As our course comes to an end, we had a chance to look back and reflect on these past few months. Having seen, experienced, and felt so much, it is hard to put our time following the Mekong into words. No matter how many times we cursed the......Read More
As most probably know or figured out, my Dragons journey ended a little bit earlier than everyone else’s. Due to some medical complications, I returned to Nashville (yeehaw) at the beginning of November. Leaving Morocco was the last thing I wanted......Read More
To my group during transference: I would like to dwell for a moment on where you are. You have been traveling for nearly three months in two countries. You have slept in fifteen hostels and countless different beds, nine campsites, five night buses,......Read More
Where There Be Dragons—or Dragoncitos (little dragons in Spanish) as Randall likes to say—pays homage to ancient Chinese map makers who would draw dragons on the edges of maps for places they hadn’t yet explored. The wild, unknown, unconquered......Read More
*imagine my sports caster announcer voice coming over the radio* GOOD AFTERNOON, ladies, gentlemen and yak fans everywhere! We are back. It’s the bottom of the 9th here at beautiful Machu Picchu field and the visiting team, the Dragons, are up......Read More
Choquekiraw – Machu Picchu X-Phase Trek Log1 Day 1 11/22/19 Partly cloudy with rain in the distance Ate lunch at a small hostel overlooking Apurima2 valley. Hiked up to a stunning mirador with views of......Read More
It has been one week since we left our homestay in Sampela, the remote village suspended on dried coral reef and stilts over the ocean off the coast of the Wakatobi island chain. Like our students, this was my first time visiting this community.......Read More
As we enter into a countdown of numbers that seem unfathomably small–6 days left, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1–the closeness of life after the course feels both so close I can feel it and at the same time, more unimaginable than when the countdown was......Read More
11 Things I’ve Learned in Morocco By: Lauren Laugh at yourself: it’s important not to take yourself too seriously. Making mistakes is both okay and normal, and poking fun at messing up makes it easier. Laughing at yourself is also a great way to......Read More
Lessons Learned in Morocco: 1. Talk to strangers. Random conversations about random topics have been some of the most interesting and educational parts of this journey. There are so many people in this world; all of them are interesting if you ask......Read More
When I was in sixth grade, I was picked to give a commencement speech at my graduation. I remember the excitement, the nerves, but most of all, the challenge of what to write about. How could I aptly summarize seven years of school? All the jokes,......Read More
Some beautiful shots from the team’s time this past week at the mangrove community....Read More
Hello friends and family! We have had a full last few days in the Amazon. Saturday morning we went on an artisanal fishing trip, looking out mostly for piranas and sardines. We went out in canoes and used long sticks to catch little fish, and then......Read More
Nearly ten years ago, I was preparing to depart Taiwan after a year-long study abroad experience. The transition time was tough and I ached to find ways that would allow me to reconcile with leaving. Returning to my life in the U.S. seemed......Read More
We started out in Dieng, in the chilly, misty, geologically active highlands. Amid steam vents, ancient temples, and terraced potato fields, we got oriented to each other and to Indonesia. Now, ten flights, a dozen islands, 100 mangoes, 750 es......Read More
