Where There Be Dragons
Vitals
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GYA Accredited Since:
2015
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Enrolling:
Yes - Mission Statement:
Founded in 1993, Dragons mission is to foster meaningful connections through responsible and immersion travel in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and in the USA. Our vision, ultimately, is to foster a more compassionate, just, and inclusive world. Dragons small group 3-month Gap programs are mentored by expert instructors and offer a wide variety of hands-on components such as homestay, language, and rugged travel. Each program is an original adventure where students gain valuable life skills to navigate their future with confidence.
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Level of Independence/Supervision (mouse-over for definition):
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Attachments
Program Locations
Typical Itinerary
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
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W e e k 1 |
Arrive in Indonesia. Start Orientation in Java. Explore the ancient temples on the misty, volcanic Dieng Plateau in Central Java | Orientation Day 2: Students get to know one another, set intentions, and build skills and connections for the journey to come | Orientation Day 3: Language lessons in Bahasa Indonesia | Trekking Time: Hike to the summit of volcanoes on Java and Flores | Trek Day 2: Hiking in the jungles of Borneo | Urban Homestay in Jogja: Independent Study Project - Learn about shadow-puppetry, street art, yoga, dance or learn to play the gamelan | Urban Homestay in Jogja: Language lessons and student led expedition around the city |
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | |
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W e e k 2 |
Explore Gunung Leusser National Park, one of the last remaining habitats that supports wild populations of tigers, elephants, rhinos and critically endangered orangutans | Travel by plane, jeep, and ferry to the rural homestay community of Sampela | Arrive in Sampela: The traditionally semi-nomadic seafaring Bajau people have been forced to settle on stilt houses atop coral atolls. | Rural Homestay in Sampela: Spearfishing with families | Rural Homestay in Sampela: Canoe to the market with families to sell their catch | Rural Homestay in Sampela: harvest sea cucumbers and snorkel the nearby reefs | Rural Homestay in Sampela: Learn from guest speaker about shamanism or local environmental issues |
This itinerary is a condensed segment of our 3-month Indonesia Gap Semester course. Dragons never runs a cookie-cutter programs. Each experience is organic and new. Administrative members, instructor teams, and students work together to craft a unique focus and direction for each program. Most importantly, a dynamic itinerary can effectively respond to specific concerns as they pertain to political realities, group health, and other unforeseen circumstances. By not being locked-in to a particular schedule, our groups are able to respond to the shifting on-the-ground situations in the places we host programs. In addition, this dynamism allows our groups to move at their own pace to react to personal and group interests, and to take advantage of the learning opportunities that accompany the unexpected.
Program Outcomes
- Leadership
- Global Awareness and Citizenship
- Ability to travel independently
- Resilience
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Cultural Immersion
- Language Proficiency
- Interconnectedness
- Self Discovery
At Dragons, we believe future leaders will need to think beyond borders to cultivate a more inclusive, collaborative, and just future. We also believe in the natural outcomes of connecting participants with different and shared realities through firsthand engagement.
Our goal: to build empathy and foster a feeling of shared responsibility for our collective future. We employ our program components as the tools to break this mission down into actionable pieces. In particular, we value the program components of language study and homestays for their essential roles in opening doors to experiences in which students can connect, listen, and understand. From program start to end date, we employ leadership models that empower student voices and self-directed learning.
We believe it's harmful to neglect the ethics of travel. We see responsible travel as environmentally conscientious, culturally self-aware, and focused on developing mutually meaningful connections with local communities. We ask our participants to adapt to the places we travel, rather than asking those places to adapt to our expectations. We believe this approach generates reciprocal relationships, full of respect and appreciation.
We also aim to cultivate lasting skill sets in foreign language and intercultural communication. We hope to see participants foster relationships with people and places that last beyond the course conclusion. Finally, our courses aim to help participants clarify their own values, and address the individualized question of how to embody those values in the world.
Program Details
- Program Starts: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer
- Program Duration: Less than 2 months, Semester, Yearlong
- Typical Program Cost: $7,000-$16,000
- Program Financial Aid: Yes
- Other Financial Aid Details:
20% of our students receive financial aid. This ranges from 20-80% of the cost of a summer or semester program. We encourage you to apply! More information can be found on our website under "Next Steps."
Staff Training and Certification
Dragons Instructors join our community from all walks of life. While our courses explore the great diversity of human life in the field, our instructor community reflects such diversity in leadership and experience.
When we hire new staff, we look for individuals with an enduring commitment to Dragons four pillars: placing student safety, program quality, community sustainability, and economy at the center of every Dragons course. Ninety percent of our new hires are referred to Dragons Staffing Director by past instructors: this internal vetting process helps us connect with educators who are already familiar with Dragons work.
On average, Dragons Instructors have 4+ years of in-country experience and a high level of cultural and linguistic fluency. Years of in-country experience allow our instructors to manage responsive course itineraries and draw on personal contacts and community connections during the course design process.
More than anything, instructors understand that a Dragons course is a student-centered experience. They are dedicated to building strong connections with each student and driven by the idea of mentorship. They are invested in delivering a safe, educational experience. They value reciprocal relationships with our host communities and work hard to sustain open and enduring connections with our partners in the field.