Blog
Rwanda
Last week our Nkula group drove to Rwanda from Uganda. We immediately felt a difference as the dusty red road turned to smooth pavement over the border. The drive itself was probably the easiest thus far because we were in a private bus, not packed with a zillion other people.
We entered Kigali (the nations capitol), and were taken back by the infrastructure. There were sky scrapers, side walks, and… Read More
The Unspoken Words
Hello everyone, Damian here, it’s my turn to write this weeks blog. I’ve noticed that there’s an absence of photos, so this week I thought that I would change it up a bit and post visuals for the great descriptions previous bloggers have mentioned. Before I get to that, here’s an update of what’s been going on since our last post. Our last few days at the turtle conservation felt… Read More
Angkor Wat
Third and last post from me (Emma)- I promise! Today we enjoyed the ancient and beautiful ruins at Angkor Wat. One of the 8 Wonders of the world, this was one of the most stunning places I have ever been to, and I think many members of the group agreed. Our group watched the sun set last night over the magnificent brick structures, and woke up at 4:30 this morning… Read More
Goodbye Thailand, Hello Cambodia!
Hello from Cambodia! This is Emma again, and I am writing from a internet cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We arrived a few nights ago after 2 extremely long days of bus travel, including a pretty smooth border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia. We are all enjoying a free afternoon, and are mostly trying to stay cool in this heat. It is currently 98 degrees here, and we have not… Read More
Pics from the past week
View of the mountains from Arequipa The whole group in Arequipa’s main plaza. Making chocolate at the Albergue (home for girls). More chocolate making! Working on a painting project at the Albergue. … Read More
Getting down and dirty at Sentry Hill
This week on hongi student adventures, we departed from theĀ warmĀ stay with the Maori and arrived at Sentry Hill, a WWOOFing farm. ( World Wide Organization of Orgainic Farmers). PJ, Tom and their three awesome kids, were our amazing hosts that kept usĀ organizaed and made us feel right at home.We sweated hard as we herded and milked cows, cleaned paddocks, and forĀ Liz and AnnieĀ castrated bulls. Even… Read More
Chiang Mai and Sukothai
Sawtdeekha everyone- this is Emma here, writing as the designated blogger this week from a small internet cafe in Sukothai, Thailand. We arrived here yesterday afternoon and already have made many great memories in the last 24 hours at this new place! Today was a day full of unexpected rain, joy and lots of laughter. It is definitely one we will never forget!
We left Chiang Mai yesterday morning, after… Read More
Arequipa Part I
Heya! So, you might already know, but we’re in Ā PerĆŗ! Ā After just over a month in Ecuador, we left it via a very early taxi ride and plane trip last weekend. Ā Arequipa, our Peruvian city for the past and next week, has been kind to us. Ā For the most part. Ā The pickpocketing warnings that we had been given before our arrival were given for good reason. Ā Two of our group… Read More
Kia ora!
“Kia ora” is the Maori greeting, like hello, directly translating to “be well and healthy.” Our week with the Maori has flown by. Our days have been jam packed, getting up early and working hard all morning, and finishing the day off seeing some of the beautiful sites New Zealand has to offer.
We arrived at the Marae (the communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes) on… Read More
Hola from Cochabamba!
I have been in Bolivia for about 6 weeks now. My experience thus far has been very different than I imagined. It was really hard for me when I first arrived in Cochabamba for my homestay and Spanish lessons. I felt so overwhelmed and lonely, being in a new county by myself where I don’t speak the language. I wanted to jump right back on a plane and come home.… Read More
Pictures Worth A Thousand Words…
The whole crew on our last day in Uganda!
Love to all from Rwanda, “the land of 1,000 hills.” We appreciate all of you who are following our journey and equally appreciate all of your patience with the sometimes-slow internet connections out here in East Africa that can make posting images difficult. We wanted to take advantage of a faster connection to throw up a few f or… Read More
Turning obstacles into opportunities in Peru (photos to come!)
Three months alone in a foreign country is a long time.Ā It can be intimidating and overwhelming, especially when you go into it alone. When I first got to my placement in Cusco, Peru, I didnāt know what to do with myself. I was incredibly lost, and lonely. For the first two weeks I wondered if I had made the right choice by coming here.
At the beginning of my… Read More
Pura Vida
Few words have but one definition. To wrap up our week in Matagalpa, talent reared its many heads in our desolibri Spanish School. To start us off, Easten and Ryan demonstrated the power of teamwork by being the respective arms of Amelia and Damian. Essentially making a really terrific, talented mess. Next up was Nattie, who resourcefully glued cordabas to the bottom of some toms to perform some tap dancing… Read More
Sawatdeekah from Chiang Mai!
Here in Thailand, I am thoroughly exhausted, sunburned, and smiling. Truthfully, I have never been happier. When I first touched down in Chiang Mai, after many requests to stay home while the political unrest blew over but coming anyways, I was delighted and exhausted. Here I was, alone in a country. No friends, no acquaintances, just a name and an organization that would be my home for the next four… Read More
Pleek Wiwek Dharma Center
Hey everybody its Karenna!
I’m writing to ya’ll from home base in Chiang Mai as we spend our final rest days in this now familiar city. Ā THe past week has been filled with daily meditation and morning and evening chanting, as we enjoyed the company of the novice and full monks at the Pleek Wiwek Dharma Center located just a few minuets from the Burmese boarder. Ā While there our days… Read More
We are in the “land of the endless white cloud!”
We went for a hike with Richard (a member of Ngati Whatua tribe we were staying with) who led us up Mt. Atuanui. The weather was far from ideal: rain, serious winds, and cold temperatures were all tough for most of us. Richard led us up a ridge where the wind and rain nearly knocked us us off our feet! After a short walk we entered the rainforest and were… Read More
Happy Traveling!
Sadly we had to leave one of our group members in Nadi. Jess, after a lot of thought, decided to return home for family reasons. Our hearts are with him and his family at this time and we hope he’s doing okay stateside!
We arrived in Auckland after some difficult moments. As if our daily activities didn’t throw us enough curve balls in Nananu (we love the curve balls), we… Read More