Written by India & Nepal Overseas Educator, Soumya Namaste! It’s your favorite Sagittarius OE, Soumya. This morning, I said goodbye to the Qaasid cohort and our own British prince, Andrew. As I zoomed away from the airport feeling the smoggy Kathmandu air on my face, I could not believe the moment had arrived. This week closed out a brief and beautiful rollercoaster of a semester with eight unique, special souls… Read More

Written by India & Nepal Overseas Educators, Soumya and Andrew Greetings earthlings! Here we are in rainy Portland, just returned from a rambunctious scavenger hunt through the hallowed halls of Forest Park. Along the way, we got to know each other as co-leaders, enjoyed a delicious meal of red curry and vegan cheesecake, and spotted some really cute woodpeckers. Soumya’s Discoveries of Andrew: Andrew was once attacked by an owl… Read More

Written By Tanya, Will, Jahmeil, and Grace It is with sadness and hope in our hearts that we write this final blog. We feel no need to pull punches: we are nothing short of devastated to be saying goodbye so quickly and abruptly to our new, bright, nomadic little family. Just a few short days ago we were alerted to the true panic of the worldwide Corona Virus (gotta remember… Read More

Written By Emma & Jahmeil When we were told we were going to Sadhana forest, we had no idea where that was, and much less what it would be like. Naturally, our open-minded, optimistic group was so excited to be in an area for a full week (enough time to do laundry and actually get settled!) and we were looking forward to this majestic place which our OEs were describing.… Read More

Written By Riley & Will Part 1: the trek After a bittersweet goodbye to our host families, we took a 4-hour long bus ride to our next destination. As the scenery transitioned from a bustling city to rural hills, to the dramatic green slopes of the Western Ghats, the group became more and more excited for a change in the view. Our destination was a campsite located a couple of… Read More

Written by Daniella & Grace On the 18th we got to settle into our family homestays. Bonding with these families, learning about their culture, customs and food have been the highlight of the trip so far. Each host family provides us with a roof over our heads and home-cooked food. And in return, Carpe students have the opportunity to connect with the family (and are responsible for being home by… Read More

Wow! What a jam-packed first week it’s been. After close to 40 hours of travel, we woke up early our first day and we were warmly welcomed by our host, Celia, to a delicious Kerala breakfast. We were lucky to start our days off like this, and every morning Celia would cook a new Kerala specialty for us. By the way, they cook with lots of coconuts in Kerala-as Kerala… Read More

Dear Friends and Family of the Shanti group: We have received word that the group has landed in Kochi, India. The group had a long flight over, and will now go to their guesthouse and get some much-needed sleep. They will start orientation tomorrow, and begin getting to know each other and the amazing land and culture of India. We wish them well in their upcoming journey! All the best,… Read More

Dear Shanti Friends and Family: We wanted to update you and let you know that the entire Shanti group has safely arrived at SFO airport. The group will go through security and then dive into a few introduction and orientation activities led by their Overseas Educators, Rebecca and Adam. The group will then embark on their long flight across the Pacific Ocean, en route to Kochi, India! We will provide… Read More

Hello, Shanti parents and students! This is Rebecca and Adam, Carpe Diem’s Spring 2020 India Overseas Educators! We write you from Carpe Diem staff training in sunny (for the most part) Portland, Oregon. We find ourselves working to put the finishing touches on our upcoming adventure together, getting to know each other better, as well as relaxing, recharging, and doing some much-needed yoga! With just one short week until take… Read More

To our dear Shanti Family, It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to each of you today. We have shared so much over these past few months and grown close, like family. Each of you have shared your beautiful spirit with our group and with the communities we have met in India, and we will always be grateful to each of you for the originality, light, and kindness that each of you… Read More

It is hard to believe that this week brought about the end of November and the final stages of our itinerary here in India, but there is no where I would have rather spent it than in Sadhana Forest. Our group spent 10 days sleeping in tree-house bamboo huts under mosquito nets in a small community outside of Auroville that is based on forest regeneration, water conservation and sustainable living.… Read More

The group has been in Kochi for a little over a week with everyone taking different classes, such as Ayurvedic medicine, painting, martial arts, flute, and cooking. For our last day as a full group, we decided to take a trip to the backwaters to do a kayaking and biking trip. Everyone woke up at 7:30 am to hop on a bus and ride an hour to the backwaters. Upon… Read More

Kochi: it’s not a city, it’s a feeling. Kochi: a tropical, coastal wonderland full of culture, food, and fun. This whole trip, I’ve never felt so at home as I’ve felt in Kochi. Every one of us has a chance to take classes on varying topics and stay with wonderful host families. Every day, we would wake up and have breakfast with our host families before going to our own… Read More

Written By Sydney & Alex After a 4 day track through the cold, dry Himalayas, a week of yoga and exploring Rishikesh was just what this group needed! It’s easy to understand why this place is regarded a sacred! Lush, green forest stretches from the mountain tops to the shores of the Ganges. The smells of incense fill the town and you can hear the insects wherever you go. Teaming… Read More

We started our time together surrounded by the towering, barren, and snowy mountains in the Himalayas in Leh, Ladakh. On arrival, we spent a couple of days acclimatizing to the extreme altitude of 11,000 feet. A few of our group members started to feel the symptoms of altitude sickness, while others begin to battle the slowly spreading flu. Even so, the excitement about the new climate and the upcoming stay… Read More

The past few days, we’ve been treated to a lavish smorgasbord of religion. On Tuesday, we began the day by attending a lengthy meditation service with an English-born Tibetan Buddhist monk. Rather than talk about religion, he spoke to us about the environment, saying that everyone needs to learn to “settle for less” – a very Buddhist statement, even though his speech could equally have come from the mouth of… Read More

Greetings from the Shanti Group! We are pleased to report that we have had a great first week in India, full of new sights, sounds and warm connections with our local hosts. After nearly 48 hours of airplane and airport time, we hit the ground running with two full days of orientation in Delhi. Highlights included: exploring the beautiful Lodhi gardens with tombs from the 14th and 15th century, tasting… Read More

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We started our journey in the market, the first thing we found was food for the other group members for the long train ride. Once we gathered snacks and fed ourselves with some Gongala. We found a convenience store across the street food place that sold toilet paper for 15 rupees. When interacting with the store clerk we noticed he spoke decent English and with the addition of his age… Read More