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Back home in Urubamba it is a drizzly Friday morning and I sit with my mate to contemplate our recent adventure to the Amazon. I never thought I would be able to go to the Amazon again after my journey to the Ecuadorian Amazon when I studied during......Read More
(This yak was written a few weeks ago in La Paz, Bolivia.) Something that has characterized my semester is the crazy amount of love and gratitude I have for my friends and how much easier they have made my transition away from home. When I try to......Read More
Entering a rural village with limited knowledge of the language or culture is a terrifying feat. While my first 24 hours—spent hiding out in my room, silently staring out into the field of marigolds, and failing to maintain any conversation that......Read More
I’ve been thinking a lot about lightness on this trek – what it means to “pack light,” and on the flip side, the things that make life heavy. Sometimes heaviness is an illusion, merely mild dehydration kicking in or the......Read More
To put it mildly, I’m not the best with directions. One of my biggest worries about spending three months in Urubamba was spending three months without the assistance of Google Maps, which has always been my guiding light, whether I’m driving......Read More
Humble me again I ask of Kunming, as I bike through its crowded streets and vacant railroads. Remind me of the person there is still to become before I forget. Teach me of patience I ask 老师. Knowing that time will continue impatiently until we......Read More
Salam Yak. This Badr, the third instructor for the 2019 Morocco fall semester. I may not have been posting on yak under my name, but that’s because I am someone who likes to express himself and his feeling in a non-writing way. This fall, my......Read More
The first night we arrived in Jomsom, Mustang I was thrown into introspection. When nightfall came and we walked outside, we saw the clearest stars of ours lives. I knew this was my first chance to take a time lapse of the stars and I had to take......Read More
This morning I woke up at 5:20 am to walk down to the village center with the rest of our Dragons group. Upon arriving, we sat just outside of a village home, waiting and watching for something to happen. At 7:00 am, we saw as the villagers brought......Read More
The group is doing well on trek, and is incredibly grateful for everyone who makes this all possible!
On Understanding: A Reflection on the Azrou Homestay By: Lauren I’m not sure what I expected my homestay to be like, but nothing could have prepared me for the first question out of my homestay sister’s mouth: “Have you heard of BTS?”.......Read More
Last night, we arrived at the town of Langa, nestled deep in the forested hills of the beautiful island of Flores. In honor of our arrival here, and in anticipation of all the new experiences our second homestay is bound to bring, I want to reflect......Read More
Yesterday afternoon, I went for a walk and found myself at a breathtaking hilltop garden overlooking the city of Panauti. A shady spot surrounded by bright orange flowers was begging me to sit, so I stopped at the patch of grass to journal. As I......Read More
I am truly in love with Peru. As much as I miss the comforts of having parents to come home to that understand without me having to explain, being able to take a car to the grocery store, coming home to my own bed at night, and getting to see my......Read More
Hello all! If you have been keeping up with the Yak board, I’m sure some of you will recognize my name and remember my aforementioned foot injury. An awkward landing on my right foot after coming down some stairs led me to the Azrou clinic, where......Read More
Wikipedia describes thukpa as a type of Tibetan noodle soup, or rather a “generic Tibetan word for any soup or stew combined with noodles.” I am unsure as to the specifics of the egg thukpa served at the Thrangu Cafe at the Thrangu Tashi......Read More
