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	<title>Comments on: Nine Questions to Ask Before Choosing an Educational Summer Travel Program</title>
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	<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/</link>
	<description>study abroad programs</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:37:07 -0800</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>By: Jonathan Shakes</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-4352</link>
		<dc:creator>Jonathan Shakes</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:29:59 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Nice article.  I suggest you add AFS-USA to the list of program providers.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Nice article.  I suggest you add AFS-USA to the list of program providers.
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		<title>By: Tim Patterson</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-3330</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Patterson</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:49:33 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Wow.  Chill out, Dan.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Wow.  Chill out, Dan.
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		<title>By: Dan</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-3329</link>
		<dc:creator>Dan</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:44:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://matadorabroad.com/?p=62#comment-3329</guid>
		<description>Tim,

This article is nothing short of disgusting. I hope that you are not a parent because I have a hard time imagining what kind of a child you would be capable of bringing into this world.
When you wrote:

&quot;Are students allowed to ride motor-bikes or hook-up with each other?&quot;

I actually threw up a little. The very idea that hooking up with someone is &quot;risky behavior&quot; is a joke, just like you are.

Your swimsuit test proves that you are infinitely bone-headed and closed minded. Yes, there are some cultures out there that consider showing skin to be culturally inappropriate. However, America is one of the least open countries in the world when it comes to showing skin. Most countries in Europe and around the world embrace the human body much more than we Americans do. Thus, when you said that bathing suits &quot;will alienate the local people and separate the students from the genuine culture they are ostensibly there to experience,&quot; You are doing nothing more than directly lying to your readers. 

And if you want to write an article that is even remotely believable, try not to get ALL of your pictures from a group with a name like &#039;Where There Be Dragons.&#039; Just because you work for them and want to promote your own company to curious parents doesn&#039;t mean that they&#039;re not one of the worst travel groups out there.

Finally, just because your drinking from a coconut in your profile picture doesn&#039;t mean you&#039;re a worldly person. Your not good.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tim,</p>
<p>This article is nothing short of disgusting. I hope that you are not a parent because I have a hard time imagining what kind of a child you would be capable of bringing into this world.<br />
When you wrote:</p>
<p>&#8220;Are students allowed to ride motor-bikes or hook-up with each other?&#8221;</p>
<p>I actually threw up a little. The very idea that hooking up with someone is &#8220;risky behavior&#8221; is a joke, just like you are.</p>
<p>Your swimsuit test proves that you are infinitely bone-headed and closed minded. Yes, there are some cultures out there that consider showing skin to be culturally inappropriate. However, America is one of the least open countries in the world when it comes to showing skin. Most countries in Europe and around the world embrace the human body much more than we Americans do. Thus, when you said that bathing suits &#8220;will alienate the local people and separate the students from the genuine culture they are ostensibly there to experience,&#8221; You are doing nothing more than directly lying to your readers. </p>
<p>And if you want to write an article that is even remotely believable, try not to get ALL of your pictures from a group with a name like &#8216;Where There Be Dragons.&#8217; Just because you work for them and want to promote your own company to curious parents doesn&#8217;t mean that they&#8217;re not one of the worst travel groups out there.</p>
<p>Finally, just because your drinking from a coconut in your profile picture doesn&#8217;t mean you&#8217;re a worldly person. Your not good.
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		<title>By: Tim Patterson</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-2217</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Patterson</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:33:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://matadorabroad.com/?p=62#comment-2217</guid>
		<description>thanks for the comment, Katie - I switched the link.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>thanks for the comment, Katie &#8211; I switched the link.
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		<title>By: Tim Patterson</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-2216</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Patterson</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:28:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://matadorabroad.com/?p=62#comment-2216</guid>
		<description>Tim!  

Great to hear from you.  I hear you about group size being an issue for debate, but I really think a dozen students is the ideal size - if the group is much bigger, students spend too much time forming cliques.  

I really admire Visions though, and trust your judgment.  

See you next year -</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tim!  </p>
<p>Great to hear from you.  I hear you about group size being an issue for debate, but I really think a dozen students is the ideal size &#8211; if the group is much bigger, students spend too much time forming cliques.  </p>
<p>I really admire Visions though, and trust your judgment.  </p>
<p>See you next year -
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		<title>By: Tim Parsons</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-2215</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Parsons</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:58:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://matadorabroad.com/?p=62#comment-2215</guid>
		<description>I didn&#039;t know you wrote for Matador... I might&#039;ve bought you a coffee to get on your good side ;) Thanks for including us (Visions) on your list! We had a mom sign her daughter up yesterday after finding us here! Perhaps I may be biased because Visions takes 20-25 kids with 5-6 staffers, but I feel that it&#039;s not so much that there is one right size for a program. The right size for group depends on the nature and logistics of the program and the staff-student ratio, especially if creating open, honest, direct, and dynamic communication is intentionally incorporated into the program. I&#039;ve been on Visions programs with 14 participants and with 25, and both sizes have had their benefits and challenges. I agree completely, though, when it comes to encouraging parents to be in touch with former participants and their parents. Make sure the advertising materials accurately re-create the experience, ask tough questions about safety, supervision and communication, not to mention daily activities... the more research parents and participants do before signing up for a program, the more likely they are to find just the right fit. Perhaps I will see you on the road again next year? And punch Jessie in the arm for me? ;)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I didn&#8217;t know you wrote for Matador&#8230; I might&#8217;ve bought you a coffee to get on your good side <img src='http://matadorabroad.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />  Thanks for including us (Visions) on your list! We had a mom sign her daughter up yesterday after finding us here! Perhaps I may be biased because Visions takes 20-25 kids with 5-6 staffers, but I feel that it&#8217;s not so much that there is one right size for a program. The right size for group depends on the nature and logistics of the program and the staff-student ratio, especially if creating open, honest, direct, and dynamic communication is intentionally incorporated into the program. I&#8217;ve been on Visions programs with 14 participants and with 25, and both sizes have had their benefits and challenges. I agree completely, though, when it comes to encouraging parents to be in touch with former participants and their parents. Make sure the advertising materials accurately re-create the experience, ask tough questions about safety, supervision and communication, not to mention daily activities&#8230; the more research parents and participants do before signing up for a program, the more likely they are to find just the right fit. Perhaps I will see you on the road again next year? And punch Jessie in the arm for me? <img src='http://matadorabroad.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif' alt=';)' class='wp-smiley' />
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		<title>By: Katie Coffin</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-766</link>
		<dc:creator>Katie Coffin</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:29:53 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Hi Tim! This piece is really helpful for our students and parents as we all work to set realistic expecations about study abroad and to help EF ensure our clients&#039; safety.  Since there are many travel and language programs offered on our general website, could you please update the EF link to specifically show our language immerison programs?    EF International Language Schools  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ef.com/ils&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ef.com/ils&lt;/a rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;www.ef.com/ils&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/a&gt;    Thanks!  Katie  </description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hi Tim! This piece is really helpful for our students and parents as we all work to set realistic expecations about study abroad and to help EF ensure our clients&#039; safety.  Since there are many travel and language programs offered on our general website, could you please update the EF link to specifically show our language immerison programs?    EF International Language Schools  <a href="http://www.ef.com/ils" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a><a href="http://www.ef.com/ils</a rel="nofollow">&#8221; target=&#8221;_blank&#8221;></a><a href="http://www.ef.com/ils" rel="nofollow">http://www.ef.com/ils</a>    Thanks!  Katie
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		<title>By: Tim Patterson</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-764</link>
		<dc:creator>Tim Patterson</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:39:47 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>I&#039;m hanging out with Jessie from Triskallian at the moment - he says they run surfing trips, so there are lots of swimsuit photos in their catalog...he requests an exception to the swimsuit rule, which is fine by me.  </description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#039;m hanging out with Jessie from Triskallian at the moment &#8211; he says they run surfing trips, so there are lots of swimsuit photos in their catalog&#8230;he requests an exception to the swimsuit rule, which is fine by me.
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		<title>By: Allaaaaaaana!</title>
		<link>http://matadorabroad.com/nine-questions-to-ask-before-choosing-an-educational-summer-travel-program/comment-page-1/#comment-765</link>
		<dc:creator>Allaaaaaaana!</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:41:59 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Tim - amazing article!  Your passion for responsible youth travel shines through this article and through you!  </description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Tim &#8211; amazing article!  Your passion for responsible youth travel shines through this article and through you!
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