Greenheart Reviews

Greenheart are fantastic at providing support from the moment you land in the country. I arrived and was picked up by a driver arranged by greenheart, and then driven to my hotel room (sharing with another teacher). We then spent the next week having all our important documents sorted, applications for teaching jobs filled out and phones sorted, as well as Thai lessons, culture lessons, teaching lessons and wonderful activities such as muai thai and visiting an elephant sanctuary. I felt 100% supported by greenheart staff to get a teaching job, although flexibility on this front was required on my part as this changed once or twice before it was finalised. as well as emotionally and psychically supported for the rest of my time in Thailand. I ended up working for a school and a learning centre in Ayutthaya, a beautiful historic town, the learning centre was fantastic, wonderfully organised and gave me a variety of students in terms of age and requirements. The school was far less organised and I had some trouble here trying to make my lessons a success, however, I felt i could call upon Greenheart should I encounter any problems. I found the culture and language lessons provided by Greenheart at the beginning very helpful, as well as technical support of getting a SIM card and bank account, all of which would have been very difficult to do alone. I had a wonderful placement and a perfect place to live, and still keep in touch now with some of the fellow teacher I met there. A fantastic experience, so much so that I decided to use Greenheart again in 2018 for a home stay programme in China.

Not a good program at all! Overpriced! Basic needs were not even covered. Greenheart does not follow through with what they tell you they will give you. Felt more like a workaway experience. Was not given 3 meals a day and hot water did not work properly in homestay. None of the money goes to the host families so the organization overcharges volunteers and pockets the money. Organization does not reply to emails in a timely manner and when complaints are brought up, nothing is done about it. Local support is very poor. Very bad experience overall. Felt ripped off.
I did not receive "Three home-cooked meals a day for duration of program" that I was supposed to receive for the whole duration of my stay.
I definitely did not get the support I needed from the local staff for the $500 they received from me. The least they could have done for me was tell me to book my train ticket earlier before I arrived because I had to pay 100 euro for a train ticket that would normally cost 15-30 euro if I had booked it at least a week in advance.
The hot water did not work in the washroom they had given me to use. It would only work for about 10 minutes and then would completely stop. Therefore, I was only able to shower once a week! This should have been checked for the $500 I paid for the "Host family search, screening, and placement process" and the "background check".
I also do not understand why I had to pay $100 for the "Comprehensive medical/accident insurance" when all that was done was the registration for this. Moreover, I had my own medical insurance so this should have been optional.
I also did not even receive the package that I was supposed to receive via mail form Greenheart.

What an amazing adventure. My Host Family could not be More than they are: Wonderful Wonderful Human Beings and Friends for Life. Liliana and Paolo showed me how to Luve as an Italian; they proudly took me to see and experience at least half of their beautiful country. I stayed in homes of family and friends across Italy and up and down Italy. I visited Amazing places tourists don’t generally know - BELLISSIMO. We sang laughed and argued our way up and down and back and forth across Italia. Liliana and Paolo I Love You Both and will be back as promised.
Your country is beautiful, you certainly have the right to be so proud of it - voted the most beautiful country in the world in 2018, Your people are amazingly welcoming friendly and helpful.
Milano Metro ur um - lost again, wrong train again - wow another adventure, another place seen and experienced.
I cannot thank Greenheart enough for the experience you introduced me to.

Overall my experience being a student of Greenheart travel was a good one. I originally chose them because people were so helpful and kind as I went through the many steps to start my journey. They were always there to answer emails, assure my parents and answer questions we had.
Although, there where some less than positive experiences as well. I was placed in a family where not all members of the family wanted a student in their house, and the family rules seemed to change and get stricter over time. In the end after months of disagreement and at least one meeting with a local coordinator trying to resolve things, I actually got moved to another family after being kicked out. It wasn’t entirely the family’s fault at all, there where situations I handled incorrectly. But in the end when I received a letter of probation for exploring farther than I was supposed they also included completely untrue statements not related to what I did wrong. I feel they greatly misrepresented me, which really hurt.
A solution was found and I was placed in a welcoming, wonderful family that completely changed my experience for the better.
I wouldn't go one way or the other to recommend or not recommend. I would say do your research on multiple programs. The best way being to look at a reviews. See what people say about the rules and the family they where placed with to make a decision.

When I first began researching teaching programs around Asia I never thought it was as complex and confusing as it is. I found Greenheart and they were encouraging and helpful. They don't hold your hand through every step, but they are supportive and make sure you feel informed and safe as you prepare for a huge leap into the unknown. As mentioned, the teaching world in Thailand/SE Asia can be complex. You'll work with partner organizations/agencies, since Greenheart doesn't actually serve or have access to every school in the country. Fortunately, I personally never had any major issues or emergencies while navigating some of the confusing transitions throughout the teaching process, but I always felt that Greenheart had my back and would have done their best to help had I needed it. I completed the TESOL course and initial placement, and fell in love with Thailand. I have since transitioned to other jobs, but I attribute a lot of my initial success to the fact that I came through Greenheart.

This was the best! I taught middle schoolers in Verbania, Italy for three months and four years later, I think about that time in my life every day. Greenheart transformed how I saw traveling by giving me a purpose in an amazing lakeside community with a terrific homestay family. My host teacher was lovely and spoke English very well. I did not choose where I would go, but was extremely happy with my placement in Verbania. Most of the program participants are placed in Torino, where there is a rich historical culture and nightlife. I was actually a bit closer to Milan, where I went for day trips on a couple of weekends.

I am still in touch with a couple of my fellow teachers in the Greenheart program and was so lucky to have made such great friends to travel with while I was in Europe and remain close to long after the program. The orientation before you go to your homestay town or city was very helpful in meeting folks to travel with or even to meet up and explore their temporary home for a bit!

I'm so glad that I chose to take the 4 week TESOL course while in Korea. It was the best option for me and for those teachers that are new to teaching in Korea or new to teaching, I would highly recommend. Can you take an online course and get by? Of course you can, however this TESOL course gets you in front of the classroom almost daily and helps build that pacing that new teachers/new teachers to Korea might not have. Further, even if you have been a teacher, teaching a language is very different from teaching other subjects in your own language. I found this course to be hugely valuable and when I arrived at my placement I found that most of the information and ways to teach were the same and so the adjustment was minimal in the field. The team is always there to help and the instructor that I had (Jon Harman) really took the time to highlight strengths and areas of improvement for any teacher that presented. Finally, the TESOL course allowed us to teach at a camp for two days which was a sneak peek into how real Korean kids would act/respond and taught us quickly how to adapt our lesson plans and tailor them in a way that best communicated the information to the children. For me, this course was the bridge between my travel abroad/teaching experience and the new country. It was a way to wade into the culture, language, and customs of Korea while being surrounded by a helpful team and other westerners . It's a safe way to gradually be introduced to a foreign way of life and make it digestible. I cannot thank the team enough for their support and assistance in this transition and I would highly recommend this class for anyone who is new to teaching, Korea, or teaching in Korea. Best of luck travelers!

Teaching English in Thailand has been the most challenging and rewarding experience for me. I'm typing this review as I sit in my thai classroom watching music videos with my students on the last day of classes! I highly recommend this program to anyone who has a passion for adventure, travel, children, and being out of their comfort zone. I completed the TESOL course here in Thailand and met life long friends. In fact, four of us are backpacking Vietnam and Cambodia after we finish teaching! During the placement process, I was told I would be teaching 16-18 year olds (I am 22). I came into this experience assuming I would be teaching younger kids, so this was scary news at first. Now that I have been teaching them for 4 months, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Watching my seniors graduate was so special for me. I did something I never thought I'd be able to do and I couldn't have done it without Greenheart Travel.

I am so lucky to of traveled with Greenheart. They were extremely supportive through the entire process even when there was bumps in the road. They figured it all out. My family hosted an exchange student with a different company who were difficult and our family really struggled. That's why we were so iffy about sending me on an exchange year. Although, Greenheart has completely restored our faith in exchange!
If you and your family and worried about starting the process or even just have questions about exchange, Greenheart are your people. Even in you don't want to call, their website is beautiful and informative, and their staff are quick to respond and helpful in every way. An exchange will change your life, so put your trust in Greenheart to support you and your family.

Greenheart travel works with you from the visa preparation up until you're ready for your next adventure. They are very quick with replying to any concerns or questions you have about your program, accommodation, pay etc. I felt Greenheart always have an answer that was honest and accurate. Sarah, my program coordinator was very helpful and patient with me when I would e-mail her frequently with questions. They keep you in the loop with what is going on in their company as well as events and opportunities for Greenheart alumni. I always recommend Greenheart to friends and strangers when they are looking for an adventure similar to mine! I am so lucky to have gone through this company and experiened the year & a half away in Thailand that I did! I will forever cherish that experience.