Program Reviews

This program is filled with fun activities, volunteering, and learning not only about a different culture but also about yourself. In the beginning of my search to find gap semester programs, I was overwhelmed with so many options that all had amazing itineraries. I narrowed it down to 3 and tried to figure out which one had projects that focused on issues that I was interested in, adventurous activities, and learning but not super academic (I wanted to learn by doing and experiencing not just sitting and reading about the countries that we were in). One program that I liked was more rustic then others but it was only in Nepal and I wanted to experience India as well. Another program had more adventures like hiking and rafting but I felt like they weren’t getting immersed in the culture as much as this ARCC program. This program had the right balance of academics with reading different articles and experiential learning. This program also had the right balance of adventurous activities like hiking and rafting but also service and having down time. I also really enjoyed it being in two different countries. I took this program in the fall semester and for me it was important to start my year off with a structured program where I was immersed in the culture, had fun, and learned something new. That all happened within ARCC Himalaya and I am very happy that I chose this program.

One of my favorite memories from this trip was staying with a family in rural Nepal celebrating Dasain, a Hindu festival. The family I stayed with were so kind and always wanted to talk about in what ways our cultures were different, sports, and our interests. Even though I was fed pounds of dal bhat (lentils and rice) where I need to be rolled out of the room, I was so happy talking to my brother and sisters and learning about their culture and how they celebrate Dasain. Other favorites were doing hands on work caring for sloth bears at Wildlife SOS in India, talking with women at Her Farm about women’s issues in Nepal, and learning about Tibetan refugees at a monastery in Nepal. I also enjoyed the time spent with our group where we had deep conversations about life, made each other laugh, and created memories that I will never forget.

I can't even begin to describe how much I loved my ARCC Semester in East Africa. It honestly changed my life, and whenever people ask how it was, my immediate response is "if I could get on a plane right now and go back, I would. No question about it", even after I tell them about bucket showers, pit toilets, wet tents, and the malaria concern. If I could spend the rest of my life working for ARCC and being able to travel and share these amazing experiences with students, and change their lives and perspectives like Chris and Adri did for me, I would be the happiest girl in the world. I met a best friend who brought out new sides of me, a boy I want to spend the rest of my life with, and an unbreakable bond with 11 amazing people. I never felt homesick, which in itself says a lot about the group, even when I was super sick. In fact, I feel more homesick being back home, away from everyone. I'm getting emotional writing this, there is simply no way to possibly describe this experience in words, besides amazing.

My gosh!! I cannot say this loudly enough... BEST GUIDES, BEST PLACES, BEST ACCOMMODATIONS, BEST EVERYTHING!! After first hearing that I had been selected to go on this trip, I had to pinch myself. Now being almost a year later, I pinch myself thinking "that did really did happen!" I cannot express enough through words how much this trip made me see the world through different eyes, believe in myself and learn that everything happens for a reason. I, 100% believe that from seeing wild orangutans 3 feet in front of you in Sumatra, to hiking to the most unbelievable waterfalls in Bali, and finally rafting through the most beautiful Fijian rivers, you will pinch yourself after your 90 days too!

Absolutely incredible and life-long enriching experience. The nature and landscapes are stunning - and I am so glad I got the privilege and opportuntity to widen my horizon by travelling to a world so different to ours (Europe). My two leaders were so supportive, them and my group turned some challenges into wonderful experiences. I also went through alot of personal growth in these 3 months and had many insights through being so far away from home, which is also why I would recommend this trip so much!

I had an incredible experience on this trip. I was wary about the camping and the fact that it was a more group-oriented, structured program, but those two aspects ended up being major highlights for me. There is a lot of camping, but it's nicely broken up by time in homestays, hostels, etc. The people in my group made the trip so memorable. There was a great balance of free time, service work, and fun activities. This trip taught me so many skills I will use while traveling independently in the future.

It was such a great time I learned a lot about myself and the world. The activities we did were great and the people were even better. I’m so glad I chose the Nepal and India gap semester it was great. I had such a good experience and I met my best friends as well college can wait but the world won’t. But this is a way to figure out whether you want to travel or not. The places we went were great we saw the Taj Mahal and we went to wildlife sos where we got to see elephants and bears and built them the greatest playground. I rate my experience as one of the best and I hope that anyone else can experience it too because it was the greatest and I wouldn’t regret it ever it helped me get a head start on my future and I hope it does the same for someone else.

My semester in East Africa with ARCC was an amazing and life changing experience. Combining education with rewarding volunteer work and a strong group dynamic, the trip taught me a lot both about the world and myself. I feel so lucky to have been a part of the program and experience all the cultures and opportunities it presented to me. My time in East Africa helped me decide what direction to take in the next steps of my life and taught me to be a global citizen. Not only did I see new place and meet new people, I learned how they live and why and got to experience a totally different lifestyle firsthand. I gained so much appreciation for what I’ve been lucky enough to have and so much understanding for the problems we face as a global society. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone looking to take their education out of the classroom and experience new things!

When I decided to take a gap year, I had no idea what I was going to do. After some research and meeting some great ARCC employees, I knew this was perfect for me. While I was going through the ARCC catalogs and website, I knew I wanted to do the Pacific Islands trip. Thank goodness I did.
During this trip I did things that most people my age have never done. While in Fiji we stayed in an orphanage and played with the most amazing children. We also got to plant coral on the most beautiful private island! That was easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The Fijian people are the nicest, most caring people you will ever meet.
After 45 days in Fiji, we migrated to Sumatra, Indonesia. This was the highlight of the trip for me. We spent time planting rice on local rice farms, painting elementary schools, making coffee, and so much more. One of the most exciting things we did was tracking orangutans. We saw about ten in total. At lunch one day during the tracking, an orangutan came so close to us. There was a mama and a baby swinging on vines about five feet away from us!! The baby was so cute and tiny. He was even sticking his tongue out. It was incredible.
Once we were done in Sumatra, we traveled to another Indonesian island, Bali. This island had the most beautiful beaches. We started this trip off with a Student Planned Module which couldn’t have gone better. We spent weeks researching all the cool things in Bali that we wanted to do. Our group managed to do almost everything that we wanted. Once that was over, we spent two weeks in an East Bali Immersion program. It was amazing. Here we spent time working in a local cashew factory, while also working in a Preschool. Those kids were the sweetest. After that, we had the chance to explore the city of Ubud. Once we were done spending all our money, we spent our last few days surfing in Uluwatu.
During this trip I got pushed out of my comfort zone and got to experience more than most people my age. I don’t know one other person that could say they got to trek through the highlands of Fiji or scuba dive with sting rays in Bali.
In the beginning I was very hesitant. I have never been away from my parents for more than 2 weeks. I have also never been camping before, or even on a hike! As out of shape and unexperienced I was, I loved every second of it.
Thank you ARCC for giving me some of the best months of my life.

I think a large part of how much I enjoyed this program was because of the people. Not only were my trip leaders incredible human beings who I am fortunate enough to look up to and even call friends, but ARCC also does an excellent job selecting local leaders and families for home stays. Every house I lived in, I felt so loved and welcome. I have done travel programs in the summer with different companies, but I did not feel nearly as immersed in the community then as I did on this trip. It was the first time this trip ran as a Gap Semester, so there were still some kinks being worked out while we were on the trip. Even though things did not always go exactly as planned, I would not change how I spent my semester nor would I hesitate to recommend this program to anyone interested in a truly life changing experience filled with immersion, adventure, and service learning.

After making a pretty last minute decision to take a gap year I found ARCC. I previously went on multiple summer trips with a different organization, but for my gap trip wanted to try something different. After spending 3 months in East Africa with ARCC, I wish I did all my summer trips in the past with them. I heard about them through a gap year consultant and immediately fell in love with the East Africa program. Something about the 3 countries (Uganda,Kenya, Tanzania) popped out at me, and as I read into the trip more I decided this was the company and trip for me. Once I decided to do a trip like this, I explored a couple of other companies before making a decision. once. Something about ARCC just felt so right and I absolutely loved how the trip was set up. When I read about the trip, I liked how there were 5 global themes that you explore throughout the whole trip (public health, education, micro finance, urbanization,conservation) and I liked the incorporation of leadership and the capstone project at the end. Those three things were not included with other programs. In September 2018 I met up with my group of 10 students and 2 leaders who were soon to be my 12 new best friends and family. We embarked on the trip of a lifetime. I know that sounds cheesy, but I don’t really know how else to define the trip that brought me so much. I loved that it was a mix of values and lessons that all contributed to the success of the perfect trip. There was service, adventure, leadership, education, nature, and fun. We lived in each country for a month. We spent our time traveling to village to village and spent about a week in each place. In each place we focused on something new. A new project, a new theme etc. For the first half of the trip we went to many schools and spent copious amounts of time with the kids. Playing with them, teaching them, learning about the school, learning how we could be of service. Every school was different so it never got boring. And the faces of the kids and the things we learned from them and the relationships we met will never be lost. Starting in Uganda we got a big overland truck with no windows and limo type seating and traveled in that with our driver Thiemo. Driving from place to place instead of flying was a really special experience because we saw things you wouldn’t see thousands of feet up. For example kids running after the truck, people selling different things on the side of the road, and how the landscape changes as you progress into a new place. During those road trips we stocked up on snacks connected to the aux cord and looked out the window at the beauty. Some of the best times were spent on that truck. We also got the opportunity to camp for about a month and a half. We would drive in the truck and pull out all of our stuff and tents from the compartments and set up camp. We had cook crews and we all shopped and cooked with and for each other. This added on another component to the trip and I think the camping really brought us together as a group. Sleeping in tents cooking meals together etc. Along with working in schools, we did a solar panel project and a health project. Learning everything you needed to, to wire someone’s house with solar panels and change a dressing on a patient. Everything that happened on the trip we did it together. I had 11 people by my side with everything we did and saw which is really special because you’re not the only person who saw that village or got to experience the amazing people of Tanzania and you can process and talk about everything with 11 other people which is amazing. Along with that we had two amazing leaders Katy and Eric who were also always by our side. Supporting us in anything we needed or did and keeping the trip running smoothly and safely and also sharing lots of laughs with us. The trip had so many special moments some with my group some with the locals. We experienced so much. Met so many people saw so many beautiful sights and made so many connections and memories. After spending 3 months on an ARCC trip I feel so incredibly passionate for the company. I think everything that occurred on the trip is all thanks to ARCC for organizing it so well and keeping everything running so smoothly. I also think ARCC is just so thoughtful they really know where we were at coming on this trip and they met us where we were. They provided so many things during the trip that contributed to the trip on such a high level. For example every week we did a reflection where we were given an
Hour and a prompt to reflect on and that was then followed by a discussion. This helped us to really process and further think about everything we had done or seen which I think is so important. They also included a whole leadership component giving us each an opportunity to be a leader of the group for a week twice during the trip. An opportunity to plan and run under all activities, reflections and experiences for the group. I think I learned a lot from that experience. They also always had games and activities up their sleeves to help us connect more as a group and have loads of fun. I felt so supported and understood and loved and pushed by ARCC. Although this is a self finding trip ARCC helped foster all the relationships and experiences we had which helped a lot. They did so well at preparing us and they were always available to talk to leading up to the trip. They also did a very good job at discussing the arrival home and preparing us for what that can potentially bring. So when I arrived home and was dealing with culture shock and missing the trip and the group at least I was prepared because I knew that was what I was going to feel. We talked about it and processed it before we left. I could go on for days how this trip had so many great parts to it and how it brought me so much joy and new experiences. What it all comes down to is that I highly highly recommend a trip with ARCC If you want a trip that is so well planned and that will change your life. Obviously I am biased to the East Africa gap semester they have many other trips in countries all over the world that all share similar curriculum, experiences, adventures and opportunities. If I could I would do my trip and all the other ones over again. I don’t think I would be as happy, aware, strong, thankful as I am without ARCC.

I miss my trip and my group everyday to me that’s a good sign,

Rosie Morford