HONGI 2020: Reflections on our return to the States

Huge thanks to Claire for her work compiling these reflections and photos from her Spring 2020 South Pacific group! ā€œI asked the group to share a few pictures, their favorite memory, and how they experienced the evacuation and return. I hope this sheds some light on what we as students were feeling during the evacuation time and also to share some great memories we made even though the time was… Read More

Hongi Spring ’20 Signing Off

Written By Rachael & Nathan Kia Ora friends and families! Nathan and Rachael here writing from Seattle and Northern California. We said goodbye to the group yesterday in LAX where we met 6 weeks ago. We exchanged warm and fuzzy notes and gave air hugs. Tears were shed. This has been a trying last week with plans changing daily and the group having to readjust plans constantly to keep up… Read More

Till We Meet Again

Howdie doodie neighborinos! Hanny and gang here. What a wild ride the past few days have beenā€¦. After we said our farewells to all the people and creatures at the Hart farm (especially to Pippi the dog!) we traveled down to the lively city of Wellington! We enjoyed a couple days strolling up and down Cuba Street, browsing the funky shops, eating at all the restaurants, and drinking TONS of… Read More

Cheers From The Hart Farm!

Written By Mia & Lucas Itā€™s Mia and Lucas here to let you all know what weā€™ve been up to during the past week. We first were given the opportunity by our amazing overseas educators to explore the city of Rotorua. We started things off with a nice dinner at a local Vietnamese restaurant, sharing our excitement about the next few days of adventuring. After a great first nightsā€™ sleep… Read More

Raglan: Maori Experience with Tiaki

Kia Ora Hongi fans, whatā€™s up yā€™all, this is real life, After orientation we moved to Solscape, a sustainable hostel looking over the ocean, and slept in train cars for a couple nights. Here we began learning about Maori culture with Tiaki and Madi. Starting out strong at 5am, we headed over to Wairenga Falls; it was a really powerful experience. This waterfall is a place where Maori people let… Read More

Kia Ora Friends & Families!

This is Nathan and Rachael, the Hongi group OEā€™s, saying hello and updating you on what weā€™ve been up to. 5 days ago we met each other in LAX where we shared snacks and some cute, awkward introductions. We boarded our 13 hour flight, traveled a whole day forward in time and landed in Auckland on Valentineā€™s day! Getting in our rental vehicles we made our way down the long… Read More

Hongi Group Together In Los Angeles

Dear Hongi Friends and Family: We wanted to update you and let you know that the Hongi group has safely arrived at LAX. The group will go through security and then dive into a few introduction and orientation activities led by their Overseas Educators, Rachael and Nathan. The group will then embark on their long flight over the Pacific Ocean, en route to Auckland, New Zealand! We will provide an… Read More

Bula, Gā€™day & Kia Ora Hongi Crew!

This is Rachael and Nathan your OEā€™s. This is the blog we will be taking turns writing on throughout our semester. It is a platform to share our experiences, challenges, joys, and some photos with friends and family. We are currently hanging out (haha) with the other OE teams in Portland enjoying a semi sunny day wandering around, getting to know each other, and preparing for our upcoming adventure. We… Read More

So Long, South Pacific

Wow who knew 3 months could be filled with so many memories. We will never forget all the campfire sing alongs, the rain in bark bay, or games of patterns filled with laughter. It was a beautiful ride filled with more lessons than we can count. From experiencing a remote village in Fiji, to learning how to milk a cow, and even getting certified to dive. We experienced all we… Read More

Gā€™day From Australia!

Written By Sierra & Hunter This is Hunter and Sierra giving you all an update on our most recent journey Down Under. On Nov. 10th, we arrived at our first destination in Australia: Sheoak Ridge. The people at Sheoakā€”Claire and Marcusā€”strive to protect native eco-systems in far North Queensland on their 165-acre property. They conduct research, work on rehabilitating wallabies, practice mindful land management, and provide unique opportunities for students… Read More

Student Directed Travel

Written By Rasheed & Lily Kia Ora! Itā€™s Rasheed and Lily here and we are extremely excited to update everyone on our upcoming adventure. Since our time in Nakuku village, we have been vigorously planning and brainstorming on potential ideas for our week of student directed travel. During student directed travel, us 12 students have come up with an exhilarating itinerary. We have all put in lots of hard work… Read More

Wwoofing In New Zealand

Good Day from Noah, Lottie, and the rest of Hongi! It is hard to grasp the fact that our week on the Hart Farm is finally coming to an endā€¦ It feels like just yesterday that we rolled up in the ā€œBlue Whaleā€ van a tad soaked from our town time grabbing lunch before meeting our lovely hosts Rachel and Greg Hart. Hongi instantly felt at home and couldnā€™t contain… Read More

Outdoor Adventures

Written By Nicole & Alex Kia ora! A big hello from Alec, Nicole, and the rest of Hongi! We are excited to be the ones to fill you in on everything that has happened this last week. This weekā€™s leaders were Alec and Sofie! Alec: Being a leader for a week was honestly very stressful at times. It challenged me in many different ways that I never would have thought… Read More

Trekking with Whenua Iti

Kia Ora. Hello everyone, itā€™s Jackson and Trish and we are so excited to have the opportunity to blog for you all again. Tonight we have the official changing of the guards which means that tomorrow we will have new jobs and will no longer be the group bloggers. I know we only had the opportunity to blog twice but I am so happy we have been able to give… Read More

Let The Adventure Begin

Hey everyone! We are Sarah and Nathan, and we are so excited to lead this Hongi group in the South Pacific this fall! This trip is bursting with all sorts of adventures and growth opportunities. In anticipation and preparation for the semester, we have spent the last week training with other Carpe Diem Overseas Educators. Before we get to what we have done this week, we want to tell you… Read More

Final Week

Written By Ryan Our last week was just like so many others in that it was memorable, adventurous, and exhausting. I’m going to miss being on the constant go, traveling somewhere new and different every few days, but I think everyone is also ready to depart, return home, and slow down. After our retreat at Chenrezig, the group including myself enjoyed our night out in Brisbane watching and later singing… Read More