Program Reviews

I just arrived home last Thursday as I spent a month in Spain after leaving France.

GeoVisions did a superb job matching a French family and a Canadian English instructor!!! Thank You for being the liaison in connecting us. Besides having 4 wonderful children to work with I also had access to the countryside for daily walks with their chocolate lab dog. Living with and meeting friends and relatives of my host family was an excellent way for me to experience the French culture, and partake in French cuisine daily. My relationship with the family shall continue.

I believe it is a plus that the application process with Geovisions allows for candidates to look at the family resumes and see if they would be comfortable living with the family and vice versa. Access to a Geovisions staff member is readily available, another plus!

I would certainly recommend Geovisions to anyone wishing to share their English skills in exchange for experiencing a new culture.

Thanks for providing opportunities for enhancing one's life.

The conversation corps program was less of a volunteering experience for me and more of a cultural exchange. The family did not want any formalized teaching but instead just preferred I interacted with them regularly. Therefore the volunteer portion was quite simple.
My days were completely free to go explore around Amman and surrounding towns and ruins. I was also able to go to Petra and the Dead Sea.

The family I was placed with was very nice and would include me in family events and take me into Amman to site see and get great food!

The only downside was that the home was a bit far outside of the city - so it was hard to get to town easily. I took the local buses - which ended up being really fun as the the Jordanians were so genuinely helpful to any tourists. Strangers paid for my bus rides, and rode with me to ensure I got to the right destination.

Overall the people in Jordan were eager to interact and be ultra helpful. Often inviting me into their homes or businesses to simply interact. I felt completely safe as a solo female traveler.

The company and its consulates (who appeared to be the bigger problem) need to make sure the family understands the guidelines of the program and sticks to them. Geovisions made everything easy before the trip and kept in good contact to answer questions. The particular family I was assigned to was wonderful the first day and then the matriarch changed overnight. Instead of the 5 hour days, 5 days a week I was contracted to work, I was working 14-16 hours every day of the week. That is not an exaggeration. The mom thought I was at her every disposal because I stayed with them and I had absolutely no free time while I was there. I only saw some of Rome's landmarks (Vatican from the outside and the Colliseum) on my last night there because the dad felt bad for me. He apologized as he brought me to the airport upon my early departure- we're talking several weeks early- and which I had to pay for. The mom said she did not have to pay me my weekly stipends for the time I was there either. The moments where I got to actually engage in activities with the children were great. They were interested in learning a few English words to coincide with what we were doing and they taught me some Italian as well. I've been a nanny in the US for years and do understand the differences in being an au pair overseas. My program was not set up for me to have 0 free time but that is what I got. When I was put in touch with the consulate (who wasn't even in Italy at the time), she seemed willing to work things out so everyone would be happy during the first phone call. After that, she said I should just go along with whatever the mom's wishes were for working hours. Her offer to place me with a different family when she returned to Italy wasn't to take place until 2 weeks later (over a month in to the program) and the mom I stayed with insisted I be out as soon as possible. She clearly did not understand what I was there for (flexible hours, yes. Working all hours? No.) and she did not want to sit down and make sure we were on the same page, following the program's guidelines. It was a shame because it seemed like a nice neighborhood- I was indoors most of my stay so I can't be entirely sure- and the rest of the family was great. I'm hoping this was an isolated incident and that others have much better experiences. I'm really bummed that I didn't have a good one, as I had been planning this for years. I will still recommend the program; it just needs some clarification. However, make sure you have every assurance about hours and pay so you don't end up being out thousands of dollars like I was. I didn't even receive any follow up about the whole ordeal.

I feel very lucky that I had the opportunity to participate in a GeoVisions program as part of my Around the World - Adventure of Hope.

Randy and the team at GeoVisions pulled together my placement very quickly and managed to do it during a challenging time of year in Vietnam (I was in the country over the Tet holiday where many of the schools and businesses shut down).

During my month in Vietnam, I had the chance to spend time in Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh city and stayed in a hotel, with a host family in a house, and with a host in a small apartment.

The best part of the experience with GeoVisions was the cultural immersion. If you are nervous about traveling overseas and want someone to take care of every single detail for you, this may not be the right program for you. But, if you have traveled before and you want to experience life like the locals do, GeoVisions is an excellent choice. I felt like I got the support when I needed it (i.e. pick ups at the airport or train station/rides to meetings/and orientation to each city). But, I also had free time to explore on my own.

Given my area of interest, I wanted to meet doctors and support groups in the cancer world. In both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city, GeoVisions introduced me to a couple of people and I was then able to network and build many more relationships and volunteer in both cities.

If you are a self starter and want to create a memorable experience, Geo Visions is a great option. Also, if you're trying to decide on a destination, I highly recommend Vietnam. Although like many developing countries, the garbage, the traffic, and the pollution take some getting used to, the warmth of the people is second to none. I feel incredibly lucky to have made some new Vietnamese friends (including my very gracious hosts) and after a month in the country would very much look forward to an opportunity to go back.

To read more about my experiences in Vietnam, feel free to read my posts on A Fresh Chapter here: http://www.afreshchapter.com/tag/vietnam

I loved my time at the Red Cross Children's Hospital in Capetown. I was only there for 2 weeks but I gained a lot from the experience. You really get an opportunity to build relationships with children and their families. The staff make sure you get a lot of different experiences by moving you around between various floors. You also get the opportunity to build relationships with other volunteers and I spent a majority of my downtime in Capetown with other volunteers. spent a lot of our down time with other volunteers. Overall it was a great experience and one that I would recommend to anyone.