Our Himalayan Studies semester focusing on culture and environment begins February 16, 2003. The program will be based in the Indian hill station Kalimpong, with forays into the mountain kingdom of Sikkim for trekking and cultural studies. With an emphasis on conservation, biodiversity, ecology, sacred geography, Buddhism, and other traditional beliefs, we will explore the ethnobotany, plant folklore, indigenous medical traditions, and rich culture of this region. Students can also undertake the study of traditional dance, yoga, floriculture, sericulture, plant tissue culture, or the history of mountaineering. There are opportunities to teach environmental education in local schools and learn traditional medical practices from healers trained in ancient tradition. Through independent study projects on topics such as those listed above, as well as through lectures by local experts, students will learn about the current ecological and social political issues facing the Himalaya today. Internships and apprenticeships in social service projects are also possible.

In South India, we are offering a semester-long Traditional & Sacred Art & Architecture Program, beginning on January 12, 2003. Students on this program will travel throughout South India, exploring the sacred art and architecture of South India, including colonial and modern influences. This program provides homestays with local families, language courses, lectures, and apprenticeships. Student may choose to concentrate on the sacred and traditional arts of South India, including yoga, meditation, traditional singing, sacred chants, dance, such as Kathak or Bharat Natyam, or a musical instrument such as sitar or sarod. Students with an interest in anything from Ayurveda (the medicinal tradition of India) and traditional Indian religion and philosophy to Sanskrit and Indian martial arts can begin to study these vast and rich subjects. Opportunities to study coastal ecology, organic farming, or sacred pilgrimage traditions to the Western ghats are also available in our semester program, as are social service internship possibilities.

Our Mongolian Program in Nomadic Studies begins June 25, 2003. This program provides homestay, language study, and lectures. Through these components, the students as nomads themselves will explore Mongolia's vast wilderness, where ancient nomadic lifestyles are still the primary means of survival. With the wilderness and yurts as classrooms, students will traverse the desert to live with camel herders in the Gobi desert and search for dinosaur remains; they will live with nomad families in Central Mongolia and learn nomadic skills of survival; and they will delve deep into the wilderness to learn more about the spirit of wilderness and its impact upon culture and literature. The students will then return to Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia's modern capital, to learn more about the history of this dynamic country and the complexity of the current social issues it faces.

(As many of you may know, Nepal is currently experiencing a period of political instability. Due to the current political situation, the Sojourn Nepal Semester Program was officially closed in Spring 2002. We will continue to monitor the situation and look forward to opening the program in the future.)