Written by Leora Wasserman, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year South Africa student, this reflection covers community development work with Dreamcatcher, wildlife care at Wild Rescue, and life with two homestay families in Melkhoutfontein. My experience this semester in South Africa gave me the opportunity to gain knowledge, go on adventures, experience challenge, and create connections and memories to last a lifetime! I began my journey in Johannesburg, with Tefo and Lucas,… Read More

Written by Chance Sands, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year Panama volunteer, this reflection covers preschool teaching, surfing, and community connection at Give and Surf in Bocas del Toro. Chance is volunteering at Give and Surf in Bocas Del Toro, Panama  It has been such an amazing experience. I have created long lasting friendships with my fellow volunteers and all of the teachers and students. I’ve also made so many memories, whether… Read More

Written by Abby McGullam, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year South Africa student, this reflection covers three months of teaching, sustainable farming, and family life with Dreamcatcher South Africa in Melkhoutfontein. My semester in South Africa has been a seedbed for personal, cultural, and experiential growth. My program with the nonprofit organization Dreamcatcher South Africa has been well-tailored to my interests, as well as my personal skills, ensuring that my impact in… Read More

Written by Gabrielle D. Bennett, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year Guatemala volunteer, this reflection covers homestay life in Comalapa, tire wall building at Long Way Home, and the Green Building Academy. My experiences in the small town of Comalapa have been nothing but incredible. Arriving in Comalapa, I stayed with a local family known for their art. One of my favorite things was walking through the pueblo and spotting different murals… Read More

Written by Sam Stiles, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year Thailand diving student, this reflection covers reef conservation work, Dive Master training, and two whale shark sightings in Koh Tao. Sawasdee everyone! My experience in Koh Tao has been enriching in many ways. It is a privilege to be a part of the vital work that New Heaven’s Reef Conservation Program does here. I am so glad to get the experience of… Read More

Written by Danica Wolf, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year scuba diving student, this reflection covers her journey from ocean fear to Dive Master certification in Bayahibe, Dominican Republic. Would you believe me if I told you my biggest fear was the ocean? When I signed up for the fall 2022 semester in Southeast Asia, I was not excited about getting my open water certification because I had been terrified of the… Read More

Written by Mateo Lombard, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year India volunteer, this reflection covers a vegan festival at Sadhana Forest, a week in Varkala, and permaculture workshops at Dharmalaya in Dharmsala. My semester started in South India a few hours away from Chennai, at a place called Sadhana Forest. This place is a vegan community that focuses on reforestation and water conservation. At the time I arrived, Sadhana Forest was hosting… Read More

Written by Talia, a 2022-23 Latitudes Year Buenos Aires student, this reflection covers daily life in Argentina, a composting internship, and falling in love with the people and culture of this city. My typical weekday begins with two snoozed alarms, followed by a hasty rush out the door to catch the 59 bus. I arrive at school at 9:35, late as always, with a sheepish grin. During our first break,… Read More

Written by Kate Sandoval, 2022-23 Latitudes Student  Arriving on a beautiful Sunday afternoon (beautiful by the Seattle Washington definition), I settled in the small apartments in Las Rosas to meet my first roommate, Vanessa. Daniela and Misael of Biosean allowed me a couple days of downtime until Nathalie, our third roommate arrived. Vanessa showed me a little intro of the beautiful beaches and led me around to memorize the necessities… Read More

Written by Kelli Parker, 2022-23 Latitudes Student  This semester was overwhelmingly empowering. I flew halfway across the country by myself and somehow managed to get myself to all the places I needed to be. Just for some context, I’m extremely directionally challenged. Like, extremely. So, just that was an accomplishment for me, but the other great thing was how out of my comfort zone it pushed me. I was forced… Read More

Written by Peyton Molacek, 2022-23 Latitudes Student  My first 6 weeks in Koh Tao, Thailand have been full of many, many, many unexpected adventures. I came into this experience thinking I was going to dive everyday and maybe input some data. I never imagined experiencing everything I have so far. Last week, the other interns and I spent over 6 hours snorkeling in an attempt to find a reported injured… Read More

Written by Gavin Parker, 2022-23 Latitudes Student  Kia Ora! My time in New Zealand has been very much an eye opener in many aspects, either that be culturally, environmentally, and learning more about myself as well. While working with Whenua Iti Outdoors, they have helped me see these learning opportunities and have allowed me to see the beauties of this country, taking me on many of their programs and seeing… Read More

Written by Gabriel Cohen, 2022-23 Latitudes Student  I didn’t know what to expect when I landed in Buenos Aires on January 26th – it was not only my first time in the city, but also my first time in South America. It was a great first impression; I was greeted with stunning weather, green trees and parks, many football shirts and delicious food. The first few days here I walked… Read More

Written By Gracie, Latitudes Year ’22 Peru I started my semester on February 21 in Cusco Peru, at Pachananda retreat center. I started my first few days acclimatizing to over 11,000 feet. I am from New York, so the first culture shock was most definitely the difficulties breathing. For my first week I drank chlorophyll in my water to help oxygenate myself and increase my red blood cell count. Such… Read More