What do you like most about working at Connections?
I love traveling and I am learning English to start traveling. The company is giving me the opportunity to learn the language. I will start planning my next trip as I have met teachers from different countries and they have told me a lot about their countries. I am really excited to travel and know different cultures!
Describe a typical day at work.
I answer emails, make phone calls, organize the lesson plans, and give information about our program to clients. Also, I prepare the class materials for the teachers and do the company accounting.
Why do you do what you do?
I studied business administration in school, so by doing my daily work it’s nice to put into practice what I had learned in college.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is the chance to meet people from around the world. I can practice my English and I learn a lot from their cultures. It is very interesting to talk to them and exchange culture.
Traveling in Colombia
How do you use your education and international background in your current role?
It perfectly fits to what I studied. Apart from being a secretary, I am in charge of organizing the administrative company tasks. I am also in charge of the company accounting.
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
The language barrier is difficult sometimes, especially when the person speaks English with a certain accent. Everyday we have problems and issues as a regular company, but we overcome them by being responsible and organized.
What are some current projects you are working on?
We are currently working on a virtual program for people who cannot come to the institute. We are going to start offering the program this year and I feel really excited about it!
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
First of all, learn the English language because then I would be able to communicate with most of the people. Second, think about pre-travel organization in terms of bookings and tickets.
What makes Connections special?
The company not only works with people from our country, but also with people from all over the world. We coordinate the arrivals, the weekend trips, and the classes for them.
Why should someone choose your organization over competitors?
Because we are a company which offers a cultural exchange not only for students, but also for the teachers who visit our country! It is a wonderful opportunity to learn the English language and to meet people.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
We hope that our participants take away a lot of wonderful experiences by meeting and communicating in English with our foreign teachers. Also, we hope that our teachers (our participants who come to Colombia to offer their time, experiences, and English language knowledge) are able to improve their skills.
How do you help support participants?
We show them everything in terms of traveling tips. We introduce our foreign teachers to our culture and show them the surroundings which are beautiful even for us.
Traveling with Connections participants
What questions do participants often ask you, and how do you typically respond?
One of the things they are worried about at the beginning is the safety in Colombia because our country has a bad image and reputation due to our past. However, I tell them about why it’s safe and they realize when they get here that Colombia is no longer a dangerous country.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel is travel where I can gain wonderful personal experiences. Also, a travel where I can give back to the people or country where I go—I like to be aware of the environment and to protect it.
What does ethical global engagement mean to you?
The environment is being destroyed and pollution is ruining everything. Ethical global engagement will be to be aware of the situation and see any way that we can help to stop this problem.