Maddy and Nick here, reporting from the lively city of Labasa on the smaller, Northern Island of Fiji! Our 24 hour travel day started yesterday morning when we said our final goodbyes to Togovere, and it has been hectic but fun as always. After a 3 hour bus ride from Rekireki to Korovou, we found ourselves sitting roadside on our packs for a good part of the day waiting for… Read More
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Bula!
Our final night spent in Togovere village was full of colorful matching bula shirts and dresses, flower garlands, a feast of 18 different dishes, and late night kava drinking with breaks for singing and dancing. We all felt so much love and gratitude extended to us from every member of the village and we certainly gave them our appreciation in return. The next morning after our last… Read More
Varanasi (or Banaras), is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, and also the holiest of all cities in the Hindu faith. It is believed to be the favorite city of Lord Shiva (you should be excited about that, Mom). It is also known as Kashi, the City of Light, although when we arrived on the first night of Diwali, this took on a literal context. As Indian… Read More
Hello family and friends of Nkula!
Kasey here! I am blogging from an internet cafe in Iringa, Tanzania! This week I have a special post for you all. I created a poem to give you a glimpse into our experiences this past week. I hope you enjoy it!
Waving goodbye to Rwanda
Kigali, a city that stole our hearts
The kindness of strangers
Smushed daladala rides
Are you sure we… Read More
After a long and cramped van ride, we arived at Pliek Wewiek Dharma Center. We spent the next four days learning the dharma from the novice monks and our new favorite Australian, Laurie. Besides waking up at 5 am, our time here was very relaxing and contemplative. We walked down to the sala in the morning and sat/slept while the monks recited their prayers in thai and Pali (the origional… Read More
Hey everyone! Indy here. I haven’t posted on the blog in a while so I’ve decided it’s about time.
Wednesday was crazy because of the plans changing unexpectedly. We woke up in Chiang Rai, then took a 4-hour bus ride to Chiang Mai, where we got our bags from storage and then had lunch. I also managed to find time to buy myself a new headlamp at the Rock Climbing… Read More
The last two weeks have been a teeter totter, we were in hill tribes again learning about the Lahu and Akha tribes and working on a support wall for a road to one of the Akha villages. The week was strenuous, working in the mornings and afternoons and spending the rest of the time buried in our rooms sleeping when the roosters weren’t continuing their tirade of calling at all… Read More
On Sunday, October 19, the group said goodbye to Ecuador as we walked through the doors of the Mariscal Sucre Airport. We flew through Lima to Arequipa and were welcomed at the airport by Maria Huaman, who runs Llama Education (the organization that is organizing our Spanish classes and homestays for our two week stay in Arequipa). We were then driven to our various homestays. Connor and I are with… Read More
Namaste!
After a long day of travel from Bodhgaya, we finally made it to the bustling streets of Kolkata. Coming to Kolkata after spending a peaceful day in Bodhgaya e(this letter key does not work)ploring temples, meditating, and rela()ing was a big change of pace. Our days in Kolkata were full of e()ploring the hectic streets, eating delicious and very greasy street food, volunteering for the Mother Theresa Home, and… Read More
Hola from Kaitlin, this week’s Bilbo Bloggins. I am currently in Masaya, Nicaragua, where we are all in one piece after a glorious week of STUDENT DIRECTED TRAVEL. For the past 7 days we have been reponsible for figuring out transportation, accomadationss, and activities for ourselves, guided only by an overall budget and our heart’s desires. And, of course, the Sacred Six.
Our fearless student directed travel leaders Byron, Lucie,… Read More
Hola everyone!
Our group has safely arrived in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. We started at Colibrí Spanish School on Monday, taking classes everyday. Our homestays have been great, as everyone is in their own house and gets their own experience. Our activities this week included exploring the market, talking with college students who spoke English, taking a dance class, playing a fun group game, and watching a movie about the history of… Read More
Bula friends and family!
Diana and Inga here with news from the past week in Tongovere Village. This past week has been full of long and hot but rewarding work days, crazy smiling children following us around, a plethora of delicious papayas, coconuts, bananas, and mangos from trees around the village, and so many welcoming families. We are both rooming together in a big, loving family’s home for this… Read More
The hot and heavy humidity covers me like a blanket, as sweat drips down my for head, and falls towards the floor of the bus. I look to my left and see my friends sticking their heads out the window of our bus, driving from Nadi, Fiji, to Latoka, Fiji. An old Fijian man asks me where I’m from, and I tell him I’m from the states. He speaks fluent… Read More
Our first week in Fiji has been an exciting one! We arrived at the airport and immediately felt the hot, heavy air. After piling all of our belongings, ourselves included, into a van we made our way to the Nadi Downtown Hotel where we would stay for 2 nights. The boys unleashed their inner little girl after finding a large cockroach in the bedroom, which eventually we got used to.… Read More
Dear friends and family,
Our apologies go out for the delay of this post as internet access is limited in Fiji. Included below are highlights from our week of student directed traveling (10/12 to 10/19):
*Stargazing at lake Tekapo on the beach
*$5.50 burgers in town (cheapest we’ve found!)
*Seeing a few wild Kea Parrots
*Eating lunch while a man dressed in camo gear carrying a headless deer on his… Read More
Hello family and friends! Before I begin- this will be a very short, and very brief post. I’ll hit y’all with a bunch of awesome pictures soon, but I lack the technological capabilities to do so at present. We’re finally in Varanasi! After bumping around from place to place for a week, we’ve arrived and begun to settle down for internships, ghat viewings, and other exciting adventures in this holy… Read More
Hello all! Has it been a memorable week! Leaving Deer Park and its peaceful atmosphere was quite a shock as we stumbled onto an eight hour public bus to Amritsar at four in the morning. Needless to say this was a journey in itself. But once we all arrived at the Golden Temple, where we would be staying for two days, it was clear to see that although hectic, it… Read More
Last week we began our tumultuous adventure into the Lahu and Akha villages. Due to some communication breakdowns and language barriers, when we arrived at the Mirror Art Foundation’s base camp, we didn’t know exactly what to expect, but our host Pi Moo quickly filled us in. While we were here, this Thai organization was working with the local hill tribe villages (Akha and Lahu) on a retaining wall project… Read More
We’ve received word that the group has returned from their volunteer project doing flood reparation work with the Akha and Lahu villagers. They have moved on to the Pleek Wiwek Dhamma Centre near Wieng Haeng. We’ll look forward to their next updates as they learn about Theravadan Buddhism and border issues involving the Shan people along the Burmese border.… Read More
