Greenheart Reviews

I absolutely love South Korea. I was well prepared by Greenheart for all the cultural differences and difficulties I may experience here. I have experienced many differences - the food, the social scene, the language and many more - but having been pre-warned I was able to take them in my stride!

Going to Korea was the best decision I ever made! I am so thankful I came across Greenheart's posting for the program on idealist.org that fateful day in August 2010! The application process is a little long because of necessary documents, but the Greenheart staff was very helpful and supportive the whole way. Once in Korea, you won't need much support from Greenheart anymore, as your school and EPIK will help you with anything you need. I really enjoyed my school and I loved my adorable students. The job was really fun. I also made a ton of new friends from all over the world, and there is always something fun to do in Korea, whether it is experiencing the nightlife, the cuisine, or the culture.

As far as daily life goes, all of the amenities you are used to back home are available in Korea. They are very tech savvy, the public transportation is fantastic, and my apartment was just a studio but had all I needed. There are certainly cultural differences, but as long as you go with an open mind and are ready to appreciate experiencing a new culture, it will overall be a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

This is a review particularly for Greenheart Travel. I knew I was interested in applying to EPIK, but when I saw the paperwork gauntlet that I had to jump through in order to do so, I became a bit wary. Greenheart Travel helped me put two and two together- they made the process more clear and answered all my questions right away, sometimes even within the hour. I was very impressed by their professionalism; they were very knowledgeable and supportive. I knew exactly what to expect when I arrived. Thank you very much! I love my job now!

What do you look for in a volunteer opportunity? A rewarding challenge? An interesting culture? Welcoming people? I found this in the Republic of Georgia. The local teachers were very professional and welcoming to the co-teacher program and it was very easy to jump in and start teaching.

The host family was very respectful, generous and kind. Tutoring was enjoyable with the host-mom and the host-sister and I was placed with a family that genuinely cared about me. They planned and took me on weekend trips and even to new restaurants in Tbilisi. I was placed near Tbilisi so we had a lot of cultural options including going to movies, concerts, and museums.

Greenheart Travel was also great to work with and they were very transparent. They managed expectations and represented the program in an honest and forthright manner. I would recommend volunteering in Georgia and using Greenheart Travel.

Studying abroad in Brazil with the CCI Program was the best decision of my life. Thanks to CCI, I was placed with a wonderful host family, in a very safe part of town, and had lots of local support. My school, family, and community was very welcoming. My social calendar was always full of fun events! I was provided a language teacher and daily lessons for the first month, which allowed me to communicate much better. Safety was never a concern for me because I always felt confortable with all of the support I was provided in this program.

I always wanted to live overseas but never got the chance, so when I was job searching I always had the idea of teaching abroad as an option. I researched many programs, but found Greenheart Travel advertising for Teach and Learn with Georgia and decided this would be the program for me. I did as much research as I could, read several blogs that were provided to me by Greenheart staff, and went through the application process, which was fairly easy.
I arrived in Georgia last January and originally lived and worked in the East. When I arrived it was very cold, I was in a village where wood was the only source of heat, and in my room there was no heat at all. There was a week where I wore the exact same thing for 5 days because I couldn't imagine getting undressed and there were times I thought I would never be warm again. But the weather improved and soon Georgia turned into paradise, where the mountains provide the backdrop for mile after mile of vineyards, beautiful gardens, fruit trees, and flowers like you've never seen before.
The easiest thing to fall in love with in Georgia is the Georgian people, who automatically love you for coming to their country and speaking a little bit of their language. You get one week of language and cultural training before being placed in a host family, and then most people continue learning after that. Georgian is difficult for me to learn, but the basic phrases and alphabet are all essential to an easier life here.
By far the most challenging part of Georgia is the school. The Ministry of Education is working on sweeping reforms and we are right in the middle of change in action, which means there are times when the school seems to be stuck in time with teaching methodologies (some teachers still ascribe to "read, memorize, recite" theory. However, there is nothing better than the students who adore you and treat you like a celebrity. You will be greeted each day with enthusiastic "Hello Teacher!" over and over.
There were many challenges, but overall I would wholeheartedly recommend both Greenheart and TLG to interested participants. I would just strongly urge people to do their research before coming, as it's definitely not for everyone. You have to come with an open mind and flexible attitude. If you have those things, you will likely love Georgia and Georgia will love you right back.

I'm currently a teacher in The Republic of Georgia and I love every minute of this experience. I'm actually in school right now, doing this review before class begins. I highly recommend for everyone to experience this beautiful and beautifully challenging country. My journey began with finding a "Teach in Georgia" program link through Greenheart Travel.

I simply followed the steps provided, gave all of my required documentation, had my interviews and was swept away to this very foreign country. I hold a Bachelor's degree and teaching certifications so the process for me was fairly easy, also due in part to Greenheart Travel for streamlining the process for me. You don't need the qualifications I have in order to come to Georgia.

I arrived in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, for a 7 day orientation with Teach Learn Georgia (TLG), the flagship program that is hiring all of the English teachers. They gave us Teaching Methodology and Georgian language lessons as well as providing some intercultural training. From there I was given my assignment, the beautiful coastal village of Bobokvati near Kobuleti city. Most teachers get placed in rural villages and other in larger cities. This is where the true adventure began.

Since then I have been eating amazing Georgian food, which consists mainly of beef, chicken, bread, cheese, lots of veggies and herbs. Almost everything is grown by the villagers in their gardens and it's extremely fresh. I have also tried the famous Georgian wine, which also is made by most Georgians: Georgia is the birth place of wine after all!!

Teaching here is rewarding and challenging. Since Georgia is still a developing country, your teaching materials such as projectors and the like will be rare or not even seen at all. You have to get creative with your lessons but TLG does provide you with new English lesson books through MacMillan publishers. Bring any kind of teaching material you can, books, pictures, posters and even learn some songs to teach your students, they go crazy for songs. The kids are some of the most eager I've seen and love to have English teachers in their schools.

As far as packing is concerned, pack for everything. I wish I had brought lots of medicine because as with any country, it will take some time for your body to adapt to the local climate and food. I would also recommend bringing laptops and movies and music to occupy some of your time. Traveling in this country is extremely cheap and I have already seen all of the country. I try to travel every weekend with my fellow TLG friends. You get to meet lots of wonderful people and fill up your picture albums for Facebook!

All in all the Georgian people are very welcoming and friendly and it's not unheard of to get invited into strangers homes for some food and wine. Georgian hospitality is bar none the best I've ever experienced. My local community was very welcoming and my co-workers here at my school have been amazing at helping me with everything I need. Greenheart also continues to provide my with all the assistance necessary and I can get help whenever I need it. I have definitely learned a lot while being here, become more open to meeting new people and learned that it's not what the country has to offer you, it's the people in it that make the experience.

You should come to Georgia, have the experience of a lifetime and enjoy everything Georgia and it's people have to offer! You get paid more than most teachers do but it's a modest sum compared to what you are probably used to. Still, it's more than enough to travel the country, eat what you want and enjoy your life in the unique and rewarding place.

I registered a Language School program in Cusco, Peru with Greenheart Travel and they not only booked courses for me at the Amauta Spanish School but also provided me a wonderful host family. I did not know a single Spanish word prior to coming to Cusco. Not only my host family was very patient in allowing me to learn Spanish in baby steps, but also the school provided incredibly intensive education in Spanish. The courses were three hours each day. I was amazed by how much Spanish I learned within a month. While I did not become fluent, I learned just enough to have basic conversations.

The school also has an on-site travel agent who was wonderful in providing information on sites that we could see in Cusco and its surrounding areas. The agent also booked us on tours including to the Machu Picchu, Manu Rainforest and Sacred Valley.

I couldn't have asked for a better volunteer experience. I went with a friend and our host family was extremely nice and helpful, as was the entire staff at the rescue center.
The staff really go above and beyond to make sure you get the most out of your experience. They helped us plan weekend activities like canopy tours or a trip to the beach, and they would call us up to see if we wanted to go out for drinks or dinners. They were always willing to drive us into La Fortuna to do some shopping or use the internet cafes.
The actual work was a really cool experience. Every day we got to feed the animals, and actually get up close and personal, playing with the raccoons, or holding Benjamin, the kinkajou (when he's not sleeping.) The center is right in the middle of the jungle and it absolutely breathtaking. The projects vary. During my month as a volunteer, we built a huge cage for a falcon, which involved pouring cement, painting, putting in posts, nailing on the wires, etc. We also cut down some bamboo to make a bird perch, worked in the greenhouse, built a railing for one of the bridges, and cleared the paths (with a machete, my favorite part.) One of my favorite things about the center is that they use materials from the jungle for almost everything. The railings were made out of bamboo that we cut down ourselves, as is almost the entire greenhouse, and when we needed posts for the bird house, we just went to the forest and chopped down some trees, then peeled off the bark with our machetes.
We were productive, but at the same time, the atmosphere was relaxed, and we had a lot of fun during the working hours.
This program gives you the opportunity to see exotic things every day that you would never be able to see anywhere else. Like a toucan that tries to steal your lunch, a bunch of raccoons that love nothing more than to be sprayed by a hose, beautiful bright macaws, a crazy monkey, and all types of exotic plants, fruits and flowers.
Plus, they are happy to let you spend a day or two working at a women's banana paper workshop or at an orphanage.
I loved my time there and miss being a part of the project!

My name is Paul Hoffman and I am an English Teacher with Greenheart Travel's Teach In Thailand May 2011 program. The orientation for my 5 month program started on May 8, 2011 in Bangkok and I'll be teaching English here in Suphanburi, Thailand until October 5, 2011. This has been an EXCELLENT adventure! The managers and staff at Greenheart Travel in Chicago have been with me every step of the way starting back in October of 2010. They offered me different teaching programs in different countries and helped me decide on the right program after answering about 150 questions from me! They helped with every step of the application / qualification process and the Thailand Non-Immigrant VISA - which can be a challenge! In fact, I still write to Greenheart Travel every Monday and send them my Blog called 'Chalk Dust' which is posted on their website. Teaching here in Thailand has been an exciting, exhilarating, nerve racking, and 'pushing me to go outside my box' experience. I've never taught in school before. In fact, I've been out of High School for 30 years and now I'm back at school teaching English to 7th and 10th grade students - and these students don't have English as their first launguage! After arriving in Thailand I had to get used to a new culture very quickly, set up my basic living space, and develope lesson plans for class - and that was in the first week and a half. Thailand is known as the 'Land Of Smiles' and the Thai people are very warm and welcoming. As long as I say a few words in Thai and smile, they are willing to help any way they can. I always remember to keep things simple when teaching or developing lesson plans because the Thai students are trying to absorb a new language - English. I remember just trying to learn how to say 'Good Morning' and 'How Are You' and Count from One to Ten in Thai and I got soooooo lost! Since I was lost with those simple words, I just imagine what the Thai students must be going through trying to learn English! So, I keep it simple and adapt the lesson quickly if need be. The weather in Thailand is hot, the food is spicy, and the way of life is laid back and fun! I now wish that I would have signed up for the 10 month program. Who knows, maybe I'll come back next year?? If you come here, always remember to look to the right first when crossing the street! I learned that the hard way - ha!