The world is a big place

About a year ago I was in possibly a similar position to you, searching and reading through gap year programs and reviews. One of my friends had gone with ARCC to Southeast Asia for her gap semester and had told me about how great it was and how much she gained from it, so the positive reviews on sites like this and others just solidified my decision. I've always loved traveling and I knew it would be a great time learn about the world and myself. I knew at the start of my searches that I wanted to travel to Southeast Asia, it was on the other side of the world, for a large portion of my life I have been eating Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food and I thought it would be really cool to eat those cuisines from the source. I wanted to immerse myself in a culture and lifestyle that I was very unfamiliar with and gain a greater world view than I had before. I think what stands out about ARCC compared to other teen travel companies is the attention to detail and all of the relationships that have been built by Sofia, Scott and the staff over the last few decades. They have travelled to each of the places that we go and have formed close relationships with the tour guides and local communities, which really makes a difference. All of our guides were fantastic, always teaching us things about the areas we were in, the people that inhabit it, its history, culture, language, food and much much more. Having these in country guides who really care and want us to gain as much as we can and really get to know the countries and places we go is something that I really appreciated and thought truly elevated the trip to another level. Southeast Asia is a very special part of the world, and I am really glad that I made the decision to come here with ARCC, give and learn what we did. I highly recommend taking a gap year and traveling, it gives you a greater perspective on the world, life, and yourself, and whether or not you choose ARCC is up to you, just know that if you choose to travel with ARCC I can guarantee that you will have an amazing experience and make memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life.