Greenheart Reviews

I was accepted to teach in a French school rather than homestay, the program was canceled after I had been accepted. Rather than making me shift to a different program, Greenheart worked with me and allowed me to do what I had initially intended. I adored my host family and school, and had a great connection with my teachers and the students in my short time there. My host family really helped me to adjust to France, and taught me a lot of words and phrases that I could use. They encouraged me to explore the town and city, and taught me how to cook and bake French foods. It helped me grow my confidence as a French speaker, and someone who works with students. I was supposed to do the 3 mos. program, but left after 1.5 weeks due to Covid. Greenheart and its partners were helpful and understanding, and did the best they could to answer my questions in such an uncertain time for the world. They answered my questions as best they could, and I am looking to do another program with them in the future. I cannot say how the price of the program matches what was provided since I did not get to fully experience it, but I do not regret going. I spoke conversational french, but far behind the level that I thought I did. I suggest being truthful with your language level, and learning the basics.

Have had the idea to live in Norway for as long as I could remember and seeing that it was possible to do high school abroad program I thought all my dreams had come true! I picked Greenheart because I got the best impression from them and how communicative they were with answering questions and video chatting before applying and being accepted. The actual program was an entire different story. I paid $16k to get physically and mentally abused by my Danish host family while I was doing a Norwegian study program. The fact the family wasn't even Norwegian should've been a red flag to begin with. I understand there's only so much the company can do with screening families, but it's more so how Greenheart and their partner institution in Norway (STS) handled the situation. They continuously belittled me and downplayed the severity of the situation I was living in. I physically didn't feel comfortable living in my host family's house, after being threatened and manipulated numerous times- as well as having my independent phone plan shut off by them. I spent all my free time staying with friends and even some of my teachers at school who reached out to help. I had asked Greenheart/ STS to step in countless times, and called them nightly with my concerns. They were aware of all the gore details, but refused to do anything about it until my host family also requested I be transferred. My outlook on the program was tarnished after the first few months, but Greenheart/ STS couldn't understand why I had a hard time adjusting once I was placed in a new home. This experience was definitely one i'll never forget, and a lot of it I wish I could. It took almost a year for me to mentally get past what I experienced abroad through this program. The country and school was wonderful though! I definitely recommend traveling and doing study programs similar to this, just NOT through Greenheart.

Signed up for the 3 month program in winter of 2019. You have a coordinator here in the U.S and another coordinator once you step foot in Spain. Both of them were great at accommodating my requests!! Although unfortunately I did have bad experiences with the two families I was with. One family was constantly arguing and it was a very strict environment that did not feel comfortable. I mentioned to the mother how I felt, left for some coffee, and the same night she chained the door for the first time. So I couldn’t get in the house and I had to find a hostel to stay in for the night I was a nervous wreck. I requested a change in families only to be kicked out by the second family on December 26 in the middle of the holidays just because I could not accommodate the mothers VERY last minute request to teach one of her children that day (I was out of town and she knew). Aside from this, both families expected me to have vast extensive knowledge on how to teach yet Greenheart promotes that it is not a requirement to have teaching experience. If you do not want to risk having any issues, you would be better off going on your own and renting a room. A lot of foreigners in Spain you can meet and explore the city with!

Thanks to Covid-19 turning everyone’s world upside down, it wasn’t quite the experience I initially signed up for, but I thought they adapted well. Taking the course online wasn’t as bad as I thought, because I learn much better in person, but I found it very helpful and very informative in how to go about teaching English in a foreign country. Lots of insights on not just teaching but how to deal with culture shock and behavioral issues. The instructor was very knowledgeable and made it very understandable.

I have advanced degrees and thought this course would be like Community College—worth doing but not too demanding. Instead I found it required me to stretch to do well. Of course, that means I got more out of it than I expected. I took the course while I was also learning how to teach English 8 in public school online. It made for endless hours on the computer. Still, I had to push myself to complete the project required each week to my own satisfaction. It was worth the effort. But No Homestay!

Zoe and the crew at Greenheart and IEP in Auckland are super friendly and approachable and were a ton of help. I wish the "orientation" and "tour of the Auckland" were a little more informational because I feel like everything they taught us was pretty self explanatory and things I had already learned in the day or two I was already in New Zealand. Otherwise I appreciated all of the help and the program brought me together with friends I will have for a lifetime. It was really helpful for my bank account to be set up for me, but the program says they "include a sim card" but honestly that was not that helpful because SIM cards are free and I had to go to the phone store to set up my own plan. Obviously the expense was a lot and I could've figured out the working visa on my own but it was nice having a helping hand and the program led me to meet some of the greatest friends I've ever had.

I have been very lucky in my placement here. I live in a smaller city that provides me with the best of city and rural life. I only teach at one school and have wonderful co-teachers and lack nothing that I require to do my job. My home is within walking distance of my school and is very comfortable. I have loved every minute of my time here! For those thinking about this program I have a few pieces of advice... First, this is a teaching program, I am a certified teacher in the US so my transition has been fairly easy. I do know some however that have zero teaching experience or relevent course work that a struggling in their positions. Please keep in mind that this is a full time job, not just an extended vacation...Second, everyones experience is different. There will be bad co-teachers and apartments and you may live somewhere you werent expecting. You must be flexible and able to roll with the tide so to speak. Take advantage of this opportunity to experience a new culture. Eat the food! Speak the language! Meet the people...this is how you will get the most out of your experience here.

I went to Fukuoka, Japan the summer after my sophomore year of high school when I was 16, and it was the best experience of my life! I met so many incredible people from all over the world at Genki JACS and my host family was the best anyone could ask for. I was originally only supposed to go for 4 weeks but I was having such an amazing time that I extended it a 5th week.

Host family: I was nervous when I first met my host family, but they turned out to be some of the kindest, sweetest people I'd ever met! They spoke some English, but I used Japanese with them as much as possible. I ate dinner with them every night for about the first 3 weeks (I later started to go out with friends as I got closer to people) and my host mom would always make wonderful meals. My favorite dinner was when my host mom prepared okonomiyaki for us. It was SO GOOD! I would also have lots of interesting conversations with them during and after dinner comparing different cultural things. Staying with them helped my Japanese improve significantly, as I always had my Japanese-English dictionary app with me so I could look up words I didn't know. This improved my vocabulary significantly. My host family also took me a few places such as to a baseball game, a music festival, and a shinto shrine (Dazaifu). Overall, they were the best host family I could've asked for!

Daily life: Usually I would wake up, go to school, get lunch out, and then explore around Fukuoka for a little bit. Fukuoka is extremely safe and I never felt even slightly in danger. I could walk around with my phone in my back pocket and my wallet with my bus pass in my hand and didn't have to worry about a thing. The train station Hakata Eki is also a huge shopping center, so sometimes I would go up to one of the higher levels where there was a stationary store and I would buy postcards to send to family and friends. There is also a Japan Post Bank very close to the station so I could easily send them there and the staff were very friendly and helpful. You can also take out money from your account at any Japan Post Bank, so look for those! I also enjoyed either walking or taking the bus to Tenjin where there is an underground shopping center around the train station and food hall where I would often try different foods. Then I would take the bus home, shower, eat dinner with my host family, and do homework in the living room while my host dad watched TV. Sometimes I would also call my family or friends from home from inside my room. As I made more friends, though, I would sometimes go out to dinner with them or explore around the city and hang out at Kego Kouen (Kego Park), which is where lots of young people hang out on Friday nights and weekends.

School: Genki JACS was a fantastic school with very kind, friendly, and patient teachers. I learned a lot there and always felt comfortable. I also became friends with many of the people in my classes, and I still keep in touch with some of them! People there are a range of ages and many are in their 20s (the youngest I met was 14), but it never felt uncomfortable. Everyone was friends regardless of age and was supportive of each other. We usually got about one worksheet a night and would go over it the next day in class.

Friends: Most of my friends actually ended up being other foreigners attending Genki JACS, but they were all incredible people. I would hang out with them a lot after or in between class and explore parts of the city with them. I even ended up going on a hike with some of them at a nearby mountain!

Fun experiences: By far my favorite experience was actually something I coordinated outside of the program with some friends, so I encourage people going on this trip to not be afraid to seek out some of their own adventures! I went on an incredible hike with a bunch of people from my program through the rain. It was super challenging, but well worth the breathtaking view at the top. We could see the city, the mountains, and the land for miles. Another fun experience was when I went with Genki JACS to Shikanoshima, a nearby island. The water was so clear and blue and we went to a hotel for part of the day where we had the option of onsen as well as a huge meal. My host family also took me to onsen about a week before the trip to Shikanoshima on the same day we went to the shrine. It was a very positive experience and I felt a lot less awkward than I thought I would've. I got a few curious glances being a foreigner, but everyone was pretty unconcerned and was just enjoying the relaxing experience. I'm glad I went with my host family because my host mom and sister were able to show me the whole cleansing process before getting into the water. I would highly recommend onsen to anyone going to Japan, as it was very body positive and helped me realize how unique all bodies are. Another interesting experience I had was doing some modeling! I'm biracial (African American and Caucasian) and so my tightly coiled hair was a marvel to many people in the country. I was walking in Tenjin station one day when a man asked to do my hair! So we coordinated and I brought some friends with me to his salon as a precaution and he styled my hair and we did a photo shoot! It was a lot of fun and made me feel a lot more confident in a country where I very clearly looked like no one else.

Take aways: I feel like I definitely matured a lot during my trip. I learned to be independent, to not shy away from new experiences and adventures, and to make decisions on my own. I would highly recommend this trip to high school and college students especially because the city is so safe and is a wonderful environment for growing and maturing without many risks. The people I met from around the world at Genki JACS really expanded my horizons and increased my desire to travel even more (my trip actually lead me to visiting a friend in their native country a few months later!). My Japanese language skills improved a lot and my vocabulary in particular expanded. Between classes and my host family, I started to be able to just shoot out phrases without thinking, which was an amazing feeling.

If you have any questions or want more info, I posted about it on my Instagram @graceinnihon. Feel free to message me about it!!

i'm Sculable Jovany , i won a scholarship from Greenheart Travel to volunteer abroad as a First Time Traveler in the Tropic Ventures & Sustainable Forestry in Puerto-Rico !
Travel as a first time traveler to discover a new culture,a new place you never been before is exciting, you'll feel this when you landed.
arriving in Puerto-Rico, my homestay was in the southeast of the island in the mountains, 1 hour from San Juan. i was received by Thrity Vakil and Andrés Rúa, both the director of the Tropic Ventures,
My Bedroom and surrounded a mountains and near to a river i spend seven days in this paradise !
After hurricane Maria 'Las Casas De La Selva" wich is the home of the Tropic ventures has suffered a lot of majors damages to its infrastructure and the forest lost 99% of his trees ,since then many volunteers come to this place to bring their help in a way or another to the sustainable forestry !
During my days i accomplished my volunteers tasks like clearing and pruning the overgrowth in the Waste Water , keeping the house clean and help my host family with the dinner.
By afternoon my host family takes me out to discover the cities around, while there i have learn how to dance salsa, i have appreciate a lot my host family!
my experience in one word was amazing ! for sure i'll be back,
I recommend this program for everybody who open-minded, love exploring nature and have ability to work in in team ! you'll have such a great experience there!

Overall, the Greenheart organization and its staff were easy to work with as was their local partner, Experiment Chile. The application process was smooth and efficient. I especially liked how they made all the arrangements to get me from the airport when I arrived to my host family. The first day of orientation was a nice bonus. My host family was kind and generous. During my time in Chile, the country was undergoing the most significant turmoil in the last 30 years. I was a bit surprised that neither Greenheart nor Experiment Chile checked in with me to see how things were going. For me, as an older, seasoned traveler, this was not a big issues. However, for a younger person that hasn't traveled much, this situation may have been disconcerting. Overall, my experience was very positive and I would recommend the Greenheart Homestay and Teach English program.