Ever wonder what it's like to be a venture nomad? Use this post as a viewfinder to answer any questions and to see what it's like to lead the life of a participant at Venture with Impact. Continue reading to find out more about the week in the life of Josie Santiago.
Monday
At 7:00 am, Josie takes a colectivo to a local public school, where she teaches English, art and physical education. For today’s lesson, students trace the bodies of the classmates, and learn each body part in English.
Josie returns from teaching around 12 pm and grabs lunch at a typical menu del dia restaurant near to her apartment with another Venturer.
She is back to her apartment to start work at 1 pm. Josie works as a mentor for the education non-profit, Summer Search, which is a national youth development organization, which works with students from low-income backgrounds. Josie’s office is located in the Bay Area, and her work schedule therefore runs on pacific standard time.
Tuesday
Josie is a certified yoga instructor and twice a week she teaches an outdoor class for Venturers in the California park next to her apartment. Each week she donates the proceeds from the class to a different VWI non-profit partner.
Wednesday
Josie spends her morning running a few errands, such as picking up produce from the fruteria down the street, and preparing a meal with some vegetables that she hasn't encountered in her home state of California.
Thursday
Josie is back at her school, teaching for her second half-day this week. Volunteers with Espaanglisch integrate English with art, physical education, and various social social skills, including team work. Today, they’re having fun with various field activities and Josie and the other teachers join in!
Friday
After a day of meetings and phone calls back to the U.S., Josie meets up with the rest of the Venture with Impact crew for a salsa lesson. Josie is an experienced salsa dancer, but still joins in for the fun. After, the group heads downtown for a night of dancing, meeting up with some local friends along the way.
Saturday/Sunday
Josie takes an organized day trip to the small town of Simbal, located about an hour outside of Trujillo. There, a local guide leads the group on a day hike and shares stories of local folklore and the history of the area.
