Three Months, a Lifetime of Experiences with ARCC

Considering that one of the main focuses of a college education is to prepare students for the large world that awaits them, what better way to begin that education than to venture out into the world itself? In three months, I immersed myself in radically different cultures, interacted with people who have different world views, customs, and traditions, and felt the liberation from self-exploration and discovery. I do not believe that a gap year is an alternative to college, but more of a supplement and benefit that will significantly increase my independence and preparedness for the years to come.
Throughout Adventures Cross Country Gap Asia, I had the time of my life exploring new places and meeting new people. I got to tour the cities of Beijing, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, and Bangkok, take local cooking lessons and learn about the culinary cultures of each country, tandem bike along the countryside of China, and work with people affected by the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam. Adventures Cross Country aptly weaves the five core themes of the academic portion of the semester into each activity and project. The five core themes are: Microfinance and Economic Activity, Public Health, Education and Literacy, Environment and Conservation, and Urbanization and the Movement of Peoples. The end goal of the academic part of the year is a Capstone Project that aims to incorporate all that one has learned into a cohesive and educational presentation (in any form or medium).
Also, the two leader and thirteen others students were the best, most kind, caring, intellectually curious, outgoing, informed, and fun group of people that I could have traveled with. When one is with a group of people who they love and have the greatest admiration for and when one travels the world and sees sights that spur the mind and create a stronger passion for the world around him or her, they develop as a person and create a better environment for themselves and for the rest of the world. Although three months is a short time, so much happens in the most positive of ways. Adventures Cross Country is the prime choice for a gap semester because they indulge all of the senses, promote greater awareness of the self and of one's surroundings, and cater to every person as an individual learner while encouraging them to think of things greater than themselves.