My month as a teacher in an Italian home

I can't say enough positive things about my experience in the Greenheart Travel Teach in a Homestay program. I had been to Italy (to Siena) twice before as the assistant director of a study abroad program. I loved Italy, but really wanted to learn Italian, which I hadn't done staying by myself in an apartment. Looking for an inexpensive way to travel to Italy and be immersed in Italian, I stumbled upon this program, applied and was placed with a family in Cesena, Italy for one month.

My family welcomed me with open arms and quickly made me a part of their family, including me in outings with their friends and taking me to school functions of their three children. An unexpected but wonderful experience was the opportunity to be a guest teacher in the Italian elementary school where my host mom was a teacher. She got permission for me to collaborate with the English teachers at the school to get into every single English classroom in the school. The children were very excited to get to ask questions of an American, and I learned many things about the Italian school system that I didn't know before.
My teaching experiences involved helping the family's two pre-teen boys with their English homework and conversation, and preparing the oldest boy for his upcoming year abroad in an American school. I also taught the parents some English while simultaneously learning a lot of Italian! I also helped the next door neighbor with both her English and her Spanish (I am a Spanish professor).
I learned so much Italian that I was able to return to the US, test and be certified at an advanced low level of oral proficiency. There is NO WAY I could have done this studying Italian in the US, or even studying in Italy but not living with a family. The complete immersion was the key to my success. It wasn't easy by any means, and we had some good laughs at my blunders, but I can now speak Italian, and have made some good friends in the process. I miss my Italian family a great deal!

Allison Yates, the coordinator at Greenheart Travel, made everything very easy and stress-free. The communication was frequent and I knew if I had any problems while abroad I could get them quickly resolved. I am seriously considering applying to teach in a homestay again next summer, and have told many of my students and fellow teachers about this wonderful program!