Hi friends and family! Just a reminder that we are traveling to Guinea Nov 18-Nov 28 for our student-led expedition. Connectivity is difficult so we will most likely be without Internet during this time. Our two weeks in Temento Samba went too......Read More
Dear Amigxs, It’s hard to believe that our time in Tiquipaya is coming to end. I am currently sitting in the program house sipping on ginger tea while the students are valiantly planning their Expedition Phase. Last weekend some of the students......Read More
Don Alfredo. A master jewler, an avid basketball fan, a caring father and son, and an owner of two overweight but adorable dogs. When I walked into my ISP on the first day and met Don Alfredo, I thought it was just going to be learning the art of......Read More
As responsible and ethically-minded travellers, we have questioned how to strike a balance between engaging with a culture deeply as well decoratively, and whether we bring to Nepal a narrative of austerity shaped by the media and preconceptions. We......Read More
Passing through Balamchaur again on our last day of trek was a somewhat surreal experience– like stepping back into an old pair of shoes. But not your favorite shoes, the shoes that are beaten and broke in perfectly to your foot, no, more like......Read More
To celebrate Muskaan’s birthday we all went to dinner at a vegan restaurant here in Kunming. We even had a vegan cake! This is our final weekend here in Kunming. On Monday we’ll head north to the village of Nanyao outside of Lijiang (still in......Read More
We have just come down from Na village, the highest point on our trek, at 4,200m/13,800 ft. We spent two nights there where we hiked to the sacred lake Tso Rolpa and we spent a full day resting and watching the mountains and glaciers absorb the......Read More
Lama Tsering sits across the table from me, sipping a cup of chai. I haven’t touched mine yet — perpetually afraid I’ll burn my tongue, I always let it cool for way too long first, then try my best to avoid drinking the skin that......Read More
Photo 1: Said demonstrates how the potters make, glaze, and fire the famous green pottery/ceramics of Tamegroute. Photo 2: Students in the oldest and one of the largest kasbahs (“castles”) in Morocco made in the 1550s. Thirty families cohabitate......Read More
The first sound I hear after I wake up, besides the incessant trill of my 6:00 alarm, is the laundry man. Sound is a constant in Varanasi: the honking of motorcycles and rickshaws; the mooing of the street cows; the denizens of this gloriously noisy......Read More
Hi it’s Liv and Alden. Today was a sunny, majestic, sweaty, busy day here along the Mighty Mekong. We started the day off at a ripe 3 AM and headed, by bike, to Angkor Wat. Buzzing with excitement, we waited for the sun to rise from behind the......Read More
Today is the first day of our homestay in Sampela, Wakatobi. After arriving in this village, Andar met us and took us to his home where all the families waited, curious to meet all of the students–their new children for the next 12 days.......Read More
In the past few weeks since leaving San Juan, among all of the intense, memorable experiences and fortunate opportunities we have had, Cooperativa Nuevo Horizonte near Santa Ana, Petén stands out. After the Guatemalan Civil War, ex-guerrilleros......Read More
I recently took a poll of everyone’s favorite word or phrase in Chinese. I’ve included the characters and meaning of each person’s selection, our Chinese names, and a photo of the poll itself. 奔腾 Bennett:......Read More
I’m Madeleine, one of the China semester instructors, along with Zack and Long Yun. It feels strange to introduce myself again, having done it around three months ago on this same Yak board. Then I was saying hello; this time I have to say......Read More
