Blog

Guided Semester Closing Ceremony

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI , , , , ,
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

Group Departure!!!!

Archive South Pacific- HONGI , , , , ,
  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

Releasing rehabilitated animals

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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

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

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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

Welp, see ya later.

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT , , , , ,
One last G’day from Down Under! We arise to our final Fanztastic (albeit eerily quiet) day here in Cairns, Australia with the bittersweet feelings of another transformational semester closing. Laughter is shared between Meg and Greg while sipping flat whites alongside the salty sea, largely resulting from tales of Eytan filling in awkward silences with strange verbal segues (what a thrill), Courtney loudly declaring her boredom with Buddhism in her… Read More

There and Back Again, A Hongi Group’s Tale

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“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, Return of the King Hello Carpe fans and fams, So this is it… Eighty-eight days ago ten anxious and confused students stumbled upon each other in an airport knowing they… Read More

Prema Shanti

Archive South Pacific- HONGI , , , , ,
  Namaste all!!!! The group is very happy to let you all know that we are all at peace and found tranquility in our lives….ok maybe not completely peaceful and tranquil, but we are getting closer. We had an amazing time at the Prema Shanti Yoga and Meditation Retreat center in the Daintree Rain forest. Fun fact the Daintree rain forest is the oldest rain forest in the world!!!! Other… Read More

The Great Expanse

Archive South America- INTI , , , , ,
Hola SAM students, friends and family! Well it´s finally happened, our adventure has come to an end. It has been a wild three months of Spanglish, host families, bus rides, llamas, stunning scenery, lots of stairs, and of course, rice, potatoes, yucca and plenty of bananas (sorry Casey). Our South American family has expanded beyond our group of 14 to include Pete in Pucara, Juan Carlos and his family in… Read More

Hearts Full, Coming to Birth

Archive Central America- MAYA , , , , ,
Flight #AV0483 is on-time and awaits an open runway for takeoff. Nine (eleven in spirit) anticipating explorers sit in his or her own reflection, heart-ache, longing, contentment, excitement, appreciation, sadness, and love… Each, a vessel having once been overwhelmed by fiery rain, slowly floats toward Oceans’ surface to meet a new day. There was a time when we stood back, observing from Shores’ safe sands, in awe of Oceans’ expressive… Read More

Good Night, Vietnam!

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI , , , , ,
Big virtual hugs to all friends and family of Seasia 2014!! After a three hour magical ceremony last night full of blindfold whisperings of appreciation, candle light and insane amounts of love, the group spent the morning perfecting and recording our very own original song about the trip (lyrics below): Today we celebrated the amazing Miss B’s birthday and sent the students off into the cool Vietnam eve. Everyone is… Read More

Safari Njema NKULA Crew!

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Dearest Families, Friends and our Beloved Students, We are sitting here in Dar es Salaam, lamenting the recent departure of our little Nkula family but also celebrating the completion of a beautiful semester.  3 months, 3 countries, 10 incredible people – what a journey it’s been!  We’ve been honored to learn, play, grow, and laugh with each of you.  We also want to extend a deep-felt gratitude to family and… Read More

SCUBA!

Archive East Africa- NKULA , , , , ,
As our students are flying through the hemispheres on their way to their next adventures, we wanted to post this last blog written by Savannah on her final day here in Dar Es Salaam (we had some power outage issues, so she determinedly typed it up on the Carpe iPhone so we could post it later).  Check back in later for a final blog from the leaders, and we are … Read More

Group homeward bound!

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT , , , , ,
Hello Parents and followers of Carpe Diem FANZ Walkabout blog, We just received word from Megan and Greg that the students have passed through security and are readying for their journey back home. 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 Greg and Megan) wish the best for all participants and hope that… Read More

Group Departure!!

Archive East Africa- NKULA , , , , ,
Hello Parents and followers of Carpe Diem NKULA East Africa blog, We just received word from Colin and Avy that the students have departed for their journey back home, with some students staying in Europe for personal travels. 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 Colin and Avy) wish the best for… Read More

Shoulda Had Cuidado

Archive South America- INTI , , , , ,
Our asses may be sore and our clothes may smell like five days of sweat and bug spray, but we are alive and well and loving all up on each other for our last day here in South America. To close out the semester, we spent our final week trekking the Salkantay trail through the Andes to visit the Incan treasure, Machu Picchu. Bright and early Monday morning, our guide… Read More

What up from Bolivia!!!

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I have been volunteering at Parque Ambue Ari for the last three months and it has been an unbelievable experience in so many ways. The park is located 6 hours outside Santa Cruz, and sits on a 800 hectares of jungle. I live with no electricity, no hot water, and all the mosquitoes you could ever want, but I love it here. I wake up every morning at 6:45 and… Read More

Going to Miss You When I’m Gone

Archive Central America- MAYA
When I am a grandma sitting on my back stairs drinking horse-bark rootbeer, I’ll think back fondly to this time and all of the wonderful moments shared. Warmest thank you to all those who made it possible especially my family and close friends. To my always supportive mom and pops, that you for teaching me to live life to its fullest. Thank you for instilling in me a love of… Read More

I Will Never Forget

Archive Central America- MAYA
Putting into words how grateful I am for these past three months is a nearly impossible task. There are so many people I would like to thank for my time spent here in Central America. It seems fitting to start with Jason Sarouhan, my gap year counselor at The Center for Interim Programs. I remember calling you between classes last semester, feeling so lost about what I wanted to do… Read More

Ryans Gratitude

Archive Central America- MAYA
Wow! The past three months have gone by in a flash. Four different countries, multiple cities, four plane rides, eleven amazing beautiful faces, and about fivty two gallo pintos later, we have finally reached the end. It is a bitter sweet day here on the stunning island of Roatan, Honduras. I owe so much of this amazing experience to my amazing group. Over the past few months you all have… Read More