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  • "GESI is about engaging a world that is bigger, more exciting, and more complex than most people imagine. This abroad experience has allowed me to learn more about myself as a student, a partner in the work world, and as a member of humanity, and I'm looking forward to my continued growth in all these capacities."

    - Tarik Patterson

  • "GESI is not a program that teaches you how to help others. It is one that enables you to turn "others" into "us". It is real living with real people, and immerses you into a culture that is as sophisticated and complex as your own."

    - Michelle Kim

  • "GESI exposed me to the difficult but rewarding realities of community development: True impact comes from work at the grittiest level. If you're considering a career in a non-profit, NGO, social work, or anything that supports your community, an experience like this is vital."

    - Kirk Vaclavik

  • "There are two ways of learning: by keeping your nose to a book or by opening your eyes to the world. GESI provides the rare learning opportunity as it combines both forms. I know I have walked away invariably changed for the better."

    - Kalindi Shah

  • "Our project involved community members in every conceivable way. My relationships built with community members were my most proud and lasting accomplishments."

    –Sebastian Buffa

  • "I was looking for an opportunity to create lasting change--both in a community and in myself. GESI sets its participants up with the necessary tools and skills, and then gives them complete freedom to learn, fail, rework, and eventually succeed."

    - Rena Oppenheimer

  • "The program has given me a glimpse into what it is like to work internationally at the grassroots level. Having the hands on experience that the program has given me, I feel like I am one step ahead for other jobs in the development sector."

    - Ashley Fu

  • "The experience has given me a new perspective on everything from washing the dishes to how to address world hunger... I will be returning to the lessons I learned on this trip decades from now."

    - Alexis Suskin-Sperry

  • "The most unique aspect of this program is the opportunity to act on a theory that we had learned. GESI is a unique opportunity to experience how development theories, methodologies and practices actually play out in a community."

    - Lakshmi Ramachandran

  • "I will always treasure my home-stay experience. I became very close with my siblings and loved having a large family. I learned that wherever you are, a family is a family and life is lived day to day."

    - Ellen Abrams

  • "My home-stay was one of the best aspects of my summer. My sisters taught me so much about Ugandan culture as well as life in general. We have grown up on different sides of the world but we may as well as lived next door."

    - Chelsea Christman

  • "Professor Arntson's team building exercises and classes about group dynamics were invaluable. They gave our team the vocabulary and tools to mediate conflicts and make decisions while abroad and helped us understand each other's motivations."

    - Catherine Wu

  • "Our NGO let us work independently, but took co-ownership of our project, which was comforting as we were creating a proposal for them and we required input and feedback to know that our work had a purpose."

    - Elizabeth Montgomery

  • "Being at our NGO was the single best part of the trip. I loved the community, and I loved the people there. It is an amazing NGO that does amazing things. The challenges we faced taught us to overcome obstacles."

    - Alex Grubman

  • "The FSD site team was incredible. I've never worked with such capable, caring, fun people. They made me feel so at home and safe and also really supported us with our NGO."

    - Asha Toulmin

  • "I am very impressed by the commitment and intelligence of the fellow students in GESI. I definitely learned much from them."

    - XinKai Cheng

  • "The diversity of our group made us effective -- while others preferred to work on logistical, behind-the-scenes stuff; some were outspoken, others were more contemplative; some were better planners, some were better at actuating ideas on paper."

    - Abby Hannifan

  • "This program gave new meaning to hands on learning. The background at the institute on development was great, and a week later you were on site attempting to implement what you had learned, and in the process learning far more than you could imagine."

    - Rachel Suffrin

  • "The most unique thing was the amount of exposure we got to the community. I felt like I was a part of it and not just observing it."

    - Bryan Stenson

  • "This experience was absolutely applicable to my personal, professional, academic goals, especially when it comes to approaching development with a realistic perception of how it works on the ground."

    - Elizabeth Montgomery

  • "GESI has helped me mature as a team member and a prospective development worker."

    - C.A.

Accommodations

Pre-Departure and Final Summits in Chicago

Pre-Departure Learning Summit: June 15 – 21*
GESI students will spend the first night of the Pre-Departure Learning Summit (June 15th) in downtown Chicago at Hosteling International Chicago. Activities will begin at noon, so students must check-in at the hostel between 9:00am and 11:30am. On June 16th, GESI participants will attend classes on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. From June 16 – 21, students will stay at Best Western University Plaza in Evanston, where they will share same-gender rooms with other GESI participants.

Final Reflection Summit: August 17 – 20*
Upon return from their host countries, students will stay in same-gender rooms at Best Western University Plaza in Evanston and attend classes on Northwestern’s Evanston campus.

*Since the two summits in Chicago offer valuable opportunities for group bonding, we encourage students to stay with the group. However, with advanced notice, we allow students to stay with family or friends during either or both of these summits. Please note that students who do not stay with the group are still responsible for paying the full program fee, and they are still required to be present and punctual for all classes and activities.

In-Country Homestays

While in-country, students live in homestays with local community members. The homestay provides a rich, relationship-based cultural immersion for GESI participants, and many students find that forging a connection with their host families is among the highlights of the experience.

Amenities at homestays vary by country and household; however, all families are expected to provide a bed, safe drinking water and food, and generally sanitary living conditions for students. Electricity and running water may not be available at all sites. When possible, each GESI students will be placed in his or her own individual homestay unless a student indicates a special reason for wishing to be paired with another student, or unless circumstances at the site do not enable students to be placed individually. As an exception, women at the South Africa site will be placed in pairs.

All families are carefully selected via the GESI, FSD, Social Entrepreneur Corps, and ThinkImpact network in-country, to ensure that they will provide safe accommodations. Our on-the-ground partners have strong relationships with many families in the host communities, and the majority of families where students will be living have hosted interns in the past.

Our partners also meet and train each family to ensure that they understand their role as a host family. GESI students find that families are incredibly welcoming and accommodating to their needs.

While the homestay families will do their part to be welcoming, students should make every effort to integrate into the family by treating the family with courtesy, abiding by household rules, exhibiting flexibility, and investing in relationships with family members. Building relationships with homestay families is among the lasting rewards of the GESI program.

Country-Specific Homestay Information

Bolivia:

Living accommodations range depending on each host family‘s specific situation and the neighborhood where they live, but most are comfortable by U.S. standards. Homestays generally have hot, running water and electricity, although these services are occasionally interrupted for short periods of time. Families tend to be middle class, and family members are usually professionals. Homestays will provide students safe drinking water and three meals per day.
 
 
Dominican Republic
Living accommodations vary depending on each host family’s situation and location, and are basic by U.S. standards. Homestays will provide students with safe drinking water and two to three meals per day. Homes will have electricity and running water. Students will be placed in single homestays wherever possible.
 
 
India:

Homestays in Udaipur are usually with middle to upper class families, however living accommodations are basic by U.S. standards. Electricity often isn’t available for short periods of time. Due to water shortages, bucket showers are the norm. Indian culture is centered on the family unit, and families are generally very close-knit. Homestays will provide students with safe drinking water and three meals per day.
 
 
Nicaragua:

Living accommodations are basic by U.S. standards. All homes have electricity and running water although these services are frequently interrupted. Nicaraguan families are typically large; it is very common to have three and four generations living under one roof, which creates lively households. Homestays will provide students with safe drinking water and three meals per day.
 
 
 
South Africa:
South Africa is a rural homestay environment. Running water is not available in the homestays, and although there is electricity, frequent power outages are to be expected. Some students may be responsible for cooking their own meals using their homestay kitchens and a weekly supply of groceries provided by ThinkImpact. GESI students are expected to live similarly to local community members, which includes the types of food eaten. However, ThinkImpact will ensure that students have enough food and enough variety to be eating nutritiously. ThinkImpact will also provide safe, bottled drinking water.
 
Uganda:

Living accommodations are basic by U.S. standards. Water and electricity are often unavailable for short periods of time. In certain parts of Jinja, a lack of water pressure makes bucket showers the norm. In general, your house will be built with cement walls and may be inside a family “compound.” The host family conditions vary considerably within Jinja. Homestays will provide students with safe drinking water and three meals per day.