Blog

Exploring Permaculture: Highlights from Our Week in Tzununa

Written by Central America Students, Jess Solit and Cleo Miller What’s new? ⦿ Our group headed over to Tzununa to learn about permaculture from Neil and Jeremy at the Granja Tz’ikin – The Farm. ⦿ Swam and walked around San Marcos, learned about the 12 values of permaculture, harvested veggies, and turned over garden beds. ⦿ We also met some incredible people like Ava and the families at Quixaya to… Read More

Sri Lanka Travels : William’s Latitudes Year

Written by William McCall Symms, 2023-24 Latitudes Student This semester has been an immensely enriching learning experience for me. Following a consistent schedule has been both demanding and enjoyable. Every day involves going out to collect data and conduct field research, not only on elephants but also on other species negatively impacted by humans, with the main focus being to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. A great part of this experience… Read More

Roaming with Wildlife : Andres’ Latitudes Year in Namibia

Written by Andres Huenneke, 2023-24 Latitudes Student Over this semester I have been in Namibia in Southern Africa working with animal conservation for an organization called Naankuse. I have transitioned between some different projects around the country. Every project deals with a different aspect of animal conservation and rehabilitation. I have been to four different projects so far and next week I will go to my fifth. Some projects are… Read More

Learning in La Hesperia : Anantya’s Latitudes Year in Ecuador

Written by Anantya Mazi, 2023-24 Latitudes Student Settling In and Finding Community La Hesperia is a forest reserve that rests above the small rural town of La Esperie. At the reserve, I was able to settle in quickly, especially with the help of the other volunteers working here, whom I now consider dear friends. On weekdays, Monday to Friday, we begin our days with breakfast at 7:30 am. Depending on… Read More

What’s New for Terra Group? Exploring Florence and Trekking to Siena!

Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Students, Ryan Chun & Julia Rivard We went to Florence (Firenze) and made ourselves at home for a few days! We climbed the Duomo Bell Tower, explored the Palazzo Vecchio, and did a scavenger hunt of different city attractions, among other things. We also started our trek to Siena on the Via Francigena! Top Highlights of the Week: 🍨 Gelato Galore: Gelato, gelato, and… Read More

Hard Work Pays Off: Stella’s Latitudes Year in Australia

Written by Stella Kuramoto, 2023-24 Latitudes Student Experiencing Independence and Wildlife Conservation This semester I experienced true independence and one of the most beautiful places in the whole world with one of my best friends whom I’ve met through Carpe. I’m six weeks in volunteering at the wildlife habitat and life could not be cooler. I spend my days taking care of incredible animals and learning all about conservation and… Read More

Adventures in a Small Zoo in Rural Hungary: Shloimy’s Latitudes Year

Written by Shloimy Goldberger, 2023-24 Latitudes Student My Experience at Repzootic I have spent this semester working at Repzootic, a small zoo in a town of about 300 in the rural southwest of Hungary, about an hour-long bus ride from the historical city of Pécs. I have spent much of my time in this town, as although there is surprisingly reliable public transport to Pécs, I’m only able to go… Read More

Salsa, Hikes, and Spanish: Our Journey in Xela Comes to an End!

Written by Central America Students, Henry Probolus and Arianna Cochrane This was our last week in Xela! At the start of the week, we left our hostel and moved in with our host families! It has been such an amazing time experiencing the culture and tasting the amazing food inside our families’ houses! We met and became friends with so many people through the school PLQ, and we have improved… Read More

Embracing Italia: Adventures of the Terra Group Begin!

Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educator, Ariana Agrios The Terra group is off and running! We landed in Rome on Wednesday and made our way to Passignano Sul Trasimeno where we’re staying at Panta Rei, a sustainable living community in the hills of Umbria. This week we’ve enjoyed hiking to and from town, exploring the beautiful landscape, making pizza and pasta from scratch, and getting to know each other… Read More

Exploring Xela: Spanish Classes, Hot Springs, and Thrift Store Finds!

Written by Central America Students, Danny Evans & Cleo Miller This week we’re located in Xela! We are starting one-on-one Spanish classes with the beautiful teachers at PLQ. We attended the many events put on by PLQ including a student soccer game and a trip to the hot springs. We stayed in Casa Siebel and made many trips to the Central Park. We also had a blast at the local… Read More

A Day In The Life: Protovillage

Written by Bitsy Bond-Perez, a student from our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi February 29th: From February 25th to March 3rd we are staying in Protovillage! “A prototype of a resilient rural community.” And by rural they mean that, in the state of Andhra Pradesh we are 25 minutes away from the closest village. We are surrounded by all types of trees and plants in mostly flat farmland. Besides the houses… Read More
we are staying in Protovillage!

We’re Getting There

Written by Kailash Biswa and Lucas Barrera, students from our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi Since we came, we’ve been to a lot of places, seeing new things. Temples, shrines, new land…We visited the moon, the sun, and the earth. While we were flying across Russia, 18 hours, 13,000 Kilometers away… We’ve been very busy, going from place to place. Chai shops, watermelon stands, and the loud, busy city of Bangalore.… Read More
feeding time for a koala joey

Beautiful beaches, beautiful animals and beautiful people in the land down under! 🌏 Kyla’s Latitudes Year

Written by Kyla Wendel, 2023-24 Latitudes Student Experiencing the Beauty of Port Douglas Having been in Queensland my last semester, I thought I was prepared for the sheer beauty that is Port Douglas but I was mistaken. Already a month into my stay and I’m still in awe of my surroundings. The beautiful beaches and the tropical trees that surround them are jaw-dropping. I’ve been able to appreciate the natural… Read More
Kora enjoying traditional local cuisine

Kora the Explorer! Latitudes Year in Ecuador

Written by Kora Battleson, 2023-24 Latitudes Student Experience in Camarones, Ecuador: My experience this semester in a small town called Camarones (shrimp) along the coast of Ecuador has been incredible. One thing I love about the work I do is every day is different with some sort of surprise. My week typically begins and ends with a hike through the reserve which usually takes about 4 hours to monitor monkeys.… Read More
Students admiring wall mural

From Cob House Builds to Ancient Mayan Ruins: A Sustainable Adventure in Comalapa!

Written by Central America Students, Ari Cochrane & Jess Solit Greetings from our team’s latest adventure! We ventured to Comalapa to collaborate with Long Way Home (LWH), an organization dedicated to sustainable living and community development. Here’s a glimpse of what we’ve been up to: Learned about sustainable living practices Worked on a retaining wall made out of tires Helped build houses out of cob (dirt, sand, water, pine needles)… Read More
Ariana basks in sunlight on Castelnuovo di Garfagnana's walls

Buongiorno from the Terra Overseas Educators!

Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Ariana and Megan Buongiorno from the Terra Overseas Educators! Ariana and Megan have enjoyed connecting with each of you over this past week in preparation for our European adventure, and we hope you’re as excited as we are that we’ll soon be on our way to Roma! Bellissimo! A few fun facts about your fearless leaders: Irish Dancing Bookworm and Cat Lover Ariana… Read More
Smiling students pose for a group photo against a colorful wall in Antigua

Hola from Antigua: Adventures, Team Building, and Scavenger Hunts!

Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Jasmin & Malcolm Hola a nuestras familias y amigos! We’ve had a great few days in Antigua, one of the larger cities here in Guatemala. Our groups flew into Guatemala City and we made our way to Hostel Hopa, our home for the next few days. Our group was finally together when the LAX crew pulled up and joined us for breakfast after a… Read More
Two individuals ascending a wooden pole together

Greetings from the Shanti Overseas Educators!

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
Two people in front of a mural

Hola from the Quetzal Overseas Educators!

Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Jasmin & Malcolm Hola chiques! We hope everyone is getting as excited for the semester as we are! We’re here in Portland, Oregon at Carpe Diem Headquarters reviewing our program itinerary, policies, curriculum, and more to fully prepare for our time together. This being the first time we’ll lead a trip together, we’ve also been getting to know each other and learned some fun… Read More
students and leaders in the airport on their way home

A Final Letter from your Quetzal Overseas Educators

Written by Central America Overseas Educators Malcolm and Jane Happy end of program to our wonderful students, and to all of their parents and family and friends waiting to greet them at home! This semester simultaneously feels like it flew by, and it feels like we’ve been together and known each other for so much longer than just 10 weeks. We have just enjoyed our last couple days in Costa… Read More