>>1045780It was a somewhat formal agreement in Vietnam (I did sign a contract that established the dates I'd be staying, and my willingness to not look like garbage, to follow their rules). Make sure your passport and papers are in order, and that you can get them easily (I only had one encounter with cops in Nam, and it was more funny than frightening. Two of them stopped by the house and confiscated my passport for a couple days. I had photocopies and stuff, so I wasn't worried, but YMMV).
Europe was easy, because Americans get visas without even asking, fuck your Continent.
Helpx worked for me because I knew I didn't want to jump into a year-long commitment just like that. I wanted shorter things to dip my toes in. Overall, I loved it, and would definitely recommend it to someone looking to try something a little outside the norm.
>>1045761This is a valid post, but if anyone looks down on you for a volunteer vacation, fuck 'em.
There are legitimate ways to help out people in the third world. For example, Vietnam schools teach English aggressively, but they run into a wall because there are so few native English speakers to practice with. Just going and talking to students for a couple hours in the evening is a great way to give them some insight and help with their English.
Yes, developing countries have manpower, but they still have demands that can't be met by local populations. Focus on what you can do better than the average person, and find a way to turn that into something useful.
