Study abroad for many people is about a personal journey where they learn about themselves and the World around them.  However, at ISDSI we do our best to give students an experience that doesn’t have them living on the outskirts of understanding everything Thailand has to offer, but rather immerses them in something bigger. Community.During the oceans course students live among and learn about two communities in southern Thailand – a Muslim fishing community and the Chao-lay, an ethnic minority group. Both these communities, though different, are currently facing a lot of pressure from the national park, commercial fishing companies, shrimp farms, and businessmen concerning their land and natural resources. While there are two sides to every story and some of the problems are due to decisions made in the past, historically, both these communities have been systematically pushed-down to secondary status in a world where the passing of money from one hand to another often outweighs right vs. wrong. However, going beyond the struggles and hardships, students see the peoples’ fierce ability to embrace the positives in life, too. In doing so, the students give many people, who are rarely given a voice, the opportunity to be heard in full.Even though facing difficult challenges in life, Grandma still smiles as she talks about her  mangrove conservation efforts. Little host siblings still stuff their cheeks full of watermelon and ask to be thrown around in the water. Host parents still take joy in an ISDSI student painting a beautiful sign for their new clothing/souvenir shop.  While these incredible people may be pressed down, they have clearly not given up.  Additionally, their stories are no longer distant issues in a foreign land shared via social media. By students being immersed in the communities, they are able to embrace what is truly happening and become educated citizens, consumers and future educators.  The stories become tangible experiences that students are not likely to forget, and our hope is that, like many people in the rising generation, ISDSI students will be encouraged to embrace a deeper desire to make a difference in the World.Where there is community there is something bigger happening.