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The Experiment in International Living

Dynamic summer programs for high school students in 27 countries around the world.

In 1932, a small group of young Americans sailed across the Atlantic fueled by the power of an idea. Their mission was to foster peace through understanding, communication, and cooperation. Today, The Experiment carries on that founding vision to change the world one friendship at a time, providing transformational learning experiences for over 1,000 young people each summer.

Each Experiment is a laboratory without borders, where Experimenters live with local families and explore themes from the arts to ecology that serve as windows of learning into another way of life. The Experiment's international summer high school programs feature opportunities in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Oceania, and Asia. For three to five weeks, Experimenters focus on themes such as community service, language study, travel, ecology, the arts, sustainable development and fair trade, cooking, photography, theater, or outdoor adventure as they enjoy daily life with their host families and participate in activities with their group.

Through homestays, adventure travel, experiential learning, and language immersion, students build leadership and communication skills, gain essential international experience, increase their self-confidence, and enhance their global awareness. Whatever the destination or focus, all Experiment summer abroad programs engage students in a profoundly moving educational journey of cultural exploration and discovery.

"Living in an Italian town showed me the strength of human connection. I knew it in the way my host mother tried to feed me at every opportunity, heard it in the enthusiastic shouts of 'Hello' from townspeople whenever I passed on my bicycle, tasted it in the fruits my host parents picked for me, and felt it in the sincere smiles that greeted me each day. Differences whether cultural, religious, or national may act to separate people in our world today. Our innate similarities as humans, however, allow us to transcend those boundaries if we are only willing to open our hearts and eyes."

-- Jennifer Ho,
Montreal, Canada,
Experimenter to Italy