Program Reviews

I really enjoyed my study abroad experience! The academic coursework was interesting but not stressful, so students were able to take a lot of time to explore the local culture and travel. My favorite part of the program was the 2-week excursion in Greece, during which students were able to interact with Greeks, explore the country and culture in detail, and otherwise have fun! Overall, would highly recommend this program for students who are looking to explore Switzerland, learn more about sustainability in finance, and take a break from coursework in the United States.

Doing this program was one of the best decisions I ever made! It was academically challenging, and each part of the program was engineered to push students to their highest potential. I walked away with confidence in the language, research development, and new interests. The professors and fellow students were incredibly inspiring, and it was hard to leave when the program ended. I will continue to search for academic environments like what I found in this program, and will remember my time on this program for the rest of my life! I would highly suggest this program go any hard worker environmental student searching for the tools needed to make positive change in the world.

I had an amazing time traveling in South Africa and meeting amazing people. I enjoyed living with my host families and learning their experiences and perspectives about the social, political, economic systems of South Africa. Learning about the history of South Africa was also very important as well because you also saw how it still has an influence on South Africans and their governmental system as well. Learning about the racial groups in South Africa and how they interacted with each other was also important. We learned in class and also when interacting with our host families and local South Africans, visiting museums, walking around the townships, and overall while living in South Africa the affects of the post-apartheid system on South Africans and how some racial groups are advantaged and have power while others are disadvantaged.

The SIT Study Abroad Nepal: Tibetan and Himalayan Peoples program was much more impactful on my life than I thought it would be.

Of utmost importance in this was the way the academic staff handled the course topics. The SIT academic staff created a curriculum emphasizing the true complexity of Tibetan and Himalayan socio-cultural and religious politics. This is not an easy task and indeed required the guidance of individuals who have spent their lives living and specializing in the region. Classes were overseen by experts who made sure to indicate the ambiguities of sovereignty, territory, and cultures across borders. This was all done with great sensitivity and nuance in a way that inspired me to reconsider not only what I understood about the region, but what I considered myself to know about notions of authenticity, place, space, nation-states, and knowledge held as a foreigner. In short, this course was intellectually demanding because it did not provide clear answers. Clear answers in many instances would not have captured intricacies at play. Some students felt uncomfortable with these tactical semi-conclusions, but I found it personally groundbreaking.

The course topic itself was extremely moving and was presented as a human issue. Tibetans were key in leading aspects of the program, sharing their experiences and grounding the texts in reality. Having the chance to work with Tibetans and Himalayn peoples in this capacity was a necessary component and was prioritized by the program. This is not an emotionally easy topic to tackle. The manner in which occupation and displacement were addressed did not overlook the intensity of the Tibetan situation, nor shy away from its controversial nature, while remaining sensitive to the people concerned.

For me personally, the opportunity to conduct field research was invaluable. On one occasion, I conducted a week-long fieldwork in the Tsum Valley regarding local law. On another, I conducted a month-long independent study on Tibetan refugees in Nepal while in Kathmandu. Both of these experiences were completely life-altering. Through them, I found my calling as a researcher of issues surrounding migration and displacement. Having the freedom to be out in the community, connected with translators, talking directly with Tibetans and Himalayan peoples about their experiences and opinions regarding current politics, changed the course of my life. I cannot stress enough how powerful these experiences were. I have the program to thank for this because it prioritized fieldwork and supported my pursuit of specific interests.

The living situation was also well done. With my host family, I felt safe, welcomed, included, and challenged. They did not speak much English, so I had to use the Tibetan I learned in class. This was certainly difficult but allowed me to develop a relationship with them in another language. I was living in a home with Tibetan refugees. This drove the truth of the situation home. It made it all real in a tangible way. I never had any problems with my host family and in fact went to visit 5 years later, finding we were able to reconnect easily.

The long-term support of the SIT faculty has also been helpful. I have been able to stay in touch with faculty, seek council, and facilitate valuable connections. Their enthusiasm is evident. They care about their students and want to help.

Nepal is itself an intense country with incredible diversity, cultural significance, poverty, and political intrigue. Living there is no small undertaking. Understanding it is on the verge of impossible. But going there and seeing for yourself, if you are open to enduring what it has to offer, can forever shift your point of view. All I can recommend really is to jump in, be patient, pay attention, and be satisfied with what can be learned.

In conclusion, this program exceeded all expectations. It was a turning point in my life as a researcher. It inspired and supported my interests. It was challenging yet worked with me when I struggled. I would choose this program again and again.

This was a great abroad experience! I gained a lot of confidence in my spanish ability and was able to meet a bunch of really cool people! The program had group trips worked into the semester which made traveling easy because everything was planned out. Living with a host family was really nice because you could practice your spanish and have a guide to the city. I grew a lot as a person throughout this experience- make sure you take advantage of everything Buenos Aires has to offer! I highly recommend this program!

As an Environmental Studies major, my abroad program relates directly to my activities in the classroom and gave me an opportunity to apply what I learned at my home institution to the real world. A key focus in the Environmental Studies major is integrating humanities and science. Throughout the entire SIT abroad program, I lived in local communities, worked with local community members and got to experience first-hand how individuals interact with their environment and how they view environmental issues I was studying. Through these interactions, I was able to ask questions and get their opinions about how environmental issues such as climate change, sustainability and tourism, impact their communities, then hear and see what they believe are the best solutions to address these challenging problems. I learned that through these experiences, local individuals are creating innovative ways to address different problems, using the locally available resources, and attempting to be sensitive to the cultural norms impacting the lives of people in their communities. Experiencing this first-hand gave me the opportunity to see these challenges through the eyes of local individuals, which really helped me understand and appreciate the importance of the interdisciplinary nature of my major.

I truly cannot speak highly enough of this program. The Transnational and Comparative Development program that SIT offers is absolutely incredible. Unlike other SIT programs, this one has international travel built in, and we had the opportunity to visit Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil in addition to getting to know our home city of Buenos Aires. The structure of the program allows for a really distinct and enriching learning experience where students get an idea of the region's history and current political issues through not only traditional lecture-style classes with various professors, but also through site visits in the four countries. We had the opportunity to visit the headquarters of regional institutions like ALADI and MERCOSUR, to speak with activist and indigenous groups, and to visit important political institutions. Additionally, this program offers students to perform independent research or do an internship in the final month of the semester. I chose to do a research project and was able to conduct interviews and work one-on-one with a professor associated with the program.

This semester was a great opportunity to improve my Spanish, learn about public health, and explore both the city of Buenos Aires and many distinct regions of Argentina. This program is best for students interested in public health who want a more structured, academic experience. The traveling included in the semester is a great way to learn more about the country, and my home-stay experience could not have been any better. I highly recommend this study abroad program! I would definitely choose it again.

Going to Durban, South Africa was an adventure. Even though I lived in Cape Town, South Africa for 8 years, I found myself not knowing much about the country. When I went to Durban, I learned more in depth about the country by interacting with different people. I met people such as an ex anti apartheid activist Mac Maharaj and former Constitutional Judge Albie Sachs. I took classes such as South Africa politics, history and culture. I home stayed in two homes which were located in a township and a rural area. This allowed me to be exposed to local Zulu culture. My favorite part of the program was Independent Study Project at the end of the semester. For a month, I interviewed local university students and wrote a report on what they think about Nelson Mandela.

Studying in Iceland provided me with a very unique opportunity to study climate change in a place where the extreme effects are being felt everyday. This program provided a hands on academic opportunity and amazing experiences traveling around the coast of Iceland. I learned so much on this program and developed interests in new areas that I had not focused on before. The highlights of my time in Iceland included homestays, attending the Arctic Circle Conference, and the development of individual research projects that resulted in a final presentation. The natural environment of Iceland never ceased to amaze me and each day brought something special. Double rainbows, northern lights, and endless vistas were the norm throughout my time in Iceland.