Q: What was the most challenging part of this week for you?
A: “Rafting. It was stressful getting stuck in the rocks so often and it was cold and wet.”-Ben
Q: What personal challenges did you overcome?
A: “I pushed myself physically more than I thought I could.”-Melissa
Q: How does it feel to have been away from home so long?
A: “I like being away from home and I… Read More
Hello friends and family of the Carpe Diem Hongi group! This last Sunday on the 28th we arrived at the Blue Mountain Adventure Center (BMAC), wet and cold from the morning downpour and exhausted still from the eight hour bus ride into National Park the previous day. It was a surprise to all of us that BMAC resided only 5 kilometers or so from the hostel we had stayed the… Read More
Since the last time I’ve posted we have been at home stays in villages outside Mae Rim and most recently we have finished trekking into the Hill tribes of northern Thailand.
Home stay for me was an incredible experience, although Chiang Mai was great i was ready to get out of the big city. I stayed with the family of a rice farmer by the name of Por Duang. He… Read More
Even though we have only visited four different cities and villages in Northern India, it is already apparent how diverse the landscape, culture, and people can be. We have seen the dry quiet mountains of the arid village of Jhadol. We have seen the temples and camels reflected in the lakes of Udaipur. We have seen the absolute chaos that somehow comes together to create Delhi. And we have seen… Read More
It`s been an incredible week in the beatiful city of Baños, Ecuador. The week was spent perfecting our Spanish, volunteering, and living with host families.
Everyone has had a different story to tell about their host families. Some good, others not so great. Yael and I were lucky enough to be placed in a beautiful house with a sweet family and the most adorable cat, Katrina. While living with our… Read More
The Inti group with Lorena and the Spanish teachers at Raices language school.
View of Baños at night.
Flowers at the entrance to the language school.
Getting ready for rafting!… Read More
This blog just came in from Eric M, with pictures added by the leaders!
We began our week at the Mufindi Children’s Village, a small community
nestled in a rural region of rolling hills and wind swaying trees.
This NGO provides a home and learning environment for children who
have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, or for the other odd reason. Our
first experience was to undertake many hours of… Read More
Hi all! Rachel here. Since you last heard from us we have left our home stays on gone on a three day trek. On the last night of our home stays we had a closing ceremony with our families where we gave speeches in Thai and said good bye to our hosts. The evening ended with us floating lotus flowers we made from banana stalks and leaves in a pond… Read More
Hello Carpe friends and family!
The blog for this week may seem a bit rushed because I’m (Leine) filling in for our dear sick friend Makenna who is resting away an illness.
This week we have returned from our sweaty but rewarding trek, to McLeod Ganj, the home of the Dalai Lama (who we will be seeing tomorrow morning!) We took an extra night to clean off and rest before… Read More
I don’t want to leave this city, forgive me. Baños, Baños. The place I live like being at home, the city I promise to visit every year, the homeland of people I love.
Wake up every morning in Lorena’s house, take in the fresh air by a deep breath, and then have delicious breakfast prepared by Lorena’s mother. We have Spanish class every morning. Every teacher is super patient and… Read More
After some last minute bakery runs we all jumped into vans and drove to Xela. And well, here we are again, back in Xela. We have all had a fantastic week studying spanish at Casa Xelaju. It was a little nerve racking at first because minutes after we arrived at Casa Xelaju on the first day we were off to meet the families we would be living with for the… Read More
Hello friends and family of Nkula!!
I am sitting in an internet cafe in the lovely town of Kabale, Uganda. We took a nine hour bus ride to get here, through some of the most beautiful mountains most of us have ever seen. We’re nestled in between a couple of them, enjoying the fresh, mostly unpolluted air, blue sky, and chilled weather. It’s nice to wear sweatshirts for a change!… Read More
Q: What is your happiest memory from being on the Hart family farm?
Justin S: Probably the first day that we arrived when we were overwhelmed with the beauty all around us and the activities we were about to take part in.
Q: What is the one lesson or value you took away from being at the farm?
Holly B: It taught me that it’s possible for people to be… Read More
By Karinne Dadigan and Melissa Zegnoev
This past week we found our home away from home at the Hart family farm (Mangarara). The owners, Rachel and Greg, along with Nikki and Shane, showed us how to work hard for a purpose and truly treated us like family. Every person in our group was impacted in so many ways. From domestic chores to manual labor outside (the best kind), we truly… Read More
Hello everyone! Maddie here from an internet cafe in Xela, Guatemala. Why am I here do you ask? Well, I had a minor setback while on the trek. Heres how the story goes…
After waking up in the wee hours of early morning( 4 am), we got all our stuff and got ready to set out on our trekk. We all took a van out to the area where we… Read More
Hello from the Himalayas! We just finished our trek and are staying in McLeod Ganj for the week.
On the plane ride from San Francisco to Hong Kong, I had an OE for Southeast Asia tell me “while India is easily the biggest pain-in-the-butt country to be a traveler, it is without a doubt the most beautiful and rewarding place to experience.” How these words have reigned true. Just from… Read More
It was a very eventful week for Carpe Diem Quetzal. After a beautiful drive through the Guatemalan countryside, the group arrived at scenic Escuela de la Montaña, excited and eager to improve our broken español. Candice, the owner and operator of the school was extremely kind, hospitable, and made us feel right at home. Shortly after a quick orientation of the school, we dove right into our cultural immersion and… Read More
Creamy – by Karinne Dadigan
The farm was creamy, absolutely creamy. The walks outside, the view from the deck, the everyday early rituals and connection with the land and animals was all a creamy sensation. You look at the moments, and the views, and you want to eat them up. The oars in the water as you kayak, the soil that runs through your hands, the cup of tea that… Read More
