{"id":1983,"date":"2019-01-09T15:56:14","date_gmt":"2019-01-09T20:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/?p=1983"},"modified":"2019-01-09T15:56:14","modified_gmt":"2019-01-09T20:56:14","slug":"an-unconventional-semester-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"An Unconventional Semester Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

This past fall, I had the amazing privilege of spending my semester across the globe, living, learning,\u00a0and growing in the North Indian state of Uttarkhand with the National Outdoor Leadership School\u00a0(usually called NOLS). With NOLS, myself and nine other students learned about the culture, history,\u00a0ecology, and geography of India, all while backpacking, whitewater rafting, and experiencing the natural\u00a0beauty the country has to offer. With NOLS, I earned twelve hours of college credit in Anthropology,\u00a0Environmental Science, and Outdoor Recreation, and became certified in Wilderness Advanced First Aid,\u00a0but most of the teaching didn\u2019t come from a teacher standing at a whiteboard in a classroom. Of course,\u00a0there were elements of that, particularly during the cultural home stay, but the true learning came from the
\nhands-on immersion experienced while in the field.<\/p>\n

\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"OLYMPUS <\/a>
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"India\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

There\u2019s no better way to learn about the culture and ecology of a region than by living in its towns,\u00a0working with its people, and walking through its mountains. On our 45 day backpack, I learned about the\u00a0agricultural systems, touchy political topics (China), family dynamics, daily lives, education systems,\u00a0religious ceremonies, joys, and hardships of the Himalayan Kumaoni and Garwhali people, simply by\u00a0existing alongside them. On the 14 day whitewater expedition, I learned about rivers and their\u00a0significance to the region, both through their religious symbolism of renewal and growth, and through\u00a0their economic value and political importance. We floated past future dam sites, and visited towns of\u00a0people who will soon be displaced by the following floods. I visited the temples dedicated to the Gods\u00a0and Goddesses that inhabit the river, and met the Sadhu\u2019s (Hindu Ascetics) that live in them. During the\u00a0home stay, I learned about Himalayan agriculture by helping my family till the fields, carry huge bundles\u00a0of grass, and move manure for fertilizer. I learned about the struggle of women in the region, and their\u00a0movements for equality by participating in the town\u2019s Women\u2019s Action Collective, an organization by\u00a0women to empower women, who have traditionally been overlooked and overpowered in the Indian\u00a0Himalayas.<\/p>\n

This knowledge and these experiences have forever ingrained themselves into my memory. Being able\u00a0to challenge myself physically, academically, and emotionally has changed my perspective on my\u00a0education, my\u00a0lifestyle, and the way I approach my relationships. I feel refreshed, renewed, and ready to pursue my\u00a0goals with excitement and vigor. Studying abroad has been one of the most challenging, exhausting, and\u00a0rewarding experiences of my life, and I wouldn\u2019t trade it for the world.<\/p>\n

Ellie Bixler is majoring in Anthropology with minors in Environmental Science and Spanish. She spent a semester studying abroad\u00a0in\u00a0 India through the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS)<\/a>. Ellie had the following to say about her time abroad, \u201cNew experiences, lifelong memories, and a different culture, India is for the adventurous.\u201dStudying abroad is one of the hardest, most fulfilling things you can do during your college career. My advice is to go somewhere that will challenge and excite you, and push you out of your comfort zone. It\u2019s surprising the places you\u2019ll learn to love and call home.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Like us on Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us on Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Follow us on Instagram<\/a><\/p>\n

Share this post:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past fall, I had the amazing privilege of spending my semester across the globe, living, learning,\u00a0and growing in the North Indian state of Uttarkhand with the National Outdoor Leadership School\u00a0(usually called NOLS). With NOLS, myself and nine other students learned about the culture, history,\u00a0ecology, and geography of India, all while backpacking, whitewater rafting, and… <\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1215,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48248,6740],"tags":[73812,73811,150,73813],"class_list":{"0":"post-1983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-center-for-global-education","7":"category-study-abroad","8":"tag-global-education","9":"tag-mocs-abroad","10":"tag-utc","11":"tag-wanderlust","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"\nAn Unconventional Semester Abroad - Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Unconventional Semester Abroad - Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This past fall, I had the amazing privilege of spending my semester across the globe, living, learning,\u00a0and growing in the North Indian state of Uttarkhand with the National Outdoor Leadership School\u00a0(usually called NOLS). With NOLS, myself and nine other students learned about the culture, history,\u00a0ecology, and geography of India, all while backpacking, whitewater rafting, and… Continue Reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-09T20:56:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/files\/2019\/01\/India-1.jpeg?w=583&h=437&ssl=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Livermore\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Livermore\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laura Livermore\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d23f112c1f9d1cf46c2820bac335a403\"},\"headline\":\"An Unconventional Semester Abroad\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-09T20:56:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":553,\"commentCount\":0,\"keywords\":[\"global education\",\"mocs abroad\",\"UTC\",\"wanderlust\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Center for Global Education\",\"Study Abroad\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/\",\"name\":\"An Unconventional Semester Abroad - Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-09T20:56:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d23f112c1f9d1cf46c2820bac335a403\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/2019\\\/01\\\/09\\\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An Unconventional Semester Abroad\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/\",\"name\":\"Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025\",\"description\":\"Read International, ESL, and Study Abroad student stories.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d23f112c1f9d1cf46c2820bac335a403\",\"name\":\"Laura Livermore\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bd877b3ee2fecf351ab51a2d3132448c2cc689e9978aba2e498a00e564a1e678?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bd877b3ee2fecf351ab51a2d3132448c2cc689e9978aba2e498a00e564a1e678?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/bd877b3ee2fecf351ab51a2d3132448c2cc689e9978aba2e498a00e564a1e678?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laura Livermore\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogarchive.utc.edu\\\/center-global-education\\\/author\\\/ddl757\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An Unconventional Semester Abroad - Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An Unconventional Semester Abroad - Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","og_description":"This past fall, I had the amazing privilege of spending my semester across the globe, living, learning,\u00a0and growing in the North Indian state of Uttarkhand with the National Outdoor Leadership School\u00a0(usually called NOLS). With NOLS, myself and nine other students learned about the culture, history,\u00a0ecology, and geography of India, all while backpacking, whitewater rafting, and… Continue Reading","og_url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/","og_site_name":"Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","article_published_time":"2019-01-09T20:56:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/files\/2019\/01\/India-1.jpeg?w=583&h=437&ssl=1","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Laura Livermore","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Livermore","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/"},"author":{"name":"Laura Livermore","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/#\/schema\/person\/d23f112c1f9d1cf46c2820bac335a403"},"headline":"An Unconventional Semester Abroad","datePublished":"2019-01-09T20:56:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/"},"wordCount":553,"commentCount":0,"keywords":["global education","mocs abroad","UTC","wanderlust"],"articleSection":["Center for Global Education","Study Abroad"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/","name":"An Unconventional Semester Abroad - Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-01-09T20:56:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/#\/schema\/person\/d23f112c1f9d1cf46c2820bac335a403"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/2019\/01\/09\/an-unconventional-semester-abroad\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An Unconventional Semester Abroad"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/","name":"Center for Global Education Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025","description":"Read International, ESL, and Study Abroad student stories.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/#\/schema\/person\/d23f112c1f9d1cf46c2820bac335a403","name":"Laura Livermore","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd877b3ee2fecf351ab51a2d3132448c2cc689e9978aba2e498a00e564a1e678?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd877b3ee2fecf351ab51a2d3132448c2cc689e9978aba2e498a00e564a1e678?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bd877b3ee2fecf351ab51a2d3132448c2cc689e9978aba2e498a00e564a1e678?s=96&r=g","caption":"Laura Livermore"},"url":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/author\/ddl757\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1215"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1983"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2008,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1983\/revisions\/2008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/center-global-education\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}