# guanajuato volunteer?



## Randi Butter (Dec 29, 2013)

I plan to spend 4-6 weeks in Guanajuato this summer to enjoy the culture, people, and language. I would like some recommendations the best location to rent and also I would like to volunteer somewhere to keep busy and meet the locals. I am interested in volunteering in a school (I am a teacher and speak some Spanish) or with animals (I love farm animals but I do not have experience). Any ideas?


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Randi Butter said:


> I plan to spend 4-6 weeks in Guanajuato this summer to enjoy the culture, people, and language. I would like some recommendations the best location to rent and also I would like to volunteer somewhere to keep busy and meet the locals. I am interested in volunteering in a school (I am a teacher and speak some Spanish) or with animals (I love farm animals but I do not have experience). Any ideas?


What a great place to spend part of the summer! I can't help with volunteer suggestions, but I would imagine that public and private schools will be closed in the summer in Guanajuato.


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## Randi Butter (Dec 29, 2013)

Yes, I suppose you are correct. I thought perhaps there may be a summer program of sorts. Perhaps there are other organizations that could use me a few hours each day. Could you help me with rental locations? I see many wonderful looking places but not sure which is best for me. I want to be close enough to walk most places and would rather not have to climb very high steps or hills to get my apt all the time. Any recommendations?
Thank you!


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Randi Butter said:


> Yes, I suppose you are correct. I thought perhaps there may be a summer program of sorts. Perhaps there are other organizations that could use me a few hours each day. Could you help me with rental locations? I see many wonderful looking places but not sure which is best for me. I want to be close enough to walk most places and would rather not have to climb very high steps or hills to get my apt all the time. Any recommendations?
> Thank you!


The best way to find a place to live is to be there. Book a hotel/hostel for a week or two and look for a place after you get there. Most rentals are not advertised on the internet and often not even in any papers. Any rental you see on the internet are likely to be aimed at foreigners and overpriced. When you are there you will be able to see what the neighborhood feels like (and whether the hills are too steep). 

As far as volunteering, you could talk to the local DIF office. (Desarollo Integral de la Familia = Family Development Agency). There are often programs that could use some help.


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## Randi Butter (Dec 29, 2013)

Great idea for the volunteering, I'll try the website. As far as renting, I'm afraid I don't have the chutzpah to wait till I get down there. Especially since I'll only be renting for about a month or so. Are you able to recommend a location? I want to be in the heart of the historic district (I think).
Thanks again for your help. By the way, I love your picture! I, too, am a big fan of burros and have pictures in my classroom.
Randi


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Randi Butter said:


> Great idea for the volunteering, I'll try the website. As far as renting, I'm afraid I don't have the chutzpah to wait till I get down there. Especially since I'll only be renting for about a month or so. Are you able to recommend a location? I want to be in the heart of the historic district (I think).
> Thanks again for your help. By the way, I love your picture! I, too, am a big fan of burros and have pictures in my classroom.
> Randi


I missed the part of it only being a month or so. For that short a time, you might just stay in a hotel. You can get a bed in a hostel for about $150 pesos ($12 usd)/night or a private hotel room for about $400 pesos ($30 usd)/night. You will have difficulty finding a rental for that short a time period. 

Similarly volunteering. You might want to just enjoy the time while you are there. With only one month, you would be leaving about the time you started to get the hang of any volunteer job. From the perspective of the person or agency you were trying to help, it might me more of a nuisance than a help.


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## Randi Butter (Dec 29, 2013)

You are probably right. I want a house or apartment because my husband will accompany me for part of the time and then I hoped friends would come and go. I was thinking that I could tutor some kids in English for a short while.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Randi Butter said:


> You are probably right. I want a house or apartment because my husband will accompany me for part of the time and then I hoped friends would come and go. I was thinking that I could tutor some kids in English for a short while.


I applaud your good intentions, but really I think tutoring someone in any subject for just a few weeks would be more about making you feel good than really helping the recipient.

There are some projects that really do benefit from short term help. I can think of a couple of past examples. Bosque La Primavera near Guadalajara often has short term work efforts like planting trees or building paths, projects that benefit from a lot of volunteer labor. Another example is a Peace Corps volunteer in Querétaro who runs day long clinics in small towns nearby to check people's vision and distribute eye glasses. But these type of things are infrequent and it would take a certain amount of luck to happen to be in the right place, at the right time, and be aware of the need.


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