USA

I had a really bad experience with Ciee:s high school program. It is such a terrible scam on young students and their families. Ciee gives a really bad name for the whole exchange industry. Ciee does not take any responsibility for their own mistakes. They put my teen in danger many times. From the first day there were undocumented people in the host family. The second host family's father had anger controll issues and when he got mad he yelled and told our teen to [redacted]. Then the host family left our teen to a shopping center and left him there. This host family (Arnell Sison) also stopped communicating and did not offer any meals and left him alone for days, for example over christmas holidays!!!!!! Ciee's local coordinator (Peter Porciuncula) told me that he thinks my son is telling me a string of lies. Ciee's support director [redacted] issues him a warning letter for "not adjusting". [redacted] also "organized" totally unnecessary vaccinations for my son, because she just so incompetent. All my son's vaccinations had been checked before he started the first school.
Host family #3 would have kept our teen to the end of the contract, but support director [redacted] kept harassing him with threats to be sent home if " this family is not satisfied. Since there was no problem with the family, Ciee said he is not doing well enough in school and organized him to be dissmissed and sent [redacted] from Portland(Maine) to take him out of the family to a local hotel, and the next day our teen was threatened to be taken to jail if he did not go to the airport with [redacted]. That was all done without my agreement and I think the hotel night was strange. [redacted] had thanked our son for being dismissed, because that's why [redacted] got to travel to California!!!!!!! Taking a minor to a hotel leaves also too good opportunity for all kinds of unwanted manipulation and good knows what else.
I want to warn and inform all students and parents not to give this business a change to misstreat your children. They just think they can take your money and break their own rules and blame it all on the student and then send the student home.
This all is continuing, because the State Department is not supervising these exchange student companies well enough. That gives , in my opinion, disturbed and psycopathic individuals like Support director [redacted] and director of participant services [redacted] Stone an opportunity to behave in extremely unfair and inhumane way. In my opinion Ciee is a travesty of an exchange organization and should not be allowed to operate with young students! Check the backgrounds of the directors of Ciee also! It is quite interesting.

My trip to La Push this last April was the first immersion experience I was embarking on with GCN. I believed so much in the veracity of their assertion that they were providing unique immersion experiences to local communities worldwide and that's partly why I came to work for the organization. But belief and experience are two different things! This was not my first immersion experience given that I was born in a small village in the hinterlands of Cameroon, where vehicles hardly went, and we had neither running water nor electricity! So yes, coming to this country 2006 was the biggest immersion of my life. It was important to me to go on a trip and witness the experience from the eyes of a volunteer because as someone who had a very frugal upbringing in a village that is not even listed on the map of my country, I was sick and tired of organizations that portrayed our people as sad, terribly unhappy people with lives full of misery.

We arrived La Push and life slowed down to an unquestionable rhythm that seemed to mimic the Pacific waves that rolled unto the beautiful beaches and the sounds of the winds in the lush forest that surrounded this village. On our very first day we could not but marvel at the beautiful setting sun that hung suspended over the Pacific Ocean as we watched the eagles flying and disappearing into the gleaming light.

The entire week, everywhere we went, we were welcome with open arms and presents. From the tribal craftsman, whom I visited together with the elder of elders, Roger to the visits with James Jamie my friend and warm hospitality of Marie (the smell of indian tacos as we arrived their home......yum!). Mr Wilson, Roger and I talked about the origins of the Quileute, and Roger then sang his family song that could not be recorded or performed by even the other tribes members without the permission of his family. He prayed for the craftsman, his friend and tribal brother and I was invited to sing a song from my own tribe the Nso of the North West Province of Cameroon. In that little circle of friendship and kindred spirit, Mr Wilson, the craftsman, stated that it felt as if we had always known each other; as if there was no beginning to that moment and no end. I felt a peace of self I hadn't felt in a long time. A knowledge that I was back home in my little village Ndzeru, but yet miles away in La Push.

How can I begin to describe the music we made with Roger, who welcomed the entire GCN team to his home and in the true hospitality of the Quileute, gave us tribal musical instruments to practice a song on and then performed both Nso and Quileute Songs with us. What about the opportunity to sing and drum at the sacred circle that holds on Wednesday evenings and Roger performing for the GCN team on his Harmonica - a feat that even some old tribal members had never seen! What about the presents of necklaces, and a symbolic walking stick and medicine bag from the tribe's leading spiritual healer and craftswoman!

The GCN's team learned to listen to the voice within us that bid us to express our experience through art, guided by the tribal craftsman - a process and education in the myths and legends of the Quileute that I'll never forget. The cleaning projects, the trip to the rain forest and the overwhelming feeling of acceptance by the tribes' members are memories that are unforgettable.

I went on a trip that turned into a journey home. When I put on the gifts of fur (an addition to my Nso traditional regalia), necklace, and hold the walking stick decked with cowries and a feather, my countrymen nod their heads in understanding - a statement of our commonality and a clear indication that humanity is one.

Thank you GCN.

Overall, the Projects abroad staff was incredibly supportive, helpful, and accommodating. Not only did they make us feel comfortable and welcome as soon as we got off of the plane, but they continued to offer their assistance in any way possible and the staff member that accompanied us throughout our daily activities was amazing and certainly added to the overall experience I had in Costa Rica. I was there for two weeks and always felt safe and taken care of. Not only did projects abroad help plan activities, like dinners, trips to the beach, and other excursions before we arrived, but they also helped us plan last minute activities after we had arrived too. They were able to make last minute zip lining reservations and were easy to work in. They made sure that we were happy and could do what we wanted. Our placement in a local host family's house was great and we had no problems with our living arrangement. I went with a group of 14 girls, and they were able to house almost all of us in the same home. The volunteer placement at a local daycare was only a 25 minute drive, and they provided transportation that was never a problem. The first week we were there, we were arriving to the daycare before the children, and we were a bit confused as to what our role was. But, they quickly adjusted the time that we were picked up, and we arrived an hour later the next week. We felt a little uncomfortable in our placement at first, as we were unsure what our role was and what exactly we should be doing. After a couple days, we got the hang out of and felt more comfortable. Projects Abroad also has a lot of information on their website for people to read before they travel to their destination, it was specific and incredibly helpful to read and have a checklist provided for us of things to bring. The travel guide on the website covered all of the possible elements to expect, like what to bring, what to expect with our host family, and the general culture that we would be immersed in. The staff contacted us multiple times via email and phone before our trip in order to make us feel comfortable and answer any questions we may have. Overall, I was extremely happy with the accommodations and staff. They really care about you and want to make you happy, the projects abroad staff even attended dinners with us and truly just wanted us to enjoy our time in the country. This was my first time traveling abroad and I would definitely do it again with this organization. If you are new or nervous about traveling, this organization will make is easy and comfortable for you, as they are happy to do so.

I worked here for 10.5 months and it was terrible. You do get to learn great things about restoration and the environment. But, it is obvious that these people do not care about their employees. They treat you second rate and the host family's are no good people either. So many times I was so very hungry and I was somehow expected to survive on the pennies you are paid to perform manual labour! This is not just my story but the story of others. Earthcorps only cares about itself.
At one point there was an accident where a semi truck struck our work van full of people and earth corps refused to take us to a hospital but made us do hours of manual labour. Not only this but there was no police report filed. This only will do harm to the worker. It is obvious that we are undervalued. My body will never be the same again. Earthcorps seems like a nice place to work, but under its non profit blanket is a monster.

I've worked at terrible places for terrible people and this place takes the cow pie and makes you eat it.

We had a horrible experience with AFS. AFS charges exorbitant fees to exchange students. Our AFS student from Germany told us she paid $20,000 for her year in the US. The money goes to pay AFS staff, but they give nothing in return. Once an AFS student arrives, the student knows that she/he can find a "better" deal with a different family and can immediately dump your family for no reason. If the student wants to move to a family they think is better, AFS will immediately move them to a new family, without reason, regardless of how much it hurts your family. All that is important to AFS is the fees the student pays. They are ruthless profitteers. An AFS student we know had her teacher make an announcement to her classes that she didn't like her host family, and she was looking for a new family. AFS immediately rewarded her by moving her to a different family the same day. When I was in high school in the 1970's, AFS had a good reputation. Not any more. There is a reason that AFS receives such terrible ratings on this site and others. AFS has turned into an exploitative organization. My advice is to STAY AWAY FROM AFS!

I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Winant Claytons back in the 90's when I had finished my nurse training. I knew that if I went straight in to employment that I would never feel brave enough to leave that safe hub and do something for me. That's why being a volunteer with this organisation was so ideal- it wasn't too long, it gave me valuable experience and also offered the chance to travel.
I had a placement at Fountain House in New York and had really good accommodation with this. The staff there were very welcoming and I was made to feel a valued member of the team. I came away from there with oodles of confidence, which I think made me a better nurse when I came back to the UK.
I made some brilliant friends- Brits and Americans, and feel really lucky to still be in contact with some of these.
I travelled by myself for a month after and was able to stay with some volunteers from previous years- it felt like a very safe way to be able to travel alone.
I still feel incredibly positive about the organisation and how it has helped to shape my life. I'm so glad it's still around- will definitely be getting my children to look very seriously at this when they are old enough.

Studying abroad with Forum Nexus has been a life changing experience. This past summer I was able to take a cross- cultural sociology class that counted towards my sociology degree, while studying abroad in Europe. Forum Nexus offers many different courses to choose from. All of the professors were terrific; each one cared about the students and has a passion for teaching. Going to class was fun and enjoyable. Whether it was banana boat riding in the Greek islands to walking around Parc Guell in Barcelona to taking a gondola ride up to the top of Mount Blanc in France. I can say I left Europe with no regrets, new friendships and memories that I will cherish forever.

Looking for a adventure? Frontier is a great place to start. As an inexperienced traveler and a first time backpacker, frontier provided me with the flexibility to combine different projects while exploring a different region of the world. I was able to enjoy a once in a lifetime travel experience to beautiful places without the hassle and stress of planning it on my own. Not only have I done and seen amazing new things, I have met many wonderfully talented people along the way. I can't wait to continue my travels in the future and must give thanks to frontier for broadening my horizons.

Cons: tended to be unorganized, when I asked questions or needed information they did not seem to know the answer or where exactly to direct me during the booking process.
Need to alter budge each year, they seem to budget according to last years trail which does not suffice when transport or accommodation prices increase. They told the trail leader they have to pay out of pocket if we go over budget which should not be the case. They should compensate for those expenses.

My recent experience has been catastrophic I had a double placement for this current academic year. According to their web page and all interviews I had I was only required to provide “bed, meals and same care as I do to my own children”. Well that is not the case with AFS, first none of my children are in public school so I was unaware of how the public system works in this city. After I got the register in school I find out they have to use public transportation to get back and forth to school and I that I to cover that expense as well. I refused to cover that expense and the expense of the all the school fees on top of a 600 per student for a two week trip for their fall break that was mandatory. To add on the school is refusing to work with one of my student to help her accomplish the requirement need it for her to be able to graduate in her country as soon as she return. After my frustration I proceed to call the liaison and complain to her explain what was going on. AFS decided it to remove the students because they were concern that if I can afford to pay for the bus fare then if they get sick how will a pay for their medical bill…Which bring me to the second point they come with health insurance, not really you as a parent have to pay for the bill then submitted for reimbursement. They also told me that they were concern that I didn’t have enough furniture in the house, I was not aware that luxury was part of the requirements. I have 3825 sq. house and the only things I don’t have are a formal dining room and living room set. I do have 4 fully equipment bedrooms, kitchen, eat in kitchen and family room. Also I can’t understand how a company that makes 3,000,940.00 a year and are worth 11, 364,486.00 can’t take care of these extra fees. I don’t mind taking the girl into my life I already made adjustment for the utility bills, groceries, gas and entertainment bills. I did not include all the extras that they try to tell me I signed on for. Is this just me or AFS is horrible company that just sees this kids as big $ , because the fees charged to their parents are astronomical they pay for the regular year plus an extra fee in case they need to go to a private school. Well I try to change them so I can drive them every morning but they refused and told me to stop searching for school that there were going to stay in that specific public one whether they like it or no.

We were a host family for a 15 year girl from Germany. The experience in our home was great, but we never received regular contact from the organization as they promised to do at the beginning of the school year. Everything seemed alright until our student went on a weekend function at a beach house. There was an incident that occurred that gave me no choice but to contact CPS. Soon after the incident, the student was pulled from our home. They removed us from the Facebook group, which I thought was a kick in the teeth. I am seeking additional help to insure that this organization is held responsible for what occurred at the beach house, and the actions they took after the incident. Avoid AFS at all costs.