Program Reviews

I was lucky enough to go to South Africa with fourteen other students and two group leaders. I talked to two girls who had gone on the program a year prior and they told me that I was going to make close friendships but I was not expecting this. I could go on and on about the food or the language or how nice the local people are but that cannot compare to the friendships forged between your group members and leaders. Our group chat and group instagram page are still bumpin’ and I’m constantly facetiming friends from both the South Africa and India trips. I have grown so much as an individual; I am more caring, kind, confident, and eager to put myself out there. I cannot recommend this program enough. I have a new direction in life that I cannot wait to explore all thanks to the Leadership Institute.

This program is special because there are two weeks in the United States- one before and one after your in country experience. The week before is in D.C, and during this week you get to know everyone in the leadership institute while learning about today's biggest issues and how to be a leader in them. The week after is in Vermont where you have a chance to readjust to the United States while still being in the bubble of your group and getting to work on your project and having enough time to say goodbye to all of the amazing friends you will make. This program is for someone who wants to get out of their comfort zone, learn about another country in the best way possible, and meet other people who are going to change the world. It was an amazing experience, and I am so much better for it.

I truly enjoyed this experience in Spain and the wonderful people with the Experiment. Even weeks after, I don't go a day without thinking about my host family or my group and of the fun things we did everyday. This experience has truly changed my life for the better and I hope that it will do the same for anyone who decides to partake in this program.

As a group we traveled to 4 different regions in Spain: the first location we traveled to was Madrid, the second was Valencia, the third was Málaga, and the fourth was Barcelona. Each location has such cultural beauty that is indescribable with word alone.

In Madrid, we participated in the program Urban Democracy to remodel the parking lot of a local school in Villaverde. The experience of collaborating with US residents and establishing long lasting bonds with the residents of Spain truly enriches my day to day life by improving my ability to form interpersonal relationships.

At first, Thailand was not one of my first trip choices. Just like a lot of people, I've wanted to go to all the big places like France, Italy, and Spain. I've always heard people talk about how great those places was and I was starting to base my choice off of other people's experiences, but I have no regrets. In my opinion, Thailand was better than any other trip could have been. Starting off, our trip didn't go as planned. We were originally supposed to fly out of San Francisco to Taipei on July 1st but because the airline (EVA Air) was experiencing a worker strike, we had to stay at a hotel in San Francisco and fly out the next day. While it may have been a slight inconvenience, this allowed me to meet all of my fellow experimenters. Before our trip even started, we had created a group chat so it was a bit easier to loosen up around each other, and by the time we arrived in Thailand, we all seemed to have been well-acquainted. For our first few days, we stayed in a hotel in Chiang Mai. While we were in Chiang Mai, we took "survival Thai" lessons at Chiang Mai University. That was pretty cool because we got to work with teachers from the university, as well as sharpen up our Thai skills. Obviously, we were in no way fluent. We had just been taught the bare essentials, like foods, how to ask for directions, and my favorite: how to ask for a discount. Later on, I'd say about a week in, we began going out to the night markets. These markets are gigantic! They take up about at least a couple blocks and it's all bustling with activity. You could buy snacks, meals, clothes, gifts, pretty much anything you could think of. I remember I would always try to bargain and most times it'd work. All you need is a smile! Overall, this trip has given me the chance to dip into a whole new world. A lot of times I was given the independence and freedom to try things I wanted to try, and this has fostered my curiosity and desire to continue exploring the world, one country at a time.

This trip is so much more than what the title says it is. Yes, we learned about politics, peace, and human rights, but we also learned a lot about ourselves and who we are. I don't think any of us expected to have a personal character arc throughout this trip, but for many of us, this trip gave us more than we can express. I went to South Africa with a bunch of questions in my head and came back with maybe just as many questions, but also so many answers. On this trip I learned so much about social advocacy and leadership, but I also met some of my closest friends. We have been back in our home states for a month and are all in touch at least once a day. I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything and recommend it for anyone interested in organizing and leadership.

If you're looking for thrill and excitement everyday of 30 days, then look no further than the experiment. With years of experience in sending students into foreign countries, every day was more fun than the last. I met the most amazing people on my trip, from members of my group who became family, to my amazing leaders who supported me through every problem I had. All the amazing Japanese people we met were beyond sweet and kind. You won't meet a single bad boned person on this trip. Not to mention the amazing variety of food. We did a little bit of everything, from hiking up mountains in Kyoto to view monkeys in their natural habitat, to exploring the diverse and never ending wonders of Tokyo. Feel like getting a breath of fresh air? You'll be exposed to the pure air of Japanese farm lands and the breath taking views of oceans and more. But something that'll always and forever stay with you is the homestay, and how close you'll become with your families. I miss my host mother and sister more and more everyday. Don't look past this amazing experience, it'll truly change your life.

I really had a fun time in Japan. It was one of those trips that I will never forget and I have been on many trips in my life. The people were so nice to me and they were accepting towards me and they did not stare at me as I thought they would. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone and I am definitely going to do the experiment every year before I graduate in 2021. I had so much fun thank you for letting me go on this trip. I did a lot of things like climb three mountains and ate octopus. I went to a language school and I was in the intermediate class. I ate Japanese food almost every day the sushi there is fresh and so good. My host family was sooooooooo amazing I oved them and they loved me. I still keep in contact with them until this day.

Overall, this summer has been astonishing. The fears and hopes I had pulling into DC (for our pre-program orientation) were completely different from the fears and hopes I had pulling into SIT (post-program orientation), and even those differed from the ones I had pulling into the driveway of my home in New Jersey. I feared that I would create superficial relationships with my peers and that I would learn nothing applicable to my own community. Obviously, I was wrong. I consider the 28 other students I’ve met on this trip my most supportive and dependable friends and the 6 leaders my mentors. I’ve been so inspired by various community organizations and activist groups in South Africa and Mozambique and am extremely eager to implement the ideas and methodology they have equipped me with. At the end of the program, students create and present a yearlong capstone project to implement into their own communities, and it's an effective way to apply the learning from our trips. Expect to not only learn the culture and history of the countries you visit; expect to really engage in the sociopolitical climate of South Africa and Mozambique.
A big takeaway I have from this summer is that each country moves at its own pace; it has its own history and culture. Its political, economic, and social progress occurs in a different historical context, so, as outsiders and as Americans, we should respect that historical context.

I had such an amazing time abroad. Coming in, I was admittedly nervous, but I have never met a more supportive, kind group in my life. We were all so enthusiastic and willing to learn and explore, and the group leaders were so kind and really ensured that we had fun. The scheduled activities ensured that we found out the history and were showed some classic sites, while the freedom allowed for us to travel in small groups and live like locals, finding miradors around the cities, finding places to buy souvenirs, or just to buy snacks. I made new best friends, whether it be with spaniards or with americans in my group. I will forever have a group of people that shared this amazing experience with me, and i will forever keep them in my life. I can't wait to go back some time.

I had such a wonderful time abroad in Thailand. I was able to experience so much culture, whether it be through the food, walking through the street markets, or living with 3 different homestay families. The group I traveled with was so kind and supportive, and we still keep in contact to this day. The trip was filled with fun experiences such as an elephant sanctuary, many temples, and the beautiful beach in Hua Hin. There was something new to experience everyday. Staying with my homestay allowed for me to create bonds with so many people, even without a common language. It also allowed me to practice speaking Thai, even though it may not have been a lot, it was more than I began with. I talk with my homestay mother every day and I am so thankful that I got to met her. I would definitely recommend this trip to high school students!