Past BUA Global Travel Experiences

2025-2026

Andalucía: Crossroads of Civilization
Andalucía, Spain | March 7-15, 2026

This trip will explore the geographic, linguistic, political, religious, mathematic, and cultural cross-pollination of Andalucía. From Roman bridges and Islamic gardens to medieval synagogues and soaring cathedrals, our itinerary invites us to consider how layered identities are formed through centuries of exchange, creativity, and resilience. Immersive visits to key architectural and historic sites – including La Mezquita de Córdoba, the Alhambra, and the Roman ruins of Italica – will reveal how cultural borrowing, religious coexistence, and the evolution of shared spaces have shaped the pluralistic societies of Andalucía. We will engage with Andalucía’s rich intellectual, scientific, and artistic heritage and experience its vibrant culture firsthand through a flamenco lesson and a paella cooking class. Students will learn about tessellations and the geometry of Islamic forms by observing and sketching arabesques, and will then have the opportunity to create their own designs in a taracea (inlaid wood), workshop. Participants will have the chance to practice – or pick up – some Spanish through interactions with locals and through daily opt-in Spanish conversation tables.

Jazz, Art, and Gumbo: BUA in NOLA
New Orleans, USA | March 9-13, 2026

Few American cities have had the impact on music that New Orleans has. From the roots of Jazz, Zydeco, the Blues, New Orleans and its musicians have seen and played it all, and are eager to share their secrets. New Orleans continues to be a haven for artists of all kinds, offering a rich and complex history from which to draw inspiration. Our trip to New Orleans will focus on several aspects of the city’s culture and history, including enjoying Jazz performances and workshops, getting to meet and know local artists in a variety of media, exploring the complicated and painful legacy of slavery and racism, and delving into Creole culinary classics, among other activities and excursions.

Powering Possibility: Climate and Sustainability
Iceland | June 13-21, 2026

The aim of this program is to have students examine the relationship between climate, energy, and sustainability in West and South Iceland, where the unique natural resources have shaped how scientists, practitioners, and communities approach environmental management and climate change. Students will learn about climate science, geology, and renewable energy by hiking across glaciers, exploring active volcanic systems, visiting geothermal power plants and greenhouses, and meeting local scientists. They will also explore how science and culture intersect by visiting communities that have been affected by volcanoes and speaking with climate-focused authors like Andri Snær Magnason. Daily outdoor field excursions and conversations with locals will allow students to reflect on scientific literacy, long-term sustainability, and community resilience.

2024-2025

Arizona
Desert Currents: Earth, Climate, and Heritage | March 9-15, 2025

What draws us into the desert is the search for something intimate in the remote,” explains environmentalist Edward Abbey. Allow yourself to be drawn in as we spend a week amidst remarkable geological formations, on terrain inhabited for more than ten thousand years by resilient, spiritual civilizations deeply connected to the land and its bounty. The program examines the relationship between land and community over time in Arizona through three primary lenses of inquiry: Indigenous land rights and history, water in the West, and climate change. Our classroom without walls will include otherworldly places of natural beauty, such as the Grand Canyon, the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River, and the Lava River Cave, a mile-long lava tube cave formed 700,000 years ago. We’ll walk in the footsteps of ancient Puebloan and Sinagua peoples at Walnut Canyon National Monument and Montezuma’s Castle National Monument, an ancient 20-room apartment building carved into a towering limestone cliff. Featured experts will include scholars of Indigenous history and geology, and we’ll work alongside climate scientists and advocacy groups as we engage in hands-on activities like mapping and managing invasive species. Amidst our adventure, we’ll have time to reflect and connect as we develop an understanding of the conflicting visions of resource management, land use, and relationships to the earth in Arizona. Unchanged: “What draws us into the desert is the search for something intimate in the remote,” explains environmentalist Edward Abbey. Allow yourself to be drawn in as we spend a week amidst remarkable geological formations, on terrain inhabited for more than ten thousand years by resilient, spiritual civilizations deeply connected to the land and its bounty.

Greece
Ancient Democracy & Modern Republic | March 8-16, 2025

This program explores Greece’s rich tradition of self-government from antiquity to today. In Athens, students will examine the spaces and objects through which ancient Athenians put their democracy into practice. Ancient Messene will offer another example of a self-governing Greek city-state. Visits to the Greek parliament and Nafplion, the first capital of the Hellenic Republic, will be opportunities to learn about democracy’s enduring legacy and modern revival. Along the way, we will visit many of Greece’s most famous and glorious archaeological sites, including Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae, and the Athenian Acropolis, and experience the vibrancy of modern Greek culture.

Roatán, Honduras
Ocean Explorers: Dive into Marine Science & Conservation | March 8-15, 2025

Get ready to dive – literally – into adventure as we journey to the island of Roatán, Honduras, for an unforgettable marine biology program. Our home base for the week-long program will be The Roatán Institute for Marine Sciences (RIMS), adjacent to Anthony’s Key Dive Resort. We will be surrounded by the beauty of over 30 miles of fringing and barrier reefs, seagrass beds, mangroves, and pristine shoreline. This is no ordinary classroom – this is a living laboratory teeming with life as part of the second largest barrier reef system in the world. We will use the resources of RIMS for hands-on scientific research and conservation efforts. Throughout the week, you’ll have the opportunity to work alongside marine biologists, participating in cutting-edge research projects and conservation programs aimed at protecting the fragile marine ecosystems of Roatán. From studying coral reef ecology to swimming with bottlenose dolphins, this program is your chance to explore the world of marine biology and make a real difference in ocean conservation. Get ready to be inspired, educated, and empowered as you embark on this once-in-a-lifetime journey to the heart of marine science in the Caribbean.

2023-2024

Istanbul, Turkey
Urban Palimpsest: Exploring Cities Real and Imagined | March 9-17, 2024

To roam the seven hills of Istanbul and to traverse its ancient waterways is to experience the accretions of history — from the founding of Byzantium in classical antiquity, through two global empires, Byzantine and Ottoman, to the cosmopolitan, contemporary city of today. On our March 2024 trip to Istanbul, Turkey, drawing on BUA’s history, classics, and math curriculums, we will uncover the many layers of history, culture, and religion discernible right beneath the surface of this bustling modern metropolis. Through visits to archaeological sites in Assos (once home to Aristotle) and in Troy, we’ll explore cities both real and imaginary: ideal cities, literary cities, reconstructed cities, remembered cities.

Paris, France
Americans Abroad: The Expatriate Experience in Paris | March 10-16, 2024

On our trip to Paris, our goal will be to explore the expatriate experience and to learn how this historical city functioned as a haven and inspiration for many American writers. Seeking refuge in Europe from conditions that made their lives in America difficult, these writers produced new, groundbreaking subject matter and style that effectively broadened the American literary landscape. Following in their footsteps, we will set out to see what muse the great city has to offer us. While we will, of course, be visiting famous and important locations, the focus of the trip will be on developing our own writing. Each day at breakfast, we will generate and craft location-specific writing prompts that we will use to produce our daily writing, such as a poem, a short story, an essay, or any written form we each choose to use. We will then set out to explore the city with a guide who will provide context for what we will be seeing. After visiting the locations, we will use the late afternoon to continue our exploration, in pairs or in groups, and to write. We will then convene for dinner and to have the opportunity, should you choose, to share out what we created. As you complete the application, please tell us something about how you hope to use the trip to develop your own writing. Remember that you do not need to be an experienced writer to qualify for this trip. A mere desire to write is all that is needed. We are excited to read about how you will embrace this opportunity.

New York City, USA
Take the A-Train: The Arts in New York City | March 9-14, 2024

New York City is a vibrant hub of visual and performing arts, making it a global cultural epicenter. This trip aims to provide students with an immersive experience in the city’s rich artistic influences and history. Students will have the opportunity to attend performances at renowned music venues including the Metropolitan Opera and the Village Vanguard, visit world-class museums such as the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as downtown contemporary art galleries, and enjoy musicals and plays both on and off Broadway. Led by the BUA Arts Department, this interdisciplinary experience will allow students to explore the vast array of cultural offerings in New York City.