard to keep going. Eventually, however, I got used to things. In international volunteer opportunities, you do not have the benefits of modern life. I did not get to use indoor plumbing, and I did not get to eat any American style meals. Basically, we were little better off than the poor villagers that we were helping. The only thing that we had as international volunteers that they did not have was the know of how to help them improve their lives.

That is exactly what made the international volunteer opportunities so rewarding. Once I started to see my work bear fruit, I couldn't figure out how I had ever regretted my decision. It really was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. If you have not taken advantage of international volunteer opportunities, you have not seen the world. You have not learned about the hardships that others face, and the dreams and hopes that they have. I highly recommend going abroad to do so.

One of the best known international volunteer opportunities is the Peace Corps.  This organization has been around since President Kennedy was in office in the early 1960's.  Search online for the Peace Corps and other international volunteer opportunities today.