Author: Rachael Ainsworth

As the Outreach Coordinator at Greenheart Travel, I have the privilege of supporting wonderful teachers who are passionate about the educational values of cultural exchange. I have worked with teachers in a variety of departments from language to biology, sports and even math, all who share a passion for inspiring students to explore the world.

While my main role is to support students to travel abroad, I also love supporting teachers who want to travel, especially because I believe travel makes smarter, more engaged educators.

Here are 5 reasons why teachers benefit from a personal travel experience:
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1. Be a Student Again:

Traveling brings out our desire to learn and our innate curiosity in the world. On an adventure abroad, we discover new perspectives and engage our critical thinking skills daily. Test out your foreign language skills, try new foods, and navigate a foreign public transportation system. These experiences sharpen the mind and challenge our assumptions, skills we aim to develop in the classroom, as well.

2. Reconnect with Your Inner Self:

Never undervalue the power of an exciting travel adventure! Often our best ideas come to us when we are able to reflect outside of work. Travel takes you away from the daily to-do lists and obligations, the constant ringing of our phone, and gives us perspective. Reconnect with yourself during a trip abroad, and come home with new inspiration, a deeper understanding of your passion as a teacher and a refreshed outlook!

3. Gain Professional Experience Abroad:

Dreaming of spending time abroad, but worried about focusing on your career and saving money? Greenheart Travel has unique work opportunities abroad over the summer teaching English. And of course, teachers make great candidates. Earn professional development units, develop your teaching skills, and make a positive impact in the lives of young students. Learn more about how you can teach abroad in Europe this summer.

4. Make an Impact:

Seeking a different type of trip abroad? You can inspire your students to be global leaders by volunteering abroad and demonstrating your passion for positive social change. These opportunities will also expand your network by connecting you to passionate individuals who care about the environment and important social causes.  Learn more about you can volunteer abroad!

5. Spoil Yourself!

Teaching is a tough and often under-appreciated profession that takes patience, flexibility, and a lot of heart. Travel may require a good amount of planning and resources, but it is one of the best “presents” you can give yourself.

All of us at Greenheart Travel love to support teachers who want to make their travel dreams a reality by helping them plan for their next adventure. To learn more about how you can travel for a change, get in touch by contacting Molly Fried at mfried@greenhearttravel.org or 1-888-ABROAD-1.

Tell us where you would like to travel this year. Comment below!

Last month, we shared 3 Reasons Why Telling Your Travel Story is Important. One place you definitely don’t want to overlook the power of storytelling is on your college application! Greenheart Travel has three tips for alumni who want to help their application stand out.

Click the slide to get started!

Whether it is travel blogging, giving a presentation or posting videos, it takes courage to share your story, but seizing those opportunities can create positive change in profound ways. Spreading awareness about important issues around the world make the most impact when they are told from a personal perspective, and our Greenheart Travel alumni are definitely not short on travel stories.

Here are 3 reasons why telling your story is important:

1. We learn more from reflecting on our travel memories than from the experience alone.

It’s true! The time that lapses after returning home creates space for us to think about the past months and how we have changed. When looking back on our travel experience we can begin to understand the wisdom and skills we have gained from going abroad.

2. Your stories promote the value of cultural exchange.

Inspire others to travel for a change by sharing your personal story. By having the courage to travel abroad, you have empowered others by setting an example for exploration. Traveling abroad is one of the most effective ways to foster peace and understanding, making the world of tomorrow a better place.

3. Travel talk is fun!

Why are there so many travel shows, blogs and meet ups? Because adventures are exciting and so is trading stories of triumphs and humorous cultural mishaps! It might not always seem like it, but there are millions of people out there that think what you did is AWESOME and they want to hear about it.

By sharing your story of cultural exchange, you will bring your host country to life, as well as:

• Relive your experiences abroad
• Build resume skills and show off new leadership skills
• Inspire others to think about the world in a new way

If you detest public speaking, we get you. However, we know that Greenheart Travel alumni have so much potential and can be incredibly brave. When you traveled alone, you demonstrated great leadership by taking a chance and trying something new.  Just like spending time in a foreign country, the benefits to getting outside your comfort zone are real.

To be inspired by your fellow alumni’s stories, check out these alumni videos!

What travel stories do you want to share with your community? Take the first step and share them in our comments section!

photo by Kayla Cluff, Greenheart Travel Ambassador

While studying or living abroad, every day is a new adventure. Our friends and family at home impatiently wait for updates and photos from us, and we feel as though everyone is living vicariously through our experiences. It’s a rush! However, after we return home and the excitement slowly wears off, most of us can’t help but feel a little down.

If you are experiencing any of the following, don’t worry, these are actually signs you fully immersed yourself in the culture and country and are having a case of culture shock:

• You love reliving memories. You have photos of you and your friends from your Japanese high school all over your room. You spend hours re-reading journal entries or blogs you kept while overseas. All the feelings come back.
• You still “live abroad” online. Your current city on Facebook is still Salamanca, Spain even though you’ve been back in Pittsburgh for five months. Every #throwbackthursday is an excuse to share your photos from your volunteer experience at the Costa Rica Eco-Reserve on Instagram.
• Everything reminds you of your life overseas. Your friend asks what time it is, and you see it as an opening to start talking about how you mastered military time in Australia. It’s not 4pm, it’s 16:00. Your friend looks annoyed.
• Life feels less colorful. You miss the local slang, the midday meal breaks, and the newness of everything in your host country.
• You miss everything.

Sounds familiar? You are not alone. All of us at Greenheart Travel have been there more than once. If you’re feeling a bit of return culture shock and want someone to talk to about what to do next, get in touch! Greenheart’s new Alumni Program provides a community and new opportunities for you to get involved and share your stories!

To learn more about how to get connected and involved, please visit our Alumni Program webpage.

Where you have traveled with Greenheart Travel? Share your stories in the comment section below!

by Molly Fried

Molly shares how dysfunctional childhood family vacations taught her valuable lessons for traveling in a group as an adult and why you should plan your group trip today.

My earliest memories of traveling with a group were loosely-planned family vacations. We often visited relatives in Detroit, and then traveled farther north to the Upper Peninsula where the weather in the summer is cool and pleasant. As one of five children, I learned from an early age the advantages and disadvantages of being surrounded by different personalities in a new place. From fights in the car to the daily arguments about our itinerary, there were plenty times when I got frustrated with this group I was born into and dreamed of more independent days in my future adulthood. Yet, despite our complaining, my parents were resolute that we stick together as a group, knowing that these trips would become our favorite memories as adults (they were right).

As we got older, my parents took us on more adventurous trips. I remember my brother encouraging me to go on my first rollercoaster at an amusement park in northern Ohio. They took our photo on the ride and he was smiling from ear-to-ear next to a girl whose skin had turned a horrible shade of green. I also remember when my dad faced his deathly fear of heights, braving a group mule ride along the Grand Canyon during a family road trip through the Southwest. And I could never forget when my mom and I decided to try barbecued alligator in the Everglades to the shock of my Pescetarian-raised family. We squabbled about most activities, but we were learning to push each other outside our comfort zones so we could try new things together, bringing us closer as a family.

During college and the years that followed, I was lucky to go on group trips abroad to countries such as Turkey, Lithuania and Sweden. Sometimes I traveled with friends, sometimes colleagues and I also signed up for organized volunteer trips with complete strangers who became good friends. The lessons I learned from traveling with my large family as a child guided my principles traveling with groups as an adult. I had learned over the years to go with the flow, value collective decisions, and take time each day for solitary reflection. While traveling with a group means making a commitment to enjoy these new destinations and experiences together, it is important to find your sense of self in a foreign environment.

Now all my siblings are grown and live in different cities, but we continue to go on more adventures together. Our trip to the majestic Rajasthan region in India last year included elephant rides, wandering around ancient temples, and sleeping each night aboard a moving train. In this unbelievable setting, our large group actually fought very little and took comfort in being together, especially in the evenings as we gobbled up traditional Indian meals and recalled our new shared experiences.

Joining the team at Greenheart Travel, I often meditate on these amazing travel memories, especially when we create new itineraries for Group Volunteer Programs Abroad. Even if you are just thinking about solo adventures for now, I encourage you to consider the benefits of traveling with others in the future as it can strengthen your own community and maximize your volunteer impact at the destination. Whether you travel with friends or complete strangers on an organized service trip, there is always something new to be learned from sharing experiences with others. But I wouldn’t recommend the barbecued alligator.