Thanks for this solid piece of writing that cuts through the fluff around “teen adventure and community service summer camps”. Actual travel style, chosen locations, staff, group size/ratio, intercultural interaction, the history of the organization – and especially the way they create relationships with service hosts – are often missed by parents, or intentionally obscured by flashy websites, breathless copy, or bikini/boardshort-clad teens. But these details inevitably represent the overall PHILOSOPHY of the organization and the CARE that they choose to take of their participants, and their ultimate INVESTMENT in the experience they provide.

Ask these 9 questions of me at my chosen place of work: http://www.deerhillexpeditions.com

ps. RE: Nasty Commenter Dan above, we’d love to hear what organization you work for and what history you have with WTBD.

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We’re proud of the balance we strike between education, cultural experiences, and a variety of engaging activities while abroad. We’d appreciate being listed among your links, and feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have.

As Mark Twain wrote in 1869 after a trip through Europe, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness… Broad, wholesome, charitable views cannot be acquired by vegetating in one’s little corner of the earth.”

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This article is nothing short of disgusting. I hope that you are not a parent because I have a hard time imagining what kind of a child you would be capable of bringing into this world.
When you wrote:

“Are students allowed to ride motor-bikes or hook-up with each other?”

I actually threw up a little. The very idea that hooking up with someone is “risky behavior” is a joke, just like you are.

Your swimsuit test proves that you are infinitely bone-headed and closed minded. Yes, there are some cultures out there that consider showing skin to be culturally inappropriate. However, America is one of the least open countries in the world when it comes to showing skin. Most countries in Europe and around the world embrace the human body much more than we Americans do. Thus, when you said that bathing suits “will alienate the local people and separate the students from the genuine culture they are ostensibly there to experience,” You are doing nothing more than directly lying to your readers.

And if you want to write an article that is even remotely believable, try not to get ALL of your pictures from a group with a name like ‘Where There Be Dragons.’ Just because you work for them and want to promote your own company to curious parents doesn’t mean that they’re not one of the worst travel groups out there.

Finally, just because your drinking from a coconut in your profile picture doesn’t mean you’re a worldly person. Your not good.

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Great to hear from you. I hear you about group size being an issue for debate, but I really think a dozen students is the ideal size – if the group is much bigger, students spend too much time forming cliques.

I really admire Visions though, and trust your judgment.

See you next year -

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