Gap Year Programs Career Break / Mid-Career

I’m an Australian university student doing my gap‑year in China and studying at That’s Mandarin. Apart from improving my Mandarin, I’ve met incredible classmates — people from family‑run businesses, embassy interns, and international students from Tsinghua and Peking University. I really value these friendships. That’s Mandarin is not only for learning Chinese; it connects you with fantastic people. I’m so thankful for this unforgettable gap‑year experience. Highly recommend!

As a total beginner, I love this school. I have one class per week lasting 80 minutes. We start from simple pronunciation and learn words about school admission step by step. There are relaxing card games to memorize phrases. The teacher treats every student gently, and I never feel nervous to speak broken Chinese in class.

Would absolutely recommend this program to anybody looking to experience Chinese culture! You’ve got to be able to roll with the punches, and learn to manage your time well, but the rewards are so worth it. Being an au pair is incredible for learning Chinese, as you get to learn as you teach. The friendship I made with my kiddo was the highlight of the whole experience!!! LoPair is amazing at finding great host families, on top of creating a great support system during your stay.

It has been an incredible experience. I was able to fulfill my dream of studying Chinese and getting to know this beautiful country. Also, meeting my "little friend," being able to teach her English and share time with her, has made me very happy. Being part of a Chinese family has been a challenge because of cultural differences, but it has been a beautiful experience.

I was in Quepos for 6 weeks did Spanish classes, surf classes and two volunteer projects (working with kids and teaching english). I made a lot of new friends, got more independent and experienced an amazing country like a local.

My experience in Guangzhou was amazing thanks to my host family, surely not thanks to the agency, especially after getting to China, the agent following me was not interested in me and disrespectful. I was forced to anticipate my flight two days before my expected departure, not even a little bit of empathy or understanding, she was just forcing me to make a decision quickly, furthermore on the day of my departure and the following days, no one asked me about how the flight was, if I was home safe, she just texted me on the morning of the flight, no good morning or greetings, just telling me “don’t miss the flight”. Quite disappointing approach.

I strongly recommend LoPair for an experience as an au pair in China! The staff has always been helpful whenever i had questions, and they were extremely supportive throughout my experience. Not only is this an amazing opportunity to learn more about the culture, history and traditions of the country, but it’s also an excellent way to learn Chinese and make new friends. Every month the staff will also plan a cultural activity for all au pairs, giving us the chance to try different crafts and meet up together.

One thing I appreciate about this program is that you are able to focus on just living. Before taking the leap, I constantly made decisions around bills and working. For the time I have been here, I have met amazing people that have changed the course of my life and learned from teachers who taught me lessons beyond just Chinese. I am not saying that your experience will always be easy, but the plot is well worth it.

Excellent impressive service from Hanna ('Hanna 2') and Global. You are well organised to move mountains in one phone call.! I didn't imagine the enquiry call would progress to a confirmed placement! A 16 year old seed has finally been reaped and now looking forward to the sewing season next year. Thankful for such a service as this. Thank you so much. Espana! Velvo a ti!

New Zealand is an amazing place, the sights and landscapes are absolutely incredible. From the time i arrived and even before i arrived i was guided through everything i needed for the trip and had things waiting for me. Although only a few weeks into my trip i feel that global work and travel have made this incredible trip feel amazing and i feel like I'm at home already.

My travel agent was amazing! She was so sweet and kind, she cared and made talking about this fun. She gave me ideas and is so good at what she does! She made me feel very comfortable and we laughed a lot and had fun. My experience was so awesome. I feel like i want to know her in person. I loved her!

I mainly used global work and travel to keep me on track for going to NZ. This was because I was already on a visa in another country not through glabal work and travel and I also wanted to meet/know people before hand. Global work and travel did both just swimmingly! I was able to meet the 5 other global work and travel people coming in to Auckland right when they arrived. I talked to 2 of them prior to me landing. We hung out and did activities everyday! It was cool to see pictures of the inclusion with All the Global work and travel people together. Even though our jobs are in different towns we still plan to meet up somewhere along the way! Also Hannah was very good at keeping me on track.

I booked pretty much everything with with Global Work and Travel which took a big stress off my shoulders. From the flights here which were really good to getting to the Attic it was really smooth. The Global team were really helpful and had good response times to any emails for questions. The team set me up with an interview for a job which I've now been at for almost a month and I'm loving it. I also decided to join the rugby team in the town I work and I'm really enjoying playing for them. I decided to keep the Sky walk in Auckland towards the end of my trip which I'm really happy i got the option to do. Overall I've had a really good experience in New Zealand and would highly recommend a visit.

"For my first long-term international solo trip, Global Work & Travel has been such a reassuring asset that provided excellent support throughout the entire travel process. Without them, I would've hesitated at every step while planning my trip, questioning whether I checked every box I would need to or found the most suitable options. Their coordinators really streamlined the entire thing and set me up for success! Not only did they ensure that I followed a good time-frame to acquire all the necessary documentation, they would even arrange some of the transactions on my behalf after going over the service details and price with me, much of which I would have been poorly informed on otherwise. If you would prefer to obtain any of these things yourself, then they are more than willing to work with you. For example, you may want to secure a job and a place to stay way ahead of finalizing your trip as it was a bit nerve-racking having to wait until I was only a couple weeks out from my departure before they set up an interview. However, for me the most intimidating aspect of living abroad for an extended period is finding a reliable source of income. So I really appreciated how they work as liaisons for various businesses, though of course they can't work miracles as you'll still have to compete with other applicants. Many employers are looking to hire rather quickly and expect you to already have all that's required for you to begin working including your visa, bank account, and tax number. So GW&T gives you the best chance of landing a gig by ensuring you've covered all your bases, that you apply to opportunities relative to your experience and to companies that are familiar with hiring foreigners, and do so all on a timeline that's feasible for them to meet their workforce demands. Having put my complete trust in GW&T, it all worked out as they helped me find a real sweet position that fit my interests and came with accommodations! The initial hostel arrangement for when I first landed was also great and very convenient! They chose a clean, reputable place in a prime location and booked it alongside plenty of other travelers using their program so it was easy to make a lot of friends. Now that I've been through the planning procedure once myself, I could likely book another trip of this duration again on my own, but all the resources they provided and activities included were well worth it! I was able to learn about the culture and get a taste of what it has to offer while engaging in enjoyable experiences I likely wouldn't have bothered to organize personally. Although I can't guarantee you'll get as much as I did out of their services, I would definitely recommend them and would certainly work with them again myself!"

Global work and travel is an excellent stepping stone into the world of travel! They help you with everything you are going to need before your go abroad. With their help I was able to travel to New Zealand and get a job here. It's already been such an amazing experience. I have made new friends and got to do so many amazing things.

Global made planning my whole trip easier and less stressful. I didn't have to worry about where to find official documents or where I needed to go for insurance, flights, and immigration because they did that work and research for me. Megan my trip coordinator was always lovely to speak with and very helpful.

Without the help of this amazing team of people I would have been lost. The pre booked excursions have made me memories of a lifetime. With all of the other travelers who chose this company have been some of the best people I've ever met & we are having the best time! :)

The sign up process was very easy, I had quite a bit of time to prepare for traveling to NZ. Upon getting here, my arrivals coordinator set up for me to do the Auckland bridge walk with AJ Hackett (10/10) would recommend doing that. As well as wine tasting on Waiheke island. I got a job in an awesome little lakeside town and have had the opportunity to go white water rafting with Kaitiaki Adventures (captain jack was awesome) and got to do the bungy swing in Taupo.

I appreciated how organized and well-structured the trip was. The itinerary was thoughtfully planned, and everything ran on schedule. My Trip Coordinator played a key role in making the experience smooth by providing timely updates, managing logistics efficiently, and being consistently available for any questions. Their professionalism made the trip significantly easier.

I joined the 2-week program during my gap year and honestly, it was one of the best decisions I made. I wanted something fun, practical, and a bit different, and this was exactly that. From the very beginning, everyone made me feel welcome, and the whole experience was relaxed, friendly, and really enjoyable. I loved that it was hands-on and I got to actually do things for myself rather than just watch. I learned loads in a short amount of time, but it never felt overwhelming because everything was explained clearly and the support was always there when I needed it. The atmosphere was great too — it felt social, fun, and easy to be part of, which made the two weeks go by so quickly. By the end, I felt much more confident and proud of what I’d achieved. It was such a valuable experience for my gap year, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something memorable, enjoyable, and worthwhile.