CAS '19, Religious Studies Elana Burack

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Thailand, Myanmar, Peru, Ecuador

Ask me about...

  • Learning a language
  • WWOOFing
  • Responding to culture shock/integrating back into life in the US/starting at Penn
  • Traveling alone and in a group

Highlights from my gap year:

  • My entire time in Myanmar was completely life-changing. I have particularly fond memories from my time in a small village in northern Myanmar. I was living with a family, and although we had limited ability to communicate using language, we bonded through laughter and through song. 
  • While I was in Peru, I took a class to become TOEFL Certified (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language). Every day, we would start class with a different game and would always end up having a ball. I enjoyed those 4 weeks of classes tremendously.
  • In Ecuador, a local tour guide took me to a cloud forest called Mindo, which is right outside Quito. He showed me some of the most beautiful forests, took me on a zip line, brought me to a chocolate factory, did some birdwatching with me, and even brought me to some waterfalls, where I got to take off my shoes and wade in the water. 
  • In Thailand, my group and I spent a week with Burmese students learning about sustainable farming. One night, we all celebrated a lunar festival by lighting giant lanterns and releasing them into the sky together. It was beautiful and moving.

Blog posts by Elana:

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