by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel High School Abroad Participant

My previous host family in Japan taught me some interesting words and phrases used in Japanese restaurants. Read more...

by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel High School Abroad Participant

In Japan, food is an important part of the culture and there are many types of restaurants to choose from. High School Abroad participant, Jes Stayton, decodes some of the lingo and definitions she has learned so far about the dining experience. Read more...

by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel High School Abroad Participant

 The flu ("infuruenza" in Japanese, from the English “influenza”) hits Japan hard every year, and the Japanese take it seriously. Many workers and students wear face masks, and the progress of the disease is tracked on the news. Huge bottles of hand sanitizer are placed outside public buildings for customers, students, and other people to use when they enter and exit. Read more...

by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel High School Abroad Participant

Many foreigners know that the Japanese always take their shoes off before they enter the house. However, what they don’t know is that this is actually part of a larger cultural belief that the ground (outside) is dirty and essentially separate from the floor of a house or a school. Read more...

Chicago’s winter temperatures and slushy streets didn’t hinder the enthusiasm at the Idealist.org Global Volunteer Fair, Feb. 22. Greenheart Travel was one of 14 organizations represented at the fair, offering information and inspiration to aspiring travelers and volunteers. Read more...

by Alison Baglien, Greenheart Travel Gap Year Abroad Participant

 My time in Peru has come to an end. It’s been an educational month: the culture, language, lifestyle and people have given me wonderful knowledge, insight, and most importantly, incredible memories. My time in Peru can be summed up by the things that I will miss and those that I will not. Read more...

 by Hannah Nevitt, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Abroad Participant

 Throughout the months I have faced a number of cultural “learning moments,” but none so defining as the day we debated the question of “How many continents are there?” My Costa Rican boss, Alvaro, had just returned from dropping volunteers off at the airport, when he came into the office baffled. He asked me to explain how it was possible that these bright, young Veterinary students could not properly know, “how many continents there were in the world.” Read more...

 by Jill Robinson, Greenheart Travel Project Assistant

 The stained glass windows of the Chicago Hope Academy saturated the walls in yellow on an otherwise grey morning, Feb. 15; a fitting decor for the 2010 Summer Opportunities Fair. Every year on President’s Day, the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund, a non-profit organization that provides high school scholarships and educational support services to economically disadvantaged Chicago students, hosts this informational fair. Read more...

by Jes Stayton, Greenheart Travel High School Abroad Participant

 High school can be a difficult time, but attending a high school in a country that speaks another language and embraces unfamiliar cultures and traditions is an adventure few can boast to their friends and family. Jes Stayton, currently studying in Japan, offers some advice to a prospective exchange student on making the most of this amazing experience. Read more...

by Hannah Nevitt, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Abroad Participant

Ask anyone in Alajuela about the “Road to Cuidad Quesada” and they will tell you it has taken 20 years to finish. However, finished would not be the best word to describe it…the word I would use is Terrifying. Long and winding, it’s gravel and rocky terrain is narrow in parts and still awaiting pavement. It is rumored to be a “short cut” compared to the other main road, and therefore calls to the adventure-seeking minds of taxi drivers and tourist chauffeurs alike; just the kind of temptation that would inspire my host mother’s brother in-law, Marco (a taxi and tourist driver) to venture in its direction. Read more...

 by Alison Baglien, Greenheart Travel Gap Year Participant

 Alison's Gap year program continues, but her time in Peru begins to wind to a close, but not before enjoying a few more Spanish classes, salsa beats and the local cuisine before heading on to her next destination. Read more...

 by Jill Robinson, Greenheart Travel Projects Assistant

 Greenheart Travel arrived in Philadelphia on Wednesday, just in time for the start of Idealist’s Global Volunteer Fair at the University of Pennsylvania. The morning started off a little rough as my colleague and I sat on LaGuardia’s runway for two hours waiting for the low-lying clouds to part before touching down in the City of Brotherly Love, but we were welcomed by sunny skies and a glittering skyline once we landed. Read more...

 by Hannah Nevitt, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Abroad Participant

 I am riding the bull. My hands clench the ropes as I attempt not to be thrown off in all directions, I can feel my heart pounding…and I can barely see a thing. I hear screams and yelling all around me. It all happens so fast… as if I am going in and out of consciousness… I blink for a brief second and Splash! I am instantly drenched with piercing white water and fall backwards into the raft. Read more...

by Hannah Nevitt, Greenheart Travel Volunteer Abroad Participant

 I have enjoyed and learned much from the connections with my host family, the locals, and the shared moments with other wandering souls just like me. Whether it’s learning how to make cheese and tortillas with my host mother, teaching my host siblings how to make S’mores, or sharing coffee with a holocaust survivor, these moments have all become inspirations. Read more...

 by Alison Baglien, Greenheart Travel Gap Year Participant

When it rains..it destroys! Cuzco and Machu Picchu are deemed under emergency for the next sixty days. In case you haven’t seen the news, massive downpours have caused mudslides which in return have stopped/seriously delayed travel, ruined homes, and left many with no shelter or food. Read more...