Greatest Five Weeks of My Life

I absolutely loved my experience in Nepal. I felt that the group of students was incredible and sort of a self-selecting bunch because the trip was so rigorous that it weeded out anyone who wasn't genuine and willing to fully immerse themselves. My two leaders were amazing--so friendly and fun, yet really responsible and always coming up with the most clever, sweet, and thoughtful touches to add to the trip. For example, they surprised us with snickers bars after the toughest day of our trek, and were continually coming up with wacky but fantastic games for us to play at the worksite (carrying bricks and digging all day could get a little slow sometimes). The trek was wonderful--amazing sights, rigorous in the most character-building way imaginable, and the perfect way to get to know everyone really well. The home stay was unexpectedly wonderful considering that almost none of our host families spoke any English and the few people that did spoke barely any English. However, we still became so close with them that I cried when we left. The country of Nepal is also wonderful--we met so many warm, kind, and interesting people along the way. The cities we explored in orientation and final travel were really interesting and the way in which we explored them with Global Routes was really fun--a mix of going to see sights and exploring on our own volition. Overall, it was the self-selecting group of students and the two amazing leaders that made the trip so amazing for me, and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to give up many of the material comforts of home in exchange for a whole new perspective on life.