SIT Study Abroad

From the homestays, to the excursions, to the staff’s expert understanding of local custom, and to the final Independent Study Project (ISP), the program from start to finish helps dip its participants into Indonesian culture. By the end of the program, I felt confident in my ability to navigate Indonesian life and problem solve unfamiliar situations there; and I gained life-changing skills that have followed me out of Indonesia.

On the other hand, the academic assignments (with the exception of the ISP) left much to be desired. It was clear that the staff was unfamiliar with the Western-esque standards of oral presentations and essays. As a result, rarely could the staff provide assistance with said assignments--either help during the process of crafting the assignments themselves or afterwards when locating areas for improvement--and they graded only on the basis of whether or not we followed basic instructions such as the correct page limit and citation style, rather than grading for content, structure, and/or style.
If these assignments weren’t going to end up on our transcripts, then I could let this oversight go; but the fact remains that our academic work in Indonesia has consequences back in America.

The instructors had diverse expertise and pushed me to challenge myself intellectually while providing superb support; the Tibetan language instruction was top-level, with daily opportunities to practice with local Tibetans and my homestay family; and the opportunity to conduct a month-long research project on a subject of my choosing was one the most valuable undergraduate academic experiences. I made friends for life and got to immerse myself in Tibetan and Nepali culture, learning for the first time about this fascinating part of the world. Can not recommend this program enough!

SIT Panama is an incredible abroad program for students who love the environment and traveling. You will learn how to do all kinds of field work, learn/improve your Spanish, and make incredible friends and memories for a semester. The program is very travel-heavy, and you'll likely only stay in one place for a maximum of one week. You and the other students will be learning in the field with professors who are at the top of their field. You will have plenty of time for exploring and relaxing in various towns and the City.

I absolutely glow even just thinking about SIT Bolivia, because the months I spent in this program were so powerful, important, path-changing, and transformative for me. My group of 16 meshed very well because we all wanted to be there and really wanted to be doing the difficult work of re-shaping our brains, our western assumptions and thought patterns, and how we might actually work to make positive change. I fell in love with Cochabamba and my host family, I felt safe, taken-care-of, and loved by our amazing academic director and program staff, and my Spanish improved a Lot! If you are looking for a semester that digs in deep to histories of colonialism, repression resistance and resilience, community and nation, development, environment, art and politics as ways of making change, and on and on and on--this is the program for you.

My experience was unique because there were political protests for over a month during my time in Chile. However, I found most staff members to be supportive of our wellbeing and receptive to any issues that came up. The trips to Temuco and Putre were very fun, as we were able to visit local health facilities, learn about traditional medicine practices, and have fun outings to hot springs and natural areas nearby. The homestay was a great experience as well, and I feel like I improved my Spanish the most by talking to my host parents at meal times and around the house. The academics were interesting, but not quite as hard as a traditional college semester in my experience. I had a good experience with my final project at the end of the semester as well, with a great advisor.