Program Reviews

I tried to go into this trip without any expectations about the experience I was about to have. I knew that I would be traveling with a group of people around my age that I had never met before. I knew that I would spend the majority of my time in Nepal either trekking through the Himalayas or living amongst local Nepalese people. Beyond that, I was totally blind as to what the future would hold. Fortunately, I don't think that there is any way that someone could have been prepared for such a perspective-altering journey, regardless of previous travel experience. I would consider my time in Nepal to be one of the most fulfilling and happiest periods in my life. In addition to having a great team to travel with, I felt as though I was able to achieve one of the most immersive travel experiences possible and connect with my host family and the local community on a very intimate level. The Annapurna Base Camp trek was exceptionally beautiful, and the guides/porters were quick witted and caring. Nepal is a naturally blessed land, but endowed with equally amazing people. The trip itinerary is a constant stream of amazing experiences that will leave you at a loss for words at times. P.S. Brad is such a great mentor figure and human being who constantly maintains a high level of positive energy and humor which elevates the group environment. Any backpacker would be lucky to travel alongside him for a month.

YI programs are THE best, from start to finish. This program was a complete immersion in Nepalese culture & daily life. The trekking in the Himalayas was humbling & stunning, rewarding & life-changing for our son. He lived with host families, helped with daily tasks, taught in local schools and visited UNESCO World Heritage Sites. He was safe & well taken care of in Nepal. YI communication from start to finish was top notch. Additionally, we were able to tap in to our son's college fund to pay for the trip & he earned transferable college credits! When our younger son is old enough, he will join YI for an adventure too. Please do not hesitate to book this trip - it was so worth it!

This program was perfectly executed, I am very grateful for Brad and other people who made it so amazing. It personally hit every corner of things I would want out of a program: cultural immersion, adventure & activity, sight seeing, homestays, and volunteering with purpose. The country & the people there were beautiful & inviting. The trek was challenging in the most rewarding way, and there were a lot of moments of mindfulness; my mental state thrived in Nepal :) I only wish there was better compatibility and maturity within the group, which is more so up to the individual. Great program that gives you everything you would need in a gap year program; I understand another country more & I got to learn about a new culture I’ve never been exposed to before. Make what you can out of the parts that are challenging, put yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s mostly up to the individual for what kind of experience they’re going to have. I’m glad and will cherish all of the people I met, and wish everyone the best. I recommend this program if you’re looking for a raw, beautiful experience.

This is going to sound cliche, but going on this program has truly changed who I am as a person. The organizer, Brad, is someone who is very mindful of how service trips may be perceived by local people. This is an organization that is truly devoted for first-world students to work alongside locals, rather than encouraging us to be "first-world" saviors. The experiences we had in the home-stays really encouraged cultural immersion and the activities we did as groups were nothing but adventure and fun.

The three months I spent in Asia with my YI group were by far the most impactful three months of my life. I learned so much about the world and myself that it's hard to put into words. Not even a week after returning to Canada, I began planning my own independent trip and less than a mont later I was backpacking through Europe with two friends that I met on my YI adventure! So be warned, this experience may cause you to get bit by the travel bug but it will also teach you valuable life/travel skills and self-confidence to help you become an awesome, independent young adult. Plus, you will no doubt make incredible life-long friend/travel buddies!

How can I possibly describe in words the past three months? Transformative. Intense. Eye-opening, perspective-growing, life-changing, the best three months of my life? I guess that’s a start. The three-month program is hard to reflect on because there are so many layers to an experience like that and there are so many ways, both subtle and profound, in which I have changed and grown.

For starters, I met nine interesting, intelligent, and hilarious people. I have learned so much from them and I am so grateful to have met and befriended them. We all came from diverse and separate walks of life but will forever be connected by this crazy, life-changing, three-month adventure. Back in September, during orientation, I remember reflecting on how long it had been since I had met nine total strangers. I certainly had never met nine total strangers who I knew I would be stuck with 24/7 for the next three months. It is such a unique opportunity to be whoever and all that you want to be. It felt so good to just relax and be my truest self. I made nine best friends on this program who know me at my truest and best self. That is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.

There are so many unforgettable moments and experiences I will bring with me. Something I did with my friend when I came home was to share a visual, emotional, and experiential highlight from each country of the trip. Here’s what I came up with:

Nepal-
Visual highlight: the 360-degree panoramic view of the glowing, snow-capped Himalayan Mountains at Annapurna Base Camp.

Emotional highlight: finishing digging a 6-4-5ft deep hole that would become a septic tank for a rural village in the foothills of the Himalayan Mountain.

Experience highlight: Hiking for ten days in the Himalayan Mountains.

India-
Visual highlight: the brilliant sunsets in Dharamsala, India behind the mountains.

Emotional highlight: completing the ten-day Silent Buddhist Meditation Retreat at Tushita Meditation Centre in Dharamsala.

Experience highlight: staking out under a flimsy tarp all night long during a Camel Safari while it (torrentially) rained in Jaisalmer for the first time in seven years.

Thailand-
VIsual highlight: the rainbow sunrise over the coconut trees and ocean.

Emotional highlight: sharing an end-of-the-trip reflection activity with the group.

Experience highlight: snorkeling in the ocean off the shores of the Southern Thai Islands.

Coming home from the trip, I have a very empowered sense of self. I feel so capable and independent. I am excited to continue and deepen my exploration of the world. This is a stark contrast to the excitement, yes, but also the anxiety and nervousness I felt anticipating the Asia program. On the one hand, this is thrilling because I know that adventure awaits me. However, it has been hard coming home too. I am no longer satisfied just being at home. I feel slightly restless and thirsty to keep experiencing new things.

My gap year has pulled me away from a lot of what I previously thought was important to me. I say this in the most positive light. I am beyond grateful for this as I feel a grander sense of clarity on my life path and my values than ever before. I sense in myself the power to craft the kind of life I have always hoped to live. It makes me truly happy. I am so grateful for my experience with Youth International. I have truly grown so far beyond what I thought was possible.

My time with youth international felt personal. The org leader Brad is truly dedicated to the work of helping gap year students along during their journey before college. I felt seen and heard through the program which is a shout to the leaders Luke and Mara. But with most things in life it is what you make it. There were days that weren't great but that was because of the way I treated it. If you have a mindset for growth and learning thats exactly what will happen. YI gives you all the opportunities to succeed you must push yourself in order to make actual progress.

I cannot recommend this program enough! My experience with Youth International was stellar. I had a truly life-changing, eye-opening trip, and I met some of my best friends along the way. I felt comfortable and well-informed from the very beginning, thanks to the phone calls and email correspondence I had with Youth International before the trip. The trip itself is incredible. You can tell that Brad and his team really know what they’re doing because the itinerary is meticulously planned out and every day is an adventure. I was constantly being pushed out of my comfort zone, but I always felt safe. Experiential learning is the way to go. You’ll do things you’ve dreamed of—trekking in the Himalayas, seeing the Taj Mahal, a desert camel safari, and so much more. If you’re waiting for a sign to see if this program is the right one, here it is. You won’t regret it!

Youth international was the absolute best way for me to start my Gap Year between high school and college. Before I left America I had very little confidence in myself, I had terrible social anxiety, I was afraid of confrontation, and I could never envision myself ever traveling alone. Youth International changed all of that! I went on to travel solo for another 5 months after the end of the program. Youth international was one of the most influential experiences in my entire life. I’ve come away with new knowledge of the social, economic and political situations of the cultures I experienced and I have believe I have matured as a person in the process. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a chance to grow up and learn about the real world at the same time.

This program had a huge impact in my life. Coming from high school, being a frustrated teen dealing with decisions that will depict your future this program gave me a clear mind and transformed my life. I went from thinking rowing D1 was my path since the beginning, to knowing it’s okay to be unsure of the right path to take from this eye opening experience I received when completing this program.
The South America program was harder than I expected. I thought it was going to be just “fun traveling” which it was, although it was much more than that. I learned how to communicate with other cultures even when I didn’t speak their language. I learned that the saying, “Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes.” Is one of the most accurate sayings. I say this because before I shadowed the lifestyles throughout this trip in South America I viewed them as a “hard way to live” but what I quickly noticed was that even though the work was hard everyone was happy and content and that is what matters and that is what changed my mind set. Seeing that people could be happy doing anything and it doesn’t matter what path you take as long as you’re happy.

My favorite memory was seeing how happy and thankful all the kids were at the school when we arrived.
My personal memory I look back on a lot was during the Manchu Picchu trek, when I was pushed to my limits physically. Previous to the trek my clumsy self fell off of a bus and messed up my shoulder resulting with me having to wear a sling and then hurting my knee having to wear a knee brace. Even though I was physically having trouble the amount of support I had from my group members and my leaders was outstanding, they picked me up when I was down (literally haha) and with their support I was able to complete the trip and the trek.
Tips: have a spending cap for yourself for each week or each country, it will help.
-read up on some basic Spanish to help you when you’re in a taxi or restaurants.

Post-program- I got the courage to go to Costa Rica for 8 weeks by myself, using the things I learned from traveling in Sourh America I became street smart and knew how to get around in a foreign place with little to no help.
Overall the program gave me an experience of a life time and even gave me friends for a life time.
Would very much recommend.