After the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal this Saturday, here at Carpe Diem we are holding all of the people affected in our hearts and thoughts. Our three Latitudes students are safe, uninjured, and we are in communication with each of them. We also have a semester group in Northern India who are unaffected by the earthquake. Two of our students were volunteering in Kathmandu at the time of the earthquake.… Read More
We have just finished our week of home-stays in the beautiful town of Incan ruins, Ollantaytambo. For the first half of the week we took Spanish classes at a nearby Spanish school from 9 am to 1 pm each day. Classes would consist of a few hours of Spanish practice and grammar in the classroom and then a few hours of exploring ruins, nearby markets, and the town with our… Read More
From Adrienne and Devin The transportation gods of Tanzania continue to frown upon us (but don't fret – it gave us tons of good karma for better adventures later on in our SDT!) . Our decision to take the train from Mbeya to Dar backfired when the 24 hour ride turned into 40. We sat for hours on end in uncomfortable seats. In the typical Tanzanian fashion, one seat… Read More
See-ya everyone! It's been a little over a month since I arrived here in Cristuru Secuiesc, Romania. The first few days were extremely tough to say the least. Until three days ago I was the only volunteer in my program, working for the Child Protection Services, so it felt pretty lonely at first. However, I was lucky enough to make new friends who are part of the European Volunteer Service.… Read More
Hello to our friends and family back home. You are now speaking to licensed PADI open water scuba divers! This week was spent in Cairns, australia's top diving location. Each morning at 8:00 AM we went to the Cairns Dive Center for in-class knowledge based learning and finished the days in the pool, putting our skills to the test. On the final day, we nervously sat down for our class… Read More
Namaste, and a warm hello from all of us here in India!!! Wow, our most recent adventures have been truly one of kind. Sorry, to eveyone out there that has been looking forward to our latest post, we haven't had the chance to catch up on group orientated activities lately; such as blogging because we where staying at the beautiful Phool Chatti Ashram in Rishikesh. Last week was such a… Read More
Hey there! Today Shanti left the Dev Bala family farm in outer Dharamsala, where we stayed for five rejuventating days. Dev Bala sits right on the foothills of the Himalayas, which means you can stand in the garden, gazing out over luscious semi-tropical fields and farms in the valley, and turn your head to look at the snowcapped peaks right above you. The family at the farm grows what seemed… Read More
Megan and David, our fearless Nkula Overseas Educators, just sent in these pictures from their time with The Olive Branch for Children working on literacy projects. Thanks Olive Branch for a fantastic week! Nkula is now on their Student Directed Travel and has made it to the island of Zanzibar – we can't wait to hear more of their adventures.… Read More
One-upping my group members yet again, we spent the week and a half after Project WOO at Bona Fide permaculture farm, on Isla Ometepe. It's a volcanic island made up of two volcanoes, hence the two boulders. And they were some niiiiiiice boulders! A typical day at Bona Fide consisted of getting up at six, starting work at seven, eating breakfast at eight, and doing three more hours of work… Read More
So finally, we made it to the ocean. The group was overjoyed, and understandably so, given that our only contact with large bodies of water has been Lake Atitlan. Our contact organization is Project Woo, an organization focused on community-driven development and regulating the effects of Voluntourism. We started off our week by helping some local fisherman haul in their fish nets. Unfortunately there were only eight or so fish… Read More
This week started out with some gardening in Ho Chi Minh City. We visited four different gardens across the city and spent the day planting herbs, making tea, and trying mystery fruits. We closed off our gardening sesh with a rap battle led by Sam and Audrizzy. Our new friend Vie even spit some rhymes of her own.
The next morning we set off on our next adventure through Nam'.… Read More
Our week in the Amazon was very rewarding and very challenging. Through extreme heat, bugs, fire ants, butcher wasps, and spiders, we were working on reforestation with our contact, Robin. We spent every day on his farm, which used no electricity save for a solar panel-powered satellite phone and chicken coop electric wire, and learned about the natural biodiversity of the Amazon and how vital it is for the area… Read More
The gang finished off Chenrezig (the Buddhist retreat) on a high note. Most of us liked a lot of what was being taught and had a good time.. Meredith enjoyed the week so much that she decided to stay there as a volunteer and take her studies further. The rest of the gang is very excited for her but we will all miss her company. After Chenrezig, we… Read More
On all of our Carpe Diem gap year programs, we politely ask that students leave their cell phones, computers, and any other wi-fi devices at home for the duration.
“WHAT?!! 3 MONTHS WITHOUT AN iPHONE?! OMG! WTF! LMFAO!”
The above response, though imaginary, is not far removed from what we sometimes receive. In the environment of today, “unplugging” is often seen as a radical gesture, something for neo-Luddites or social… Read More
From Dylan S. So how can I explain the time I've spent in the amazon so far? Hot, sticky, sweaty, smelly, itchy, and wet… But despite everything I own growing a thick layer of mold, I've loved every second of it. I've been volunteering at Amazoonico, an animal rescue center near Tena, Ecuador. I wake up at 6:30 and work 5 days a week until anywhere from 5:00 to 10:30 pm. Mostly feeding… Read More
G'Day! Our trip down under began with a few days exploring Sydney. We wandered around the entire city, going to museums, the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, China Town, art galleries, the Quay (pronunciation still uncertain), and even the zoo. We wanted to see the animals safely in the zoo before we had to yank them out of our sleeping bags in the Outback. During our time in Australia, we… Read More
Hello everyone! We arrived in Noosa and had three days to just relax on the beach, hit the shops and cafe, as well as check out the National Park. It was a good time for us all to rejuvenate from our packed stay in Fiji.
We then went to Chenrezing Buddhist Institute in Sunshine Coast Australia. We've been here for a week learning the Buddhist lifestyle. We attended a… Read More
from Marley and Monica Once upon a time, eleven wazungu went into the wild. These are the things they saw…. lions, tigers, bears oh my! Just kidding about the tigers and bears, but the lions were a thing. Oddly enough, two out of the three times we saw these lions, momma and papa were doing the “downtown shuffle”. In those moments we all felt that we were right inside of… Read More
I have been at the Healing House now for over two months. I have been experiencing and learning so much here.
It was at first a difficult transition. I came to Cusco believing I would be working with kids and young mothers in programs offered at the house. When I arrived I learned that these programs no longer existed, and no one there knew anything about them. From there I… Read More
After the bus took us out of the city of Cuzco, steep mountains began cropping up on either side of the road. We had entered the Sacred Valley. After watching the rural (compared to city) lifestyle move by in the window for about half an hour, we came around a bend and the bus came to a stop. A river rushed along the right side of the road, along with… Read More
