Greenheart Reviews

In 2017, I went to teach in Thailand through the Greenheart Travel program. Specifically, I taught science at a high school in a medium/large town in the Isaan region for one year. I fell in love with Thailand, and much of it was owed to my positive experience with Greenheart! I've listed some of the most helpful aspects of the program below:

- Pre-departure support: Right away Greenheart made it a point to make sure I felt completely prepared for the trip. From Visa help to packing lists, welcome packages, and alumni support, Greenheart made me feel at ease uprooting my life and moving across the globe!
- In-Country Partnership: Greenheart partners with another fantastic company called XploreAsia that is responsible for getting you TESOL/TEFL certified in country. I chose to do the month-long course in Chiang Mai, and it was absolutely wonderful! Greenheart would check in throughout this process, which was nice! [Also, I was there during Songkran which I highly recommend!]
- Continued support throughout my year placement in Thailand
- Alumni discounts on future programs

Overall, I am extremely pleased with my Greenheart experience in Thailand and I plan to do another program with them in the future!

Making the decision to move to the other side of the planet and take on a brand new job in a completely foreign environment takes an incredible amount of will power in itself. Then having to answer the mountain of how, what, when, where questions can feel overwhelming. Greenheart simplifies all of that. Their incredibly knowledgeable and friendly staff makes the paperwork a breeze and helps build your confidence with every step of preparation. I couldn’t have asked for a smoother transition!

Orientation was surreal. Wandering the streets of Bangkok that first day. Being exposed to the beauty of Thailand in the beach town of Hua Hin. Best of all, was the experience of taking on this adventure with many other future life long friends. Truely the importance of doing this orientation and course can’t be overstated if only for the opportunity to share the newness of it all with a group you’ll quickly fall in love with.

If you’re reading this, know you’ve already overcome the hardest hurdle. Just considering an adventure like this, even starting to daydream about moving abroad is proof of the confidence you can do this. Don’t let the questions overwhelm you. Don’t let the process deter you. Do this.

During my stay in Valledupar, Colombia, I learned that I am capable of more than I have ever thought. Culture shock can be a challenge, especially in a place that averages 100 degrees each day. I moved to Colombia to not only experience a new culture, but to see if teaching was something I wanted to pursue further. I worked for a very low-income school in higher-risk area and loved it. The teaching was extremely difficult because of lack of materials and lack of funds for materials for the school and my students English levels were zero. However, I took it as an opportunity to really immerse myself. I built incredible relationships with my teachers and faculty, despite the language barrier. I was invited to their homes and leisure activities and leaving was a very emotional day for all of us. Colombia is an amazing country with natural beauty in every direction, but the people have the most beautiful souls I have encountered. I encourage anyone remotely thinking about going to go and to go without high expectations. Surprises are inevitable and giving a smaller, less known town a chance, may be the best decision you’ll ever make.

Greenheart helped me have an amazing experience in Thailand. I asked to be placed in a medium sized town with at least one other foreign teachers, and my placement perfectly fit that request. I love this community and I have learned so much about Thailand. I've befriended locals as well as other foreigners. The pay is good and my agency is super helpful! Sara at Greenheart helps answer all of my questions. The only thing that I found confusing at first is that a seperate company, XploreAsia, actually runs the TESOL course and organizes placements, but that is not a big deal. I am about to start my second semester (I originally only planned to stay for one) and I am excited to continue teaching here in Thailand!!

This program will provide a very different experience based on what part of Colombia one is sent to, but no matter where you go it is a beautiful country with extremely kind and charismatic people and it's an amazing opportunity to explore Colombia. Colombia is full of natural geographic beauty from the coast to the mountains and coffee region. Not to mention, each different region and even city has a distinct culture with different food, accents and personalities. Colombia is on the rise and it's a great time to visit and explore.

I learnt a lot during this experience. I had lovely host families, I especially bonded with the first family and I already miss them so much! I always felt very very welcome by the families, neighbors,teachers,students and everyone else in the small town I lived in. The English teachers at the schools took me under their wing and were almost like other host mothers . The children at the school were lovely to teach, always cheerful and lively. I loved living in the European culture and walking through the streets of the cozy town i lived in. The school timetable was also very flexible and I was also able to go to Rome, Venice and Germany during this trip.

The biggest challenge I faced was the language barrier. Sometimes it can be isolating not understanding what people are saying around you or not being able to have a hearty conversation with anymore for a few weeks. The other challenge is living with the host families. Don't get me wrong, I'm so so glad I stayed with the wonderful families I was placed with and got to experience the local Italian culture first hand, however if you're thinking about doing this program just consider that for 3 months you will be a guest in someone else's home and you have to *always* be polite,friendly and clean up after yourself. Lastly, another challenge I faced was preparing the lessons. I prepared all the lessons for the 3 different years each week myself. I enjoyed this freedom, however I sometimes wished I had more help as I was not always sure what level of understanding the different classes had and sometimes my lessons were too easy or too hard for the class.

Overall this was an unforgettable experience! I was overwhelmed with love and generosity. I got to live out my dream of living in Europe for a few months and being able to teach young children. I will hold on to the beautiful memories I made in Italy for all my life.

I did the SENA 9 month program for Volunteers Colombia through Greenheart travel. The Greenheart travel organization can be hard to deal with and it depends on who you get as your coordinator. I thought the long training and orientation was unnecessary. However, I had a great time in Colombia. The country is absolutely gorgeous with lush rolling green hills. The people are also so sweet and welcoming. Our landlady immediately wanted to be my friend and I’s madre colombiana. Also, teaching at SENA is fun. The students love doing games and activities. They will get very involved in whatever you give them. I found that they all had a desire to learn English and tried in class. I also liked my coteachers and I had a positive experience working with three different coteachers. It is easy to make friends. Students will want to hang out with you as well as other teachers. In my city we had an English/Spanish night at the local university and students from the university as well as the volunteachers would meet up to practice each others’ languages. Additionally, the monthly stipend we received was enough to live on. A high wage in Colombia is $1000/month and we made half of that. I spent all of my money there because I wanted to make sure I supported their economy. Once you are in Colombia you won’t want to come back. I miss it everyday and am planning another trip back.

I spent ten months in Neiva teaching English at SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje, a network of free, nationwide, vocational training colleges in Colombia), on a co-teaching programme organised by Greenheart Travel in collaboration with an organisation called Volunteers Colombia. I studied Spanish at university, partly because I had always wanted to go to Latin America. The programme allowed me to make that happen with the security of a job, a Regional Coordinator to direct any worries or questions to, and a monthly stipend. They provided lots of help with visa documentation and other heavily paperwork-based tasks such as getting a bank account, which was much appreciated as it was my first time having to do all that (I am British, and had previously only lived abroad in Europe). Neiva is a small, not particularly well-known city, which I liked as it was easy to feel at home in a short time, and hardly anyone spoke English. I loved it because it is hot all year round, and there are interesting places to visit nearby, most notably the Tatacoa Desert (highly recommended). Living there was a world of new experiences and insights in to Colombian culture, as well as a lot of staring at my blonde hair and tall frame, which stemmed from curiosity as to why I was there. I think it's important to be open to being placed anywhere, and to remember that there are pros and cons to each city/town. I probably wouldn't have been able to fund weekend trips with my stipend so easily if I had been placed in a bigger, more expensive city. At SENA I taught young people and adults who were training to work in accountancy and business, subjects which I know almost nothing about, but that was OK because most of the English classes we gave were basic, general English. Occasionally we would do a subject-specific class or activity, and I would have to do my research in advance! I was lucky to work with really supportive and enthusiastic teachers, who understood the co-teaching model (ie. they didn't usually leave me to teach the class alone, or not include me in their lesson planning). Your experience can depend a lot on who you work with, but you shouldn't let that put you off. The most important thing I learnt was how to be flexible and open to last-minute changes of plan, which happen a lot in Colombia.. I fell in love with the country and I am still here more than a year later, now working in Pereira on a different educational project. I would definitely recommend Greenheart programmes as an accessible way to move abroad and experience something new, with support when you need it.

I am very thankful for Greenheart giving me the adventure of a lifetime. They made moving to Thailand a very easy experience. They were able to answer all my questions, which made me feel much more comfortable with everything. Once I moved to Thailand I found myself trying out new adventures and having experiences of a lifetime. Living in Thailand really taught me a lot about myself and helped me grow as a person.

As a teacher, I am always on the look out for opportunities to travel during the summer. Greenheart Travel provided a way for me to combine my two passions: teaching and traveling. Last summer (2017) I participated in Greenheart's Teach in a Homestay: Spain. I stayed with my fabulous host family for 1 month from June-July and it is truly an experience I will never forget.

What I absolutely loved about this program:

*The preparation- Greenheart thoroughly prepared me for this experience. I was sent a book with Spain's cultural and historical background. I also received a packet that covered everything I needed to know: weather, customs, tips, how to handle culture shock, what to bring, what to expect, etc. It was extremely helpful and I found myself referring to this packet many times throughout the duration of my stay.

*The support- I don't think my experience would have been as successful without the help of Megan Arzbaecher, one of Greenheart's program managers. She answered any and all questions I had, replied promptly to my emails, sent me reminder emails and touched base with me frequently weeks before my trip.

*The online community- I loved that I was put into a facebook group that brought together alumni and newcomers of the Teach in a Homestay program. I was able to communicate with others who had gone through the program and hear their experiences/advice. In addition, I met newcomers who would be in my area in Spain.

My time in Spain:

I was placed in Madrid and stayed with my host family for one month. Greenheart made sure to place me with a family that could host me during the time frame I was available and with a family that would suit my personality/needs (I had to fill out a lengthy survey). The expectation was for me to teach English to my family's daughters for 15 hours each week in exchange for food and stay. Who can beat that? Such a great way to experience a new culture and get to know a family! Even though I have teaching experience, Greenheart provided access to lesson plans, ideas and games to teach English to the family. They made it very easy to have a successful experience.

I would definitely do this program again in a heartbeat! I learned a great deal about the Spanish culture, my host family and surprisingly...myself! I would recommend this program to anyone who is willing to fully immerse themselves into a new culture.