Study Abroad Program for High School Students

Loop Abroad LLC:
LOOP Abroad is an exclusive study abroad summer program for high school students between the ages of 15 and 18. Our goal is to provide students with a chance to experience another culture while learning about a field that interests them. This summer's program is focused on ecology and conservation, and will take place in Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. Chiang Mai offers a chance to explore authentic Thai culture and fantastically diverse national parks, while still having modern amenities and world-class health facilities close at hand. Twenty students will live with eight faculty in a private hostel in a gated community. We spend 2 days in Boston before leaving for Thailand.

Ecology and Conservation in Chiang Mai, Thailand
This summer's program will take 20 students to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Students will live together in a private hostel. We will have access to the city of Chiang Mai, which is a great blend of modern amenities (air conditioning, world-class hospitals, wireless internet, McDonald's) and the traditional Thailand lifestyle (shopping in markets, Thai food, tea shops, lush wildlife). Our faculty is made up of teachers, professors and naturalists from the US and Thailand. Students will learn about ecology and biodiversity by going out each day into the Thai wilderness on excursions. Just miles from Chiang Mai there are two of Thailand's most famous and splendid national parks: Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep. We will visit both extensively. We will also raft area riviers, visit cave systems, and take other day trips to ourdoor areas. The plants and animals we see will be recorded by students in an online wiki, which we will publish at the end of the trip.

A published scientific work is not the only credential students will take home. Through our discussions, readings, and excursions, students will have insights and experiences that they can craft into excellent college admissions essays. We will help them with this process. Students will also take part in many activities that satisfy high school service hour requirements. For example, we will spend one week living at the world-renowned Elephant Nature Park, an elephant reserve. Students will live in raised wooden huts among the elephants, and interact with them every day. We will also visit special places like a tiger nursery, where students can pet and hold baby tigers and lions.

While our days are filled with science and cultural activities, our weekends take advantage of what the city of Chiang Mai has to offer. After sleeping in, students will be able to take yoga classes, Muay Thai martial arts classes, Thai cooking classes, or do other activities like zip-lining, go karts, or swimming in the rooftop pool.

Meals will be eaten in the hostel and in restaurants, and occasionally on the road. In the evenings, students will work on projects, have Thai language or leadership meetings, have movie nights, or leave the hostel for activities like bowling or the movies. Our program offers a varied but busy schedule for advanced students who want to have a social summer and a college preparatory experience that they won't ever forget. It is a great introduction to life abroad, as students will live with each other in a relatively Western facility but will still be out and about in Thailand every day. It is also appropriate for seasoned travelers.

Highlights include:

- A week living and volunteering with elephants at the Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai. Students will live in raised wooden huts and interact daily with the elephants, including taking them to a second property in the jungle.

- A four-day trek through the mountainous rainforest north of Chiang Mai. Students will travel on foot and elephant-back as a group. Overnights will be in trekking huts along the way, and one night will be spent with the people of the Hill Tribes.

-Exploring

- Staying in a private hostel with the group, which lets us be immersed in Thai culture while still having some personal space to work and relax. Hostel has hot water, air conditioning, 24-hour security, and many other features.

- Adventure and cultural activities on the weekend including the longest zip line in Southeast Asia and petting baby tigers and lions at a tiger reserve.

- Coming home with all your college essays (and applications, if you want) finished!