Written by Abby and Mary, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Central America semester closing out their journey across Guatemala and Costa Rica To our special unit of girls, what a treasure it has been to share this time with you, traversing Central America together. As we sit here and reminisce about our semester, we are overcome with bittersweetness. Firstly, we are immensely proud of each and every… Read More

Written by Hannah, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Costa Rica rafting program closing out the final week in Quepos Welcome back, friends and family! It’s bittersweet to say… we’ve officially reached our final week abroad! We’ve had incredible experiences not just this week, but throughout this entire journey. Last week we were in Mastatal, and this week kicked off with a relaxing day on Playa Dominical. After… Read More

Written by Jackie, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Costa Rica Refugio program living at Villas Mastatal with the local family Hello friends and family! This week we touched down in San José, Costa Rica on a red eye flight from Guatemala City. After spending the night in San José, we loaded up our backpacks to head to Villas Mastatal, where we lived and worked on a family… Read More

Written by Lucina and Cece, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala Semuc Champey adventure before departing for Costa Rica After a bit of a lengthy trek over to Laquin/Samuc Champey, we started the first day off strong by tubing the crystal clear waters of the land. Before we even got to the main activity we happened upon a rope swing chair where we leaped into the water. Needless… Read More

Written By Lauren Two weeks in San Juan flew by all too fast. The city is absolutely stunning, right on Lake Atitlán, bursting with color, smiles, and culture. Between the murals and the markets, it felt like every corner had a story to tell. Getting to explore the city and interact with locals this week was such a meaningful way to connect with the culture and practice our Spanish. This… Read More

Written by Cece and Hannah, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala San Juan La Laguna semester celebrating Dia de los Santos Welcome back family and friends to the adventures of CARPE DIEM. This week we started our Spanish classes in San Juan La Laguna! Along with regular Spanish class for three hours per day, we also got the opportunity to take art classes! Some of us chose embroidery,… Read More

Written by Jackie and Lauren, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala permaculture program at Lake Atitlan and Tzununa We’ve officially been here for a month — CRAZY! We spent the past week in Tzununa, a tiny but beautiful town right on Lake Atitlan. We stayed at a guest house called Bambu, which honestly felt more like a resort. The food and amenities were next level, with a sauna… Read More

Written by Hannah and Lucina, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala Xela language school program traveling to Lake Atitlan Hello friends and family! Here is a little update on what the group has been up to this past week! To kick off this amazing week, we met our host families. We were divided into two groups. The first group included: Hannah, Lauren, and Lucina, who stayed with Araceli.… Read More

Written by Cece and Jackie, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala Spanish classes program at PLQ in Xela Quetzaltenango This week was the first of 2 weeks in Xela, aka Quetzaltenango! Our first morning here was a Sunday. We spent most of it trying unsuccessfully to find an open lavanderia to wash our clothes that had been covered in mud from Comalapa. Turns out most of them are… Read More

Written by Lauren and Lucina, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala Comalapa program at Long Way Home sustainable school This past week has been nothing short of transformative. As we arrived in Comalapa, we were greeted by the city’s beautiful mountains, art, and an array of friendly locals. “Long Way Home” , the NGO we worked with, housed us all in one room which made the week feel… Read More

Written by Abby and Mara, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala Antigua orientation program transitioning to Comalapa Woweeee! What an incredible welcome to Guatemala it has been! We dove straight into getting to know each other, the program, and the incredible country that will be our home for the next 8 weeks! Our orientation activities have allowed the group to reflect on their intentions for being here,… Read More

  Written by JB and Andy, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Central America semester What’s New? And just like that, three months of adventure, growth, and connection have come to an end. It’s hard to believe how quickly time has flown since our journey began. As we wrapped up our Central American program, our final days were filled with moments that felt both bittersweet and deeply meaningful.… Read More

Written by Bridger and Ronan, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala semester What’s New? Since the last blog post in Xela, our group has been in Tzununa, Guatemala staying in a sustainably built hotel called the “Bambu House.” This week’s focus has been centered around permaculture, man’s relationship with nature, and engineering. We’ve also been getting to know each other better because we are not using our phones… Read More

Written by Maia and Ripley, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala homestay semester in Xela What’s New? This past week, we had the pleasure of continuing to explore Xela, but through a different lens—homestays! We were paired off with another person in the group and got to build one-on-one relationships while also building community and connection with the host families. Seeing Guatemalan life through the perspective of a… Read More

  Written by Laurie and Ray, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala homestay program in Xela What’s New? This past week, we had the pleasure of continuing to explore Xela, but through a different lens—homestays! We were paired off with another person in the group and got to build one-on-one relationships while also building community and connection with the host families. Seeing Guatemalan life through the perspective of… Read More

Written by Summer and Nico, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Central America program in Xela, Guatemala What’s New? Hello families! Sorry for the late blog post, the last 3 weeks have been packed with many adventures and laughs! We’re now writing from Lake Atitlan where we’ve been relaxing at the bamboo house and learning about Permaculture! We started off our first week in Xela at a local hostel… Read More

    Written by Andy and JB, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala service project program starting in Antigua and Comalapa What’s New? The program started in Antigua, Guatemala for orientation. The group quickly found its footing as we explored the town and created a culture amongst everyone. As the first couple of days went by, we explored markets, reviewed the itinerary for the next 10 weeks,… Read More

Written by Andy and Jubitza, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Central America semester guiding students through Guatemala and Costa Rica 👋 Hola!  Andy and Jubitza here, writing to you from Portland, Oregon. We’ve been in training for the last couple of days, with a few more to go before setting off on this awesome adventure ahead of us. Here’s a quick rundown of who we are and… Read More

Written by Malcolm and Jasmin, Overseas Educators, this gap year Guatemala Costa Rica recap closes out a full Carpe Diem semester from Antigua to Drake Bay. It’s hard to believe our ten weeks together in Central America have come to an end. How is it that we won’t all be sharing a meal later today or waking up groggy-eyed tomorrow before another adventure? We formed such close bonds and integrated… Read More

Written by Central America Student, Danny Evans We arrived in Drake Bay for the last week of the trip! Here we explored the biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean as through the week we completed our Padi Open Water Dive Scuba certification🤿. We were also fortunate to visit Corcovado National Reserve seeing many different animals native to Costa Rica. We saw different types of monkeys, a sloth, an anteater, a boa,… Read More