你會說英語嗎? (Can you speak English?)
By Malgorzata Tekgoz, Work and Travel Market Research Analyst
If we weren’t lucky to be born to a multilingual family, most of us at some point in our lives took attempt to learn a foreign language. Everyone has a different experience, but for many people, living in a country and learning from its native speakers is be the best way to master a foreign language.
But simply living abroad does not automatically make us speak the country’s language. Looking at an example of immigrants who often stay within their community and do not make too much effort to learn the local language, often do not speak the language of the country they reside in.
First and foremost we need to WANT to learn the language and IMMERSE OURSELVES in it. Stepping out of our comfort zone and spending more time with native speakers is a great way to start. Participants of cultural exchange and volunteer programs abroad have one of a kind opportunity to be really immersed with locals: host families, co-workers, and roommates. Being away from home and familiar words and phrases can motivate to familiarize the new and the undiscovered: the new language, new culture and customs. Let’s remember that a language is not only words and phrases, there is a meaning behind it that derives from the country’s history, culture, music, politics and art.
Another tip that helped me personally was to FORGET DIRECT TRANSLATION from your native language, as often times it may make no sense, and focus on listening and repeating new phrases. It’s imitating in a way, but this is how babies learn the language and it seems to work for them!
Exploring LITERATURE, MUSIC AND MEDIA in general is also a great way to enrich our vocabulary, learn idioms and useful everyday words that we might otherwise never hear in a classroom.
Let’s also not forget also about the NON-VERBAL CUES and EMOTIONS expressed in the conversation. While there is a universal body language, every country has gestures that should be learned to add an appropriate dimension to our interactions with locals and often save us from oblivious faux pas. Giving someone thumbs up in U.S. or Europe is a positive gesture, but would it mean the same in Iran or several other Middle Eastern countries? These are the details we should be aware of, as they inseparable from the language. 
Becoming fluent in another language undisputedly opens door for a different point of view. It enables us to look at similar cultural phenomenons from another perspective. But on our way to the fluency, BE OPEN MINDED, DO NOT judge other cultures and people, and you may become fluent faster!
POWODZENIA! (Good Luck)
Recognizing Service at CCI Greenheart
By Laura Rose, CEO, CCI Greenheart (Greenheart International)
Last month, CCI Greenheart implemented Service Awards to recognize staff who have been with the organization for five, ten, or 15 years of service. For this first award ceremony, we recognized staff who have been with us for 5-9 years (the 5 year service award); 10-14 years (the 10 year service award); and 15 years or more (the phenomenal 15 year service award)! We are excited that 25% of our full-time staff has now been with us for five years or more, and we hope that percentage continues to grow.
Our 5 year Service Award recipients were:
Nicole Cook (9 yrs.), Andrea Dennis (7 yrs.), Joanna Flagler (7 yrs.), Mary (Muffy) Grant (7 yrs.), Liz Henning (8 yrs.) Melissa Hickok (5 yrs.), Karen Hilgefort (6 yrs.), Adriana Klopfer (5 yrs.), Katherine Lapinski (9 yrs.), John Matthews (8 yrs.), Erin Nyhan (6 yrs.), Leslie Patt (6 yrs.), Jude Rodriguez (7 yrs.), Colleen Schaefers (5 yrs.), Lori Tibbett (9 yrs.), Gwen Vitzthum (9 yrs.) and Monica Yates (9 yrs.)
Pictured Above: Monica Yates, Liz Henning, Gwen Vitzthum, John Matthews, Jude Rodriguez, Leslie Patt, Melissa Hickok, Joanna Flagler, Kate Lapinski, Andrea Dennis
Our 10 year Service Award recipients were:
Carolyn Behl (12 yrs.), Daniel Ebert (13 yrs.), Juliet Jones (12 yrs.), Megan McGaughey (12 yrs.)
Pictured Above: Daniel Ebert, Carolyn Behl and Megan McGaughey
Our 15 year Service Award recipients were:
Claudia Curran (18 yrs.), Connie Dean (15 yrs.), Emanuel Kuntzelman (28 yrs.), Laura Rose (19 yrs.), Lee White (16 yrs.)
Pictured Above: Claudia Curran
Congratulations to all of our award recipients! We are grateful for your commitment to CCI Greenheart, and we look forward to recognizing more staff at the 2nd annual award ceremony next spring.
Touring through the Desert with Greenheart!
By: Dan Munroe, Work and Travel Employer Relations Coordinator
It was a steamy hot afternoon along the San Andreas Fault in Palm Springs, CA. The Going Greenheart Tour sped along in a jeep filled with the smiles of five of our Work and Travel participants, who were taking a well-deserved day off from the hard work that they had been doing in Palm Springs.
Our guide led our Jeep into the dry desert sun, stopping to point out local plants and animals. Everyone was excited about being able to spot both a Road Runner and a Spotted Rattlesnake!
We started our journey by visiting a replica of an old Native American settlement. The guide explained to us that it was the Cahuilla Tribe who made their residence in the Palm Springs area, and inhabited this area years ago. He showed us what the tribe did to find food and water, as well as how they used the palm tree and other plants to make shelter and weapons. Our group was also able to sit in a replica of a sweat lodge. The guide explained that the men of the Cahuilla Tribe used the sweat lodge to try and mask their scents prior to going on hunts.
Next, we made our way to a replica mining town that was set up to show what life was like for early settlers in the area. There we saw what a jail, grocery store and telegraph station would have looked like at that time. The participants were even able to mine for a little gold as well!
The final leg of the journey was up into the mountains that surrounded the area. Thankfully our Jeep, a CJ-8 model, was able to handle the quick turns and tight crevasses of the desert terrain. We were given the opportunity to climb into some of the tighter areas that our Jeep couldn’t go into. This gave some of our participants one more chance to show off their smiles. We had a great time for sure!
By: Billie Burgess, a Local Coordinator in Michigan.
For Global Youth Service Day 2013, CCI Greenheart students from two schools came together to help raise awareness of the need for healthy living. They joined forces with the Local Wildcat PRIDE Runfest Committee and Lakeview School Wellness Committee to help raise money for programs to fight Childhood Obesity. They worked together to provide a healthy dinner for the community. The purpose of the dinner was to educate the adults of the community to alternative ways to eat, in turn providing healthier choices to the kids of the community. 
All that attended were pleasantly surprised to find that they enjoyed the healthy versions, even the green smoothies. In the end we were also able to enjoy the fact that we had the world in the room helping to provide this great service to the community.
Grasp Your Inspiration
By: Alzbeta Poloncekova, an AYP student and Greenheart Club member from the Czech Republic. Alzbeta is currently spending her year abroad in Colorado.
We intake information from all around us. We create who we are, what we think and how we behave on what surrounds
us. We some see people and we know we want to be just a little more like they are. And right now, as exchange students in our critical stage of life and in time that’s so important to our development, we do it even more than we ever did before.
This year, we got the chance to experience something new and different. Something we adore at some times and don’t understand at others. Our host country has a different culture than ours and some things are done differently. I’m sure all of us miss something about our home countries but appreciate something else about our host countries. It is so very important that we got to see this entire picture and we can base our decisions for life not only on what our culture sees as right, but what we see as right.
This year, I have met a lot of inspirational people, I have gone to a lot of inspirational websites, read a lot of good and interesting quotes. And I wanted to keep a little something from each of these. Something I’ll be able to read through and look at when I need some inspiration. Something, that will keep me going.
Therefore, I created a little notebook for myself. Covered it with stickers that have a personal meaning for me, scotch taped my psychology notes in it and put quotes from songs, from famous people, from my teachers in it. I do a lot of brainstorming in it too. That way, I can always go back to it when I need it.
Our minds aren’t always great and we don’t remember everything we’d like to remember, thus it’s nice if we can keep it somewhere else. It’s up to you where you keep your inspiration. Just don’t be afraid to grasp it and live based on your beliefs and your understanding of others. Go out there and try to make a difference whenever you can. Try doing a little better every single time so that eventually you can say you followed your inspirations to a meaningful life.
By: Luis Federico, Work and Travel Program Assistant
Welcome to the Launch Party!
One of the reasons I was excited to join the CCI Greenheart team was for everything that it stands for. In addition to providing amazing service to those wanting to travel and experience cultural immersion in a different country than their own, it also is involved in many projects to help the community. Last Friday we were all able to experience a celebration of the extra work that Greenheart does for the community and the environment at the Greenheart International Launch party.
I’m on the far right, with two of my co-workers
The Launch party was held for two main reasons: to launch CCI’s new name, Greenheart International, and to raise money for the Environmental Service Learning Scholarship program in Costa Rica, which provides an outlet for underprivileged Chicago teens with the desire to travel. It was a success! A lot of money was raised for the scholarship and the turnout was great! The Greenheart team was able to enjoy Flamenco performances, lively music, dancing, delicious food, good company, and much more!
The Launch Party was a great way to show the Chicago community that at the core of Greenheart International‘s mission is promoting cultural understanding and academic development, including those who cannot always experience it by their own means.
The Flamenco Dancers
In addition, for me it was a great way to unwind and socialize with coworkers outside the work environment, and be a part of the greater mission of Greenheart. I enjoyed the Flamenco performance, the music, and the food! Having just experienced a Chicago Symphony performance the night before, which also celebrated Flamenco singing and Spanish composition, the Greenheart dance performance was an excellent way to tie it all together. It was definitely a night to remember for all who attended!
One Big Family on the Greenheart Hawaii Trip
By Kate Serbul, CCI Greenheart exchange student, and Greenheart Trip participant
Kate volunteering
Everybody was waiting was this trip for a long time, we all couldn’t wait to have a one of a kind experience, meet new people, and just have fun! In fact, our trip was beyond any of our expectations. Nobody knew you could achieve so much in so little time!
First of all we did so many different and unique activities like snorkeling which got us really excited, like little kids. We also hiked which was hard but rewarding and also fun because of the people you are doing it with. In my opinion, the hiking taught us how to cooperate better together. Surfing was just amazing. It was like a dream come true for most of us (even though I didn’t really do well at it, it was really cool to watch other kids being able to do it!). Kayaking was a great example of team work and it was just a great time spent, and it was the first time we saw a sea turtle! All those activities in general I would put under the category, “have fun & stay fit!” Everybody was sore the next morning after those activities, but it was so much fun that we didn’t even pay attention to the pain from the unusual workout, the sunburns, or anything. We were opened up for a new day and new experiences each time!
The group hiking
As this trip was a part of the Greenheart organization (which we bring our gratefulness & appreciation to for arranging the trip!), we did some volunteering during our trip too. That was really fun which I would never thought it would be. I believe the volunteering we did was very useful. It may seem like we didn’t do much, but if everybody makes a small effort to change something, it will surely make the world better! The volunteering also gave us a better understanding of Hawaiian culture.
We also had a couple of Greenheart workshops, we all found them very interesting and useful. The workshops opened our eyes on some things,and gave us an opportunity to think about globally important issues on a mature level.
Another good thing is that all of us students became really close. We were one big family, which made the trip even better!
We are all really grateful we were able to attend such an amazing trip, it sure had a great impact on each and everyone of us and we all learned something from it! We also would like to thank our wonderful leaders-Molly and Stephanie and everybody else who helped organizing this trip!
