Program Reviews

This experience was absolutely fantastic! The Spanish lessons were super helpful and informative, and the home stays we did were such a good way to become completely immersed in the culture. The Sacred Valley is a beautiful location and the outdoors and natural aspects of the landscape are mind blowing! All the instructors were fantastic and super helpful when we needed some extra support and advice. The program is not for the faint of heart though. It will definitely come with its trials! Would highly recommend this program to anyone.

This trip changed my life. I had not idea what to expect going into this program, but I was blown away by who I was at the beginning and who I was at the end. It’s been five months since I returned, and I still think of Nepal everyday. The impact of my summer spent has not diminished.
This is a really good opportunity to discover what it is like to disconnect from technology and the familiar, and really learn to connect with different forms of communication and communities.
I made many life long connections and memories within the four weeks in Nepal with eleven strangers around my age. If you’re not sure whether this is worth it, I’m telling you it is. There was never a moment where I wasn’t learning, growing, or having fun.

This program was amazing! I felt like it was the perfect balance of exploring the beautiful landscapes and interacting in local communities. We traveled through Peru and all over Bolivia, trekking, living in cities, and staying in communities. I also loved how close I got with all the people I was traveling with. We lived together through thick and thin, through sickness and through cold nights. We went to Spanish classes, climbed countless mountains, and experienced Peru and Bolivian culture all together. I loved living with families, during the two homestays we did. It was really cool to get to spend so much time with another family, only speaking in Spanish. I loved always moving around and being somewhere new every week, seeing as much of these two countries as we possibly could. These past 3 months I’ve travelled to the coolest places I’ve ever been and I’ve made life long friends!

As a lover of travel I was over the moon to discover these summer programs. Throughout my month in Guatemala I learned more about myself and the world than I did in two years of high school. Learning Spanish from locals was also a really interesting way to learn and I found that having one on one instruction helps me grow more than group classes do. My instructors on the trip were three of the most intelligent, kind, and loving people I've ever met. At times being away from your family can be hard but I received so much love and support the entire time. Having finished the trip I can say that it was the best experience of my life and I can't wait to travel more next summer.

As a Nepali-American, this program allowed me to understand the cultures and peoples of Nepal to a much deeper extent than what I have been exposed to in the United States. I made so many amazing friendships during this program, both with my peers and the different communities we lived with during our stay. I am beyond grateful for this amazing opportunity to have learned from the local people in the various places we stayed. I also trekked for my first time ever and now feel a much stronger connection to the Himalayas. Our stay in the Kathmandu Valley was so enriching for me because we learned of the history of these ancient cities and kingdoms. I will never forget the many things I was able to learn from this trip.

I have done two programs with Where There Be Dragons, and both were incredible. This program is definitely not for the weak of heart, but it taught me so much about ethical travel and how to be a responsible global citizen. I have never felt so comprehensively immersed in a culture so different from my own. A combination of rugged travel, home stay, cultural immersion and historical education made the trip truly informative, exciting and productive. Expedition phase, in which students plan a small portion of the trip, is also useful for cultivating life skills in travel.

February 2022 I thought the next 5 years of my life was set in stone, go directly to college. Then the next week I no longer had a plan. I decided to go on this course because I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something new. This was my first time traveling by myself, going trekking, learning skills like navigation and wood carving. I was super nervous at first, but everyone in my group was stoked, ready to grow, and learn! You can take the dragon out of Nepal but you can never take Nepal out of the dragon! I met so many new people and have made a new home for myself half way across the world.

Going to Cambodia with Where There Be Dragons was one of the most transformative experiences of my life thus far. The group leaders were all better than I could have imagined (A norm for Dragons), and their knowledge and thoughtfulness was incredible. I've been on study abroad programs prior, and I can say with pretty much absolute certainty that Dragons is the best organization out there. I literally have no cons to talk about, it was amazing.

However, if you are not someone who is adventurous and willing to "rough it" a little bit (ex. Bucket showers and limited electricity), this program might be more challenging for you.

My gap year in Bolivia opened my mind up to different ways of being and living in this world. I met so many wonderful people and was exposed to many new things. While my time there was sometimes challenging, it allowed me to step out of my comfort zone. The lessons I learned about myself and my values still shape who I am today. I also had the opportunity to learn more about Bolivian history and culture as well as reflect on United States history and culture, especially as it relates to South America.

I took this trip (2.5 month semester program) between graduating high school and starting college to explore and discover a different way of life away from the American standard. What I did not realize about this trip is that it provided me a place and space (with our fabulous group and instructors) to dive into the essence of myself and rediscover the passions I'd lost in the busyness of school. I was always slightly homesick for most of the trip but once I came home I experienced reverse culture shock which was fascinating to me. I was able to see my own family life, culture, and old habits in a new light. I look back on my trip very fondly, even if it was challenging at times. The instructor team was absolutely stacked. You could tell that this wasn't just a job for them but a passion and a lifestyle. This was easily seen in their relationships with students and their knowledge and dedication to their environment and work. From my impression the Where There Be Dragons program was very well connected and close with communities in which we stayed or explored in. There seemed to be authentic relationships between our instructors, the overall program, and locals. We had extensive briefing on Nepali culture, customs, and language as a group before we went out in the open. We also had classes whilst in our city homestay that were taught by guest speakers, the instructor team, our even fellow peers that ranged from gentrification, food privilege, Honey hunting in Nepal, Learning Service (voluntourism), What Happens to Our trash, Compost, etc.. Our group of 13 students and 3 instructors still keep in touch over a WhatsApp group chat sharing memories from the trip.

Words of advice:
-Journal everyday, even little things. It is so worth it and will be so fun to share with loved ones back home
-Bring a lot of hiking socks (5-8 pairs)
-don't get wrapped up in checking your personal email--it definitely makes you more homesick
-bring the vitamins they recommend and just take them everyday as a precaution
-leave behind pre conceived notions of yourself and "who you are". Challenge your beliefs!
-bring a big travel duffel to store your pack in (one kid's backpack broke through TSA)

Cons:
-not a racially diverse group of students
-the food was toooooooo good but a tad hard on my tummy with all the rice (big bloat)