Three Months In The Land Down Under

I participated in Greenheart's three-month high school exchange program to Australia last January-April, 2018. I went as a fifteen-year-old to a small town near Adelaide, SA. I stayed with a big family(just what I asked for!) and even though the exchange felt very short, I made more memories and friends than I thought possible in a couple of months.

I knew that I wanted to go on the exchange about eight months prior to my departure date. During the beginning stages of trying to find a program to use to get me to Australia as a high school sophomore, I found that Greenheart was extremely easy to work with and made the process manageable even for a fifteen-year-old (my parents and I had a deal that I had to do all of the arrangings from everything from travel visas to flight plans, so communication between the organization and myself was really important to me). I also found that Greenheart had comparable prices to other programs, but more options for the time of year that you could travel and more hands-on communication.

Greenheart matched me pretty well with my host family. The largest challenge for me throughout the duration of my exchange was the political views of my host family, but after talking with them and trying to understand their point of view I honestly believe that I became a more tolerant person. Family dynamics were not affected by political views, however, and my experience living with my host family was fantastic.

I would definitely recommend using Greenheart to any other high schoolers and under-18 travelers. I cannot speak to their adult programs, but from my experiences, I'm guessing that they maintain the same standard throughout the organization.