Chloe Wright
Junior Editor
In the summer of 2024, I attended the faculty-led transnational course Sewanee: Buddhism and Tea, in collaboration with the third-party company Where There Be Dragons (often abbreviated to “Dragons”). The class is a fortuitous step towards focusing on what smaller companies can provide for students.
I wholeheartedly believe the worst sickness I’ve ever had was in the Piazza Hotel in Nara, Japan. It wasn’t because of the severity of my illness (trust me, I’ve had worse) but rather the fact that I was studying abroad in a foreign country where I only spoke rudimentary Japanese. Being sick is a part of life, but when you’re away from home across the world, in a place you mean to study and have the time of your life, it’s not optimal. In the case of this course, we intensively studied the various aspects of Japanese and Taiwanese culture, with an emphasis on Buddhism and tea culture, through site visits, interviews with experts in the respective fields, and venturing through the cities and villages ourselves. Needless to say, I did not add “horribly-timed sinus infection” to my Quizlet vocabulary set to memorize before leaving.
However, the instructors from Where There Be Dragons assisted me as soon as they could, promptly taking me to a Japanese doctor and translating my situation. Every morning, the instructors would have each student (including the faculty) rate their emotional and physical well-being on a scale from one to five. If we rated our mental or physical health lower than a three, the instructors committed themselves to checking in on us. Because of them, I was able to get better and enjoy the trip to the fullest.
According to the Where There Be Dragons’s website, the faculty-student ratio is 4:1, proclaiming it the “best in the industry [at providing] excellent mentorship and safety for participants.” For our class, it comprised eight students, two members of Sewanee’s faculty, and three instructors from Dragons. To this day, I still hold the memories I have with my peers, instructors, and professors close to my heart and gained a strong connection with them.
When it comes to class size, research proves that having a smaller amount of students correlates with greater academic success. A USNews article compiled a selection of studies, conducted in the late 20th century in states such as Tennessee and Wisconsin, reported that “the smaller classes correlate with better test scores.” Especially when abroad, students need a strong support system with people who know the language (we had, at minimum, two adults in the group who spoke either Japanese or Chinese) and understand the culture, not only the subjects they were teaching.
The attention to each and every student’s needs was not the only incredibly special thing about Dragons. This is the first time the Office of Global Citizenship (OGC) has worked with the company. Dr. Alison Miller of the Asian Studies and Art History department and Marcus Murphy, one of the advisors of the OGC promoted and taught the intensive course. During an interview with the latter professor, Murphy praises the company, which he has worked with before his time at Sewanee. “The mission and ethics of Where There Be Dragons align well with Sewanee. They were very responsive to our input about itinerary and places to go. With your larger companies, you’re probably not going to get that much flexibility and responsiveness,” he said. Murphy brings up a point about the University’s new Strategic Plan and its core tenets: mind, heart, and place. “I feel like Dragons is mindful of the full student experience.”
When commenting on the difference between small boutiques like Dragons and large companies that have an established reputation amongst study abroad programs, Murphy said, “There are certainly other bigger companies we work with where [Sewanee] isn’t always too high on their list when we have questions or issues. We work with all our providers because they are quality.” However, he alludes to working with companies whose primary focus is to have their students promote the company on social media to spread the name of the provider. “They really have a narrow focus on making money,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is a business and needs to be profitable. But Dragons have a bigger mission of helping students have a reflective experience so they’re growing.”
If my experience tells you anything, it is that while large study abroad companies are popular for a reason (their breadth of opportunities in terms of location, academics, and colleges), going small for going abroad may be the best choice if you want a reliable team of competent, passionate, and empathetic instructors on your side.
Chloe gives an outstanding review of thankfulness for being allowed to participate in selection of program. Size and ratio of group to leadership was also another plus to achieving a special experience