Ally McElwee: AU Human Sciences – Summer Program in Kathmandu, Nepal Summer 2022

This past summer I had the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Kathmandu, Nepal. I have done various other study abroad programs, but Nepal has stood out to me since freshman year. I joined 6 other Auburn students and set off on this 11 week journey around the world. When we arrived, it was nothing short of everything I had imagined and hoped it would be. From the people, the food, the temples, and the landscape, it was truly a magical place from the start.

These 4 weeks brought along the purest friendships I could have ever imagined and created a community for us to lean on when times got tough. The last 7 weeks were spent interning at local nonprofit organizations in Kathmandu. We worked 9-5 jobs and got to learn what it was like to work within an international organization.

Traveling around Nepal gave me insight to what life is like in Asia, and it quickly became my favorite study abroad program. We became close with so many Nepali people, and I still talk to them every day. Something so unique about this program is that we were so far ahead in time, that it made it difficult to talk to loved ones back home. This gave us the chance to be fully present and enjoy our time with each other, and the people we built relationships with in Nepal.

I would not have wanted to experience going without a shower for 3 days at a time on the trek, seeing some of the most endangered animals on the planet, eating food I never thought I would enjoy, or work a full-time job with anyone else. This program means the world to me, and I could not recommend it enough. Go to Nepal! It will be the best decision you will ever make.

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