Program Reviews

My time in Italy was awesome!
Before I begin… A fun fact! Italy is literally on the opposite side of the world from where I live (Hawaii). Okay, you must go a bit directly north on the map.

Location:
So, Piedmont has a lot of history behind it. Sure, you hear a lot about Rome, Venice, Florence, etc. but if you look up the location there is a lot to see and do within the region. I really recommend going to Langhe and to the mountains.

Communication:
With technology these days, Google Translate will be your best friend. Make sure to download the Italian language pack so you don’t have to rely on the internet connection. Also, Google Maps, make sure to download the Italy region into your offline maps. In the Piedmont region, there are less English speakers than if you go to the tourist regions so make sure to practice some basic Italian.

Driving:
The stereotype is that Italians are crazy drivers. This is true in some ways but in regions outside the city there were no problems. Thankfully, the family I stayed with had an automatic car! One important thing I should mention is that STOP signs do not really mean stop. It means slow down to check and just drive on through (almost like a rolling stop). So, proceed with caution. Oh, and you'll need an International Drivers License. Get one before you go to Italy.

School:
Italians are very expressive and vocal. So, do not be discouraged when they tend to talk a lot in your classroom. There was only one quiet/shy class that I had and that was when I was guest teaching in another school in the region. The organization in the school is rather poor and if a piece of equipment breaks (like the computer in the school) it may take a LONG time before it gets repaired. My advice is to try incorporate some fun English game days during the week (especially at the beginning). This allows you to gauge the students current understanding of the language.

Travel:
If you have access to a train station, you are pretty much set. The rail system runs on-time 80% of the time. I was not one of those who traveled every weekend to cities across Europe. I only traveled to Verona, Turin, Venice, Pisa, Florence, and Rome. I do recommend traveling and it is extremely easy with the rail system.

Family:
So, the reason I did not spend so much time traveling was that I wanted to feel like I wasn’t a tourist and live more like a local. This included going to the gym, helping the family, and meeting new people around the town. The family I stayed with had a maid that cleaned the house so I didn’t have to change my sheets or anything. The mother also offered to wash my clothes for me, but I wanted to do them myself which was no problem. All families are different, but always try do your best for them and help when you can. By spending a lot of time with the family I never had the difficulties of being homesick believe it or not.

Phone & Credit Card:
I have T-Mobile and it is fantastic. The cost to call to the US is relatively cheap. If your family and friends are also on T-Mobile then texting is free. (So, text more often than you call.) In Europe the use WhatsApp and since you have free 2G data you are always in constant contact with them. I have never had any connection issues unless I was underground. During my time abroad I used the VISA Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card. The USD to Euro rate is fair and I highly recommend it and no foreign transaction fees!

Hope this review has helped you. I really recommend this opportunity if you can meet the steep costs.

I had the desire of traveling to Japan for a year-long exchange since I was in the sixth grade, and it came to fruition when I was accepted into Greenheart Travel's program at the end of my 3rd year in high school. I studied in Tokyo, Japan for ten months during my 4th year in high school, from August 2015 to June 2016. I felt overwhelming support from my Greenheart travel coordinator, and I still stay in contact with her now, almost a full year after returning from my exchange. I felt I was adequately prepared for my experience thanks to Skype interviews with members of Greenheart Travel, and frequent email updates with packing lists, readings on culture shock, and even reverse culture shock for the time that participants returned from overseas. I would definitely recommend coordinating a study abroad through Greenheart Travel.

In regards to my exchange as a whole, it was one of the most difficult yet rewarding things that I've ever done. I have a strong relationship with one of my host families (I had two, the first who hosted me for seven months, and the second for only three), and I still contact them from time to time. I made quite a few close friends with whom I still make frequent contact. The most important thing to know is that a language barrier can be very difficult and frustrating to overcome, but it's important not to compare your speaking/comprehension ability to some one else's (especially not natives', which seems obvious but I found myself doing frequently during my exchange). Don't be afraid to speak-- you're in a foreign country to learn about said country's language and customs. If you make a mistake, learn from it, and try not to feel too embarrassed. If you aren't making mistakes, you aren't learning. And if you aren't learning, why would you be there?

Currently I have been working for Volunteers Colombia with SENA for two months in Quibdó, Chocó Colombia. I have two highlights which will consist of talking about greenheart then my experience thus far with SENA/VC and Colombia.

First, I want to give the upmost applauds to Sara and Greenheart travel. Sara was so helpful and there for me during ever step of the way. She is someone who provides communication as quick as she can and as transparent as it comes. I really respect her diligence and the support I received was so warming and thorough. The whole process was very seamless from recruiting, to placement then now to my time in Chocó. Greenheart is a very wonderful platform and I would recommend using them a resource with the SENA/VC program.

Next, wow. Colombia in general is a place that is extremely diverse so depending on what you want, big city, beaches, mountains, rainforest... it is very diverse. I am very privileged to be in Quibdó, Chocó because the place is unlike anywhere in Colombia. We have four exotic fruits that are only found in Chocó that are delicious (Borojó is my favorite), the people here are some of the most generous and happy people I have met and they are so welcoming. Moving along, the SENA experience has been great thus far. Every Volunteacher has a mentor at the placement city and mine, a women by the name of Karen is excellent. She has been with me also pretty much every step of the way making sure we are doing well here. Her support is incredible. The students are a joy as well. They are so motivated to learn English and I can honestly say that I have no horror stories about the students. Even though I am only two months in, I already can see the change in my life of how rich of an experience this is. If you want to make an impact somewhere and always live in a beautiful diverse country that will change your life forever... then choose Greenheart and go to Colombia. Cheers!

As I come to the end of my ten months abroad in Costa Rica, I cannot help but reflect on how transformative and eye-opening my experience here has been. Not only has my High School Year Abroad with Greenheart Travel helped me learn Spanish as a second language, but it has also exposed me to different lifestyles and customs. I have become more familiar with myself, as well as how I can use my new awareness of other cultures to work towards what I want for myself and the world around me. Through living with a host family, attending school in a small, coffee-farming town, developing friendships with local students, traveling with other exchange students from all over the world, and publishing monthly travel articles on the Greenheart Travel website, I have gained entirely new perspectives and experiences. Studying abroad has given me the opportunity to change the way I see myself and everything around me, and that it a gift that I will cherish and benefit from for the rest of my life.

My exchange to Germany was the best time of my life. My host family was amazing and I loved the small town I was in because I wasn't that far away from the city but the town was still small enough to make it feel like home. I really bonded with my family and now I consider my host sister just my little sister. Greenheart travel did a good job at answering all of my questions and I'm so thankful I was able to do this. I also got to go on a couple of trips with other exchange students which ended up being two of my favorite trips. I'm really glad they offered those trips to us because I loved being around thirty other people as social and fun-loving as I.

Five words I would use to describe an Exchange trip to Germany ( Deutschland):

1. Exciting
2. Busy
3. Transformational
4. Postive
5. Endearing

Without this wonderful experience, I would be no where near the place I am today. Germany is an amazing country with an abundance of opportunities for anyone looking to go on exchange. Whether you are into dancing, eating, exercising, socializing, etc. there are opportunities for you. From household to household, warm arms welcome you and generously invite you into their everyday lives. Its an amazing place to love and I would be super supportive of anyone looking to go abroad to Germany!

I had an amazing time in Vennesla, Norway for my senior year of High School! I lived there for 7 months and loved every second of it. I am five years out from this experience, but it is still affecting many of my decisions for life. I changed from business and agricultural career aspirations to politics and global research. I am currently working towards my Master of Public Administration at the University of Washington with a focus in International Development. My love for anything global definitely stems from this experience.
My favorite memory was going skiing with my host family in Hovden. I had only gone once before and it was a great bonding experience for us. I still have so many friends back there. I have actually been back in Norway twice since to visit family and friends. Norway has a special place in my heart and I would not trade this experience for the world.

When I first arrived to my family in Argentina, I was filled with anxiety and excitement.. Right off the bat, my host parents and sibilings made me feel apart of the family! The first weekend they had text all their family members and friends and invited them to a barbecue just to meet me! I felt extremely welcomed and was overjoyed from the pride me family had in having me as a foreign exchange student. With my fellow class mates, it was the same way, my brother had sent a group message to the class of about 20 inviting them to come to the park and to meet me and get a grasp on the life of person from the US. My foriegn exchange expirience was extremely fruitful and I'm grateful that this program placed me in a family that made me feel like I was home even away from home.

This was a very valuable experience for me not just because my Japanese language skills increased a lot, but also because I began to learn how to "adult"; namely, how to properly manage my existing amount of money that I had. My hosts were very welcoming and tolerant of my linguistic mistakes ( I made many ^^). This past summer was probably the best in my life, and I am thankful to my parents, my hosts, Greenheart, and the friends that I made overseas.

I reached out to Greenheart Travel following my return to the US after a year of teaching and traveling in Thailand. In that year, I had the fortune of running across a handful of Greenheart teachers. In the Land of Smiles, they were no exception; each of them were placed carefully, taken care of financially, and afforded constant support from their program managers. When it came time to move to Colombia, Greenheart was the obvious choice.

I was one of Greenheart's initial Fellows to teach in Colombia via their partner organization, Heart for Change. From the interview to the traveling, and the orientation to the placement, I was taken care of every step of the way. I taught at SENA Centro Agroindustrial in Armenia for six months and had one of the best personal and professional experiences of my life - one that I still draw upon in my career today. It was not always easy, dealing with language barriers and overcoming philosophical differences cross-culturally never is. Yet the strength of the partnership and the genuine in-country support was there to help whenever I needed it. By the end of the first semester, the TEC program was experiencing so much growth that they began to offer interviews for regional coordinator positions to program Fellows. By my 7th month in Colombia, I was speaking and working in Spanish, monitoring and evaluating program progress, and conducting professional development training for new Fellows. My career had begun to take flight.

Fast forward another six months and I was asked by Heart for Change and the Ministerio de Educación Nacional to manage the nation's first Colombia Bilingüe Immersion program. As Immersion Director, I was managing every aspect of Colombia's initial effort at capacity-building for 130 Colombian English Teachers, 25 Fellows and Regional Coordinators, and an entire hotel staff. None of this would have been possible without Greenheart Travel. Their commitment to fostering trust with their partners in Colombia and their high standards for program success streamlined the often difficult, transitional stages of teaching and living abroad. All Greenheart Travel programming, not just the TEC, is designed consciously and carried out with integrity by their entire staff. This is one of the best career advancement programs out there.