CENTRAL AMERICA ALUMNUS BLOGS
Fall 2007 CAM Semester
Monday, November 19, 2007
On the beach in Costa Rica!
Hey everyone, this is blog master Skyler comming to you from Playa Langosta, Costa Rica.
We left San Jose on the 15th and took a nice Greyhound´ish bus to our current location in Tamarindo. Tamarindo is the town, but we are staying on working with turtles on Playa Langosta about a twenty minute walk from town.
The group is staying in fairly basic bunkhouses about ten seconds away from the beach.
Our meals are provided by the cook that works for the rangers here, and when we are not at meals we´re pretty much free to do what we want. Working with turtles happens only at night (when the turtles come to lay their eggs) and so most of our days are freetime (except for beach cleaning time for about two hours each day). People have been exploring and hanging out in town, swimming , tanning, and of course surfing. Right now almost everyone has rented a board, and group surf sessions are a common activity. The water is perfect temp and for the most part the waves are fairly good. High tide (the best time to surf) has been happening around sunrise and sunset, which makes for some amazing experiences. Hopefully the next blog will have some photos showing what I´m talking about.
The atmosphere here is definently layed backed, and everyone is enjoying it.
Our work with turtles is done in shifts throughout the night. Shifts run from 6.45 to 10pm, 9.45pm to 1 am, and 12.45am to 4am. The work consists of walking our section of beach looking for turtles that are comming out of the ocean to lay their eggs. If we find a turtle we monitor what happens, take measurements, and document the whole process. The work can be boring when no turtles show up, but being on the beach with the moon, stars, and waves is pretty good by itself.
That is about all the major stuff that is going on. Im sorry if I left anything out. As I said, pictures should be up with one of the next blogs, and I hope everyone enjoys those. I hope everyone reading this is doing well, wherever you all happen to be at the moment, I can say that we are certainly doing well here.
Skyler, aka Dj Double Y Skyy
Posted by Cam group at 11:40 AM 0 comments
Monday, November 12, 2007
Relaxing at Tela beach in Honduras
For our first weekend here in Cofradia, Honduras we decided to go to the beach. In Cofradia it had been a little hot and it hadnt rained since we got here so we wanted to go to the beach and take advantage of the sun. We took a public bus to San Pedro Sula and then walked around looking for another public bus that would take us to Tela. After about 4 hours we finally arrived at Tela beach and then decided to go to a different and smaller beach which was about 20min away from Tela. We were told by the teachers at the school that it was a beautiful beach and very relaxing. So we took a a taxi to that small beach and when we got there we find out that it is a very very small town. The town looked abandoned from which i assume that it had been hit by the Felix hurricane which had hit right before we had started our trip.
Although this was a small town we had a great time just relaxing and going swimming. Some of us layed out in the lovely sun and tanned while reading a book. Some of us went for a walk on the beach and got to see all sorts of loevly shells and a star fish. For lunch we had some great seafood although it was a bit pricey it was delicious!!! At night we just sat around talking and then we had a local Honduran guy join us. The Honduran guy began rapping to us in Spanish and in his local dialect. It was interesting and enjoyable. Our time at the beach was lovely and relaxing. Cant wait to go to Costa Rica when we get a chance to work with the turtles and stay on the beach for the whole week.
Adios
~Nancy Sandoval
Posted by Cam group at 12:38 PM 0 comments
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Hello family and friends!
Today is our fourth day here in Honduras amd unfortunately a few of us have fallen victim to a vicious stomach illness, but that is nothing new to this group and all will hopefully be well in a few days. Our time spent working at the BECA communty school has been splendid but definitly tiring. Our days are filled with more than a hundred happy honduran boys and girls running and laughing nonstop for hours and though extremeley enjoyable, quite taxing. We are working in the classrooms in various grades as well as building new shelves to help orgainze their hectic library. The people of BECA school and Cofradia have been extremeley hospitable and we owe them many thanks in making sure that our experience is a good one. If you are interested in learning more about the school and how it runs and we encourage you to look at their website www.becaschools.org.
The week before our time in Xela we were blessed to come in contact with a local peacecorps volunteer in the Salacuim, Lachua region who helped us out tremendously. There were troubles and miscommunications with our original project and feared that there would be no work for us to do. Luckily a man named Corby contacted us and said he was near by in a local village and would love our help. Corby and his wife live in this small town of Salacuim and are working in many different fields to help develop the poor indegenous communtiy. Of all our work so far, this week was by far the most rewarding and I left feeling as though I had truly made a difference. If you would like to learn more about Corby and his projects than you can visit his blog @ http://cklewisnguar.blogspor.com or email him at corby.lewis@gmail.com. This was a little random, but I felt important to add. Adios y hasta luego!
Posted by Cam group at 3:50 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Hi out there to all the family, friends, and loved ones keeping an eye on the blog. This is Erin, the lazy blog master from 2 weeks ago. Finally, our lack of blogging has caught up with us and I'm here to post some pictures of our adventure for you all to marvel at and be jealous of (haha, just kidding!) Hope you're enjoying the flood of updates! xoxoxo
mmm... a tasty meal of corn tortillas, queso blanco, beans, rice and avocado!
sam and betsy leaping into the pools at semuc champey
group pose-off at the overlook at semuc champey
view from the inside of a crowded microbus... 12 hour drives!
skyler, betsy, pat, matt, oliver, anna, kitsa, and sam at the hot springs in xela
the beautiful lagoon at lachua national park
family dinner in poptun
fire dancing show in poptun... oliver and tom have learned how to do this!
carrying the cake for the fiesta in poptun!
drew, nancy, shannon, pat, and betsy picking corn in lachua
group shot at our language school in xela
shannon & anna taking dance class in xela
That's all for now! Keep checking in for more updates!
Posted by Cam group at 3:06 PM 0 comments
Hello Honduras!
Had one amazing week in Lago Atitlan primping and pampering and licking ourselves clean after The Trek. The place is insanely beautiful: a humungous blue, blue, lake surrounded by, apparently, still active volcanoes. Stayed in La Paz in San Marcos We could attend yoga in the mornings in Las Pirimides (7 AM!), choose from a variety of delectable breakfasts and then attend whatever lessons and/or therapies your wallet could sustain. Later during your free time, you couild hop onto one of the various shuttle boats and peruse one of the other local towns (Panajachel, San Pedro).
Left Lago Atitlan and Guatemala (sob!!) on the 4th of november and loaded onto a record 12 hr microbus ride to Copan, Honduras. Driver got lost a few times in the afternoon and evening, but we stil managed to cross the border (legally) even after it was closed, which was kinda fun.
Crashed in Copan for the night, and saw the famous Mayan ruins in the morning. (Finally, after two months in Central America, we get to see some ruins...) Jetted off to Cofradia yesterday where we are currently living in our last homestays and working in the BECA Community School with some very lovably rambunctious children. Peace out.
Posted by Cam group at 1:37 PM 0 comments
Monday, October 29, 2007
last week we arrived in Xela which is short for Quetzaltenengo we got set up with our new home stay families.We where studding Spanish at a school called casa xela. There where alot of things in the city to do there where beautiful churches that some of us went to look at with our teachers as well as a cemetery. We went to hot springs high in the mountains in the cloud forest. It was nice just to have a day to relax and not have to go to school. We just got done with a three day backpacking trip through the jungle it was long and difficult be we made it we are all really tired. We are staying in a nice little town called San Marcos and tomorrow we start a week of yoga and meditation classes. Things are going great here and every one is having a great time sorry for being late on the blog
Posted by Cam group at 4:31 PM 0 comments
Saturday, October 6, 2007
second week in coban
This week in Coban we continued our spanish classes and exploring the city. Over the weekend we visited Semuc Champey, which was an incredible experience for everyone who was able to go. We hiked up the mountain and looked down on the beautiful, clear, blue, majestic, luminous, pulchritudinous pools of the river, infested with speedos and not too shabby isreali men. After a morning of glorious frolicking in the delectable waters, we headed back to our attic of love for a triumphant afternoon of continuous frolicking. We swang as high as the rope swing went and dove off the dock like joyous penguins. Twas rather splendid. Leaving the pure air behind we returned to the busy as a bumblebee city to for some much needed improvement in the spanish department. Some people got sick this week and got other people sick in the process. Overall it was a week of rest and contentment, we were able to enjoy the luxuries of semi-civilization and prepare for the coming week to be spent increasing our stench in the jungle.
Posted by Cam group at 5:33 PM 1 comments
Friday, September 28, 2007
Coban and Spanish Classes
Hey all!
This is Kitsa the Blog Master 3000 for the week. We are now at the end of our first week here in the city of Coban, Guatemala. We have been staying with wonderful families here who have taken us in and been feeding us three amazing meals a day. We have also begun our spanish lessons here, spending four hours every morning with 2 students and one teacher to a class and have been getting alot of attention and help with our spanish. While not in the classroom we have all be out exploring the unique city of Coban, including shopping in the market, tasting typical foods, and just exploring and enjoying ourselves in an environment that forces us to practice our spanish. Some of us even ordered custom made cowboy boots to bring home. Last Wednesday was Patrick´s birthday so we all went on a trip to a nearby tea plantation. After a beautiful hike through the fields of tea and seeing how the tea is made, we were able to try some and it was so delicious! Many of us even bought some to bring home to our families! Later that night we went out to eat at an amazing restaurant with some of the best food I have ever had! Tomorrow we are planning to go on a day trip to Semuc Champe, a river flowing through amaxing rock formations and with many waterfalls and a place to go swimming, so that should be alot of fun. It is supposed to be one of most beautiful places in Guatemala so I´ll get back to you on what it was like when we get back later this weekend.
Posted by Cam group at 4:11 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Pics of Finca Ixobel tree houses, Poptun, the surrounding rainforest, and the cave we went to.
Hey all, this is Skyler.
Here are some pics from my camera which happens to be waterproof and thus let me take picutres of the river cave we visited.
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I don´t have much time to talk now and therefore I will let the title and pictures explain themselves. Blog Master 300 Kitsa for the week elaborate on them if she wants to.
More pics later, possibly of Coban etc.
Peace
Posted by Cam group at 5:42 PM 1 comments
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Week 1 Poptun
Hey everybody,
This is the blog master 3000, Anna for the week. I am just updating you on our amazing trip so far. This is the end of our first week, it started at the beautiful Finca Ixobel where we had a three day orientation getting to know our group and adjusting to our new surroundings, while living in treehouses. On our second day we trekked for two hours through rain and mud to a nearby cave where we were all amazed by the stunning scenery and once there we swam and climbed through the cave in the dark. It was such a thrill especially when we came to the end and there was a cliff for us to jump off. Following our stay at the Finca we moved into our homestays in which the living situations were like nothing any of us had experienced before. Everyone felt a strong sense of hospitality and compassion in Barrio Ixobel. The childrens upbeat personalities are really what made this stay special for us. Each day we have been here we have been working on a project to plant 537 trees at the school which we completed this morning. Later today the children are throwing us a fiesta and tomorrow we are on the road again headed to Coban.
Posted by Cam group at 1:35 PM 0 comments
Friday, August 17, 2007
Welcome to the CAM blog
Greetings and welcome to Carpe Diem Education.
Carpe Diem Education offers 3-month semesters designed for college students, GAP year students, and high school seniors.
Posted by Ethan at 5:39 PM 0 comments
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