Whether hiking through bamboo forests, spearfishing with your homestay father, or examining gender roles in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, Indonesia is sure to challenge your worldview and stimulate your senses.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Experience life in an urban, mountainous and marine environment by living with three unique host communities, highlighting the outstanding cultural, social, environmental diversity within Indonesia.
• Snorkel one of the world’s most pristine and endangered coral reefs, Wakatobi Marine Park, while learning about the complexities of international and local marine conservation efforts.
• Meet with professional, academics, community leaders and laypeople to understand Indonesia’s colonial history and current political state. 
• Spend two weeks completing your own ISP project with respected mentors and teachers in Jogya on: silversmithing, batik, gamlan, wayung kulit (shadow-puppets), street art, cooking, martial arts and more.
• Explore extinct volcanoes and hot springs on the island of Flores reflecting on the positive and negative impacts of mass tourism.

Arriving first in Yogyakarta, students dive headlong into Javanese culture, working with street artists, attending shadow-puppet performances, and studying the basics of the Bahasa Indonesian language.

We then head east to the island of Flores, where students live in the pastoral village of Langa. We meet with local coffee producers, hike amid dormant volcanoes, and learn about local religious traditions with our gracious hosts. A few flights and boats take us to the archipelago of Wakatobi, home to the Bajau people, or the “sea nomads.” The Bajau live in stilted houses built over the open ocean and spend the majority of their lives on the water.

We embrace their unique lifestyle, snorkeling over fragile reefs, attending indigenous ceremonies, and learning about conservation initiatives from local leaders. As we engage with the diverse peoples of Indonesia, we begin to understand that our definition of “community” extends far beyond the people in our own towns. Diverse experiences help expand our worldview and encourage us to be more mindful of the interconnected relationships.