Gap Year Programs
Latin America Gap Semester
An incredible gap semester program living and learning in three countries in Latin America! You’ll live with local families in two countries for a total of eight weeks, learn Spanish through study and deep immersion and visit the Peruvian Andes to explore Cusco and Machu Picchu. You’ll partner with local community leaders to learn how education can empower individuals and how new innovations are creating more environmentally sustainable communities. And, you’ll do it all with friends who will be with you for life!
Weeks
Program Details
Final Application Due
Jan 1
Program Length
13 Weeks
Tuition
$14,500
Airfare
$1,750 (costs may vary)
Spring 2021 Dates
February 6th - May 8th
Group Size
18 students & 3 Program Leaders
Your TBB Gap Semester Awaits!
Apply by April 15th for this Fall!
Learn more about our industry leading gap year programs or apply now!
Sustainability & Empowerment
Meaningful solutions to challenges facing communities require more than giving to charity or simple volunteer projects. Explore how local populations earn a living through sustainable farming in rural Guatemala and how education can lead to community empowerment in Costa Rica.
Week
Orientation in Guatemala
Your group will begin its journey at an Eco Hostel on the shores of Lake Atitlan, surrounded by extinct volcanos and the vibrant colors and traditions of the local Tz’utujil Mayan community. Orientation will help you prepare for the program ahead. This includes:
- Visit to a local women’s weaving cooperative and chocolate museum
- Boat tour of neighboring towns around the lake
- Team building exercises to solidify your cohort community
- Intensive Spanish classes
- Cultural sensitivity training to learn to communicate across language barriers and effectively immerse yourself in a new culture
- Health & safety training
Weeks
Unit 1: Environmental Justice and Sustainability - Guatemala
The group will spend four weeks living with indigenous Kaqchikel Mayan host families in the town of Tecpan. Located in the Guatemalan highlands, Tecpan is a small town off the beaten tourist path which serves the surrounding farming villages as an agricultural hub and is also home to extensive Mayan ruins. Hone your Spanish skills and learn the innovative ways rural people and governments are creating economic opportunity while preserving their environment and Mayan cultural traditions. You’ll work alongside a local farmers co-op on strawberry, vegetable and corn farms to see how they balance daily necessities, profit, and planet in their efforts to increase sustainability. As communities around the world adapt to changes in climate, culture and globalization, the question of how to manage natural resources in rural areas is more pressing than ever. Maintaining quality of life, providing jobs for women and the elderly, and harnessing natural resources in a responsible and environmentally sustainable manner are complex challenges which you will explore in this unit.
Week
Enrichment Week: Cusco and Machu Picchu
Peru is rich with historical and natural sites to explore, from natural wonders that are dotted around the country to the majestic Inca ruins nestled in the Andes Mountains.
- Visit the beautiful colonial city of Cusco and experience the fusion between Inca and Spanish architecture, with great restaurants, small winding streets, and vistas of the beautiful landscape that surrounds the city. Travel through the Sacred Valley visiting important Incan archaeological sites, and finally arrive via train to Aguas Calientes.
- After a winding bus ride up to the top of a mountain, you’ll arrive to the citadel of Machu Picchu! Visit artisan workshops and cap off the trip with some stunning natural landscapes, hiking to the incredible Rainbow Mountains.
Weeks
Unit 2: Education that Empowers - Costa Rica
Your group will stay in the small town of Santa Cruz in tropical Guanacaste Province on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. Here you will work in local schools alongside an English teacher as their assistant to gain a deeper understanding of education in rural Costa Rica. You will live in a homestay with local families for four weeks, perfecting the Spanish skills you’ve been honing since the start of the trip and building meaningful connections with community members. Program Leaders teach seminars on Education to contextualize what you are seeing in local classrooms, to provide a global back drop, and to connect your experiences in Costa Rica to your personal experiences in education back home. Education can empower individuals and communities to create equity and justice. You’ll investigate how governments, nonprofits, and individuals use education as a tool for social change and to meet the needs of growing communities. Combined, the unit creates a dynamic picture that highlights the complexities within education that can make it either an oppressive or liberating force around the world.
Week
Culmination: Washington, D.C.
There is no city in the world with more people working to create change than Washington, DC. You’ll meet representatives from the World Bank, UN Foundation, and leading international organizations to discuss how we can create more empowered and sustainable communities.
In the final days, you will meet with your political representatives on Capitol Hill to discuss issues you have explored while abroad and finally and we host a graduation for you and your family to attend to celebrate your year’s accomplishments.
Orientation in Guatemala
Unit 1: Environmental Justice and Sustainability - Guatemala
Enrichment Week: Cusco and Machu Picchu
Unit 2: Education that Empowers - Costa Rica
Culmination: Washington, D.C.
