Exchange and Experience Italian Lifestyles While Teaching Abroad

I had an amazing time with Joinki. From the thorough host family selection to the great efforts made by Joinki to get volunteers free transportation and guest passes to see local attractions, the Joinki experience went above and beyond what I expected from a volunteer program. During the initial interview, Joinki assesses your personality to determine which of their many eager families is right for you. Joinki also organizes events with other volunteers that are integrative and give you a taste of the authentic North Italian lifestyle! These things show just how committed Joinki is to giving volunteers the best experience possible. The program also takes place in Trentino: a beautiful mountainous region in Northern Italy. There is so much to see and do. I would definitely recommend the program!

I already made three projects in Italy and this one was the best!
Directly after my first Skype interview with Joinki I got a good feeling because I noticed that Joinki is really caring about me. After approx 2 weeks they already found the fitting family for me. And they were right because I felt very comfortable in my host family.
In my six weeks in Terres which is a very small village in Valle di Non I was never bored. The nature around there is very beautiful so that you can travel around with your family or Sabrina from Joinki.
During the afternoon I did some grammar lessons with my younger host sister. Seeing my host sister improving her german skills I was really confident and happy.
Another great point about Joinki is the cultural exchange because I could show many things from Germany that are different in Italy. But of course I also learned a lot about the Italian all day life.
Special experiences were a tour in a canyon that I enjoyed very much and making Pasta by hand.

All in all I can really recommend this project cause of all these unique experiences you are able to explore.

Joinki offers a taste of Italian life in the North of Italy, a beautiful region rich with culture and housing a lot to offer to any of its visitors. Not only is the program based in such an amazing area, but Joinki also provides a good foundation to any of its volunteers by making them feel comfortable with adapting to life and any responsibilities they have as they participate in Joinki. In addition to providing a really good tutoring and interning experience with the most welcoming of families and schools in the area, the program also provides its volunteers with extra perks that allow them to have full access to what the Trentino region has to offer. The program directors provide a substantial amount of support to all of their participants on both sides to make sure everyone is satisfied throughout the entire process, from the placement process, to the tutor’s time in Trento, to after the tutor has left Italy. I couldn’t have asked for a more satisfying volunteer experience abroad, and I have Joinki to thank for providing that to me.

Yes, this amazing organization really deserves every full score I can give them on this website.
I came here for two months in Oktober 2018 in pretty short notice and with basically no Italian vocabulary other than “Ciao” and “Bello”. To be fair, those have defintely been the two words I have used the most (the country with its mountains, cities, villages, restaurants - its everything basically - is beyond beautiful) but after spending two months with great and thorough support from the organization I can now proudly say that I know way more than those two words!
I have seen so much of the north of Italy in this short time, trying to squeeze as much sight seeing and hiking and enjoyment as possible into every week.
My host family was also great, we lived in Mechel (Trentino) and did a lot of the activities together.
The rest of my time was spent at a middle school in Fondo, being a language tutor for German and English.
Seriously everything about this experience was amazing, except for the part where I had to say good bye.
Thank you Joinki for your wonderful initiative and support!

Joinki is set up in a way that prioritizes community experiences and new friendships.
I was a language tutor that lived with a lovely family in the small town of Tregiovo, Trento. Joinki had made sure that the family and I were compatible and prioritized everyone’s safety and comfort. I cherish deeply the memories I made while with Joinki and I’ve formed friendships that will last a life time! I couldn’t be more grateful for Joinki and Sabrina (head coordinator), who is one of the hardest working, most passionate people I’ve ever met.

My experience with Joinki was the kind that you get only once in a lifetime! From the moment I arrived I could not have felt more welcomed or happy! I had never done an experience like this, but now I can’t wait to try something like this again! Not only did I become a part of the community and engage in their culture but I was also able to learn the Italian language and communicate with the locals! With Joinki I not only made friends with the locals but also with the fellow tutors who came from around the world to partake in this amazing exchange! It gave me the opportunity to truly be immersed in a way that was organic and I got to see a side of Italy that you don’t get to experience while you’re only there as a tourist! Italy is now my home, it stole my heart and I cannot wait to return and reunite with all the friends I made!

Ich bin als Tutorin nach Italien gefahren, aber ich habe so viel von meiner Gastfamilie über Familie, Italien, Wandern, usw gelernt, dass ich mich eher als Lehrling betrachte. Die Familie war für mich perfekt, sie ist eine große Familie, die ich auch habe, ich habe mich so als zu Hause gefühlt. Also, die Familie würde für mich gut ausgewählt, Joinki hat eine gute Arbeit gemacht.
Ich bin sehr dankbar, weil ich in diesem Projekt teilnehmen konnte.

Initially, i didn’t really know what to expect. This was my first such experience and it was for 4 weeks in a country I have never been to before. But all these thoughts disappeared once I met Sabrina, a manager of the program. She really cared that I have the best experience there could be and she made sure to explain to me all the details of the program. And then later on, I met more people from JOINKI who weren’t any less enthusiastic to show what northern Italy has to offer. It truly has been the time of my life! I met so many people from around the world with their own stories to tell, I taught English to an Italian family who also were really happy to show me all the unique places in the region as much as they could. JOINKI Program constantly checked up on my well-being and my experience, which showed me that people did care about their participants. Choosing JOINKI program was definitely a right decision and I wouldn’t have spent my summer anywhere else!