We've heard from too many people how hard it is to find free or low cost volunteer opportunities in Latin America, how difficult it can be to meaningfully connect with a different culture, and how knowing little about the NGO sector abroad can be frustrating. We don't have all the answers.

So we're tapping into the existing knowledge of idealists who are on the ground in Latin America, gathering their stories into one community space: a new blog called La Vida Idealist.

You can check it out here: http://lavidaidealist.org/