Location
Multiple Locations +2
  • Myanmar
  • Thailand
Length
4 - 26 weeks
Need-based funding, General grants/scholarships, 529 Plan eligibility, BIPOC funding
Health & Safety

Program Details

Activities
Hiking
Timeframe
Fall Spring
Housing
Guesthouse Host Family
Primary Language
Burmese
Age Min.
17
Age Max
22

Pricing

Starting Price
13910
Price Details
The land cost for Southeast Asia Semester: Spirituality & Resistance is $13,910. Flight costs for this program are estimated at $2,160. Need-based scholarships are available.
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Meals Transportation
What's Not Included
Airfare
Dec 29, 2020
Apr 09, 2019
3 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Home to over 153 ethnic minority groups, the Thai-Myanmar border is a melting pot of spiritual and cultural diversity. Students on this semester program explore themes related to human migration, spiritual resilience, and cultural preservation. Volunteer at a Buddhist monastic school, meet with international development experts, explore issues of migration and human rights, and immerse yourself in meditation practices.

This program is currently not being promoted on Go Overseas by its provider. Check with Where There Be Dragons for the most up-to-date information regarding the status of this program.

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

Unfortunately, discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and skin tone exists in different forms all over the world. In some destinations, especially rural or ethnically homogenous areas, people may not have had much exposure to racial diversity. As such, people with certain physical characteristics may experience unwanted attention. Most commonly, this might include staring, insensitive comments, people taking your photo (with or without asking), or attempts to touch your skin or hair. Black students traveling in parts of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and North Africa have often reported higher levels of unwanted attention than their peers. White students traveling in parts of Asia and Africa have also reported receiving unwanted attention. Students are encouraged to communicate with staff if they feel their personal boundaries are being violated or if they feel unsafe or uncomfortable in any situation. We encourage you to believe your peers if/when they share experiences like this with you.

LGBTQIA+ Support

Social, cultural, religious, political, and legal attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community vary around the world. According to the Global Acceptance Index, average levels of acceptance for LGBTQ+ people around the world have been increasing since 1981. However, many countries where Dragons operates programs may have social discrimination or even laws against being LGBTQ+. We have safely supported LGBTQ+ students in all of our program areas, and provide specific cultural and geographic advice to help students stay safe on course.

In some cases, students may be advised not to speak about their sexual orientations and/or gender identities with local contacts (such as homestay families, ISP mentors, language teachers, and guest speakers) due to safety concerns. Likewise, transgender and non-binary students may have to choose to present outwardly as male or female in certain contexts during the program. In other cases, “coming out” to some or all host community members may be a safe choice.

Neurodivergent Support

For students with neuro-differences (such as dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, TS, and dyspraxia), it is important to be aware that neurodiversity is likely viewed differently abroad than at home. People might not be familiar with labels or terms that are very common where you come from. If you struggle with lots of external stimuli, you should be prepared that you will be in some environments that are louder and busier than what you are used to.

Accessibility Support

If you are a student with a physical disability, you might encounter challenges around accessibility than you have at home. Many of the places we travel at Dragons don’t have building codes or other regulations in place to support people with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. You may need accommodations or support that you don’t usually require in your life at home.

Impact

Sustainability

Dragons defines responsible travel as travel that is culturally conscious, environmentally responsible, and focused on developing meaningful connections and mutual respect in the communities to which we travel. Over the course of Dragons 25+ year history, we have cultivated long-standing relationships with respected community leaders, academics, social entrepreneurs and professionals involved in environmental and cultural preservation. In the more than 20 countries in which Dragons has operated, we have steadfastly adhered to minimum impact travel, an accurate and informed understanding of place, and the realization of maximum benefit for the communities we visit.

Ethical Impact

Dragons believes that we need to shift the way we think of volunteer travel. Instead of focusing on “service work”—on the idea that short-term volunteers can contribute to communities abroad—we advocate a paradigm shift: we choose, instead, to focus on “learning service.”

Learning Service is a holistic experience that combines an intimate and authentic engagement with the local community, the study of effective development, and the contribution to an established community-driven project. It is the process of living, working alongside, and humbly absorbing the culture of those being served while coordinating closely with project managers to understand the trajectory of the project, from inception to completion and beyond. It is an acknowledgment that often it is the volunteer who stands to gain as much or more from the work. And it is a commitment to making contributions that create positive impacts in the communities coupled with the humility to always listen and learn first.

Program Highlights

  • Comprehensive examination of international development issues, complexities of globalization, effects of modernization on traditional livelihoods, minority status and cultural preservation, creative grassroots solutions to global problems.
  • Stay in Buddhist and Animist communities. Meditation Study.
  • 3-4 day trek in Shan State, 3-4 day trek in Kayah State. Stay with local rural communities while trekking in Shan state and the Mandalay state dry zone.
  • Partner with Myanmar's largest Monastic school, learn adobe building, rural development projects, education and literacy NGOs.
  • Learn basic Burmese language.

Scholarships

Where There Be Dragons Financial Aid & 529 Funds

Where There Be Dragons offers need-based financial aid to students that demonstrate reasonable financial need and are excited to engage with communities around the world.

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 6 reviews
  • 5 rating 100%
  • 4 rating 0%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Housing 4.5
  • Support 5
  • Fun 4.85
  • Value 5
  • Safety 5
Showing 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Default avatar
Ian
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

An experience like no other

My time in Myanmar was incredible and opened my eyes to the diversity and differences between my culture and others. It is really difficult to put into words exactly what the trip meant to me due simply to the vast quantity of moments that changed my perspective or taught me lessons about life. The journey across the 3 months was challenging and there were many high and low points. But if I had to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. Each low taught me something unique and conversely each high was rewarding and fun. The trip was a complicated series of adventures that taught me a lot about myself and what it means to be human. Experiencing a different cultures lifestyle and being able to get close to it while traveling is difficult. Often times you are treated as a tourist and it is hard to see through the veil. Dragon's does an incredible job of pulling back the veil and providing a more authentic experience. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience. If I could do it again I would in a heartbeat.

What was the most unfamiliar thing you ate?
One day when our group was trekking we had a lunch meal of rice and chicken on the jungle floor. This part was delicious, one of the side dishes however was very strange to me. It was small fermented and fried fish that were cooked whole bones skin and all. Honestly a bit crunchy for my taste but it was an experience to consume.
43 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Mallory
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A trip to remember

How lucky I feel to have had the opportunity to take part in such a unique, exciting, and enriching course. As I reflect back, writing this with a smile on my face, I feel so immensely grateful for being able to embark on one of the most rewarding, challenging, and exciting semesters I will probably ever have. This program was truly like nothing I have ever precipitated in. I’ve gone to sleep-away camp for 7 summers, and done organized trips—this is not like that. The Myanmar course does an incredible job of pushing students outside of their comfort zone, creating unique experiences, fostering authentic community connections, and most importantly it gives students the opportunity to excersize a degree of independence that holds students accountable for the trajectory of the trip. Throughout this course you learn the importance of being comfortable being uncomfortable. You are provided with a learning experience that no four walled space ever could. It’s not always easy--it’s rugged, it's difficult, it’s tiring, but it’s almost always interesting, rewarding, and new.

I also found it incredibly fulfilling to be able to immerse myself in a foreign place for such an extended period of time. My peers and I were able to learn so much about the place, the people, the language, the culture, and the traditions through reading written work from articles and books. We then discussed the content amongst each other. And then we were able to further our knowledge through speaking with people throughout the country and NGO leaders. We joked that we were leaving as “little Myanmar experts.”

The instructors that we had on course were truly some of the most lovely, interesting, smart, different, and kind people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They help shape my perspective and challenged me. I learned more than I ever could have hoped to learn from them. They go well beyond the definition of educator. They inspire, they teach, they care, they innovate, they learn with you, and they are always there for you.

If you like adventure, straying from the norm, being uncomfortable (in the best way), surrounding yourself with new experiences, having fun, laughing, the unexpected, and so much more—then this is the course for you. I assure you it will be an experience like never before.

39 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Thalia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Life-Changing Experience

I had an amazing experience in Myanmar. Our itinerary allowed us to do many things that would have been impossible had I been traveling alone. We trekked in remote areas, did homestays, connected with local students, and even sat in on a meeting of parliament. My instructors were incredible. I felt that I had agency over my experience but that support was available whenever I needed it. I was given opportunities to push myself out of my comfort zone but I never felt unsafe. Returning home, I have a lot more confidence in what I'm capable of than I did before.

When I decided to go to Myanmar, I didn't know much about the country. This made the experience even more eye-opening. I was immersed in a culture that was completely new to me for three months. I absolutely have a new perspective on the world after my Dragons trip.

If you're looking for an experience that changes your perspective, gives you opportunities for personal growth, and brings you to a beautiful and complex place, this program may be a perfect fit for you. It will be challenging at times but it is absolutely worth it.

45 people found this review helpful.
Read my full story
Default avatar
Thea
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The best trip!

Before choosing Dragons, I looked at a lot of different gap year programs. I’m so glad I choose Dragons because no other program would have given me the the amazing experience that I had.

I traveled to a country that I knew little about. And I left knowing so much more with the deepest respect for the country. I met and talked with many inspiring people who are working to bring about positive change in the country. People whom, I wouldn’t have been able to meet if it weren’t for Dragon’s connections. I had brilliant instructors who pushed me and my group to question everything we took for granted. My group was full of the most amazing people. People, who I would never have thought would be my friends, but now I’m sure we will all be life long friends because of the this shared experience.

The trip was truly extraordinary! Not to say that it wasn’t difficult at times but that’s what made the trip even better. Dragons forces you out of your comfort zone and it makes you grow. You come out on the other end a better person. There were some incredible highs on the trip and some low lows but I wouldn’t change a single second.

I’m so grateful to have had this experience. I’m going to treasure these three months I spent in Myanmar for the rest of my life.

What would you improve about this program?
It was perfect .
39 people found this review helpful.
Emma
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A diffrent kind of gap year program

I spent the fall of my gap year doing this program. Before I left I had a lot of misconceptions of what to expect from the trip.. I pictured myself spending the three months petting elephants, drinking from coconuts, and hanging out on crystal beaches (though at certain points on our trip we did do all three of these). I had friends who also took gap years and chose to go with other programs where the majority of time they spent doing things like this, and its clear we got very different things out of our trips. Where There Be Dragons is something else--my experience in Myanmar was rugged, exhilarating, and though it was tough at times, one of the most gratifying and joyful experiences of my life. If you're looking for an experience that does not push you out of your comfort zone, that does not make you question the world you live in and your role in it, then this trip is not for you. Now going off to college next year, I am fearless. I spent the last three months sleeping on mats, eating rice with my hands, and trekking through muddy mountains-- I know that if I can do that, then I can do anything!

What would you improve about this program?
I wish we could have studied and practiced meditation more.
35 people found this review helpful.
Default avatar
Sam
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Gap Year in Myanmar

I spent the fall of 2017 in Myanmar with “Where There Be Dragons” and I could not have had a better experience. I learned a lot about the culture in a very short period of time. The program connections really allowed us to get below the surface and form lasting relationships with people all over the country. Expect to be traveling In cramped quarters for long periods of time, living out of a backpack, and sleeping on the floor. It won’t always be easy but overall awesome experience.

What would you improve about this program?
Even more trekking.
41 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers