Very structured program

Overall, my experience with ARCC was valuable and I will carry the skills I learned for the rest of my life. My group consisted of 9 students (4 boys, 5 girls) and 2 leaders. Other than the people in this group, there will be no opportunity to meet other people your age. Everything we did was with the group and very structured. If you like structure, this program is for you. If you’re looking for more freedom, I would consider other options.

The rules in place are very firm and you cannot get away with anything that remotely violates them. (No drinking, smoking, partying, ect)

Another thing to consider is that we moved around A LOT, which I loved. If living out of a backpack and moving every few nights doesn’t interest you, don’t do this program. We mostly stayed in hotels and hostels (some were nice, some were not), but we also did a homestay in each country. The homestay in Cambodia was very rural (No AC, no running water, no WiFi, and my bed was a mat on the floor).

A lot of the things we did through this program were definitely once in a lifetime and I would have never done them without ARCC. However the 10 weeks was long and there were times I felt isolated and really really wished I had freedom to do the things I wanted to.