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As our course comes to an end, we had a chance to look back and reflect on these past few months. Having seen, experienced, and felt so much, it is hard to put our time following the Mekong into words. No matter how many times we cursed the......Read More
As most probably know or figured out, my Dragons journey ended a little bit earlier than everyone else’s. Due to some medical complications, I returned to Nashville (yeehaw) at the beginning of November. Leaving Morocco was the last thing I wanted......Read More
Where There Be Dragons—or Dragoncitos (little dragons in Spanish) as Randall likes to say—pays homage to ancient Chinese map makers who would draw dragons on the edges of maps for places they hadn’t yet explored. The wild, unknown, unconquered......Read More
Choquekiraw – Machu Picchu X-Phase Trek Log1 Day 1 11/22/19 Partly cloudy with rain in the distance Ate lunch at a small hostel overlooking Apurima2 valley. Hiked up to a stunning mirador with views of......Read More
It has been one week since we left our homestay in Sampela, the remote village suspended on dried coral reef and stilts over the ocean off the coast of the Wakatobi island chain. Like our students, this was my first time visiting this community.......Read More
When I was in sixth grade, I was picked to give a commencement speech at my graduation. I remember the excitement, the nerves, but most of all, the challenge of what to write about. How could I aptly summarize seven years of school? All the jokes,......Read More
Nearly ten years ago, I was preparing to depart Taiwan after a year-long study abroad experience. The transition time was tough and I ached to find ways that would allow me to reconcile with leaving. Returning to my life in the U.S. seemed......Read More
Dear Perú, I’m sitting here trying to figure out what I could possibly say that could express what you’ve meant to me over the past three months and I’m drawing a blank. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be here in this situation, I......Read More
Finding Home Far From Home Leading up to the Bouguemez homestay, I was beyond nervous. After facing many challenges during my first homestay in Azrou, I was anxious to see what this tiny village would throw at me. One week in, I found myself feeling......Read More
The group has had an amazing time in Sampela and after reflecting on such a wonderful cultural and personal experience, we are getting ready to say goodbye to a place so unlike our American home. A place where we learned to spearfish, spent a lot of......Read More
Here are a few more photos from the past couple of weeks! I have been very inspired by all of the beautiful landscapes we have been going through, and having lots of fun experimenting with my camera.
As we write this, we’re listening to the discordant harmony of sounds descending from the heart of the Pariamanu Amazon. The calls of unseen birds and unrecognizable insects fill the air and echo reminders of the past two months filled with the......Read More
It was probably only our third day in Nepal, though I already felt worlds away from the life in California I’d just peeled myself away from. Sitting in the classroom of the Nagarkot farmhouse with my new family, my sangha, for the next three......Read More
Here are some photos from our gorgeous sunrise hike when we were on trek! 🙂
About two weeks ago now, we left our second and final homestay to begin our final month of travels in Morocco. Departures are always bittersweet. We spend weeks living with families, integrating ourselves within small communities, and then we leave......Read More
During the group’s mini x-phase, a visit to the Yves Saint Laurent Museum was planned. Michelle was given the task of creating an assignment for the group related to our visit there. Here it is: The exhibit at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum......Read More
