A Fun, Deep, Not Watered Down Gap Year

I chose Thinking Beyond Borders (TBB) because it gave me the unique experience of traveling to 7 different countries in 8 months, without returning to the US or seeing my family. I had never traveled like that before, and had only traveled with my family in hotels previously. TBB's arranging homestays for its students gave me the rare opportunity to learn and engage a culture intimately with a local family I got to know over the course of 6-7 weeks. Despite TBB's staff and teachers being there to help me with cultural difficulties, the program forced me to address and overcome cultural difficulties myself, giving me a greater understanding of my own cultural assumptions. I continue to glean new meaning from my year with TBB, even now as a junior in college.