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This week, while listening to our knowledgeable guest speakers, engaging in discussions with my peers and leaders, and reflecting on those words while hiking through the mountains that frame the edge of Boulder, I’ve been thinking about my......Read More
With the snow falling, and temps dropping we huddled indoors today for the first time since becoming a pod. It is hard to believe that just yesterday we were hiking in 90 degree temps – and suddenly winter has arrived! Today was filled with......Read More
Dear Students and Families, Many of you are probably asking if it’s possible to vote in this year’s election cycle, and if so, how to go about doing so while on-course. In many areas of the world where we work voter enfranchisement is a right......Read More
Hi everyone! My name is Maddie Melton and I am so honored and excited to share in this Dragons adventure with you this semester as one of your instructors! I grew up near Washington D.C., but “home” has been a fluid and evolving state for many......Read More
La Patagonia y Yo When her name is called I think of the diverse ways in which she is known. The multiple names people call her. The intersecting factors that weave her story into the mountains of her being. I am reminded again and again que yo soy......Read More
The past few weeks in Bhutan has brought us intermittent rain and snow, so the weather on trek yesterday and today has been a much deserved respite – a perfect combination of brilliant sunshine and gentle cool breezes. Warm enough in the day......Read More
Q’EROS Our six days in Q’eros Sometime between the late fourteenth century and into the fifth century a small population of former Incan messengers disappeared into the Andes of Southern Peru. Forgotten by the Incas and too secluded for the......Read More
Something I never could have anticipated for this year is the amount of small daily surprises I encounter here in Jogja. These surprises—little moments of joy—come upon me at any time in the day. They break up the routine and remind me that my......Read More
The wood block art studio is a creative space on all its own. As you walk up a set of stone steps, the smell of mosquito incense and a faint hint of cigarette smoke greets you at the front door. If you turn back and look down the stairs, Ucup’s home village dots across a sprawling green space. The sounds of chickens, a screaming goat that sounds scarily human, and the shouts of children playing take up the audible space around us. Ucup, the instructor we worked with for the three weeks we spent in Jogja, stands up with an… Read More
On Tuesday, March 3rd, most of our group decides to explore one of the most powerful places in Jogjakarta: the Sultan’s southern square. The square is the final point in an ellipses punctuating the flow of power between the volcanically active......Read More
The following has been translated by the Instructor Team on behalf of Kat’s host mom, Ibu Suparmi Let me introduce myself, my name is Suparmi, I am 55 years old. My husband is Agus Hartono, he is 56 years old. I have two children,......Read More
If you had happened to be walking down 4th avenue in San Miguel Escobar last Saturday around noon, you would have seen me and my Spanish teacher Blanca carrying a massive, scalding frying pan in a Guatemalan swaddling cloth woven for newborn babies.......Read More
Every night, I set my alarm for 7:10 AM, but it never wakes me up. Instead, I am woken up around 6:30 AM by the various sounds of Patan: dogs barking, birds chirping, bells ringing, motorcycles honking, or my homestay brother blowing his nose. Then......Read More
We went to Prambanan temple for our second excursion day in Jogja and I’m so glad i didn’t miss this one. The main temples are so tall and are covered in incredible carvings. Some of them even tell fables and mythes from Hindu mythology.......Read More
A Mountain’s right to its own ecosystem, and the extension of a Mountain’s rights to all beings and things within its immediate ecosystem. A Mountain’s right to retain their natural structure. Freedom from excessive and destructive human......Read More
Sitting around our breakfast table on our last day in Panauti, we gave our student group 3 prompts to reflect on. Here are a selection of their answers (anonymous, and in a random order): My impressions of Panauti ‘’I’ve never been somewhere......Read More
