What inspired you to go abroad?
At the end of 2016, I began to set goals for the New Year. I have had many experiences in my life so far, but I felt incomplete because I had not traveled abroad! I felt a calling at the beginning of the New Year to travel, and decided to pursue it to find out why. Given that I have Italian and Sicilian heritage, I knew that I wanted to travel to these places. My lifelong dream was (and still is) to travel to Italy! I also felt that traveling would add to my professional abilities upon graduating college.
Traveling helps you to grow personally, and drastically improves your world views. I wanted to reach my full potential by traveling abroad!
This was taken during my amazing, but exhausting, hike up Mt. Etna in Catania, Sicily!
Why did you choose Greenheart Travel?
I chose Greenheart Travel because of positive reviews that I read, and the company's mission. Greenheart Travel aims to create globally conscious travelers that assimilate further than the common tourist, which aligns with my personal travel goals. They are also a smaller organization, which allows them to be more attentive to each traveler. The reviews all shared positive experiences about working with the staff during various times in their programs. After my first few email exchanges with Greenheart Travel, I was confident that they would be the best match for my experience.
What was your favorite part about Sicily?
Everything! It's so difficult to choose, but I would say the best part was the culture. Sicilian culture is incredibly welcoming and warm. It makes for the happiest of people. I love their appreciation for life, and the importance of enjoying the finer things. From greeting one another with a warm "ciao" and kiss, to showing the family's best cooking, the culture has shaped the people of Sicily (and Italy) into being the most warm, happy people.
While I was in Sicily, I made a trip to Roma and Firenze. This was taken on my trip to Roma at the Trevi Fountain!
What made your experience abroad unique?
The nature of my program made my time abroad unique. I went completely alone, and did not know a single person in Ragusa. I had messaged with my host family, but never talked to them on the phone or video called them. Teaching English abroad allows you to immerse yourself in a culture and community more than any other experience, so it's difficult to even relate to people who have studied abroad. I had to create my own network of people, make a new set of friends, and deal with the challenges of living life in a different country, alone. However, I would never do it another way! I'm happy to have had a completely unique experience.
How did local staff support you throughout your program?
The WEP Staff coordinator in Catania, Sicily supported both my host family and I through the adjustment process. Her approach was to remain hands-off unless there was a problem, which was fine for me. She would have been more hands on if my family, or I, would have expressed issues. The WEP coordinator was with my family when I arrived in Sicily to help us meet each other, and called us a few times at the beginning of my program. I know that had I needed anything, she would have been available at all times.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently?
Besides eating more cannolis, nothing!
Describe a typical day in the life of your program.
Typically, I would wake up and eat my breakfast. I would talk to my host mother and play with my host sister. Then, we would go about our day. I would usually run errands with my host mother while my sister was at school. Once my host sister wasn't in school, we would go to the beach together for the day! At some time during the day, I would usually help my host mother with her job.
Regardless of what we were doing, I created an opportunity to speak English. I would try to have as many genuine, interesting, and fun conversations that I could with my host mother because I know that those are the moments that people remember most. While we were driving places, I would play games with my host sister to encourage her to practice the English that she knew. We would practice colors, places, foods, and basic conversations. We would also go to the supermarket at least once everyday, so I would encourage them to recall the names of food in English while there.
In the evening, my host father would come home, and we would eat dinner. Sometimes, we would go out with family friends for dinner, or go for aperitivo. The more friends that we met, the longer the meal would be. After dinner, my host mother and I would typically go for a walk at home. If we were out, we would enjoy the night life of Ragusa. I typically went to bed around 12:30 a.m. or 1:00 a.m., because the night life is so important to the Sicilians! Teaching English to a family allows you to live a "normal" daily routine, but in a different country!
Marina di Ragusa is where I spent so much time with family and friends!
What did you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time, I enjoyed going to the beach or spending time with my new friends. Normally, I would spend time with friends at the beach! I also blogged about my travels, so I used free time to write about my experiences. I found that I didn't have a lot of down time because my family's lifestyle was so fast paced, but I was happy with that!
What was your accommodation like? What did you like best about it?
My accommodation was wonderful! My family's home was modern, so I enjoyed the style of the house and my bedroom. I lived on the third floor of the house, which gave me privacy. I had a large bedroom with a bathroom connected to it. I had air conditioning, too. My host mother happens to work in real estate, so my bedroom was decorated beautifully! The entire house was beautiful, but I loved my bedroom. The decorations and architecture inspired my creativity when I was blogging, while also making me feel at home.
Ragusa Ibla at night!
What is one thing every participant should know before participating in your program?
Every participant should consider the impact of this program for the family that you will live with. Teaching English to a family is a powerful experience, and often crucial for the family in some capacity. Participant's must take what they do seriously, but be very easy going and accommodating for the family. It is a mentally challenging experience, but extremely fun and rewarding if you can roll with the punches. Be respectful of the family, and know that they appreciate what you are doing immensely. Learning English is absolutely crucial to success for some people, so participant's must keep this in mind while considering how to spend their time abroad.
Now that you're home, how has your program abroad impacted your life?
My time abroad has impacted me immensely. It has impacted my outlook of the world, and the confidence that I have in myself. Traveling has also provided me with perspective while in stressful situations. Anytime that I begin to worry or feel stressed, I remind myself that I managed to travel across the world alone, and navigate through difficult situations with a language barrier. My instinct successfully guided me through many situations, so I now have much more confidence in my intuition. The only negative result of my time abroad is missing Sicily so much! I daydream about my experiences all the time, and miss friends and family so much. Travel impacts everyone differently, but for me it has been a lot of changes in personal views and my outlook on life.
Would you recommend Greenheart Travel to others? Why?
Absolutely! Greenheart doesn't miss a detail, and prepares you in every way possible. They have so many opportunities for program participants to network with each other, and share their experiences with the world. I feel that the preparation for culture shock and emotional challenges of travel is what sets Greenheart Travel apart from other programs. It is an extremely important aspect of travel that many people, and agencies, don't talk about, which can sour the experience for someone if they don't understand what is happening to them. Personally, I would be struggling much more with processing my experience in Sicily if Greenheart had not prepared me for leaving the program. Greenheart also encourages participants to be environmentally conscious travelers, which I feel adds to the experience of assimilating into a community.
