High School Study Abroad Exchange Program in Spain

Many people use Greenheart and have good experiences. Had everything gone smoothly with our child’s host family placement during her high school semester in Spain, that might have been true for us. However, if there is a need to move host families, you might not be able to count on Greenheart. Our daughter had to move due to domestic violence. Greenheart and their in-country partner CCI bungled just about every decision from the moment they were informed of the emergency up until our child’s last day with the program. After moving her to a new family and location, the local coordinator was a particular problem. She was strangely critical with our child and made statements that interfered with her relationship with the new host family.

Throughout the ordeal neither Greenheart nor CCI were proactive about ensuring our daughter’s well-being. Many organizations are suffering now with such low participation during the pandemic. But nothing can explain their insensitivity and poor judgment. Greenheart was having staff turnover so perhaps if they get their house back in order they can provide kind, attentive service. I wrote to the Greenheart CEO after our child was safely back in the country and was told that the problem was our daughter’s inability to adapt and make a success of her situation – they accepted no responsibility.

I recently have returned from a trimester abroad in Spain and I could not be more happy with how my exchange went! From the beginning, GreenHeart Travel stood out to me when I was searching for study abroad programs because of their communication skills and adaptability to my needs. They have a great team and always keep you updated before, during, and after your program. I feel this program prioritized my family and location program, trying to match my likes and interests with a potential host family. One of the best parts of my exchange was my host family! I am a volleyball player, so GreenHeart's team placed me in a city called Albacete, an area with many endorphin-burning activities, and with an active host family. It was perfect because we would run together and sometimes participate in marathons! I definitely recommend this program and my parents and I could not be more happy with my time in Spain!

Our daughter is spending the first semester of her sophomore year of High School studying in Spain. She has completed her first three months and is having an incredible experience. Her family is wonderful and school experience has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. Her Spanish has improved tremendously. She began the program with only one year of High School Spanish and has been able to participate in succeed in all of her classes. She has joined the volleyball team, which has been both fun and a great way to learn Spanish. She has made many friends and is learning how to navigate life on her own in Spain. We could not be happier with the experience she is having and the support we have gotten from Green Heart Travel. They were very helpful and responsive from the beginning and helped my daughter complete her application in a relatively short time.

I studied abroad through Greenheart Travel this past year. They found me the best host family who is now like an actual family to me who I will be in contact with forever. I made friends who really will last a life time and I learned so much. The staff was 100% always willing to help out and really helped prepare us at orientation. This experience actually changed me and impacted my life in ways I am still discovering. Its a growing experience, being away from everything familiar for an entire year. I went in not really having a deep understanding of Spanish but now I would consider myself a level of fluent. The most important part now that I'm home is to keep practicing Spanish. It feels funny to not be speaking Spanish constantly and not eating dinner at the normal Spanish hour 10:30 pm. All in all this was the experience of a life time and I can't wait to go back to Spain!

I loved my experience with Greenheart Travel in Spain. I had a great host family and learned a lot about Spanish culture. Greenheart provides the perfect amount of support and guidance throughout my time abroad and my parents were informed and had constants access to my coordinators. Everyone was really welcoming and I had countless fun experiences. Now I have memories upon memories that I will never forget.

Going abroad to Spain was an incredible experience which I will never forget. Greenheart truly takes the time to carefully match you with a family and location they see best fit for you. My host mother and I spent countless hours cooking and baking, which is a hobby I truly enjoy. Not only did this provide me with an opportunity to improve my Spanish, it provided me the opportunity to create a bond with my host mother.
In addition, Greenheart provides 4 private Spanish lessons for you once you arrive and are about halfway through the program. These lessons with my Spanish teacher were some of my favorite memories from the program. Our lessons consisted of us driving to neighboring towns and speaking of their rich culture and history. While we discussed what he was showing me, which ranged from statues of conquerors to castles ruins, he gentle corrected me on what he noticed to be habitual mistakes with my Spanish. This provided a comfortable environment for me to get the feedback I needed all while learning about the history of my surroundings.

I was placed in a family with 3 sisters all around my age. One day we decided to make brownies so I searched a recipe on the Internet in English and told them all the ingredients that went in. Well, I forgot about the difference between celcius and ferinhiet, and told her to set the oven to 350 degrees. My sister thought this was a little odd but did it anyway. After about 7 minutes of the brownies being in the oven, my other sister comes running over screaming that the brownies were on fire! We turned the oven down and the brownies surprisingly still tasted delisious! For the rest of my time in Spain when ever something bad happened our saying was don't worry eat brownies!

In high school I traveled to Spain and lived with a host family for 4 months. This was such an amazing experience and it really changed my life. I had to learn how to be very independent and live somewhere I did not know anyone and barely spoke the language. Studying abroad broadened my perspective and allowed me to experience a whole new culture. I loved my host family, they were so friendly and really helped me learn Spanish and adapt to Spanish life. They also took me traveling with them around Spain, which was incredible. I still speak to them today and would love to go back and visit soon. This program really helped me become a better student and has inspired me to travel more and experience even more cultures. I totally recommend it to all high school students!