ISDSI was the best semester of my college career!

I think the ISDSI program is unique among study abroad programs in that you get the opportunity to explore all over the country. At the beginning of the semester, you are based in Chiang Mai, which is a really cool city with lots to do. You get to be truly immersed in Thai culture by staying with a host family and spending a significant portion of every school day learning Thai. But for the other courses in the semester you get to travel to northern Thailand to hike in the mountains and southern Thailand to stay on the coast and kayak to islands. During my semester we also got to go to Laos as part of the rivers course.
I would highly recommend this semester to anyone that is interested in how people interact with their environment. We got to learn hands on by speaking to local people about the different ways they relied on the forests, rivers, or coasts. This semester does not really focus on sciences like biology (although you will learn identification of some plants and animals from the host families you stay with) but rather on cultural anthropology.
I definitely made lasting friends that I still keep in touch with, years later and I hope to be able to go back and visit Thailand and my host family! I would recommend this program to anyone that loves outdoor activities and has the itch to travel. Thailand is one of the most beautiful countries I have been to.