Bula friends and family,
This past week has been our free travel! As a group we found a great local hostel in Coral Coast right on the beach. The hospitality and smiles of the Fijian people has welcomed us into their lives. The hostel offered many activities to choose when and what we wanted to do. We took advantage of the day trip to islands where we got to… Read More
Daydreaming about adventure? Restless with wanderlust? Wonder what it would be like to sail around the world or curious about indigenous peoples of the Amazon?
Us too. Here at Carpe Diem we’re always looking for ways to fuel that desire to explore.
That’s why we’d love to introduce you to these TED talks. Fair warning: you might need to clear out your schedule for the rest of the day because… Read More
I really hadnt thought to much about what adventures were coming my way, the people I was going to meet, or things I was going to see. I was pretty open to whatever Peru had to offer and eager to get down there and start my journey. My backpack is only about half full as I really dont need much, knowing that the majority of my time will be… Read More
One month has passed since arriving here in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. I have been learning the ways of the African Elephant Research Unit here at the Knysna Elephant Park. It is absolutely beautiful here! As part of the research team, my job is mostly to monitor all the elephant's behaviours and interactions. Here, there are 18 captive elephants that are split into three herds. The main herd has 7… Read More
It's a relief to be back out in the world after getting a taste of it last fall. This time around I traveled to an island in Thailand called Koh Tao to work as an intern in a marine conservation program. All the magic is based out of a small, beachside dive shop called New Heaven Dive School.
The journey to get here… The journey was long yet very interesting. The… Read More
Bula! We safely arrived in Fiji after two very long days and two flights. We were warmly welcomed by a Fijian music trio in the airport before Fijian customs welcomed us a little more harshly (11 of us were detained). Thankfully we all made it out safely and are now chilling at a small villa and waiting out super cyclone pam. What a welcome!
We all had an excellent time… Read More
Greetings family and friends,
After many great experiences in New Zealand it was time to embark on a new journey; Fiji. After a short and much anticipated 3 hour flight, we arrived in Fiji! We started our time at the Bamboo Beach hostel outside of Nadi. Highlighted by kava ceremonies and picking out sulus in the city of Nadi, many group members got a taste of Fijian traditions. After a… Read More
We stayed on a beautiful farm on Lake Atitlan. This lake is northern of Guatemalan, in the highlands of the Sierra Madre de mountain range. Everyone here is very nice and friendly. Every morning we practice meditation at 6 a.m, and yoga sessions at 6:30 a.m. On this yoga farm they grow their own food and herbs. Every meal is vegan and gluten free, we also had fresh pineapples, strawberries,… Read More
Hinduism, and so India, had begun to make sense to our group thanks to plentiful immersion and instruction. We had started to understand this colorful country and its colorful religion as we left Varanasi for Bodhgaya. But since the nature of seeing the world is surprise after surprise, we were thrown for a loop as we arrived in this new city of Buddhism, where the Buddha is said to have… Read More
Dear families out there,
In case you haven't heard, we're in Kolkata this week! Each day, we've been getting up at 6 am and splitting up to go spend the mornings doing service at our chosen Mother Theresa home– some of us are working with physically or developmentally disabled kids, some of us are working with older mentally disabled women, and some of us (including me!) are working in the… Read More
This week has been our student directed travel. We started in Tena and stayed for two extra days to go see the Jumandi Caves. We had a great time there in the dark. After that day in Tena we bought our tickets to Otalavo. After a long bus ride it was really relieving to get to a nice hostal, but figuring out who was going to stay in wich room… Read More
I have been in Sri Lanka for a month now and it has been nothing short of an adventure. When I told people where I was going to be spending the next three months, most of the responses I got went something like this, "Isn't that in Africa?" or, "You know that elephants are really big, right?" I politely responded with a bit of a geography lesson and a… Read More
"Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning."
~Gloria Steinem
The Vision
I work amongst dreamers. We believe in possibilities, in saying yes, and in all of the infinite potential of this world and of each other. We believe in the extraordinary, and we believe in the power of "what if…" We value growth and transformation, and … Read More
Our group arrived at "Blue Mountain Adventure Center" and the first day we got to canoe across a lake to the island where we camped under a tarp listening to the rain. We learned how not to leave a trace in the outdoors and shared personal stories as the sun went down. The next day we went caving after we canoed back from the island. We all thought it was… Read More
Our month in New Zealand was most definitely one to remember. From our scavenger hunt in the city of Wellington on the first day, to celebrating our last night in NZ by going out to dinner in Auckland, It was Awesome! Here are some pictures highlighting our time spent in New Zealand:… Read More
So it seems I am back abroad, in the heart of Southern India. I am volunteering in Prema Vasam, a home for children both disabled and not. After my twenty hours of plane rides and a scary taxi ride to my hotel (it was nighttime), I finally got to bed. When I got into my room I immediately began sobbing and wondering what was the quickest way to go home.… Read More
Greetings fellow latitudes students and other readers! I am Maddy Karsten from Michigan, and I was a part of the Nkula East Africa fall semester! After much deliberation, I decided to go to Cusco, Peru for my FVP and live and work at the Healing House- a holistic living community that offers yoga and meditation classes all day long. I have been here just over two weeks. To be honest,… Read More
Hope this post finds you all well and happy wherever you may be out there!
After a two day trek through the Northern hills of Thailand we have found ourselves back in our near and dear city of Chiang Mai- a place we've grown increasingly familiar with over the past few weeks. Each day has felt so much longer here and it's hard to believe that our trek was just… Read More
After a bittersweet farewell to the children at SNEC, we headed to Bukinda primary school for four more days of home-cooked meals (Mexican food galore!) and goofing around with kids. It wasn't all just fun and games; however, as we helped construct a play structure and tire swing using fresh lumber and assisted in teaching a few lessons. While the workload wasn't super heavy, our abundant free time allowed us… Read More
I just got word that the group landed and is safe and sound in Fiji. They are soaking up the sun and preparing for their student directed travel this week!… Read More
