Expectations

Here we have included many expectations that have arisen in the past years.  Even though many expectations listed below are pointedly simple and obvious they non the less have been listed, to ensure that all parties are aware of what is expected of them.  If we all stand under them same set of rules and standards, we will all have a greater capacity to work as a “Leadership Team” with shared responsibilities, making each person’s job easier and making the program more effective for the participant. If supervisors can be made aware of what we expect or hope from them we believe that will be the first step to making the program run smoother.

The participants must be made aware that the most important characteristic is to adapt to the new culture and not the local culture to them.  For this to happen the participants should be informed that they are responsible for participating, in the whole program, including cleanup, cleaning up after themselves in group activities and integration with the whole community. Although supervisors and participants are on holiday, we hope this trip will be seen as a “learning adventure”.

Supervisor Expectations

  • Must try to be as “Culturally Correct” as possible.
  • Must make their expectation of the participant clear to the participants before situations arise.
  • Should always try to reinforce ideas presented in the 1st day orientation
  • Must enforce clothing, drinking and sexual contact rules setup by both home country and Montaña Linda
  • Must be consistent with the enforcement of regulations
  • Must have the same mentalities and goals for both instruction and discipline of the participants
  • Must to the best of their ability, act as an united group
  • Must unite themselves with the Costa Rican team
  • Must be willing to put aside their personal feelings, i.e. likes and dislikes to ensure that the participants do not absorb this lack of enthusiasm by the supervisors.
  • Must all agree in the choice of participants chosen to attend the program to ensure that participants are not feeling left out.
  • Should give more responsibility, motivate and push learning boundaries of participants.
  • Must be willing to walk participants home when necessary.
  • The Costa Rican team is responsible for program working, but supervisors must be willing to get involved in off time to prepare when deemed necessary by the Costa Rican team .
  • Must make an effort to integrate into the language and customs.
  • Must be willing to “help” not only there own participants but the locals as well if the situation should arise.
  • All problems should be discussed away from participants
  • Any form of discipline of community members is to always be done through the Costa Rican team.
  • Be aware and enforce the homestay family rules can only be overruled by supervisors for safety reasons or once each individual situation has been analyzed by all sides to ensure all points of view have been taken into consideration
  • Are not to pressure families into changing family rules.
  • Must have respect for the schedule including meeting times with participants and supervisory meetings
  • Must have respect for the controls and judgments made by the Costa Rican team as many judgments are based on cultural habits.
  • No decisions or changes will be made by supervisors without prior consultancy with the team taking into consideration cultural input etc to ensure that changes will not cause risks for either participants or local community before being implemented.

Supervisors should do their best to leave past problems with participants behind them, as to not affect the treatment of participants.  All participants deserve to start our program with a clean slate to allow the participants to be open to all the new experiences that will arise.  Supervisors are expected to motivate and push improvement in participants.

If supervisors are teachers or parents, they should make a strong attempt to not let this role overshadow their actions and move toward a more “friends” attitude allowing the participants to have the chance to grow and absorb the learning offered.

Supervisors must be ready to discipline participants if the participants’s attitude causes problems in family situations. Should any inappropriate behavior occur supervisors should take responsibility and “explain, discipline and enforce” rules.

Supervisors must understand that although the programs are set-up to be educational our goal is that the participants feel they are still on vacations and are allowed to also enjoy the program.