Program Reviews

My trip to Peru was something I will never forget. From the moment I stepped off the plane in the Lima airport, my mind was blown by the beauty of a place I had only seen in photos. Our host Patty was one of the kindest individuals and the program truly got us involved in Peruvian culture by either having us visit local (usually non-touristy) places or trying traditional foods. Besides wanting to visit Machu Picchu, Peru was not on my radar of places I wanted to visit but, because of EdOdyssey, it is a place that I want to go back to with friends and family to share the wonderful memories that I made and make new ones! This trip pushed me out of my comfort zone and I left the country a different person than when I came in. I hope I have another opportunity like this and I thank EdOdyssey for jumpstarting my global travel experience!

The coordinators of the program were amazing and super helpful during my whole study abroad experience. The program is very well designed with activities for students to immerse in Lima. Through volunteering trips and cultural outings I got a sense of life in Peru and I learned so much about the country and culture. The trips are well coordinated as I never had an issue in any of them, and they are well picked as I got a glimpse of Costa, Sierra, y Selva en Peru. Thank you so much Patty and Luciana for showing me your country and making these past months memorable.

EdOdyssey's approach to the "study abroad" experience is unique, as it strived to immerse us in Peruvian culture, traditions, and language, rather than dumping students into apartment buildings with a brief orientation session. We were placed with host families throughout Lima. My host family helped me to do simple things like: navigate the city, learn how to take the bus, etc. They also taught me about Peruvian customs, traditions, jokes, etc. EdOdyssey did a great job with host family selection!

EdOdyssey also worked to make sure that we we became familiar with various parts of Peruvian history and geography by taking us on trips/excursions to different parts of the country (a 4/5 day trip to Iquitos, 3-4 day trip to Ica, etc.).

Their orientation for us was simple, hands off, but valuable. They taught us about the main districts of Lima, safety, language, transportation. They also brought us to museums and archeological sites. These were important to learn about Lima as a visitor (ie- how to safely travel, etc.), but also as a citizen of the world (what happened during the 80s/90s? Who were Sendero Luminoso? What happened under Fujimori? etc.). While there were a variety of different tours, they were not overwhelming. We still had plenty of time to go out and discover the city on our own terms.

**One quick note: I went to Lima January 2017-August 2017. While there has been some changes since to EdOdyssey's staff, there is one thing that I want to warn about: our site leader was a bit unorganized. She was almost always 1-1.5 hours late, and often times had not fully prepared us/herself for the trip (not sending a reminder about what types of things to pack, not knowing that the restaurant that she had planned to bring us to would be closed at that time of the day, etc.). I have been in touch since with their directors and understand that there have been some staff changes, so this may no longer be a problem.

Overall: this is a great program. The above complaint aside, staff members are very kind, and really do want to help you learn about what it means to be a Peruvian. They aim to give a snapshot into daily life, culture, and customs. If you're interested in getting a genuine culture immersion, go with EdOdyssey!!

By my sophomore year of high school, I had been studying Spanish for my eleventh consecutive year. When the opportunity presented itself to study abroad through a two week immersion in Córdoba, Spain with Mr. Peter McGovern (my Chinese teacher at-the-time, actually!), I wasn't expecting my Spanish to advance as rapidly as it did in such a short time frame. During that year I was in Spanish III and attaining an average grade, but following this trip, I was able to not only receive an A+ in level three, but then skip over Spanish IV and enroll in A.P. Spanish Language & Culture my junior year. This is no coincidence - Mr. McGovern understood the power of immersing oneself in another culture using another language. From our arrival in Málaga, he had us sign language pacts to try and only speak Spanish for the whole two weeks, and my Spanish has never been the same since. This trip was incredible: from Granada to Sevilla to Córdoba, the views were spectacular, the bond of friendship bred between our small, intimate group of five students was strengthened, and the itinerary developed through Peter's expertise and experience really displayed a thorough and thoughtful embrace of Spanish culture.

The trip was amazing, and the lasting post-program effects just keep on giving. As a result of my enhanced view of the country, now as a college student, I am pursuing an International Studies major with a regional focus on Latin America. To this day, I still remain in contact with my host family from Córdoba over WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, and even FaceTimed their four children my freshman year of college for a final project for my Spanish 301 course. They are, truly, my Spanish family!

In summary, two weeks in this program had the same effect on my Spanish as four years in the classroom, but these two weeks also have had a overall recurring effect on my life for almost four years, now. For future participants - don't hesitate. Just do it! With EdOdyssey and Peter McGovern, you are in good hands. Plus, your Spanish will never be better!

I love to travel but the opportunity to do so at my age isn't always there. I typically have to wait until my parents can take time off so we can go together. However, a last minute opportunity to go to China with other students from Plymouth came up and I couldn't say no! I worked very hard over the months leading up to the trip so that I could pay for the trip myself. It certainly helped that the trip was affordable! Going to China with a few friends and a few new faces made the experience even better. We traveled through Shanghai and Beijing as well as Kunming and Wenshan. We got to experience how different their cultures are, meet some incredible students and tour their fabulous school. I am so excited to get an opportunity to travel again with EdOdyssey! They truly made this trip memorable and jam packed!

This year, I flew to China with my Mandarin class (I take 3rd year Mandarin at my school). I was really nervous the night before - I had never really been away from home before, and the trip was two weeks in a foreign country halfway across the world - but my parents assured me that I would be upset with myself if I didn't go. I am so glad that I decided to go (and not just because it would be a huge waste of money if I didn't), because it was the best trip I have ever taken! My class first flew to Shanghai, where we visited Shanghai High School. EdOdyssey organized the second part of my trip, where I traveled to Huzhou and Beijing. The trip was really well organized, with tons of fun activities, amazing restaurants and food options, and really nice accommodations. One thing I really loved about the trip was all of the variety. For example, we did a range of touristy attractions (like the Forbidden City and the Great Wall), but we also did many activities that allowed us to immerse ourselves in the culture of the locals. One of my personal favorite activities was visiting a local high school in Huzhou. At this high school, a lot of the students had never met someone who was not from China, and you can imagine their excitement when they saw a group of American teenagers. They wanted to add us on WeChat, take pictures with us, play games with us, and ask us a thousand questions about us and our lives. I felt like a celebrity! It was really fun, and gave me some perspective about what life is like outside of America. This is just one example of one day I loved from the trip. Another thing that made the trip great was Peter McGovern - our EdOdyssey representative. He was super knowledgeable about all of the places we visited, and told us tons of facts that I would never have even thought about otherwise. I learned about bamboo (did you know that bamboo can grow almost 3 feet in 24 hours?), local culture (I never knew how important it was to know about the traditions of tea if you want to do business in China) , landmarks (the Great Wall of China is more than 20,000 km long!) and so much more. Because of this, I was able to leave China with a new knowledge about life and culture in different parts of the world. I really feel like this trip enriched my knowledge and views on the world, and opened my eyes to many new perspectives and possibilities. Of course, none of this would have been possible without EdOdyssey.

When I went on this trip I was scared. I was half way across the world for the first time and I was surrounded by people who didn't look like me. Instead they marveled at me. I was really scared and nervous, especially on the first day, but then I met my buddy at Shanghai high school. I admit at first I wasn't very social and I was quiet but soon we got to know each other and became very close. We formed a bond that was incredibly strong through food, modern teenage Chinese culture, shopping, and our interests. After four days I went to Guilin. The people there were phenomenal. They made sure I had everything to eat for my vegan diet and surprisingly there were a lot of options. I was always full and constantly had fun activities to do. The mountainous view was gorgeous and unreal. We learned a lot about the religious culture as it was a more rural part of China compared to Shanghai but I definitely enjoyed both totally different experiences a lot. As someone who mostly travels in instate America I can say I was definitely nervous and had no idea how the trip's planning was going to work but EdOdyssey blew me away with how thorough they were. There were no hiccups and I can tell you, you can rest assured when planning a trip with them because they have your back.

I could not have had a more amazing experience in Peru through EdOdyssey! My name is Jake Leary, and before starting Harvard this fall, I took a gap year. One of my goals for this year was to go outside of my comfort zone and travel internationally for the first time. EdOdyssey was the perfect group for my gap year. They were helpful with every step of planning my trip (about a half semester) and assisting with all of my activities, homestay family, volunteer opportunities, and acclimating to Lima during my time in Peru. Trekking through the Amazon rainforest with Patty was one of my favorite experiences of my trip, along with the amazing pics of the all the wildlife! I loved waking up every morning and talking with my host family over breakfast all in Spanish- it was the perfect daily practice that I needed to improve my Spanish! Whenever I had any questions or problems, Luciana, Patty, and Rey were always there to help me. One experience that had a strong impact on me was participating in volunteer work in Pamplona, an undeveloped community where I was able to help build stairs out of concrete. Seeing the difference in the community in real time was incredible. During my excursion to Peru, I was able to witness and learn about different cultural aspects of Peru, and my favorite was probably the food! For my trip, I was able to combine taking Spanish classes, participating in activities, volunteer work, and traveling within Peru. If you are thinking about taking a gap year, do it and travel the world if you can, especially Lima!

I am so glad that I decided of all the places in the world to study in Lima, Perú. The trips were amazing and eye-opening, always finding the niches in every place that weren't so discovered by travelers and foreigners, all thanks to the staff at EdOdyssey, who have lived there their whole lives. For example, in El Carmen, Chincha, we went to the house of the famed Ballumbrosio family to learn about Afro-Peruvian music and dancing, a mix between the West African culture that came to Peru during the period of slavery and the criollo music in Latin America. It was such a warming and genuine experience, learning how to dance and listen and watch them play the cajón and all the other instruments passed down through the generations. I loved it when we were on a trip, seeing all the sights and going where one "must" go as a tourist, but also would make stops like these to just -be- in a certain community for a few hours and spend time with the people there. I can't imagine that would have been possible without EdOdyssey. Aside from incredible traveling experience, I always felt the the team at EdOdyssey was ready to help me if I ever needed anything, big or small. I think it was great to feel like you were part of a little community of students studying abroad and the staff there, while you're trying to find your place in a culture that is not at all your own. There were many challenges dispersed along the way, but it was all worth it because I know that I have grown up a lot since I first got there in July. Now I am studying abroad somewhere else, and I have this set of tools I picked up in Peru to deal with whatever life throws at me, and more importantly, I feel more ready than ever to conquer whatever challenge, and explore whatever place. Thank you EdOdyssey for giving me essential tips about how to live in Lima, constant support, and for showing me around such an inspiring country! I'll never forget it.

Completing a study abroad program in Peru has been one of the most transformative and meaningful experiences of my life. Having a program like EdOdyssey to provide orientation to the region, Spanish language classes, homestay families, excursions around Peru and supportive staff to guide us along our journeys and experiences in Peru made a huge difference and allowed us to understand Peru in a significant way and get to know many people who are local to Lima and other places in Peru. All of the staff know the country very well and are great to work with and have as leaders. They helped us pick classes at the university and helped us to create our personal projects to better immerse us in Lima and focus on a topic of interest for us to further investigate. I have so many positive memories of Peru and I feel as though EdOdyssey helped me to take full advantage of the opportunities I had while living in Lima.