Written By OEs, Ryan & Lauren Standing in a semi-circle on top of a small hill half a world away from the country where we first met, the 14 of us gazed out into the milieu of yellow, orange, pink, purple, white, and blue permeating the skies and our faces alike. The setting sun’s rays hit us, and we forgot to think of the distant lands that sun was heading… Read More

Dear South Pacific Families, We are excited to share that the group has all met up at LAX.  I know the past few days and weeks have likely been busy for all of you prepping for this moment.   Now just the journey and the semester of a lifetime remains.  The group is looking forward to getting to know one another and our friends in Australia and New Zealand are ready… Read More

We’re happy to report that the Walkabout group has arrived safely in Cairns! They are currently making their way to She Oak Ridge where they will spend the next two weeks with Claire and Marcus-ecologists who will be teaching them about the local flora and fauna and conservation.   When you hear from them next, you can expect to hear about what they have learned about Wallaby rehabilitation and the Daintree-the… Read More

Kia Ora! (Hello in Maori) Lauren and Ryan here, writing to you all from Portland, OR, where we are busy getting ready for the incredible adventure we are about to embark on. We are so excited to meet you all in just a few days to start our journey in the Land Down Under! We are looking forward to learning about the flora and fauna in Australia and New Zealand,… Read More

Currently, we are looking out over the Tasman Sea in Auckland, NZ, reflecting on the last 3 months. The trip has all been wrapped up, and we are here as your OE’s, your friends, and your fellow travelers. What a whirlwind of an adventure it has been. By now many of you all will have told your friends and families some of your favorite stories and memories, and we wanted… Read More

Written By Kai 11/19 On Tuesday we left the Buddhist retreat and and took the train back the Brisbane. The night before we discussed options for activities for our two days in the city before heading to the wallaby reserve so Natalie, Lillie, Jay, Caleb and Maddy decided to visit the Steve Irwin Zoo. So when we left the buddhist retreat, one group enjoyed the best zoo in Australia and… Read More

(Steve Irwin Accent) “AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!……….AUSSIE! AUSSIE! AUSSIE!” First week in Australia was CRIKEY! The stoke levels of the group were off the charts heading into this next leg of our journey. We could feel the energy of the outback coursing through our veins obsessing over the dangerous and gnarly environment in our near future. Upon our arrival in Brisbane we stayed our first night at the BBR (Brisbane… Read More

After 12 days in the remote village of Nakuku, we took an hour and a half bus ride back to Savusavu. In our first day of scuba, we went to a dive resort. It was super weird being in a resort after trying for the past two months to be travelers not tourists. We split into two groups at the dive resort. The first group was for people that may… Read More

For the past ten days, we have been staying in home-stays in a rural Fijian village, Nakuku. This has opened our eyes to new ways of life, community engagement, and cultural immersion. Throughout our time here, we have had time to reflect on our past experiences and dive into a something that might be a little harder compared to life in New Zealand. This was the first time on this… Read More

Written By Sydney Welcome back family and friends! We are happy to say that we are in our Student Directed Travel week, meaning that we students budgeted and planned the whole week. After weeks of planning and excitement building up we were finally able to put our preparation to the test! Following our week with Whinua Iti we headed off to Nelson to quickly get our groceries for the next… Read More

Hey and welcome back to the blog of the Walkabout Crew! We have been a busy bunch these past 9 days. We started in Wellington where we got to be in a big city for the first time while being in New Zealand. We got to have time to explore, eat great food and be independent. We had a few options of some things that we got to choose to… Read More

Kia Ora loved ones! This past week we have all taken a step into the indigenous culture of New Zealand to learn the history of the people, the language they speak and most importantly, what it means to be Maori. Throughout the week, we were led on a journey of cultural immersion by a Maori native named Tiaki. Tiaki speaks with a gentle eagerness to share his knowledge and… Read More

Greetings from New Zealand, So far our trip has been amazing! We have all been having a great time exploring the country, getting to know each other, and learning the ins and outs of the Kiwis. Orientation was jam-packed and we were able to learn a lot about each other and establish a baseline for the coming trip. Being based in Raglan gave us a lot of opportunities to explore… Read More

Hello family and loved ones! This is Mikhaila and Noah filling you all in on the highlights of our trip so far. Our first 4 days were spent in Raglan taking part in orientation where we really got to know everyone in this walkabout group. On the final full day in Raglan, Dan and Natalie gave us the opportunity and freedom to walk around downtown Ragland and the surrounding area… Read More

Hello! Natalie and Dan here reporting from Portland, Oregon! We just wanted to introduce ourselves and touch base before meeting you all very soon! We have been hard at work preparing for our upcoming time together this semester! From taking specific training courses, to working with the office crew, to meeting all of the other Overseas Educators, we have fully enjoyed the last week here in Portland. Specifically, we have… Read More

By Diana Ascarrunz Hello everyone, this week on the program we explored Maori culture. We were welcomed by Tiaki our Maori guide for the week. For the first three nights, we stayed at the community center near Rob and Rangimaries home. On the first full day, we took a walk around their beautiful property and reflected on the things we wanted to let go of in life. The next day… Read More

By David Chase Dear family and friends of the 2018-Carpe-Diem-South-Pacific-Walkabout-group, As you may or may not know this program assigns a role to every member each week; group leader, chef, logistics, etc. During this particular week, I have been tasked with updating the group’s blog with the goings on of the past few days. My specific title (as stated in our official Carpe Diem packet) is “Bilbo Bloggins,” and just… Read More

By Duncan Nofsinger This past week, we got to spend our time at homestays in the Fijian village of Nakuku, and it’s safe to say that it was everyone’s favorite part of the trip so far. During a few hours of each day, we got to build a footpath through the village. We worked hard on it, and it paid off just in time for rainy season. For the rest… Read More

A photo series of She Oak Ridge, where students learn about sustainability and animal rehabilitation.… Read More

By Elsa Simonton Hello Everyone, This week Walkabout spent a week at Sheoak Nature Reserve. Throughout the week, we helped out around the grounds. Some examples are building a trail to the swimming lagoon, making a small dam to store water in the rainy season, and digging holes for posts for new buildings. The group also learned new information during presentation and workshops. Marcus and Claire, the owners of Sheoak,… Read More