Program Reviews

Well, where to start? Having been back in the US for the past month, I've had time to reflect on the program: what I liked, how it shaped me, what I now miss. I'll just start with the facts, things I didn't know before stepping off the plane that I think any potential traveler should know.

1) Get ready for lots of German!
Before arriving, I lamented that I was traveling over 5,000 miles just to speak English with other Americans. I was proven wrong on all counts. I was able to speak German literally from when I arrived, jetlagged and all, in Berlin, where a representative of the DID Deutsch Institut met with me. From there I proceeded to speak German with the DID transport driver, then the staff as they checked me in, then even more during our presentation that night. While it takes some getting used to, this is an absolutely invaluable opportunity to practice around the clock and the entire focus of the program, from classes to excursions, are primarily conducted in German. Obviously, they will speak English for you if need be, but I recommend speaking as much as possible with the program staff! I made it my goal to only communicate with the DID staff in German, and barring a few slip ups, I did!

2) There won't be many Americans there. Embrace it!
Following the language point, I was equally shocked to discover that I was only one of three Americans out of 70 individuals at the program! This was likely the best aspect of the program for me, as I was able to make friends from countless countries and learn about their cultures as well as I practiced German. For example, I had a Ukranian, an Estonian and a Slovenian as my roommates, and we still talk frequently to this day! You'll make friends across multiple continents and dozens of countries, and if you're like me, even get to practice your French and Spanish with the other students while you're there!

3) Know Greenheart Travel's role in the program.
Greenheart Travel does a fantastic job coordinating the program, but only the DID Institut runs the program. Don't expect anyone from Greenheart Travel running the program while you're at the program, the DID Deutsch Institut has a team of qualified teachers and counselors that handle all aspects of the program. Personally, coming off the plane with my Greenheart Travel T-shirt, I expected that they would have a bigger role there than they did. However, this is not a problem at all, and several times a representative of the company checked in with me to make sure everything was alright and that I was acclimating to my new environment. Think of them as a facilitator, not an organizer, and you'll be right on track.

Those were the main points that I didn't know before arriving. I'll go into some specifics now I know you're dying to hear about. I was too, so I'll do my best.

How are the classes?

In german, and heavily focused on speaking. Don't come expecting to do intensive grammar. Rather, be prepared to develop your speaking skills for more informal/ natural settings. They're also quite flexible level wise. I was able to advance to the most advance class after the first week, and this level (comparable to a B2 or upper intermediate) challenged me and made me think in new ways. You also get a certificate at the end, which is nice. But honestly, I learned the most German by speaking to counselors and other Germans I encountered. Speak as much as you can!

How's the living space?
Here's another thing I didn't know before coming. You're not going to a specific school per say. There is no campus. Rather, you stay in a hotel/ hostel that DID has reserved the top floor for to have classes in small settings of 12-18 people. There's also a great rooftop hangout spot we always went to every night.

How's the activities?
Very structured, and fun. The program is not designed to give you much freetime, with about an hour and a half being the most I had to go off with my friends unsupervised. However, all activities are exciting, very well organized, and informative. Examples include the zoo, former Statsi prisons, and a tour of Berlin's most famous monuments. Check with a Greenheart representative to get the current schedule from a DID representative, as it changes week by week. You also have the option to choose between 3 separate excursions, both in the afternoon and in the evening, so that is quite nice as well.

How's the social scene?
Very fun, but don't expect a crazy time. Each friday, the camp has a party. My first friday was an oscar themed party in the hotel. But the week after that we went to a nightclub, which was one of my all time favorites parts of the program. Don't expect to drink alcohol, even if it is legal there! They make sure you have fun responsibly.

How's security?
Extremely safe. Their set of rules and guidelines ensure no one goes off on their own, or leaves the premises without permission. Even in the wake of unfortunate terror attacks through europe in the past few months, Berlin also felt like a very safe city with a strong police presence. Greenheart also does a good job of assuaging any anxieties you may have; they sent my father well developed emails and sat through on phone calls with him to assure him of safety after the attacks in broader Germany the week before I arrived.

That's all I can think of so far, I hope this does a good job of giving you an idea of what the program was for me. I can truly say it was a transformative time for me, having experienced a range of unique snapshots of this larger city from lectures in German at the Anti-War Museum to traveling out to a lakeside beach located in the Berlin area. I would highly recommend this trip for any other interested students who have a passion for German and other cultures, and want to have an exciting time you can't find in the states. If this review didn't cover something you wished you knew, just shoot Greenheart an email and they'll get back to you with the info! Thanks so much, and happy travels!

When I first started the TEFL course back in April 2015, I took the course primarily because I wanted to find a job after college. I was taking the course as I was graduating that May and was looking for jobs. It was difficult to manage at first because I was filling out job applications but everything went really well after some weeks into the course. I learned how to be a better teacher because the course introduced me to the concept of "Presentation, Practice, and Production"

I was placed in a family with 3 sisters all around my age. One day we decided to make brownies so I searched a recipe on the Internet in English and told them all the ingredients that went in. Well, I forgot about the difference between celcius and ferinhiet, and told her to set the oven to 350 degrees. My sister thought this was a little odd but did it anyway. After about 7 minutes of the brownies being in the oven, my other sister comes running over screaming that the brownies were on fire! We turned the oven down and the brownies surprisingly still tasted delisious! For the rest of my time in Spain when ever something bad happened our saying was don't worry eat brownies!

This summer I got to live and study in Florence, Italy and it was the most amazing two weeks of my life. If you are looking for an experience that will teach, challenge, and inspire you all at the same time then this is definitely the one. To call what happened a 'trip' doesn't do it justice. With Greenheart Travel, you get an adventure. Every minute was jam-packed with fun activities and friends.

Greenheart Travel's homestay program is incredible! I did my program in Spain. My host family lived right outside of Madrid. My favorite part of my experience was when I went with my family to a little village called Ríofrio to spend the weekend there. My host moms grandparents used to live there and have a house right in the plaza. It's the smallest, cutest, most peaceful little village I have ever seen! It was so special to see such a unique part of Spain and to hear stories from my family about the village and the people that live there.

My time in Costa Rica was extremely beneficial in regards to gaining a broader global perspective, gaining valuable language skills, and for experiencing things I had never done before. The Greenheart and Maximo Nivel staff were all super helpful and a joy to work with. The language camp had the perfect balance between classes and fun activities, and it was all done in an atmosphere that promoted the development and enhancement of my language skills. I would recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in developing their Spanish language skills, gaining a deeper understanding of Costa Rican culture, and acting on their sense of adventure by participating in activities such as surfing and zip lining! Overall, this trip was very beneficial and really fun!

When I first arrived, I was nervous and way too on guard. Everyone involved in the program was friendly and helpful, and allowed me to trust everything in this program. Within my first few days, I felt completely at home, and was adjusted to the culture. Everyone was super friendly, and we had a lot of free time to explore and spend time with the family and friends we had. I really felt like i was making a difference at the animal shelter, which was awesome. Over the weekends, there is an opportunity to go on excursions and explore the city. I hiked, kayaked, and visited hot springs. This experience is what made the trip so unforgettable, but it would have been helpful to know the prices and details of these excursions beforehand. Overall great trip, and I would definitely go back.

One of the biggest concerns someone might have about getting into this program is what the family will be like that you are set up with. I was really quite surprised at how perfect of a match my family was with our style and things we liked to do. We were both laid back and loved to travel and keep active. My family was a husband and wife where the husband was retired and the wife still worked. The student was just the husband as his wife actually was already fluent in English. Both were very active and we would travel somewhere every weekend and they loved sharing places with me. One of my favorite travels with them was when they took me to Spain to go canyoning. I was actually not familiar with it and it's when you literally jump off different areas of a canyon into flowing rivers. It was so much fun!

During the work week, the husband and I would take the dog for walks or go on bike rides and then I would come back to do lesson planning, do the lessons and that would then flow into appertifs before dinner and a long dinner where we would all just converse to get to know each other more or about current events, it was great! I did not turn on a single TV once the entire time I was there.

The lesson planning was what I found most challenging and tried to get creative. I found that games really helped enforce the lessons and were the most fun part of the lessons so I always tried to end the lesson with that.

My participating in the program was probably in a little more unconventional as I'm in the middle of a career break and changing careers. I'm not moving into any teaching profession but I thought this was be an incredibly unique way to really dive into another culture as travel is such a large passion of mine. I've done quite a bit of international travel so I also did not experience any culture shocks other than not finding all my ingredients in the grocery store to make dinner with :)

I still keep in touch with the family and I'm sure I will visit them again sometime in the future as I consider them wonderful friends and my french family.

I really enjoyed going to Japan with the Greenheart Travel program. I've always wanted to go to Japan ever since I started getting into anime as well as learning the Japanese language at my school. Through the Greenheart Travel program, I was able to experience new things that I wouldn't have the opportunity to experience. I met many new people from all over world, not just the United States, but from Turkey, Taiwan, China, Australia, etc. We still keep in touch till today!

The highlight of my trip to Japan was being able to learn the Japanese language a lot more than I did in my school's Japanese class. For example, my teacher at my school told me to use "Anata" as "you", but when I said it to my teacher in Japan, she said that it was an informal use of "you" and that there are others ways of saying you in different sentences. I wouldn't have learned this in my school in Hawaii. Being able to learn a language where its the primary language of the country is a totally different experience than learning it at home.

Another highlight of my trip to Japan was being able to go to different places to truly understand the culture, the people, and it's history. I was able to explore different places that I normally wouldn't have visited. Such as an onsen, shrines, temples, and other places of interests. I also became very comfortable using public transportation whereas at home, I never even caught the bus.

Overall, I truly enjoyed my time and experience in Japan. I would recommend this program for anyone interested in learning a country's culture and it's language.

I'm currently teaching with a British agency in Thailand. I started with Greenheart in the US. They have a Thai partner that they basically passed me off to when I arrived here. That partner did my TESOL training and got me the job with my current agency. So I've had 3 different groups overseeing my trip at the various stages. I think I made the best decision by going with Greenheart to get me started. They have have professional staff and a great support group on social media to help answer any questions. They are also culturally aware and chose a Thai partner that shares that awareness. With my current agency I met a lot of other teachers that are here for the wrong reasons and completely unprepared. Greenheart's Thai partner provided us with Thai language, culture, history lessons, and more, all with great staff. Additionally, the group I was with was filled with pretty great people.

I do think that there was some misinformation upfront about some details (like what you should bring, for example), but it was nothing serious and can be attributed to 1) the Thai way of life which involves misinformation or last minute information and 2) English teachers are in high demand so all of these entities are struggling to keep up with the workload so details can get compromised. Fortunately, there is a great support system online where you can ask virtually anything and someone will offer insight. I definitely recommend Greenheart over the others.