Program Reviews

I had an incredible, life-changing experience at SIT Mongolia. I decided to go on a whim, thinking that I wanted to experience something totally different from my life in the US; it turned out to be one of the best, best experiences of my life. The SIT Mongolia program is extremely well-run, and the teachers take you all over the country to explore. We visited the Gobi Desert in the south, a mining town in the North, the birthplace of Genghis Khan, and many other places. We had adventure after adventure. One of the best parts was staying with rural nomadic families: helping them herd, playing with the kids, helping them milk yaks, and playing cards. I also had a great experience doing my Independent Study Project. I studied trophy hunting, so I got to travel out to the west and interview hunters, as well as talking to government officials in the capital. The teachers offered great support throughout the process. Finally, I made truly incredible friends among my classmates. We had so, so much fun, and I'm so grateful for this experience.

The majority of my classes up until I took this program were in psychology and sociology. I am passionate about better understanding the complexity of human beings and how such understanding can be used to promote change. This program was an incredibly rich entry point for me into the world of activism and dialogue through art, something which had been missing from my studies. So many thoughtful and haunting uses of imagery. I highly recommend you look for examples of the work of Lucila Quieto for one example of the powerful work you will encounter (link at bottom). The experiences of meeting her in person, along with several other artists and collectives, were indispensable. You will not be just reading about subject matter but encountering it in places where the Dirty War was carried out, talking with survivors, and meeting grassroots organizers. Partly due to inspiration from this program, my senior thesis will be tying theory (ecofeminism and ecopsychology) with its illustration in the work of female artists, including Latinas Laura Aguilar and Ana Mendieta.

My homestay family was very friendly and accommodating - one of my favorite days was going out with them and strolling through the historic districts of La Boca and San Telmo. Tango in the streets, colorful buildings, open courtyards, markets, nooks and crannies with old cafés and vines creeping around store entryways. As the warm afternoon light gave way to night and the colored lights of the Plaza de Mayo, my homestay mother telling me the history of so many buildings, I became truly immersed in the atmosphere of Buenos Aires.

My semester abroad in Argentina with SIT was a pivotal period in my life. The people, the mix of cultures, and the sense of adventure all caused me to fall in love with the country. The structure of the program taught me so much about public health in Argentina. We were exposed to top specialists, traveled to different provinces, and engaged in various projects that left room for personal enhancement of our lecture content. Additionally, by traveling to other provinces outside of Buenos Aires, we were able to not only interact with the material we were learning, but also prepare for our independent internships or research projects. I believe that it is because of this that I as able to be successful and completely enjoy my time with the Red Cross Argentina. It is important to note that the quality of the program staff, really makes the program. I have studied abroad three times during college, and I have yet to encounter a program staff so genuinely loving and concerned with the welfare and enjoyment of their students. Go, go, GO!

I cannot even begin to explain the numerous ways in which this program changed my life… seriously I have a SIT Nepal story for practically every single occasion and find a way to bring up how much it changed my life frequently. If you want a dynamic study abroad program that will set your life up in remarkable ways beyond what you even could expect, this is the program. I wanted to do a program very different than my peers all in London/ Australia, because that really SHOULD be the point of study abroad and wow did I get that. The program excursions change every semester so when you apply there is no real way of knowing what you will get up to that semester. We took two airplanes and a helicopter to the Tibetan border to most remote area in the country in the far west and then went on a 2 week walk/ trek where we stayed in villages in the middle of the Himalayas. How many study abroad programs do you know where you could potentially be on a helicopter?? It also means that unlike other programs where you follow a set tourist trail, you truly are going places in many cases for the first time. People are still excited to engage with you and learn with you. Additionally with the independent research project, I was incredibly daunted going into it, but it ended up being one of the most eye opening and rewarding things I’ve ever done. I never considered myself a “research” person, but it all changed with this. I gained so much self confidence in my ability to get to the bottom of stories and write about them. We all did! The staff is fantastic. The homesteads are fantastic. The SIT house is a little piece of heaven with a garden and fresh food every day. I have traveled a lot in my life but can hands down say this was my most memorable, unique experience ever. If you love adventure, the unknown, an incredibly unique cultural experience, and having experiences that no one else in the world really will get, this is the place.

PS I think the "fun" descriptor is very misleading here. You're living with homestays so you aren't going out to the club every night (although you can do that on the weekend). It is fun in the fact you are with an incredible cohort of kind, curious people that you can sit at cafes by Buddhist stupas talking about life while monks complete their kora beneath you. But again, this is a fully unique experience! It was nice to take a semester off of college shenanigans and engage in these meaningful relations instead. These people became my best friends. I have seen them in Bangkok, Chicago, New York, and am even doing a Fulbright back in Asia with one of the girls I met there.

If you're a pre-health student, this program really allows you the opportunity to explore not only health systems from within the classroom, but also at the institutional level. I was able to shadow physicians and social workers, travel all around the country, and meet wonderful mentors. Each of the program coordinators and mentors were so loving and helpful with my transition to life abroad, and I felt like I could come to them with any problems. The only thing that I would have liked to had more of in this experience is greater freedom with time. The program was highly structured, which was useful at the beginning of the program, but it would have been nice to have more time to explore the city without those long class hours. Overall, I would definitely go back!

This trip is super important for Americans, especially those unfamiliar with the history of the US in Latin America (as I was). It was illuminating, not just about Argentina's last dictatorship, but similar occurrences in other Latin American countries, as well as the history and sociology of the country itself (i.e. the lack of black Argentinians, marginalization of indigenous groups, etc). This trip is an opportunity to learn history, grow as your wrestle with difficult truths, and have sooooo many empanadas! Global positioning is also something we had to confront as Americans, so it stretched us (me) in that way as well. I highly recommend it. I'm still writing about our topics and using my Spanish. I actually plan to return again and learn more.

Quick tip: the trip will be much more rich if you really brush up on your Spanish before hand.

Great support and learning opportunity. This experience made it possible and enriching to live and study in a part of the world where I would never have dreamed possible. This program pushed my understanding of how cities and communities grow together. I gained so many wonderful experiences while living and working with local colleagues. This program offered me the chance to do really powerful learning but also experience so many different parts of the country.
I can't wait to return to Vietnam in the near future. This program has ignited a love for learning and a deep interest in the wonderful richness of Vietnam.
The program felt really well designed and safe. I'd highly recommend this program to anyone willing to step off the well-tod path and explore a new place and way of learning.

The study abroad experience was phenomenal for the leaders and people I did it with. There were tons of opportunities to bond and explore these beautiful locations. This is a great learning experience for both living alone or with a small group of friends abroad and also for learning about how the climate is changing the areas you're living in for the semester. The homestay is a particularly valuable opportunity to immerse yourself in Icelandic culture and make connections with people from a completely different background. The ISP was also a fantastic opportunity to plan and execute your own research question. This program really excels in giving you the freedom to explore what you're interested in and follow your passions, so to make the most of it, you should be curious and explore outside the classroom!

The SIT Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples study abroad program was a remarkable highlight of my time in university. Through a refreshing taste of experiential learning, we engaged with communities across Nepal in productive, meaningful ways. Learning in the field instead of the classroom inspired us all to be more invested in our work. The staff, who was caring and supportive to the utmost degree, has connections across the region and is willing to help all of their students with both the smallest and greatest of tasks. Their deep knowledge of the country (and neighboring countries) opens up a world of opportunity. Students with any possible interest, even the most esoteric, will find their place and thrive in this study abroad program.

I definitely think about art differently after this program. It was really empowering to see it used as a tool in so many ways. In this program, art was used as a means of exploring and analyzing a new city, as a means to process trauma, to track an intergenerational timeline of consciousness, and to empower people with creative solutions. The instructors are amazing and very compassionate. Also, this program is important for a person born and raised in the United States (like me)! I did not know almost anything about Los Desaparecidos in Argentina and many similar scenarios in other countries in South America. I would say its an essential piece of history to understand, and it's much easier to get an understanding first hand in Argentina.

(I put 9 out of 10 for housing purely because we were all housed in really wealthy neighborhoods and it would have been nice to see a bit more of the city.)