A Truly Life-Changing Experience

My experience studying abroad abroad with SIT Nepal was easily the highlight of my undergraduate education. The program was amazing and catered to different study abroad goals. I feel that learned a great deal while still having time to explore a new culture and city. I think the program's most formative and unique aspects were the experiential learning components from conducting research in the Ladakh high-altitude desert to participating in Tihar celebrations in Helambu. I certainly learned far more than I anticipated coming into the program, from the plight of Tibetan refugees to climate change in the Himalayas and traditional architecture. Regardless of your interest, you'll likely cover something related to your academic focus in the program and the staff are willing to go above and beyond to encompass diverse cohort interests. The course titles make the program appear far more narrow than it actually is.

It's hard to summarize just how much I gained from the program, from lifelong friends and mentors to truly incomparable experiences like residing with host families on the Tibetan plateau in India. It feels surreal to look back at the diversity of experiences that were encompassed in a few months. I left the program a different person and with a greater understanding of my academic interests. From the combined experience of excursions and the independent study period, I gained greater confidence to live and conduct research in foreign places. Ultimately, I left the program with a greater appreciation of the Himalayas as a region rich in culture, history, and politics. I left with a greater hunger to explore and curiosity about the rest of the world. I feel indebted to the program in many ways.