We can’t believe it’s already time for our incredible cohort of 2014 Latitudes Students to take off!
The past two days have been jam packed and we’d love to thank all of our students for being so attentive, helpful, engaged, and hilarious.
We’d also like to thank all of the guest speakers who came to help us out and inspired us along the way. We hosted an alumni panel in… Read More
The Latitudes Team is so thrilled to announce that our Fall Orientation has kicked off!
We are gathered in a beautiful forested retreat center just outside of Portland. With just one flight delay all day long, everyone has safely arrived at the orientation center. We’ve explored the camp, dipped our toes in the river, played some get-to-know-you games, and had a fantastic introduction from Carpe Diem’s Executive Director Drew Edwards.… Read More
Amigos! We are writing this from beautiful, community-filled, Outdoor-Educator-Learning-Heaven (aka Portland)! We are eagerly awaiting our chance to meet you all and see your bright shining faces at the airport in just seven short days. We have been in Portland training for about a week, and have been so excitedly focused on gearing up for our trip! We will continue to be in Portland for another week until we… Read More
Excitement is growing as our departure day quickly approaches for our upcoming adventure to South America. Ryan and I (Cheridyn) are here in Portland at Carpe Leader training, busy with preparations. To you amazing 12 students who will be joining us on this adventure, let us know if you have any questions or needs as you continue with your preparations.
After three nights of camping in the woods, it was… Read More
Habari Rafiki? Tuna Furaha!
Mandy and Colin here! We are hanging out in Portland, Oregon getting ready for our awesome semester with ya’ll! As you can see below we are a playful pun-ee pear and are excited to share. Oregon has been great, East Africa is going to be better!!!!!!!!!
‘Asante sana, squash banana, we we nuga, mi mi apana’
–Dyco (manDY and COlin)… Read More
Greetings team Walkabout!
Brett and Nina here reporting from our Portland scavenger hunt as we simultaneously have some fun and also prepare for our adventure together. This afternoon we took some time to soak in a few of the local sights here in Portland. Our first stop was McMenamins Kennedy school for a relaxing dip in the soaking pool. Formerly an elementary school, you can now book a night… Read More
After four glorious days of camping with Carpe family (and two good cleanings), Jeremy and Audrey hit the streets of Portland for exploration, scavenger hunt madness, and conspirings of a beautiful India adventure to be. The adventure began with coffee at Anna Bananas coffee shop. Once (de)caffeinated Jeremy and Audrey enjoyed delicious Thai food and tasty ice cream, they biked all around sharing stories and enjoying the sights and sounds… Read More
With our scavenger hunt wrapped up and the final super moon of the summer having guided us home, we – Matt and Gwen – are full of bliss and more excitement than ever to begin our East African adventure with all of you!
Today was a welcome window into the lifestyle that we will soon all be sharing: learning about the region we are living in through exploration, humor… Read More
A big ‘Sawasdee’ from your leaders Topher and Lindsay!
In one short week, we’ll be meeting your smiling faces in San Francisco and we couldn’t be more thrilled about it! Perhaps you’re all wondering what we’ve been doing to pass the time until then. We’ve spent the last week in Portland, getting to know each other, and basking in the stellar company of our fellow group leaders and the Portland… Read More
It’s trip prep time here at Carpe Diem!
After a few days spent camping and bonding outside the city, nestled among the trees enjoying the crisp Autumn air, we are back in the glorious city of Portland!
Today we got the chance to have some urban adventures together and continue to get to know each other and learn how totally cool we each are. Ashley grew up in the suburbs… Read More
Greetings, dingos! We’ve just spent an AUSSSSSOME day adventuring ’round the beautiful city of Portland, channeling our inner-explorers, consuming fine literature (children’s books count, right?) and overdosing on delicious coffee and funky donuts. It’s hard to believe we’ve only been friends #IRL for about a week – and we can’t (freakin’) wait to say the same thing about you all after we *finally* meet next Tuesday!
As we enter… Read More
Reflecting back on this whole experience I still cannot believe it actually happened. Leaving the country for my first time ever in September I was scared and clueless about the world that stood in front of me. I was however, eager to learn and ready to get out of my little town in Pennsylvania. Now I’m in beautiful Peru making my mark. In February when I arrived in Lima, the… Read More
I’ve now spent 6 weeks here at KSTR bonding with the workers and becoming an important part of the team. I believe I previously mentioned that Sam and Barb are the backbones of the clinic. Well Barb has decided to retire from working at the clinic full time. She’s worked wry hard for quite some time so it’s not much of a shock to any of us. However this means… Read More
…..where even though it’s winter the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the animals are still very active. For the last month and a half I have been volunteering with Wildlife Act, an organization that monitors key animals on various reserves in the KwaZulu-Natal province. These animals are either endangered, threatened, or are highly vulnerable to poaching. Amongst these animals you have lion, rhino, elephant, leopard, and wild… Read More
Bula Vinaka! Bula Vinaka!
Hello to all our wonderful friends from all over the States! Our time together as a group may have just come to an end, but all your journeys are only beginning. The best journeys answer questions, that in the beginning, you never even thought to ask. We hope that some of your life questions (both known and unknown) were contemplated and pondered during our adventures in… Read More
By now, the group has all safely arrived back home! Topher and Julia are still kickin it on the beach in Vietnam closing out the semester and tying up all loose ends.
As promised, the guided semester reflection we shared during the closing ceremony is below (sorry family and friends…this might not make much sense to you, but ask group members questions about the prompts for some funny, intense, and… Read More
Hello Parents and followers of Carpe Diem FANZ HONGI blog,
We just received word from Mac and Gwen that the students have passed through security and are in the air on their way back to USA or New Zealand.
This marks the end of this program, but not the end to the growth, friendships, and knowledge gained during these past 3 months. We (including Gwen and Mac) wish the… Read More
Ive been here at KSTR for a month now, and I’ve loved every day. The workers here have become like a second family. The days are getting longer as I am given more and more responsibilities, but I do what I can to help. We recently released one of the owls I was in charge of so that was awesome. We also released a titi monkey who had been electrocuted,… Read More
Impoverished, destitute, hopeless. All words I have heard used to describe the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The only information that most people have about life on reservations (nevertheless Pine Ridge, who’s reputation for poverty is known globally) is extremely limited and negative, having primarily come from a tiny bit of representation in the media. And I’ll be the first to admit that before educating myself, I too was one of… Read More
