Deciding to study abroad through SIT in the IHP: Health and Community track is one of the best and most impactful decisions I have made in my life. Two tenets of the program that I most appreciated and that most impacted it were 1) the staff and 2) the

students of my cohort. The IHP staff are some of the most welcoming, organized, understanding, and intelligent people I have ever met. As we travelled all around the world, it was incredible to feel that I had a support network of those staff I was traveling with and that I had already met, as well as an on going confidence that every country coordinator or lecturer I would meet going forward would be equally kind, compassionate, and thought-provoking. Right from D.C., I could tell the thought and care that was put into every single hour of our time during abroad. Site visits, speakers, lunches, community building sessions, and more all made me excited to wake up and see what was in store — before having even travelled out of the country! Any fears of travel and adjustment were quelled as, again, all these were accounted for and thought out in the scheduling. The immersive experience of IHP and the opportunities that the program provides to engage fully in the places you are entering is truly like no other. The institution has spent years forming connections with people who care deeply about IHP and the students they bring in. I truly feel like I have a network of people in Vietnam and South Africa who care about what I am doing even across the world and that I could go back to at any point because of the connection that IHP started. Studying abroad this past semester was undoubtedly different and challenging compared to other years. However, as every hurdle came, and COVID-19 became a more altering factor in our experience, the IHP community rallied together to adjust, cope, and support each other. The devotion that every staff member had to ensuring that our experience could be as meaningful and for as long as safe and possible, combined with the positivity and resilience of the students in the face of the fears and uncertainty far surpassed anything I could have hoped for or imagined. As confusing and scary as studying abroad, across the world from home, as a global pandemic broke out was at times, the confidence that I and the students had in the IHP staff and in each other made an incredible difference. I genuinely feel like because of this and thanks to them I got to have as full an abroad experience as I could have given the circumstances and I am eternally grateful and appreciative to the IHP students and staff for enabling that.

I'm so grateful for this experience. I loved staying with host families in Vietnam, South Africa, and Argentina for about 5 weeks each. I felt like this was such a unique way to interact with locals. SIT's programming was extremely extensive and well

organized. It was the perfect mix of class time, guest lectures, site visits, and interviews with locals. I wish I could go back.

IHP is not an average study abroad program. When trying to describe my average day with IHP health and community, I realized it's nearly impossible because there was no average day. One day may have been a site visit to a traditional medicine hospital

while another may have been a lecture about environmental health on a nature reserve. This is even more complicated by the fact that we spent the semester in 4 different continents! I was on track 2 so we launched from Washington D.C. and went to Vietnam, South Africa, and Argentina. Everyday brought new challenges, surprises, and learning experiences. I chose this study abroad program because I wanted something that was academically challenging, focused on global health, which is a topic I am passionate about, and allowed me to have many new, unique experiences. This program met all of those needs. The experiential learning aspect allowed us to see global health framed in a very local context and from unique perspectives. Despite this, there were also challenges. Throughout the semester, you are traveling with the same 25-30 people--being in this insular group can become tiring and draining. Class time is also significantly longer than at your university. "Class" time lasted from 9-5 monday-friday. Although this takes some adjusting, it is part of the reason the program is so academically-rich. Lastly, you will never feel ready to leave a country and move on to the next. One month in each place barely gives you enough time to see everything you want, much less immerse yourself in the location. If you are looking to do that, this program probably isn't for you. Despite these challenges, I cannot recommend the program enough. My perspectives have shifted so much, and I feel much more knowledgeable about global health and medical anthropology.