Great experience, provided the support I needed to get started!

At the beginning of last summer, I made the decision to change my life around a bit and decided that I wanted to move to South Korea to teach English. I have a degree in Theatre and while I love the field, I wanted to be able to do something that would combine my love of teaching with my love of travelling and cultures. I did some research online and found many different programs that would help me get to South Korea. I got in touch with a few of them, but it wasn't until I came upon Greenheart and Kara that I found the program I was the most comfortable with. Most people decide that they want to go abroad and give themselves plenty of time, but I was determined to be hired by EPIK and leave the US for the Spring 2018 intake in February. This meant that everything needed to happen very quickly for my goals to be met.

I was able to schedule my first interview with Greenheart the next day. I was working at a summer camp and was not off of work yet, so I was anxious because I was in summer clothing chilling in the storage cupboard at work during my interview. Kara was so wonderful and easy to talk to however, and I felt very comfortable from the very beginning. Kara helped me decide which route would be the easiest for me to take and talked to me about getting my TEFL from the International TEFL Academy. I was signed up for the August in-person TEFL class in Chicago by the very next week!

When it came time for the EPIK application process it was very comforting to know that I had Kara to look over my application and help me make it as strong as possible. I have never done anything like this before and that support was very appreciated. She looked over my application and letters of recommendation and walked me through each step of the process. After our third chat, I felt much more comfortable with the application process and knew exactly what I needed to complete to have a winning application.

EPIK is a wonderful program, but applying to EPIK was the most stressful 6 months of my life. I was constantly wondering whether I would get an interview, would I would be prepared when I did get an interview, had I passed my interview, did my documents arrive in Korea safely, WHERE will I be placed, when can I buy my airplane ticket, and when exactly will I need to be in Korea. The materials that Greenheart provides really helped calm me down during these months of waiting (and to be honest I read some of the packets WAY to many times). It was also comforting to know that I could turn to Kara with any concerns and she would respond in a timely manner. Now that I am in Korea, she still keeps in touch and follows my adventures on Facebook, and I can feel that she is genuinely interested in what happens to the people that she helps place abroad.

Overall, my experience with Greenheart was wonderful. Kara dealt with all of my panicked e-mails and helped me every step of the way. I would work with them again in a heartbeat. They truly made the stress of changing your entire life and moving halfway around the world much more bearable!

Thank you, Kara and Greenheart for everything.