Toucan Education Programs (TOUCAN)

The staff at Toucan Education Programs Inc (TEP) are exceptional! They are very professional, organized (while also maintaining some flexibility and adaptability to changing program needs), provide excellent communication and customer service, are great problem-solvers if any issues arise, and also very caring towards faculty and students and their needs. Additionally, the staff are well-versed in planning meaningful educational experiences, while also ensuring meals, travel, and accommodations are exceptional while in-country. I have special dietary restrictions, but all my meals were planned and taken care of without me having to worry too much about it. TEP really goes above and beyond in their services and I would wholeheartedly recommend them!

I thoroughly enjoyed learning the culture of Belize. Such a beautiful and peaceful area. I loved the sense of community. Although the students were in walking distance of the school, we as the leaders mostly had to do everything in the area we stayed and had to get a taxi to get to the city everyday.

I thoroughly enjoyed my study abroad experience using this program. There were activities planned for us relating to our major as well as extracurriculars. This was an amazing opportunity to enhance my cultural knowledge and apply what I had learned from my college classes. I would highly recommend this to other students!

The spring was overall a great experience. The people were very welcoming and there was a lot of assistance to make the transition easy for us. We were placed at Holy Family R.C. School, but there always a lot of confusion on what exactly we were supposed to be doing there on both ends, I feel like that should have been established before we got there so time wouldn’t have been waisted.

The TEP trip to Belize was the trip of a lifetime! I learned so much about myself and the beautiful country of Belize. The TEP staff was very responsive to needs and took the time to get to know me as an individual.

I had a great time while studying abroad in Belize! I got the chance to stay with a Belizean family during a home stay. I learned so much about myself and my level of respect for other cultures has risen greatly. I learned to appreciate the daily necessities that I look for granted at home. My host mom and I still keep in contact today. We also were given a wonderful lady to guide us around Belize during our stay. She was very informative about the history of Belize and also the popular places that we should visit. Overall, my study abroad experience was very memorable. I have been back to Belize to vacation 2 times in my own since my study abroad and I plan to study abroad there again in 2020. Do I love Belize? You better BELIZE it!!

I am a first-generation college student, and going to Belize was an experience I will always carry with me. At first, I was afraid that I wouldn't make an impact at my internship or that I would get homesick more than a thousand miles away from home. In the end, I made great friendships and discovered some of my passions in life. The experiences were so pure that I grew in many ways. As soon as I stepped into the warm blanket that is the Belizean weather, I felt attended to. Our driver, Mr. Roberto, welcomed us with a warm smile and took us to our destination in San Ignacio, Belize. The program staff was always attentive to our needs and gave us all of the necessary tools to grow professionally and personally. That is exactly what happened to me and reciprocity played a huge role. I was able to conduct presentations for surrounding schools in the town of Santa Elena. I interned in the Santa Elena Public Library and had great support from my supervisors. I worked both independently and in groups with the staff as well as with people of the community. This made the experience so much more rewarding. The daily face to face contact was something I still keep close to my heart. One of the most memorable moments was swimming in the Carribean Sea. I was also able to cook alongside Mayan women and prepare a traditional meal with the Garifuna people on their island, in South Belize. These immersive experiences definitely were some of my most memorable. Reading about a culture in a history textbook is one thing, but tasting the culture is something I will certainly never forget. TEP played a major role in my success in the program and I will be eternally grateful. Oh yeah, and how can I forget, I climbed to the top of the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich.

TEP was a vital resource in making our study abroad experience a success. The cultural immersion experiences were by far the most meaningful and impacting part of the trip. I want to give a special thanks to David Hernandez for being a wealth of knowledge, a excellent resource, and a huge help to our group. He was phenomenal!

The entire experience was amazing. Most importantly, I feel the cultural immersion experiences were top notch! Very informative. Very well prepared. Very educational. In addition, the professionalism was impeccable along with the genuine welcoming spirit of everyone. The variety of food, housing, and flexibility offered was great! No complaints about anything.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Belize. TEP provided us with culturally immersive situations where we could share our own experiences and learn from the Belizean community. Thank you so much for this!

I had an amazing experience in Belize thanks to TEP. All members were kind and easy to work with. They made the experience as welcoming as possible. They also allowed for us to feel comfortable asking any questions we had.

Toucan Educational Programs was the cornerstone of this amazing experience for our students. Their work allowed us to focus on integrating course materials into in-country experiences. I would recommend using TEP for your study abroad experience.

Toucan Education did a wonderful job providing our leadership group with the essentials and much more during our study abroad in Belize. Rondine and her group did an excellent job with our housing. Every morning and evening we were provided an excellent meal from the staff at Log Cabin Inn and Villa Verano. Maids cleaned our room every day and when asked they washed, dried, and folded our clothes. When we stayed at Villa Verano in Hopkins the resort provided bikes, canoes, paddle boards, and a sailboat for our own personal use free of charge. When there was an issue we would notify Rhondine and her staff and they fixed the issue in a very timely manner. Toucan also did an amazing job with the excursions they planned for us each day, as well as the tour guides that were provided to us each day. We had one tour guide that stayed with us the entire trip and he was awesome. He was there every day to make sure we had enough water, provided us with great information about Belize, and he also became a friend to all of us. One thing I loved that Toucan provided was a Belizean phone for everyone. If there was ever an emergency we were able to use that phone to contact Rhondine and her team, our professors, our classmates, and our parents back home. I would recommend Toucan Education Programs to anyone that is studying abroad because without them my experience in Belize would not have been as great as it was.

I had a great time in Belize. The housing accommodations were good until there was no running water on three separate occasions for several hours at a time. As a person with OCD, this did not help. The second housing location was amazing and I would 100% go back to it. Although, I really enjoyed the whole culture and meeting new people. It was the perfect mix of being a tourist but also putting yourself into more than surface level experiences.

I really enjoyed coming to Belize, and enjoying this study abroad with TEP. I got to experience the culture in the food, social aspects, and guest speakers. All of this and the TEP program leaders made this experience amazing, and I will always remember them for it! Thank you!

I really enjoyed my time. The emerging of the cultural was my favorite part. Overall, my experience was a good one. Also, everyone is very nice and welcoming. I loved being able to interact with the different cultures.

This was an excellent experience for our 2019 group. Many thanks for Toucan Education for working with us to make this a great experience. The activities and experiences galvanized our curricula and delivery. Making the experience impactful and meeting core curricula objectives of student's major. It was a Win-Win.

From beginning to the end the experience went well. I especially was impressed with the level of engagement by the administrators. They kept me informed every step of the way. This program exceeded my expectations.

Toucan Education Programs provided us with a very well-rounded experience that allowed for authentic cultural immersion to take place. I am truly pleased with all factors that went into the planning and implementation process, including being very thorough with the pre and post effects of this type of trip. I would recommend TEP to anyone who is looking for authentic cultural immersion and service learning. I look forward to working with them on many more events.

The study abroad program in Belize (Hopkins Village and Belize City) was outstanding. Learning more about the Garifuna culture and their significance in Belize was really interesting and rewarding experience.