Northwestern Lehigh High School 2013 graduate Bryan Gensits, is one of six students participating in Naropa University's inaugural study abroad program in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Gensits, a junior majoring in environmental studies with minors in religious studies and peace studies at Naropa University, Boulder, Colo., said he will be in Bhutan for five months studying at the Royal University of Bhutan.

"This is my first time out of the country," Gensits said. "I am very excited; this last week (Jan. 3 to Jan. 9) has started to feel real. It has been an idea for so long."

"Being just about as far away from everyone I know and where I grew up as I can be while studying on earth is a little frightening but, it is a chance to grow and have new experiences that I couldn't pass up," he stated.

"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to spend an extended period of time in Bhutan," Gensits stated.

He said a friend of his, Jim Becker of Boulder, Colo., went there in 2012 and recommended Lonely Planet's guide to Bhutan to him.

"I did not know my friend went to Bhutan until I told him I was going, then he started talking about it," Gensits stated.

Gensits said a large part of him studying in Bhutan is unknown.

"I am coming from a completely different thought system and way of life than the Bhutanese students and professors are used to, that I can't begin to imagine what types of experiences I will have and what I will be learning," he said.

Gensits said the main language in Bhutan is Dzongkha.

"The model of the study abroad program is unlike any other he has seen. It is referred to as a peer to peer model," Gensits said. "So, essentially, we will be immersed in the culture instead of being like a tourist."

Bhutan charges tourists $250 a day just to be in the country, he said.

The stay would cost him roughly $37,500 for the five months, but the university was able to get the fee waived for the six students, Gensits said.

"When we get to the university, we will become normal students living in the Bhutanese dorms," he stated. "So, we will really get to experience living and doing what the Bhutanese students do."

"Naropa University Professor Ann Parker, who teaches geography to undergraduates, will be with us the first three weeks, then we will see her from time to time," he said. "She will be going to the different campuses to see how everyone is doing as well as doing her own studies over there."

The Royal University of Bhutan has 11 campuses of study in Bhutan.

Gensits said after his first three weeks in Bhutan, traveling to buildings of cultural significance, such as Taktohang Goemba, Dzongs, touring the different campus buildings at the University of Bhutan, and meeting with government official, he will be studying environmental and cultural studies at the university.

Gensits will study animal welfare, environmental physiology and one class titled "Introduction to Ecology and Ecosystem."

"I am thinking of looking at Bhutanese agricultural methods for my independent research project," he said.

Gensits also wants to do some sightseeing of the Himalayas and the valleys in the foothills, as well as rock climbing and trail running.

"I definitely hope to do something like this again," Gensits said. "It probably will not be another study abroad program but hopefully work or travel to give me the opportunity to live overseas for an extended period of time."

Gensits is the son of Katherine Gensits of New Tripoli, and Stephen Gensits of New Ringgold, a chemistry teacher at Northwestern Lehigh High School.

His one sister Kila is a senior at Northwestern. His other sister, Cecily, is a freshman at Lebanon Valley.