GAP YEAR Fall & Spring Semester Programs
THE LEADER IN CROSS-CULTURAL + EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION SINCE 1993
OUR PROGRAM COMPONENTS T H E B U I L D I N G B LO C K S O F E V E R Y D R AG O N S C O U R S E We adventure. We explore. We learn. A Dragons course is designed to be a full immersion journey. We employ nine experiential program components to ensure that every course is a well-rounded experience.
RUGGED TRAVEL
HOMESTAY
LANGUAGE STUDY
Dragons students are
In a Tajik yurt, in a Bedouin
Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish…
travelers not tourists. We
tent, in an apartment in
All courses include
use local transportation
Kunming… Every student
language instruction. Few
and pile into tuk-tuks,
is carefully matched with a
skills do more to empower
train cars, and Tata buses.
local family.
students.
ASIA CHINA: SOUTH OF THE CLOUDS
INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECTS (ISPs)
LEARNING SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Students are paired
We take pride in learning
Through local activists
with local mentors
first and helping second.
and international NGOs,
to study a particular
Students use a four-step
students expand their
question, craft, or cultural
process to listen, assess,
understanding of what it
tradition in depth.
act, and then evaluate.
means to be “developed.”
SOUTHWEST CHINA AND ITS TAPESTRY OF C Develop a deep understanding of modern China urban communities, with travel to China’s Far W
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
NEPAL: HIMALAYAN STUDIES
NEPALESE ARTS, SPIRITUAL PRACTICES, AND HIGHEST PEAKS From Kathmandu to nomadic encampments of traditions in the recesses of the Himalayas.
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
INDONESIA: COMMUNITY, CULTURE, &
FOCUS OF INQUIRY (FOI)
COMPARATIVE RELIGION
Some Dragons students
TREKKING
Every Dragons course
We consider how local
hike over 16,000ft passes
is built around an
spiritual beliefs and
in the Andes; others stroll
academic theme to
practices shape our
to waterfalls in the
better explore local and
understandings of reality.
jungles of Laos.
global issues.
HUMAN ECOLOGY, CULTURAL ETHNOGRAPHY Travel to remote corners of Indonesia’s island ar crystal clear waters, and learn from ancient trad
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
MEKONG: TIBETAN PLATEAU TO THE
SOCIO-CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMP IN SOUTHEAST ASIA Experience vast cultural diversity, jaw-dropping while following the course of the Mekong River.
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
MYANMAR: TRADITIONS & TRANSFOR
BUDDHIST SPIRITUALITY, COMMUNITY ACTIVI Immerse yourself in the remote hills of Shan Sta the resilience and ageless beauty of one of Asia
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
INDIA: HIMALAYAS TO THE GANGES R
EASTERN SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS, SACRED SP THE MOUNTAINS Discover the arts of India and the country’s myr homestay families in Varanasi, India’s most sacr
C O N TA C T U S : I N F O @ W H E R E T H E R E B E D R A G O N S . C O M
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
AFRICA WEST AFRICA: THE RHYTHMS OF SENEGAL
CULTURES a through extensive exploration of rural and West, the Tibetan Plateau, and Yunnan Province.
TRADITIONAL ARTS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND SPIRITUALITY From peanut farming villages to mangrove islands, dive into the cultural and spiritual traditions of a country renowned for its generosity and hospitality.
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
MADAGASCAR: CULTURAL & ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
D TREKKING AMID THE EARTH’S the Tibetan Plateau, discover centuries-old
RUGGED TRAVEL AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN FAR-FLUNG LOCALES Study endangered landscapes and cultures, witness the complexities of development, and discover the natural wonders of the “8th continent.”
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
MOROCCO: ANCIENT CITIES TO THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS
& CONSERVATION
Y, AND RUGGED ADVENTURE rchipelago to live among sea nomads, snorkel in ditions.
HEART OF SOUTHEAST ASIA
PACTS ALONG THE GREATEST RIVER
g natural beauty, and heart-warming hospitality .
RMATION
ISM, AND POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION ate and the dusty streets of Mandalay. Discover a’s most devout Buddhist countries.
RIVER
PACES, AND THE MAJESTY OF
riad spiritual practices while living with generous red Hindu city.
CULTURAL IMMERSION IN THE NEXUS OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST From forested mountains to the Sahara Desert, study the languages, faith, & diversity of culture that make up the western most outpost of the Arab world.
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
LATIN AMERICA SOUTH AMERICA: ANDES & AMAZON CULTURAL, POLITICAL, AND ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN BOLIVIA AND PERU Experience dramatic extremes in geography and the human experience, with remote travel through rainforest and Andean wilderness.
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
GUATEMALA & NICARAGUA: SPANISH LANGUAGE AND GRASSROOTS ACTIVISM SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CONSERVATION ALONG THE INTERCONTINENTAL LAND BRIDGE Build Spanish language fluency, examine pressing social issues, and enjoy a hands-in-the-dirt approach to understanding culture and community.
PROGRAM COMPONENT EMPHASIS:
TESTIMONIALS
“
“My semester with Dragons inIndonesia ignited a passion for environmental and social justice causing me to choose my specific majors and minors at school. It gave me so much direction for who I want to be. Even three years later, I think about my homestays, instructors, and friends from the trip all the time.” —CRISSY M cCARTHY, INDONESIA SEMESTER
“I learned far more on this course than I expected. I knew I would learn about Nepaland its history, language, people, and religions.But beyond that, I learned what it means to be a global citizen and about the interconnectedness of my actions.” —ZOE BARR, NEPAL SEMESTER
“My biggest goal was to leave the trip more present, curious, and inspired. I came alive on this trip. I am excited to continue topush myself when I return home.” —E L WILL IAMS, SOUTH AMERICA SEMESTER
“The Ladakhi guides, the Buddhist monks and nuns, my language teacher, my host family—all these friendships opened my eyes to how diverse the world can be and how many lifestyles one might find to suit them.” —CHARLIE SANTOS, INDIA SEMESTER
“Iam leaving with a foundation on how totravel, learn, expand my world view, and connect with people on a deeper level.” —GRACE POWELL, SOUTH AMERICA SEMESTER
“This will be the most profound experience of your life. It will be educational, exciting, beautiful, challenging, deep,and raw. The hardest moments will teach you just as much as, if not more than, the magical ones.” —CLAIRE LINDSAY, WEST AFRICA SEMESTER
PHOTOS Cover Maria Xu, Nepal Semester student; Inside Left Grace Powell, South America Semester Student; Inside Middle Dragons Archives; Inside Top Right Nicos Christou, Senegal Program Student; Inside Bottom Right Julianne Chandler, Latin America Program Director
W W W.W H E R E T H E R E B E D R A G O N S . C O M / S T U D E N T S