OTS South Africa - Spring 2019

Sitting in my ecology class, I was fascinated by the stories my professor would tell while doing fieldwork in Brazil. He would show us pictures and talk animatedly about his work on turtle ants, all while defining what ecology is. However, I felt a bit dejected since I thought I wouldn't be able to experience these locations for myself - there aren't any tropical locations in the US, and I was only a student in DC. That's where OTS comes in. It's a program that aims to get students like me out to tropical locations in Costa Rica, or, in this case, South Africa.

And what an experience it was. As a student studying abroad, you travel with professors and other students in the same boat as you to different locations in South Africa, going from Kruger National Park to Capetown. The professors genuinely care for you not only as a student, but also as a person, all while teaching you all about tropical savanna ecology. You will be shocked at just how much this program packs in a semester, as you see elephants up close during game drives, go into restricted areas of the park to conduct a research project on rhinos (yes, that was my capstone!), or climb Table Mountain during spring break. I heartily recommend this program to anyone who is either debating going into ecology, or who wants to develop their scientific prowess.