GeoVisions

Hello! I'm Erik, a conversation corps member staying with a family in Chorillos, in Lima Peru! I just arrived on Friday and am having A BLAST already, and have now seriously begun my English tutoring with the two children in the family. I don't have any specific questions, but would love love love to get any advice you have!

From the day I contacted GeoVisions to enquire about the possibility of teaching in Thailand I was impressed by their service. Within 24 hours I received a telephone call, where the staff answered any questions I may of had. I was worried that GeoVisions could of been a scam as there are so many companies which offer a similar service that are. But these fears were erased when I payed my deposit and the wheels were set in motion. I received informative information and I was relaxed by the time I left for Thailand. I must say this is the best decision of my life and I can't thank the staff at Geovisions enough for their guidance and help along the way.

Sawadee Ka, Jodi! Just realized I had not written you with an update yet or to say, thank you! So, THANK YOU! I love it here! Just wanted to let you know what a great job Geovisions (in particular you) has done. I absolutely love my school and town! The transition has been very smooth and easy, and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate all the hard work you put in to help get me here. Orientation was also wonderful. It was extremely organized, educational, and fun! Keep doing what your doing :) This is hands down about to be one of the most amazing experiences and best decisions I have ever made. Suphanburi is such a cute town! You would love it here! Hopefully you are able to visit this beautiful country soon and maybe I will still be here! I'm already considering staying with my school longer. There is a few schools in my area so all the teachers stay at the same apartment building, Yoo Dee Mee Sook. There is 4 teachers altogether on my side of the school and they have an EP program on the other side of the school where there is another 8 teachers. Unfortunately, allllll the teachers I have met have already been here over a year and leave this October. So I'm hoping the new teachers placed here are ones that went through Geoviosions, as Cara and Emily were awesome! I hope they are loving their towns as much as i am. I talk to Emily here and there and we are going to try and meet up soon. You picked some great girls to go through your program, for sure :) Also, odd enough a girl i met a couple years ago in Florida told me she is using Geovisions to help her get a teaching job this fall. Her name is Melanie. I dont remember if she said she was working with you or Chris but you should help place her at my school! I am going to talk to my department head Kanchana this morning and see if its possible for her to connect with you or chris at geovisions about making it happen. :) Anyways, just wanted to let you know that i really appreciate your help and love it here. Thank you so much for helping me make this all possible. Hope you are having an amazing summer and if you ever need me to talk to anyone about becoming a teacher in Thailand, etc. I would be happy to help.

Hi Jodi, Sorry for taking so long to reply. The time has been flying by since I returned home. I had an amazing experience in Thailand. I think that it was half luck. I got placed at a really amazing school in an English program where I was able to work the same ten kids all day every day. It was really rewarding. The kids learned a lot, and the other teachers and administrators at my school were very kind and helpful despite the language barrier. OEG was also helpful throughout the semester. They were available to answer questions and provide support and even made a trip to Chanthaburi to check out my school since it was the first time that they had placed anyone there. I really enjoyed working with you and Chris. You were both very professional and helpful. I hope that the program will continue to grow in the future. Sincerely, Shari Lefler

I spent the first couple of months of 2011 living in Fortuna, Costa Rica, teaching English in the evenings to the local tourist police. It was a wonderful experience; they appreciated what I was doing, and I had a chance to explore the area, with all its sights and activities, in depth. I was pleased with the efficiency of Geovisions in setting everything up, and when a small problem arose, the local coordinator in San Jose was ready to help. Now I am getting ready to go teach in Vietnam, also with Geovisions. I would recommend this to anyone who has the time and the inclination.

My experience in Untershofen, Germany is beyond words. Nestled in the southern Bavarian alps, this small village offered a different side of the rat-race of life. Each morning I would tutor "the Mom" for a couple of hours before she began work for a representative of the European Union. We worked with documents that she would be using in her job so that she could better understand the conversational side of English. From these documents we made vocabulary lists that she needed to study and understand. I would also assist her 12 & 14 year old children with homework from time to time. "The Dad" spoke wonderful English and had a complete understanding of the language. My job was to assist with conversational skills and understanding. I could not have asked for a more wonderful family. GeoVisions match for me was marvelous. I had a lovely bedroom, shared a bath and was treated as a valued member of the family. After 2 weeks of tutoring, I had a week off while the family had school holiday. I took that time to travel to Prague, Dresden and Berlin! Then 2 more weeks of tutoring before I traveled back to Georgia. I encourage anyone interested to explore possibilities with GeoVisions. It was an experience of a lifetime!

Happy New year ! I just wanted to let you know that being a tutor in Italy was everything you said it was going to be. I had an amazing experience. I taught English in three elementary schools . By the time I left , the children would come and speak English to me in the hallways. One day in the village of Montecosaro , I heard someone calling my name. It was a whole bus of elementary school children standing up on their seats, and yelling Mrs. Peggy .When I left I was surrounded by children in the hallways with lots of hugs and lots of questions if I could stay in Italy to teach them . I think everyone had a really positive experience. I got lots of really great feedback from the parents. The children keep asking me when I left if I was coming back to Italy to see them again. Not bad for a fifty six year old women. People think that twenty years olds adapt easier when abroad but I think that fifty year olds teach more and are much more adaptable. I am not telling you this to be arrogant. I just want to let you know that so more people in their fifties are considered for the position of a English tutor. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. It has impacted my life. I hope someday to volunteer to go to France. All the best, Peggy

First and foremost, I would like to say thank you. Having the chance to spend so much time in a foreign country while still being able to give back was absolutely incredible. I loved the Spanish people and culture and could not have asked for a better location. The highlights would certainly include the city and its accessibility. I also loved the ability to travel on the weekends and see more of the country than just Madrid. The food was delicious (I have actually been craving decent gelato and Jamon since I've been home) and the hustle and bustle of the city was great! As for the low lights, I am sad to say that most of them revolved around my host family. The kids I worked with were great. I had such a wonderful time with Alfonzo and Jaime. But I had a difficult time communicating with Ana (their mother) about what the expectations of the program were. There were multiple occasions where Ana would end my time with the boys early or cancel it altogether. There were also several instances when my planned activities would have to be canceled in order to accommodate Ana changing the daily time table with little to no prior notice. Finally, there were two separate times when Ana asked me to finish Alfonzo's homework for him rather than helping him finish it himself. This was all in addition to a time about half way through the summer when Ana informed me that she felt I was not doing my job as I was not spending enough time with her kids to earn my stay with her. From my perspective, I found this hard to believe, considering the fact that I had never once canceled lessons, it had always been at her bidding that we did not hold an English lesson. Luckily, by the end of the summer, we had reached a kind of harmony and Alfonzo's English teacher was extremely impressed with his progress over the past few months. At least, that is what Ana told me.

It was totally awesome, I met great people, I saw amazing places, and I learned how to speak a cool language, thanks for sending me here, I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to visit the Middle East