Program Reviews

When my plane touched down in Nepal, I knew three things about the country: Nepal had mountains. Kathmandu was the capital. "Namaste" means "hello." I knew virtually nothing about the country I was about to spend the next eight months in.

I had decided to take a gap year between college and grad school. I wanted to live in a new country and fully submerse myself in a new culture, something I hadn't taken advantage of during my undergrad. I chose Nepal mostly because of the Himalayas and my love of trekking. After much consideration (and budgeting), I decided to do my first three months with a gap year program, then travel on my own after that. Dragons gave me all the resources to prepare myself for Nepal: book titles, phone conversations, and even a copy of the Lonely Planet guidebook to Nepal. I could've prepared better, but I didn't. So it was that I found myself on the other side of the world in an unfamiliar culture with a group of strangers that were about to become my family for the next three months.

Those three months were beyond anything I could have imagined... Sitting cross-legged on a mud floor drinking sweet masala tea with my aamaa. Dancing with my homestay family on a balcony in Kathmandu while the city sparkled with millions of lights. The chanting of fifty monks, young and old, echoing in the cavernous puja hall. The burning of my lungs as we crossed Gosainkunda Pass and the sea of clouds on the other side.

The mountains were incredible, no doubt, but they aren't what I will remember most about Nepal. As I said goodbye to my the fellow travelers at Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu, I had tears in my eyes. It was these people along with many others that had made Nepal beautiful. I would be spending another five months in Nepal, but unlike the last time I arrived at the airport, I was ready.

Both homestays during the trip were incredible experiences! The families were so welcoming and you learn a lot about their lifestyles just by sharing a meal with them. The hiking was stunning - anyone looking for an adventure will love the Bolivia trip! I would recommend doing the Bolivia trip with Where There Be Dragons for anyone looking for an off-the-map trip that stays away from the typical tourist route.

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.

I entered a place that I knew little about and came into the lives of people whose language I could barely speak and the connections I made were stronger than anything I could have imagined. Living with a family, walking home to their house everyday and feeling the love and care and warmth they extended to me was a feeling beyond anything I could describe in words. I felt loved and safe and so connected. Over the three months I spent with Dragons In Senegal I was challenged and pushed beyond my comfort zone and within that experience I feel that I grew an exponential amount. I have never felt more in touch and aware of the world around me then I did in that magical vibrant and enchanting place. I carry the memory of my host mothers and siblings and grand parents and neighbors with me everywhere I go. I cannot express enough how much I learned from the moments of deep connection that I shared with the people around me. Dragons gave me a place to grow in a safe and supportive environment and lead me on a path that will forever influence my life decisions in the future.

This trip was exceptional! Truly! That's not to say that it wasn't difficult, frustrating, and stressful at times but that is what made it so important to my growth as a person and a perfect introduction to the rest of my gap year. I was struck by unexpected homesickness while abroad which was a bummer but the instructors and other students were so caring and did all they could to make me feel better. We studied Wolof, Pulaar, and French and stayed with three different homestay families, two in Senegal and one in Guineau. They were new and challenging and so special. Between when class ended and dinner with our homestay families in Thiès, we had complete and total freedom. We could go anywhere alone or with our peers. We went to the market, the ice cream store, and we took taxis anywhere. It was amazing to be given that opportunity to experience Senegal by ourselves. I don't expect that this liberty is available in many other programs.
Our trip was unusual in the way that it was only females that signed up and there were only seven of us as opposed to the usual twelve participants per Dragons trip. A WTBD trip creates an environment where one tends to get super close to their peers super quickly. By the second day, I felt like our group had broken a barrier that usually takes at least three months to breach. We supported each other without fail and my communication skills improved so much.
After WTBD, I was ready to take on the world. I felt like every challenge I could possibly face, I knew from experience how to deal with it and how not to be fazed by it. After this trip, I went onto volunteer at a dog sled race in the Yukon at -40 degrees, then learn Arabic and intern at a women's nonprofit in Morocco, then climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and none of those experiences challenged me more than the three months I spent in Senegal.

This trip absolutely changed me as a person for the better in a way I don't think any other opportunity could have measured up to. Do not feel intimidated by this trip -- I went in with no prior backpacking experience. The trip has been something I talk about with nearly everyone, and my experiences there have not only been cherished by me, but also other people respect me for my decision to travel and to learn more about others around the world.

It challenged me mentally and physically every day, and it gave me an opportunity to leave everything I have ever known to learn more about the world and to reflect on myself. There is something amazing about accomplishing a feat you never imagined you could do -- it has given me a self-confidence that has gotten me opportunities after the trip and still now in college with internships. You come back with stories no one's could beat, and strength that no one can take away from you.

I 100% recommend this trip. Indonesia is a beautiful country with beautiful people, and WTBD ensures that you are the leader within your experience and to make of it what you will and feel comfortable with. They are there to guide you and to help you if you need, but in no way do they force you to do anything, which I think is a great part of the trip. I built relationships with people I met there, and I wish every day that I will one day go back and see them again. If you are willing to throw yourself wholeheartedly into something that will make you uncomfortable at times and will challenge you, but will also leave you with incredible memories, a unique, unforgettable experience, and a new perspective of the world, then this is the trip for you.

Attached to this review is my video summing up what I saw and did, and it was amazing.

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!

I went to Nicaragua and Guatemala in the fall of 2017. Before going on the trip I had never taken Spanish and I was really scared that my lack of language skills was going to ruin my trip. My instructors and fellow students gave me the support I needed to get through my first couple of homestays while I was still struggling. Through the teachings of the really quality Spanish schools we went to I actually learned Spanish! I was able to learn a good portion of a language in 3 months along with all that I learned about myself and about the communities we stayed with. There is no way to learn more about a language or a culture than to live there. Dragons will give you the opportunity of a lifetime.

Dragons is an incredible community of passionate and inspiring educators and students. Dragons pushes students to engage in deep learning about the world and about themselves. My Andes and Amazon semester was transformational, and I came home with a difference perspective about my priorities and values.

While the communities in which we traveled are central to the experience, Dragons students and instructors really set the organization apart. Instructors are experts in their countries, and comprise a community of activists and change makers who carefully craft each individual program. The students on my program are some of the most inspiring, motivated, and passionate people I have ever met. Now, as a college student, my interests have been largely shaped by my experience in Bolivia and Peru, as I am interested in studying issues of development, anthropology, sociology, and Latin American studies. These interests were not even on my radar before my trip, but grew out of my gap year experiences.

On the last day of my trip to Peru and Bolivia our instructors asked the group to brainstorm words that qualified in some way the trip we had just completed. Concentrating some of the most influential three months of my life into a word seemed like an impossible task, but as I talked to the people who had walked with me around mountains, who had stopped to examine tiny flowers on the ground and gotten distracted by an especially beautiful pebbles, who had danced their hearts away holding the hands of their host sisters and brothers, the word that I felt fit the most was Care. This program taught me that to care is so many things. I felt cared for by my instructors and the other students on my course, my host family fed me soup and tea with every meal when I got sick. I couldn't have asked for a better course on compassion and adventure, on culture and dancing and cooking and feeling. I think back a lot to the time that I spent in South America and the people that I spent it with. My life has changed a lot since then but the person I am since leaving this program is much more prepared to handle it all.