Recent Trips

Trips abroad are a regular part of courses at Green Mountain College, typically at the end of a spring term or over the month-long winter break in December. The trips allow students to get out into the wild or foreign communities to experience first-hand what they've learned in the classroom, through excursions into the outdoors, sociological and anthropological research, or scientific study. Click on any image to see photo albums of a trip.

Nagoya 2009
Japanese Life & Culture

Students challenged their assumptions and explored the culture and customs of Japan through a trip in May and June of 2009. Prior to leaving, the group completed an intensive Japanese study week. They wrote papers and gave presentations on an aspect of Japanese culture, then revisited this work after experiencing the nation first-hand. While in Japan, students traveled to the cities of Nagoya, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Tokyo, and visited places including Nagoya Castle, the Toyota plant, the Tokugawa Art Museum and the Peace Park and Bombing Museum in Hiroshima. The course was led by Prof. Sam Edwards (enviromental studies, law & policy).

Brazil 2009
Sustainable Development &
Water Policy

What is sustainable development in a developing economy? How can a destroyed forest recover when only 6% of its original range is intact? Fifteen students and two professors traveled to Southeastern Brazil in May and June of 2009 to study water policy, rainforest restoration, and the challenge of sustainable development over the course of 27 days.

The class prepared for the trip by studying the history, language and culture of Brazil and beginning collaborative research projects with Brazilian students. Once in Brazil, the class traveled to São Paulo to discuss the political and logistical challenges of providing clean drinking water to the residents of South America’s largest city. Students toured reservoirs, water system restoration projects, an Atlantic Rainforest preserve, and a mangrove growing near one of Brazil’s most polluted cities. The class  spent 10 days at the Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba, where GMC students worked with Brazilian research partners to prepare public presentations on a variety of environmental issues. Other destinations included PETAR, a state park known for caving and ecotourism, Nature Conservancy restoration and conservation projects, and the city of Curitiba, recognized internationally as a model of urban planning.

The course was led by Prof. Rebecca Purdom, (environmental studies, law & policy), and Anne Colpitts, Adjunct Professor and Director of International Studies Programs, with additional instruction and support provided by professors and staff at the Universidade Metodista de São Paulo and the Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba.

Italy 2008
Block course in the Italian Alps

Green Mountain College’s first international block course took students to Brunnenburg Castle in Dorf Tirol, Italy, to study how agriculture, geology and history intersect in this independent province in northern Italy. Thirteen students – including one student from a GMC EcoLeague partner school – lived and studied at this 13th century castle from March until May 2008.

The castle, a renowned study center operated by the family of poet Ezra Pound, is located above the Vinschgau Valley, a historic east-west route through the Alps. It is also close to the Brenner Pass, a primary north-south thoroughfare that places Brunnenburg at the intersection of Mediterranean and Central European cultures. The block course took advantage of this rich heritage by integrating many hands-on experiences with classroom lessons on agriculture, food production and consumption, natural sciences and literature.

Utah & Colorado 2008
Outdoor leadership training
Recreation

Ten students traveled to the southwestern United States for this trip, which was led by Professor Thayer Raines, Professor Tom Stuessy, Bruce Saxman, GMC's director of involvement, leadership and adventure programming, and Professor Will Hobbs. The course's primary objective was to provide students with the opportunity to become certified outdoor leaders through the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) National Standards Program. Students spent six days canoeing on the Dolores River and 12 days backpacking in the Grand Gulch Primitive Area in Utah.

Philippines 2007
Sociology

In the summer of 2007, with a $26,000 grant from the ASIANetwork Freeman Foundation Student Faculty Fellows Program, four Green Mountain College students (Matthew Bower ’08, Paula Maciel ’08, Svea Miller ’07, and Ashley Potter ’09) and faculty mentor Prof. Vangie Blust (sociology) conducted field research in the Philippines on the impact of overseas Filipino employment on families left behind. The students interviewed members of five case families and 30 other community residents, as well as attended conferences with officers and staff of the Department of Labor and Employment and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in Manila.

The students shared preliminary results of the study with about 40 people in the community of study, and with three graduate classes at the University of the Philippines in Los Banos. The research team also presented the Philippine study to the GMC College community and at the New York Conference on Asian Studies at Binghamton University. As a requirement of the ASIANetwork grant, the four students had a poster presentation at the organization’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. Prof. Vangie Blust presented a paper entitled "Touched by Overseas Filipino Employment: Four Women. Four Struggles, Similar Outcomes" at the Women’s World Conference in Madrid, Spain.

New Zealand 2006
Outdoor leadership training
Recreation

Recreation professors Thayer Raines and Tom Stuessy, both Wilderness Education Association-certified instructors, traveled as evaluators with a class of 13 to the New Zealand back country to determine if the students would become internationally WEA-certified Outdoor Leaders. The group flew out of Boston and landed in Christchurch, New Zealand. After buying and sorting out their food, they set out on a 14-day, 66-mile hike through Mt. Aspiring National Park. The January 2006 hike included one summit of approximately 10,000 feet, ending at Sylvan Lake, from which they proceeded to Fox Glacier for ice climbing. Next stop was a day of whitewater kayaking on the Kluther River, north and west of Queenstown. They wrapped up the trip with a couple of free days to explore in Queenstown and Christchurch.

Brazil 2006
Fresh water ecology
Biology, law & policy, ethics

In the May 2006 travel course to Brazil, 13 Green Mountain students and three professors studied fresh water ecology, policy, and distribution ethics in the country. The group spent five days in San Paulo and two weeks in Piracicaba, studying and working to establish a relationship between Green Mountain College and the universities of San Paulo and Piracicaba. The course was organized and taught by Biology Professor Meriel Brooks, Professor of Environmental Studies, Law and Policy Rebecca Purdom, and Provost William Throop.

Italy 2006
Agroecology in the Alps
Biology, law & policy, ethics

Brunnenburg Castle and Agricultural Museum in Dorf Tirol, Italy, was the home base for studying the interrelationship of Alpine ecology and the local multiethnic communities on this trip. The course, conducted by Professor Philip Ackerman-Leist, consisted of spring orientation lectures, on-site lectures, daily field trips, two workdays in the castle vineyards, and overnight trips to high-elevation pasturages. The course met during the regular spring 2006 semester and traveled to Italy in the summer of 2006.

China 2005/2006
Culture change in contemporary China
Anthropology

In May 2005, 14 students traveled with Professor Mark Dailey to eastern China’s Jiangsu Province for a three-week course called “Culture Change in Contemporary China.” The group conducted hands-on anthropological field research to learn about shifting practices and values in China today. Topics included increasing class inequality, gender roles, informal vs. formal economies, and ideologies relating to modernization and the environment. The class was hosted by Yancheng Teachers’ College, where Dailey taught and lived with his family for a year in 2000.

In the summer of 2006, Dailey and five Green Mountain students made a return trip to China funded by a $33,000 ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Award. The grant funded the 4-week research trip for Dailey and students Felipe Estudillo-Colon, Ashley Converse, HariNarayan Khalsa, Keith Solmo, and Tala Wunderler-Selby. The students conducted ethnographic research on the changing traditional behaviors and beliefs relating to ancestors in Jiangsu Province, China. “China is changing at light speed and how people are responding to modernization – especially as it relates to the deep cultural meaning of ancestors – can tell us a lot about this society,” Dailey said. The students focused on 3-4 families during the course of their research. They also sought the views of local officials and developers. The group conducted their research in Yancheng, which translates to “Salt City.”

Wales 2006
Choir tour
Music

The Green Mountain College choir had an ambitious schedule in spring of 2006. In early March, 50 choir members along with Professor Jim Cassarino made their third concert tour of Wales. The 2006 tour featured three concerts. The first was with the Adlais Choir from the island of Angelsey. Adlais had previously performed at Green Mountain College in 2002 on their U.S. tour. The Green Mountain choir also performed with the Anglesey-based Lobscows Choir at the Galerie Performing Arts Center in Caernofon. This performance included a pre-concert lecture by Dr. Jerry Hunter, a professor at the University of Wales, Bangor, who specializes in the Welsh-American cultural links. Finally, the choir performed with the Bethesda Women’s Choir in Bethesda.

Hawaii 2005
Environmental biogeology of Hawaii
Biology, geology

In May 2005, biology professor Meriel Brooks and geology professor John Van Hoesen brought students to Hawaii for a two-week course on the biology and geology of the island. The course, called Environmental Biogeology of Hawaii, took advantage of Hawaii's unique volcanic landscape to help students learn about a diverse range of life and rock formations.