Thanks to a friend who just left for Ghana to spend three weeks on a clean water project, I'm itching to try the "volunteer vacation" thing. Anyone been there, done that? Is it worthwhile? Do you feel you've done good even in just a few days of work, or is the volunteering just a clever way to enable privileged Americans to travel in poor countries without feeling quite so guilty? I'm perpetually suspicious of any charitable endeavor that becomes "trendy" (see: pink shit is NOT going to cure breast cancer), but tempted to put my quasi-veterinary knowledge to use on one of these trips.