Welcome to our forum for courses in the field. The Yak Board is a digital group journal where students and staff share photos, stories, reflections and group updates while on course. Check out our Featured Posts below or explore Yaks by program by clicking on the icons above.
Want to follow a program in the field? Click on the Subscribe to Updates button to receive one email a day if new content is posted.
Tuesday, March 26, 6:34 PM Left Guanay this morning around 8:30 and boarded a boat that will be taking us down offshoots of the Amazon River and all the way to Asuncion de Quiquibey, the rural homestay where we will be staying with host families,......Read More
A Q’eros Painting in Stories White The crystal white mountains invited us into the land of the Q’eros people that is watched over and protected by Pachamama (mother earth). The local mountain deities or apus protected these mountains in......Read More
I am a woman. I am a daughter and I am a sister. I am a passionate, energetic, silly, smiley, deeply curious and caring person. I have a deep burning desire in me to learn and to explore as much as the world as I possibly can. I was born from two......Read More
We have ended our extremely fulfilling and enjoyable trek and are en route to Bhaktapur where we will be until the 25th doing our mid-course retreat. More soon, but for now enjoy these photos from our time in the mountains!
Nepal Regional Seminar: Diversity in the Himalayas class has been a unique oportunity for students to gain an in-depth foundation in the geography, history, politics, religions and ethinicities of Nepal and the Himalaya, including experiential......Read More
At the mid-point of every course we set aside an intentional time to reflect on all that we have learned and experienced so far and all that is to come. As part of a reflection activity, we had students write down their thoughts on what Nepal has......Read More
For a short period of time I worked as an assistant teacher in a Montessori school, the same school that I went to as a child. I was working with kindergarten kids, children from four to six years old. Everyday was a little adventure, somehow they......Read More
Some shots of Dragon’s Nepal College Study Abroad students with their homestay families in the village of Chaukati. We will stay with these Thami ethnicity families for about ten days and learn about local farming practices, bee keeping, women’s issues, religious practices, cooking, and much else. This area was one of the hardest hit by the 2015 earthquake and for the most part not a single structure was left standing. As you can see, the village has been busy rebuilding.
“Be prepared—the conditions on the island will be very different from our life; no electricity, no running water…” The voice of our trip leader at our pre-departure meeting echoed in my head once again; except this time, I find myself......Read More
I come up the the roof most days, playing sarangi until the sun goes down. Watching the peaks of the Himalayas turn pink as the sun sets over Patan is the most serene experience. I’m leaving Patan and this is something I will miss the most.
Sometimes, I wake up and I’m on an island in the Mekong River. The night before, I saw a shooting star for the first time, And fell in love with a glittering Thai sky. Sometimes, I wake up and I’m lying under a mosquito net, A film of......Read More
We are writing to you from the village of Nagathali, which is surrounded by snow-capped Himalayas to the east, north, and west. Langtang Peak, sharing a name with the National Park we are in, stands at 7,227 meters, a perfect view from our kitchen. A few days into trekking and we have found our legs, backs, and minds. We have already covered around 40 kilometers of hiking, and lost and gained thousands of meters of elevation. We have been on snow, hiked through rebuilt villages that lost buildings in the 2015 earthquakes, and seen the Big Dipper and the Milky… Read More
I opened my eyes to sublime rhythms of the earths sky with sunsets of sugary orange and honeycomb reflected upon each pond. There sat the blazing lotus flower, so pure, so calm. I sat alone and watched the flower, my eyes began to tear. It is right......Read More
Figure there’s more than a few parents out there wishing for a little more of an… elucidating report from their kids on how their grand adventure abroad has been to date, so I thought I’d at least share how its been for me and......Read More
Neem, totle, tulsi, nettle, kalturda, bojho, sage, chili peppers, canabis, rudilo, titepate, tobacco, bhogote, gandepate, sarifa, barbari, ginger — each of these plants can be found within a twenty minute walk from the community center in Koshi. On their own they serve different purposes: smoke from bojho is inhaled to cure tooth and throat pains; rudilo is used to deter fungus from growing on plants and can be ingested when someone is experiencing hemorrhaging; in the case of dysentery or gastric issues, one can harvest the seeds from bhogote and cook them down into a tea. Separately each of these plants can help to heal. Together,… Read More
