Teach English in Colombia on a One or Two Semester Contract with Greenheart Travel

I reached out to Greenheart Travel following my return to the US after a year of teaching and traveling in Thailand. In that year, I had the fortune of running across a handful of Greenheart teachers. In the Land of Smiles, they were no exception; each of them were placed carefully, taken care of financially, and afforded constant support from their program managers. When it came time to move to Colombia, Greenheart was the obvious choice.

I was one of Greenheart's initial Fellows to teach in Colombia via their partner organization, Heart for Change. From the interview to the traveling, and the orientation to the placement, I was taken care of every step of the way. I taught at SENA Centro Agroindustrial in Armenia for six months and had one of the best personal and professional experiences of my life - one that I still draw upon in my career today. It was not always easy, dealing with language barriers and overcoming philosophical differences cross-culturally never is. Yet the strength of the partnership and the genuine in-country support was there to help whenever I needed it. By the end of the first semester, the TEC program was experiencing so much growth that they began to offer interviews for regional coordinator positions to program Fellows. By my 7th month in Colombia, I was speaking and working in Spanish, monitoring and evaluating program progress, and conducting professional development training for new Fellows. My career had begun to take flight.

Fast forward another six months and I was asked by Heart for Change and the Ministerio de Educación Nacional to manage the nation's first Colombia Bilingüe Immersion program. As Immersion Director, I was managing every aspect of Colombia's initial effort at capacity-building for 130 Colombian English Teachers, 25 Fellows and Regional Coordinators, and an entire hotel staff. None of this would have been possible without Greenheart Travel. Their commitment to fostering trust with their partners in Colombia and their high standards for program success streamlined the often difficult, transitional stages of teaching and living abroad. All Greenheart Travel programming, not just the TEC, is designed consciously and carried out with integrity by their entire staff. This is one of the best career advancement programs out there.

I have just arrived home after a year and a half in Colombia thanks to Greenheart. I can honestly say that Greenheart has gone above and beyond exceptions and support both before my placement in Colombia and during my time there. Their staff takes a personal interest in all of their participants, and they continually reach out and help all along the way. Reflecting on the Colombia program is hard because there are multiple organizations at work. Greenheart manages their side with extreme professionalism and care, but they often are working with other organizations that are less organized than they are. They are a huge reason that I extended my contract twice to stay longer. They have been a fantastic support in everything from providing grants for an English Olympics project I jointly planned to helping me sort out visa issues when it seemed like the process was confusing and not straight forward. I would 100% recommend traveling with Greenheart and would love to do so again! Big thanks to everyone at Greenheart Travel!

There is a lot I'd like to say about my experience with Greenhearts. I would like to first indicate that I do feel that the Greenhearts employees with whom I interacted have good intentions. I also believe that my experience is not indicative of all experiences with them. The most frustrating aspect of my experience have been due to disorganization with the partner organization in Colombia, Volunteers Colombia. However, at this point I can confidently say that my decision to travel with Greenhearts has been a complete failure for me. It has been one of the most frustrating and discouraging experiences traveling.

I applied to leave with a SENA position in 2017. In August of 2016, my boyfriend and I had both been accepted (a process that was confusing and, at points quite frustrating, as I was accepted and asked to submit my deposit or else be dropped multiple times before my partner had even had his second interview/was invited to join the program-an interview that didn't happen for a month after it was supposed to happen). Sometime shortly after submitting our deposits and committing to the SENA 2017 program, our Greenhearts recruiter informed us that there was a program beginning in early September that still had a few spots open. We were ready to go abroad and we agreed to leave on September 9th. However, a week before departing, after quitting our jobs and moving out of our apartment, we were informed that the program had been pushed back by 3 weeks. I spent a good amount of saving meant for travel on unexpected living expenses in the U.S. in that time and fronting the fee to change the flight. The new departure date was supposed to be October 2nd.

A week before October 2nd, we were informed that the program had been pushed back another week to October 9th (we fronted fees to change flights again). Then, a week before we were supposed to leave for this latest start date, we were told that the program had been outright cancelled. We were homeless, jobless, and we had eaten through a significant portion of our savings in the month we spent jobless in the U.S.

We felt that we didn't want to continue to trust Greenhearts to get us jobs, however, given the hole we were already in due to placing our trust in them in the first place, we felt our best option was to hope they got us different positions as soon as possible. They got my boyfriend a SENA position in Bogotá (not the city we were initially supposed to go to, but completely acceptable). They said that I would be working in one of their 'other' placements. This meant a private institution not affiliated with SENA. However, the position was one that Greenhearts' partner in Colombia, Volunteers Colombia had placed volunteers before.

We arrived in Bogotá on October 9th. My partner got his visa with no problem on October 10th and has mostly enjoyed his time teaching in a SENA center in Bogotá. However, my application for a volunteer visa was rejected by the visa office, despite the 10 hours I spent there over 2 days. And despite that there are already two Greenhearts/Volunteers Colombia participants already working at the same University with the visa for which I have applied.

The person assigned to support me at Volunteers Colombia told me that he would keep me updated as VC corresponded with the manager of the visa office about my visa. He said that if I couldn't get the proper visa, I could be reassigned to a SENA position (and sure to get a visa if in a SENA position). He informed me of meetings and letters, but that very little came of them. Recently, he said I could apply for SENA positions in early 2017 and would be sure to be placed in Bogotá. He did not outright say that they were giving up on getting me a position/visa this school year, but it has been a month. He strongly implied in my last correspondence with him that VC has given up on getting me a job/visa for this school year. This means that I quit my job in the U.S. and traveled to Colombia around 6 months before I will even get a chance to teach here in Colombia (as SENA 2017 classes don't start up until March 1st).

Without a visa before the end of the year, I will be required to leave the country in January when my tourist visa expires. I was assured before I left that if I wanted to continue teaching in 2017, I could renew my visa and not have to leave the country (as I cannot afford it since the unexpected joblessness and living expenses in the U.S. for a month). Also, without a visa, I will not have access to the health care I was promised with this program. I had canceled my health insurance in the U.S. beginning in December, as I had intended to stay in Colombia and teach next year. I now have to afford three additional months of health insurance with my provider in the U.S. which is not realistic on the stipend I am being paid.

I am out of money and patience. I feel like from the very beginning, I was treated very poorly by the Volunteers Colombia (Greenhearts' partner here in Colombia). I feel that it is only getting worse now that I am here. I don't think this is Greenhearts' fault, however, the non-profit with which they are partnered here in Colombia is a mess.

I would absolutely not recommend anyone do this program. Find a different way to apply for SENA if teaching adults appeals to you. I am so frustrated and feel very much abandoned by Volunteers Colombia.

I have made lots of friends in the Colombia Bilingue program, some of whom came to Colombia through other recruiters. After talking extensively about our different recruitment processes, we have come to the conclusion that Greenheart was the way to go. My friends can't believe how responsive Sara Dorsey was, and how much pre-departure support and information I received. I came to Colombia feeling ready, because Greenheart answered all of my questions and did all that it could to make sure I was prepared for the experience and knew what to expect.

I definitely made the right choice to teach English in Colombia using Greenheart Travel as my recruiter. Sara Dorsey, who is in charge of the logistics, is fantastic - she is well-organized, extremely prompt in responding to questions, and made the overall process smooth and seamless. I am currently teaching in Cali, Valle del Cauca am enjoying my time here. Thank you Sara and thank you Greenheart Travel!

First of all, the program in Colombia is absolutely amazing. I had just done the Ministry program in Spain, and the two don't even compare. They provide you with a 9 day orientation in Bogota with all expenses paid for. They help you with the entire visa process, obtaining a bank in Colombia and the ID card. They also teach you how to teach English taught by professionals. I could not believe the support, professionalism and resources that this program has provided. Second of all, if you are going to this program, absolutely do it with Greenheart Travel. They were so incredibly organized and help you with every step of the application process. I also got placed in my first choice city which is a huge bonus. I have absolutely zero complaints and I would recommend Greenheart and this program in Colombia 100%. Just do it!!

I couldn't be happier with Greenheart Travel. I entered into the English Teaching Fellowship Program in Colombia and was recruited by Greenheart Travel. While things work a little differently in Colombia (everything last minute and changing), I felt confident that Greenheart was keeping me as informed as possible and I never felt hesitant about asking them questions. Sara Dorsey, who I was in communication with most during the recruitment process, is professional, solutions-oriented, and super prompt in all communication when it comes to questions and concerns. I honestly don't know how she does it. What I love most about Greenheart is that even after I was already recruited and in the program, they continued to keep in communication with us (even though they don't have to and are not really expected to). We all are on one facebook group and it really helps maintain the awesome support network we have here in colombia.

I've been living in Colombia for the past five months or so and I really couldn't be happier with my life here. Greenheart Travel did an excellent job in all matters pre-departure relate; from the interview process to visa application, Sara Dorsey and the Greenheart team were nothing but helpful. Anytime I had a question, they would answer in detail within a matter of hours. As a result, I never once felt uneasy or uncertain about the application or pre-departure process and could focus on feeling excited instead!

I've been teaching with the Ministry of Education in a public high school in Pereira. While there are certainly challenges, it has overall been an immensely positive experience. I've formed great relationships with my students, have gone from knowing zero Spanish to being conversational, and have made quite a few friends. After five months, Pereira feels like home, which is why I've extended my contract until December 2016.

I love Colombia and feel incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to live and work here. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to live in a different country, to learn a language, or to try something new!