Where?

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2012’s program takes place in Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand. While other abroad programs take students to Europe, Central America, or Japan, our program exposes students to a culture that very few of their classmates have visited or know anything about.

Thailand is a popular destination with college-aged backpackers from Europe and Australia because of the reputation it has gained for offering a broad set of travel opportunities in a relatively small area.

Travelers generally feel safe and welcome, and can be somewhere new and interesting while still having access to hot water, McDonald’s, and ubiquitous 7-11 convenience stores.

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In a country smaller than Texas, you can trek into the jungle to visit hill people tribes and participate in their culture. You can travel through the rain forest with your own elephant.

You can pet tigers and lions, visit Buddhist temples and talk with their monks, and eat thousands of Thai dishes at the walking markets that line the city streets. You can learn to meditate, play soccer, or hike a mountain just 10 minutes from the hostel.

You can bathe elephants and shop for exotic handmade gifts. You can relax in the cool breezes that roll off the mountains and peruse the city shops at night over bubble tea, pad thai, lattes, and spring rolls from the street vendors while locals and travelers from all over the world take in the warm city nights.

Our time in Chiang Mai will afford us the chance to do all these things and more. We will live together in our own hostel, consistently ranked one of the top two hostels in all of Asia, in the heart of the city. By the time we leave, Chiang Mai will feel like your second home.