Greenheart Travel

Author: Janna Elwell

  • Why You Shouldn’t Wait Until College to Study Abroad

    Why You Shouldn’t Wait Until College to Study Abroad

    If you do a quick online search for the “benefits of studying abroad,” you’ll find testimonials from students with broadened perspectives of the world, a greater sense of confidence and an ability to adapt to new situations. For many students and educators, it’s not whether or not a study abroad experience is worthwhile; the challenge is deciding when to study abroad.

    As our world becomes more globalized, the push to get a head start and study abroad in high school is motivating a growing number of students looking for a unique academic experience. If you are trying to convince your family and teachers to support your dream of studying abroad in high school, but they aren’t budging on their stance, here are a few reasons that might persuade them to change their mind.

    Support and Safety

    Greenheart Travel alumna, Sarah, and her host mom during her study abroad program in Austria.

    As a high school exchange student, you will have the security of living with a host family and being supported by local coordinators and teachers in the country where you are studying abroad. Living abroad is a life-changing experience, but one that doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t matter if you are a sophomore in high school or in college, homesickness, culture shock and trying to communicate in a new language are all challenges you’ll face while living and traveling abroad. Having a support network is essential in these moments and is much more readily available as a teen exchange student.

    Safety is another big concern, and one that is a priority for any organization or school helping students have cultural immersion experiences. Greenheart Travel completes regular check in’s with in-country staff, communicates constantly with students’ parents and our overseas partners about a students’ experience, and monitors the political climate of where each student is placed on a daily basis.

    Parents and teachers have the peace of mind of a 24/7 emergency network or are able to call the office and talk to their personal program manager about concerns. Studying abroad as a university student might still offer in-country support, but as independent adults, most parents often has to depend on their son or daughter to keep in contact rather than being able to rely on a school or organization.

    Full Cultural Immersion

    Greenheart Travel alum, Aden, experiencing Japanese culture during his program in Fukuoka.

    There are two different academic experiences when studying abroad as a teen versus a college student.  Studying abroad in university offers a great academic experience, but it is also very easy to find fellow students from your hometown college, or country, and stick to the familiarity of your native culture. There is more independence as a university student, but that also allows for staying in a comfort zone and observing a country and culture from a distance.

    Studying abroad as a high school student, on the other hand, doesn’t offer such luxuries. Living with a local host family, attending a school where your classes are in the host community language and embarking on this adventure as an individual student rather than a group, is a unique experience in full cultural immersion. As a teen living and studying abroad, you will have an authentic, cultural experience allowing for a deeper understanding of a country and language, and also yourself. Not to mention you will be experiencing first-hand the sites and historical traditions of academic subjects you might be studying.

    “Travel early, so that you may learn more about yourself sooner.” Leah Miller, Greenheart Travel High School in Costa Rica alumna

    Stand Out on University Applications

    Greenheart Travel alumna, Louise, and her friends from Spain.

    When you study abroad as a high school student, you are immediately distinguishing yourself from your classmates. Your overseas experiences gives you tangible examples of why you are prepared to attend a university as a mature and independent individual, thanks to being an exchange student in high school. Plus, you can study abroad AGAIN during your time in university!

    Our teen high school exchange students have life-changing academic experiences they would never have had back home. Alumni like Sarah, who studied in Austria and was a member of the symphony orchestra, was able to immerse herself in the tradition of the great composers that lived in Vienna while perfecting her musical craft. Her college applications didn’t just state she was a musician, she was able tell a story of her commitment to her studies, ultimately helping her to be accepted into the University of Chicago.

    It’s not only about being able to stand out on college applications. Studying abroad in high school helps students make more informed decisions on where they want to go to university, and what they want to focus on in their career.

    Greenheart Travel alumna, Rachael, speaking in front of her school in Spanish, during her study abroad program in Costa Rica.

    Greenheart Travel high school in Costa Rica alumna, Rachael Maloney, is experiencing this firsthand as she begins the college search a year after studying abroad.

    “Studying abroad in high school has helped me discover my interests, as well as given me a better sense of what I am looking for in colleges. I am more confident, and now know myself well enough to determine what schools and locations could suit me best. I feel qualified to pursue my passions and shape my own future.”

    The Return on Investment is Higher for Studying Abroad in High School

    Program fees to study abroad in high school can require fundraising, saving and budgeting, but the return on investment can be huge. If you consider that your high school abroad experience could also help you receive future scholarships or stand out on university applications once you return home, the return is even higher.

    Yes, study abroad programs in university are a great way to stand out on job applications, just think what multiple international academic experiences will do for job interviews and networking?!

    Having a global experience, in high school or later as an adult, are both important and life-changing endeavors. Studying abroad as a high school student, however, gives you a head start on your personal, academic and career success long into adulthood.

    Rieley McCullough, Greenheart Travel’s Teen Language Camp in Spain alumna sums it up best:

    “Traveling is such an internal experience. This is a time when you discover your true self and get to know the diversity of the world. So do it as soon as possible!” 

     

    Need some extra support on convincing your parents or teachers to let you study abroad in high school? Connect with us and we can help you get started on the conversation!

     

  • Why Traveling After Graduation is Your Ticket to Academic and Career Success

    Why Traveling After Graduation is Your Ticket to Academic and Career Success

    The start of a new year, or the excitement that builds as summer break draws near make for perfect opportunities to visualize personal goals, outline bucket list items and enjoy milestone moments like graduation and the start of a new job.

    This is your chance to get intentional about what you want to pursue in your personal life, even if that journey seems to go against the grain of what you have been told defines “success.”

    If you are looking for how to translate your wanderlust into a competitive resume or college application, read on for some standout comments of how the road less traveled can often be the most educational and influential experiences to shape your life.

    Translating Travel into Skill Sets

    Alexa Ball, Greenheart Travel alumna English teacher in Italy:

    Personally, my time abroad taught me again that learning to navigate different cultures and languages is the most meaningful way to learn about others and about yourself.  

    In the fall of 2015 I taught in Moncalieri, Italy in the Teach English in Italy program. I volunteered as an ESL teaching assistant in two local elementary schools and the local middle school. I wanted to experience education from the lens of an educator and explore how cultural and linguistic barriers influence teaching and learning in real time.

    Logistically, I learned a lot about the Italian education system and how English education is organized throughout the country. My time in the classroom not only taught me about my host country, but about our own education systems in the U.S. and comparative perspectives on education.

    Throughout my time in Italy, both in the classroom and in the homestay, I gained invaluable skills in intercultural communication both to ensure desired learning objectives for my students and to ensure my and my students’ basic needs were met. While abroad my sense of intercultural competency and understanding grew, and I believe I now have the knowledge and confidence to travel and work independently in an increasingly globalized society. Personally, my time abroad taught me again that learning to navigate different cultures and languages is the most meaningful way to learn about others and about yourself.  

    Alexa hiking with her host sisters in Italy.

    My time as an ESL teacher further solidified my desire to work in international education, specifically study abroad and exchange, and further pushed me to earn my MA in International Education at NYU. As a student in the field I am consistently drawing on my experience and knowledge gained abroad to enrich my studies and participate in internationally focused dialogue with my colleagues and faculty members.

    Sara Thacker, Greenheart Travel Teach Abroad Programs Senior Manager:

    Without my experience living abroad I wouldn’t have my job at Greenheart Travel, I would not have lived alone in Chicago for 4 years, or continued to travel the world – even when I had no one to go with me. It changed my life!

    The summer before graduation I had just returned from study abroad and I knew I wanted to travel overseas once again. I didn’t even look for jobs in the USA (graduating in 2009 at the height of the recession didn’t help either), but it was pretty much a given to me that I’d go abroad again after graduation. To me, living and working abroad was a “grad school” of sorts, but in life experience.

    I learned so much about myself and developed confidence that I could not have gained through any other medium. Without my experience living and teaching English in South Korea, I wouldn’t have my job at Greenheart Travel, I would not have lived alone in Chicago for four years, or continued to travel the world – even when I had no one to go with me. It changed my life!

    Dwantica Moncrief, Greenheart Travel Work & Travel in Australia alumna:

    Within a month of being back I was promoted to a supervisor position; management noticed the change in me since coming back from Australia.

    Shortly after returning to the States I moved back to Arizona to continue working at the Grand Canyon National Park. Within a month of being back I was promoted to a supervisor position; management noticed the change in me since coming back from living in Australia. I became more open minded about life and about other people’s opinions.

    I didn’t come back home the same person I was when I left; I grew up after that year and I am very thankful for the lessons I learned while working abroad in Australia.

    Kara Menini, Greenheart Travel Teach and Work Programs Manager:

    What I learned most from my journey to Thailand and back is that life and your experiences will never be what you expect them to be, but that’s not always a bad thing.

    I graduated with a degree in English and a minor in French in 2012. Because I wasn’t financially able to study abroad in France, I decided to apply for the teaching assistant program to teach English in France as a means to live in France and finally be immersed in the language I had studied for 10 years.

    After a 6-month application process, I was rejected for the program and left with no plans after graduation. I sulked around, depressed but still itching to live abroad for about a year before I looked into other means to do so, which is when I found Greenheart Travel’s teaching program in Thailand. Although completely different from what I thought my experience abroad was going to be like, Thailand was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I could have asked for.

    It opened the door to lifelong friends and lots of life lessons. It also led me to my current position at Greenheart Travel. What I learned most from my journey to Thailand and back is that life and your experiences will never be what you expect them to be, but that’s not always a bad thing. Mai pen lai, don’t worry about it, everything will work out in the end. 

    Anastasia Kallish, Greenheart Travel High School student in Austria:

    I am a strong believer in educational self-growth. For now, I’m pursuing a different form of my beliefs, as I’m gaining a whole new knowledge of the world that can’t necessarily be gained from a lecture.

    When I told people I was planning on doing a gap year in Austria, I got a plethora of reasons why I shouldn’t: “If you take a break, you’ll never go to college.” or “You’ll be a year behind all of your friends!” and “Don’t you just want to get college over with?”

    I replied with a simple “no” every time. I know that I will go to some sort of college one day, perhaps not immediately upon returning to the States, but I am a strong believer in educational self-growth. For now, I’m pursuing a different form of my beliefs, as I’m gaining a whole new knowledge of the world that can’t necessarily be gained from a lecture.

    I can’t get mad at those who question my choice to study abroad. I say this because Americans tend to be brainwashed into thinking there is only one right way of doing things: go to college, graduate, get a well-paying job, and hustle our butts off to pay off the mountain of debt that we acquired just to get that well-paying job.

    Already within two months of being here, I’ve dealt with so much change that I would not have experienced if I went to college right away. I am not book smart, so quite honestly I do not think I would have been able to deal with university successfully at this point in my life.

    My college is not a building – it is made of the high mountains, beautiful lakes, and diverse tongues.

    Megan Arzbaecher, Greenheart Travel Volunteer and Short Term Programs Manager: 

    I developed valuable life skills like self-confidence, time management and cross-cultural communication.

    I had a part-time retail job at a fair trade handcraft shop during my senior year of college, and after I graduated with a degree in history and international studies, they offered me a full time position. I accepted, since I was totally unsure of what else I wanted to do, and the steady stream of easy money was great. After a busy and frantic holiday shopping  season, I was feeling totally burnt out and looking for something new. I decided to move to Santiago, Chile, to volunteer intern with one of the fair trade partners the retail shop worked with.

    It was a really fast turnaround time – from the moment I found out about the opportunity to when I left was only 5 weeks – so I didn’t really have time to prepare. I moved there without an apartment or an understanding of the internship program. I totally would have benefited from a more structured internship program, with support and help, because my first month was really challenging. I had to find an apartment in a foreign country, figure out commuting to my office, budget my 5 months there – while still dealing with the language barrier and culture shock.

    Nonetheless, it was the most empowering experience of my life because I learned how to depend on myself above all else. I can’t overstate how much I learned about myself and what I was capable of from moving abroad on my own. I developed valuable life skills like self-confidence, time management and cross-cultural communication. I put this internship experience on my resume afterwards, and I’ve gotten asked about it in nearly every interview I’ve had. It’s a great opportunity for me to talk about the experiential learning and skill building that happens through travel.

    Grant Bouwer, Greenheart Travel High School Programs Coordinator:

    I learned professional, transferable skills like public speaking, organization, and administrative management while at the same time I learned life skills in a new and exciting environment.

    Two months before graduating college with a degree in International Development I realized I wasn’t ready to settle into a comfortable job in the United States. I had an insatiable desire to do something out of the ordinary. With this realization, I began looking into my options while keeping the bucket list I had created three years before on the forefront of my mind, which included teaching abroad.

    Fast-forward four months and I was living in Suwon, South Korea, teaching English to elementary students. This experience was exactly what I needed post college. I learned so much about myself and the world around me. I learned professional, transferable skills like public speaking, organization, and administrative management while at the same time I learned life skills in a new and exciting environment.

    I learned to communicate in a language that I didn’t speak, navigate a public transit system that I had never used before, and I learned that I can survive and thrive on my own in a foreign land. Finally, teaching abroad helped me focus in on my passions and my strengths, which lead me to my job here at Greenheart Travel.

    These are just a few of many alumni stories that highlight the importance of intentional travel in shaping our academic and career goals. As you look ahead to the possibilities of a new beginning, remember to define success in ways that are meaningful to you.

    It takes courage to forge a new path that feels authentic, but by taking that first step toward your dreams, you are not only empowering yourself, but will most likely stand out as a leader along the way.

    How have your travels influenced your personal success? Share your stories in the comments below!

  • Spotlight Interview with Victor Saad on How Taking Risks Create Defining Moments

    As part of Greenheart Travel’s ongoing blog series on professional development through travel, I had the pleasure of talking with Leap Year Project and Experience Institute founder, Victor Saad, about the importance of community building and pushing past your comfort zone for personal and professional development.

    His bio describes him as a “designer, strategist, and connector” and he shared how he was inspired to create his own MBA program through 12 experiences in 12 months, which lead to his current flurry of projects and recent launch of his second Leap Year Project initiative for 2016.

    Read on to learn more about this Chicago change-maker and why he feels “life’s most defining moments are when we take risks.”

    Q: What first inspired you to launch the Leap Year Project and how did you use travel to build your personal MBA program? 

    I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine named Tyler Savage, and we were talking about MBA programs. I had mentioned to him that I could do this on my own and he said “why don’t you?”

    Following that conversation, I took a spring retreat doing a service project at a camp, and the day after I returned I had a light bulb moment that I really should try and design my own educational experience. I then went to the dining room table and started scheming a plan for my year of learning, and at the top of the page wrote “Leap Year Project.”

    This was April 3, 2011, and in 30 minutes I had everything down on a sheet of paper. I knew I wanted to work with people, I knew I wanted to read, and I knew I wanted to somehow build a community around this idea while mentoring and inspiring others.

    So, that was the beginning. I left in December and my traveling started in early January of 2012, which happened to be a Leap Year. A friend of mine helped me create more structure around the idea, which evolved into 12 projects in 12 months.

    Q: Did you have a favorite project or experience during your Leap Year Project?

    All the projects and experiences were really different and included some amazing people. Some of the most surprising experiences included working in an architecture firm. I had no background in architecture and for someone to give me the time to work on a sound installation for Microsoft felt really good.

    Going to China and seeing the manufacturing process behind the products being made was also really fascinating, and being able to be a journalist/documentarian for this team was an interesting way to get there. Those were just a couple highlights; I could go on and on.

    Q: Did you have a lot of travel experience before you decided to take on your Leap Year Project?

    My parents, and my mother especially, were really supportive of me seeing the world from a young age. My family is Egyptian, and I often went to Egypt in middle school. When I was thirteen years old, I traveled alone for the first time to visit my family there. Every summer after that, I did service trips around the world in places like Cairo and Nicaragua; I even lead soccer camps in Mexico for young kids.

    Q: As the founder of the Leap Year Project and Experience Institute, you have made a career out of following your passions. Do you have any advice for those pursuing dreams of their own?

    That is my entire life right now trying to offer advice on this question. I would say, if anything, start with a round of discovery. Really examine the things that inspire you and the things that you hope to become, and the things that you are already good at.

    In the Leap Year Project this is described as your inspiration, aspiration, and assets, and I think this really helps you define a lot of things about your next step.

    Another important part of this process is taking a look at the people you surround yourself with right now. We really are the make-up of the people we spend the most time with, so it’s important to determine if they are who we should be investing our time. Knowing your personal goals will help you surround yourself with a support network of friends and mentors.

    Even at Experience Institute, every student has to think about the 10-20 people they will update throughout the year regarding their progress, and that is their “Leap Team” if you will.

    Q: How important do you think it is to build a community in overall career development?

    At least for me, the most important factor was having a community that included people that I had some personal history with, as well as individuals that were experts in the field that I was interested in pursuing.

    When we think about community, many people also want some rock star to give validation in their goals. More than anything, we need someone that is going to be available.

    It’s no help to me if a CEO offers to help but doesn’t communicate with me. You don’t need rock stars, you need the support from people that are really going to be there for you in what you are trying to achieve.

    Q: How have your travel experiences helped you overcome challenges in launching the Leap Year Project and Experience Institute and as an entrepreneur in general?

    I think more than anything, travel gives you empathy and that isn’t something you just learn once. It’s a muscle. If you don’t practice putting yourself in other people’s shoes, that muscle atrophies and it eventually shows in your work or messaging and in your character.

    All of us know someone that has returned from a trip and sees the world differently and is now open to new ideas or a little more patient with how people react to things. I think travel fosters that new perspective and empathy.

    For me personally, when talking about the Leap Year Project, my travels have helped me realize that leaps look different in many contexts. Often in Asian countries, risk is not looked highly upon, or in countries like Germany, decisions tend to be more conservative in markets, but that doesn’t mean that these people don’t still have dreams.

    Understanding this, I want to be empathetic that everyone looks at risk in a different way. I don’t want to just promote quitting your job, but motivate people to assess what they want to do and why they want to do it and then go and pursue that goal.

    Travel can help with that because it really is a remarkable way to learn and see another context in the flesh. Education is seeing the world and deciding and exploring what you are going to do to make the world a better place.

    Leap Kit Teaser | Back the Kickstarter by November 3rd | bit.ly/LeapKit from Experience Institute on Vimeo.

    Q: Do you have a quote that inspires you to get out of your comfort zone and follow your passions that might help others go after their travel dreams?

    Without risking having to choose one quote that would have to define me, I do have a few that resonate.

    “Not all who wander are lost.” – J. R.R. Tolkein

    “Fairy Tales are more than true, not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.” G.K. Chesterton

    Q: Any other additional thoughts or tips you would like to share?

    I’m especially curious about how people design their own learning, and since next year is a leap year, I want to offer the question; “If you could take a leap, what would you do?

    Want to learn more about how you can join the Leap Year Project? Check out the Leap Kit and take the first step in meeting your goals in 2016! 

     

  • Alumni Spotlight on Volunteer Katie Heneveld; How Nepal Inspired a Career with Compassion

    Q: What first inspired you to volunteer abroad in Nepal?

    I was initially inspired to travel with a purpose while visiting my college roommate in Costa Rica while she was in the Peace Corps. I got the travel bug after studying abroad during college and had taken various trips after I graduated, however visiting my friend and talking with her fellow Peace Corps volunteers gave me a desire to do something more meaningful with my travels. I debated between volunteering in South Africa or Nepal through Greenheart Travel, and even though it sounds cliché, I was just drawn to Nepal. There was no clear reason why I made that choice; I just knew I was meant to go to Nepal.

    Q: How important do you feel experiencing another culture and country was to your personal growth and career aspirations?

    Experiencing other cultures has caused me to reflect on my culture, beliefs, and how I grew up as well as provided many great learning experiences: all of which, I believe, are essential for personal growth. Maintaining a desire to experience and an open mind towards other cultures will be integral for my future career, as I hope to pursue international humanitarian work.

    Q: Was there a specific travel experience that sparked your decision to go to graduate school and study nutrition and food policy? 

    The process of deciding to go to graduate school was actually quite backwards; I discovered the program after deciding that I wanted to move to Boston. I studied biochemistry in undergrad and have always been interested in nutrition, however the policy aspect to the program will most likely direct my career in a less scientific and more humanitarian path than I would have chosen before. Although volunteering didn’t directly cause this decision, my time in Nepal laid the foundation for me to make the change. Specifically, it gave me first-hand experience with people who were suffering from malnutrition and re-ignited my desire to directly help people through my career.

    katie-in-nepal

    Q: How did your travels help you realize your personal passions?

    I think by spending an extended period of time there and becoming accustomed to life in Nepal, somehow the problems people face there became personal to me. I couldn’t just leave and not do anything about it.

    Q: Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you to get out of your comfort zone?

    I don’t really have a mantra or quote that inspires me to get out of my comfort zone, but this one by Wendell Berry is comforting to me after I’ve made the leap:

    “Always in the big woods when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place there will be, along with the feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the Unknown, and it is your first bond with the wilderness you are going into.”

    Q: What would you say to someone who wasn’t sure about traveling because they were concerned with their academic or career pursuits?

    I would say that although traveling may set you back in a career, the personal growth that is possible through travel is worth so much more than career achievements. To me though, personal growth and fulfillment  is immensely more important and rewarding than any career achievements could be.

    katie-in-nepal-volunteer

    Q: How do you hope to apply this volunteer experience in the next chapter of your life academically and professionally?

    Volunteering has led me to participate in a summer internship in Nepal where I have worked for Action Contre la Faim, analyzing data and writing a report for a nutrition intervention they have implemented to decrease the prevalence of acute malnutrition. This internship has helped me decide to pursue a career in international humanitarian work after graduating.

    Q: Were you able to use your past volunteer experience to help you get into graduate school, and if so, how did you outline your experience on your application or resume?

    Yes! My volunteer experience in Nepal played an important role in the personal statement for my grad school application as it was one of the main causes for desiring the change in my career.

     

    Have any questions for Greenheart Travel’s volunteer alumna, Katie? Share them in the comments below!

     

  • Greenheart Travel’s Top Photos of the Week

    Our participants continue to inspire us with their amazing Instagrams from their Greenheart Travel programs abroad! Check out our #Greenhearttravel pics of the week from our travelers who have tagged us on Instagram.

    Want to be featured in our weekly post? Don’t forget to include #greenhearttravel to your Instagram pictures for a chance to be featured!

    Check Out Our Travel Pictures of the Week!

    x

    https://instagram.com/p/7NmG7Vgk-_/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

     

    https://instagram.com/p/7M3X3CJhyD/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    https://instagram.com/p/7GimO_h2lM/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    https://instagram.com/p/7DOrUkAhaT/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    https://instagram.com/p/68rHL0udND/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    https://instagram.com/p/7JgLQVCkNd/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    https://instagram.com/p/6_gPbtqVS4/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    Inspired by these photos to travel for a change? Tell us where you want to go in the comments below!

  • Happy World Elephant Day! Photos from Our Volunteers in Sri Lanka

    Happy World Elephant Day!

    Our volunteers in Sri Lanka share some of their beautiful photos from our elephant conservation project in honor of these important animals.

    Greenheart Travel Volunteer, Shannon Elder

    https://instagram.com/p/6GmXiqpIjf/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    Greenheart Travel Volunteer, Hannah Patzer

    https://instagram.com/p/6FbuOkupl9FmQ3fPKAY2A6qDhSeZkHWDCrvIY0/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    Greenheart Travel Volunteer, Shannon Schroeder

    https://instagram.com/p/4hPjAAFriZ/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    Want to learn how you can help resolve human-elephant conflicts in the Wasgamuwa Region, a vast and diverse wilderness area in North Central Sri Lanka? 

    Program-blog-button

  • Top Travel Photos of the Week

    Our Greenheart Travel participants have been exploring their host communities and we’re excited to share their images and videos from life teaching and working abroad! Check out our #Greenhearttravel pics of the week from our travelers abroad who have tagged us on Instagram.

    Want to be featured in our weekly post? Don’t forget to include #greenhearttravel to your pictures for a chance to be selected!

    Check Out Our Travel Pictures of the Week!

    x

    Jenna Carlson, Greenheart Travel Teacher in Colombia

    https://instagram.com/p/42JSY4Tdpq/

    Marta Bjerkelee, Greenheart Travel Teacher in Thailand

    https://instagram.com/p/5AMa3xODOK/

    Victoria Slater, Greenheart Travel Teacher in Thailand

    https://instagram.com/p/45oyjlMcM4/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    Vanessa Hidalgo, Greenheart Travel Teacher in South Korea
    (Click on the picture to start video)

    https://instagram.com/p/41qXA6MPkW/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    Claire Ryan, Greenheart Travel Camp Counselor in Italy
    (Click on the picture to start video)

    https://instagram.com/p/444wSyg0iv/?tagged=greenhearttravel

  • #Greenheart Travel Top Photos of the Week

    Our Greenheart Travel teachers, volunteers and camp counselors have been blowin’ up our Instagram feed and we can’t get enough of their great pictures from abroad! Get ready for some serious wanderlust for South Korea, Italy, Spain and Thailand and check out our #Greenhearttravel pics of the week from our travelers abroad who have tagged us on Instagram.

    Want to be featured in our weekly post? Don’t forget to include #greenhearttravel to your pictures for a chance to be selected!

    Check Out Our Travel Pictures of the Week!

     

    Greenheart Travel Teacher in South Korea, Kiara Valdez
    https://instagram.com/p/4l_jc1kvh5/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    Greenheart Travel Camp Counselor in Italy, Claire Ryan

    https://instagram.com/p/4sLrqDA0gK/?taken-by=claireryan910

     

    Greenheart Travel Volunteer in Spain, Brooke Tomasetti

    https://instagram.com/p/4vOTfBjGY5/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    Greenheart Travel Teacher in Thailand, Diana Lake

    https://instagram.com/p/4zH4RgKVam/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

     

     

     

     

  • #Greenheart Travel Top Pics of the Week

    It’s been a busy week with Greenheart Travelers departing for the start of their programs while others are getting settled into life abroad, and their photos have been inspiring. We are excited to share our #Greenhearttravel pics of the week from our travelers abroad who have tagged us on Instagram.

    Want to be featured in our weekly post? Don’t forget to include #greenhearttravel to your pictures for a chance to be selected!

    Check out our travel pics of the week below and picture yourself traveling for a change.

    x

    Greenheart Travel Volunteer in Sri Lanka, Shannon Shroeder

    https://instagram.com/p/4W4OG1FruS/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

    Greenheart Travel High School in Japan Alumna, Manou Liu

    https://instagram.com/p/4Uz6spwM3u/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    x

    Greenheart Travel Teacher in Thailand, Victoria Slater

    https://instagram.com/p/4ehrEHMcOa/?tagged=greenhearttravel

    x

    Greenheart Travel Teacher in Colombia, Jenna Carlson

    https://instagram.com/p/4VJSAATdlf/?tagged=greenhearttravel

     

     

     

     

     

  • How Travel Inspired Beth Santos to Create a “Wanderful” Community of Women

    We were thrilled when Beth Santos, founder and CEO of Wanderful, agreed to share her insight on how traveling not only shapes us as people, but how it is an invaluable education for our professional development. Through Beth’s travels abroad, she has gained experience to help foster her entrepreneurial spirit and create an incredible online community of women travelers through sheswanderful.com. We can’t think of a better proponent of travel for personal and professional growth!

    Read on for Beth’s advice on using travel to follow your dreams, why you should make sure you are doing one thing that inspires you and one thing that pays the bills, and to get inspired by an awesome quote that involves wrestling gorillas. 

    Wanderful is an international community of adventurous, independent, globally minded women who travel. Our mission is to connect women travelers together by empowering them with the tools they need to go abroad and facilitating a trusted network that can help guide them in their journeys. 

     

    Q: What first inspired you to explore the world and what travels made the greatest impact on you?

     

    Many people I know learned their love of travel from their family — they traveled since being a young child and couldn’t get enough of it. I had a very different experience. In fact, as a child, I didn’t care to travel much at all. My family moved around a lot and I always associated travel with saying goodbye to my favorite things and people.

    I also grew up as a Portuguese-American. My father’s family had a very special immigration story that made me really interested during my college years in that side of my background. My father never taught me Portuguese, so I decided to study abroad in Portugal to learn the language and reconnect with my roots. I originally had planned to visit for a semester, but once there, I knew I couldn’t leave. I stayed for an academic year and continue to return often to visit the family I have come to know and love.

    Beth-in-Portugual
    Beth enjoying the European life. Image provided by Beth Santos

    I think it was that year in college where my world just opened up. I took weekend adventures to London, Rome and Barcelona. When I graduated college, I took advantage of a volunteer opportunity to work in Sao Tome and Principe, a former Portuguese colony off the west coast of Africa. It was while living in Sao Tome that I became extremely aware of my unique experience as a female and as a foreigner, and the concept of Wanderful was born.

    x

    Q: Do you have any advice or tips for recent graduates or those that are pursuing their dreams but worried about their careers?

    x

    I have always made a point of it to follow my bliss, but I admit that I didn’t always know what “my bliss” was. I graduated college in 2008, which was a very unfortunate time to graduate. I took advantage of the opportunity to volunteer abroad and got my first job out of college as a direct result of my volunteer work.

    beth-volunteering-abroad

    Beth teaching abroad in Sao Tome. Image provided by Beth Santos

    But things didn’t always go so smoothly. There were a few years in there where I would balance two or three jobs at once — a paid internship at a PR firm, an unpaid internship at the Embassy of Portugal and a job waiting tables at a restaurant in Washington, DC. I always made sure that I was always doing one thing that inspired me, and one thing that paid the bills. Sometimes those things were the same, but not always.

    My advice for people who are graduating and interested in pursuing their dreams is this: Pursue your dreams. Absolutely. 100%.

    Don’t leave those behind. But make sure you’re bringing in a little cash too. It doesn’t matter how you do it — at a 9-5 job, at a restaurant, doing consulting. Work your butt off those first few years doing both the things you love and the things you need to do to survive, and you will be surprised how capable you will feel when that one big idea, that real opportunity, arises.

    x

    Q: How important do you feel experiencing another culture and country is to overall personal and career development?

    x

    Travel teaches us so many lessons that we can apply in the working world. We learn to be comfortable with confusion. We learn to work with people who have unique backgrounds and skill sets. We learn how to roll with the punches, how to be flexible, how to adjust and adapt. We can look at problems and see really unique solutions that we draw from our time experiencing the way a different culture operates. These talents are unmatchable.

    beth-hiking-with-mount-St.-Helens-institute
    Beth hiking with team of the Mount St Helens Institute. Image from Beth Santos

    Q: How have your travel experiences helped you overcome challenges that come with managing sheswanderful.com?

    x

    When I first arrived in Portugal, I spoke maybe one sentence in Portuguese. I lived with my family for three months and they didn’t speak English. I had no idea what was going to happen each day when I woke up. Was I going to accompany my cousin Natalia to one of her business meetings? Was I going to help chase a herd of sheep into a new pasture? Was I going to attend a funeral? All three things happened at one point or other during my time there. I became constantly prepared and able to really go with the flow.

    When I lived in Sao Tome, I had similar unexpected experiences. On my first day on the ground, having never been to Africa before, I was asked to give a 10-minute presentation, in Portuguese, to 100 school children about a computer program that I only found out about 30 seconds prior that I would be running. So I went with it.

    I think these skills have helped me more than anything with my entrepreneurial pursuits. In entrepreneurship, everything is changing. Constantly. All the time. Being able to see what’s working and what’s not working early on, to be able to make adjustments on the fly and even “fake it” if you need to, have been indispensable skills to me. I love that my travels have taught me those things.

    beth-santos-ceo-of-sheswanderful
    Following her dreams, Beth Santos is CEO and founder of sheswanderful.com. 

    Q: Do you have a favorite quote that inspires you to get out of your comfort zone and follow your passions?

    x

    I have a list of quotes that inspire me, especially in my most trying times (and I assure you, they happen). One of the quotes that really gets me through is the hilariously memorable quote from Robert Strauss. It’s not about travel, per se — rather about persistence.

    The quote goes, “It’s a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.”

    The quote makes me laugh in one of those “it’s funny because it’s true” moments. It reminds me that, when I’m facing demons or I’m out in a new place and things aren’t working right or if I’m experiencing something that’s just not shaping up the way it should, I don’t quit. Just because I’m tired doesn’t mean that the game is over. Keep getting back in the ring.

    x

    Q: What would you tell someone to help persuade them to go after their travel pursuits?

    x

    I would tell them that there is absolutely no other thing more life-changing than living abroad. It makes you a better person. It also (usually) ends. We all have our opportunities to do it, and those opportunities don’t last forever. Don’t look back on your life wishing you’d done it while you had the chance.

    x

    Q: Any other additional thoughts or tips you would like to share?

    x

    I think the comfort of being uncomfortable is one of the best lessons that travel has ever taught me. Whatever your dreams are, going abroad will make you remember that taking a risk is what gets you to other great places — whether it’s a physical place like a new job or city, or an emotional place like satisfaction and peace. Plus, it’s fun, and when you come home, you’ll realize you’ve found a new part of yourself that you never knew before.

     

    Have any questions for Beth about using travel experiences to go after your dreams? Comment below!