Greetings from Topher and Julia, your super excited leaders who spent the day running around Portland getting to know each other on a magical scavenger hunt across town.
The excitement is building here in Portlandia. Early morning yoga stretch sessions, Ā costume bowling parties, and fresh hot doughnuts fill our bodies and spirits. Ā Visions of new adventures bounce about our intrepid brains during brief and precious moments of much needed rest. Ā … Read More
I have just completed my, three and a half month long, Latitudes adventure, in Los Angeles. In retrospect it was one of the best experiences that I have ever had. I have been volunteering, Monday through Thursday, for about 7 hours a day at the Childrens Hospital in LA. More specifically I had the privilege to work in the Arts program. So I had the unique opportunity to come… Read More
It seems strange that after weeks of posting exciting stories and group photos, I am just writing to say that I am home safe and sound!Ā My time at homeĀ has been filled with seeing family & friends, telling lots of stories, and looking at all of our photographs from the past three months. It has been wonderful to be back at home, but I also am feeling homesick for… Read More
Hey everyone!
Here are a few photos from our time in Zanzibar. Ā We are so grateful for all of the awesome people we met throughout our journey and for the people back home who made it possible for us to have this experience. Ā Peace & NKULA.
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An early morning ride across the island landed us at the Matemwe Beach. After 3 months of roughing it we were awed by our resort accommodation on a perfect white sand beach with clear turquoise waters, hammocks under palm trees, and flowers on our beds. This final leg of our journey brought us here to get our PADI Open Water SCUBA Diver certification. We jumped right into classes and pool… Read More
As requested, here are the prompts for our guided meditation on our incredible journey!! After Ā leading you through the relaxation we asked you to steady your mind, your heart, your breath and remember the…
First moment you heard one of our voices on the phone talking to you about the adventure ahead
New faces in San Francisco
First massage circle on the floor and the dance party in the dark… Read More
It’s official – the mighty Shiva crew has parted ways and everyone is on to the next chapter of their adventures!
As Paff prepars to board a plane to Indonesia and Avy packs for a 38 hour train ride to Southern India,we wanted to take a minute to send each of our Shiva crew a little love, and also thank all of the parents, friends, and family who have supported… Read More
A gracious goodbye, bittersweet bon voyage, and a heartwarming hello: this is the final blog post. Back home, my friends and family know I’m not always great at goodbyes but this is no ordinary goodbye. I’m writing on behalf of the amazing, hilarious, adventurous, and charismatic Hongi group that have worked, traveled, eaten, and lived together for 12 weeks. A simple sign off wouldn’t be fair.
If you read back… Read More
Yes, tis official….Grupo Shanti is no longer on Indian soil, having departed late last night en route to San Francisco (well, actually, Ian has the great fortune of heading to Paris!). From San Fran, they’ll say farewell and travel to their own destinations, to families and friends eagerly awaiting their arrival and the many stories to be heard. Welcome home, Shanti!
Three months of travel in India can hardly be… Read More
Hey guys!
Today is our very last day in Cairns to veg out before our flight home tomorrow. We have been enjoying our decompression day by walking around and exploring the beautiful city of Cairns. We have spent the past week taking part in a class to get scuba certified. The class involved, watching introduction videos on diving, practicing surface and underwater skills in a pool (such as mask removal,… Read More
We want to thank everyone for an unforgettable journey through this land most commonly know as the Southwest U.S.A., whose true names go back far beyond our contemporary imagination and which are spoken in many ancient tongues. Ā Thank you to all the people that took us in, that fed us and gave us shelter, and for all they have shared with us of their personal lives and precious cultures that… Read More
Dear friends and family,
I wanted to start this entry with “As our trip comes to an end…” or perhaps “As our journey winds down…” Ā Maybe if I was feeling especially poetic, I might begin: “As the curtain falls on our Latin American adventure…” Ā BUT how can I truthfully write about the end when all the faces and laughs and peanut butter memories keep playing through my head. Ā We’ve been… Read More
Hola friends and family of our Itza family! We had an incredible last day in Roatan, which included a day trip to West Bay, where we lounged and swam in one of the most beautiful beaches that we have ever seen. About half the group even got to go on a final dive the last day, swimming in underwater galaxies with many little fishes, eels and turtles by our sides.… Read More
Student Directed Travel begins at our new hostel called El Retiro. Ā With a lovely bar restaurant right on the river, we go tubing, hot tub, sauna and have lots of good food. Ā Including our Thanksgiving feast! Ā We go on the most amazing candle lit cave dive filled with beautiful rock formations, waterfalls and cannonballs š Ā Some of us go off this giant river swing into the water, followed by tubing… Read More
We’ve received word that the mighty Shiva group has checked into the airport in Delhi and begun the journey homeward. Here’s a final picture of the handsome crew. We’re wishing them traveling mercies as they return to their loved ones. Keep an eye out for a final blog posting from Shiva leaders Matt and Avy.
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We bawled our eyes out after taking this photo as everyone went through customs, got their passports stamped and waved final goodbyes. After we said goodbye we bargained for a taxi back into the city. We did laundry in the sink in the afternoon. We ate bright red, spicy chicken and french fries at a street stall in the evening. We fell asleep to the sound of our ceiling fan… Read More
Time is supposed to move slowly on a tropical island, right? Not for this naturally nomadic crew. We FILLED the last 2 weeks of our semester so full that we had trouble finding enough time to post a final blog about all our Zanzibar adventures. We gave it a good shot but internet cafes were always full, computers were too slow to upload our beautiful beach sunset photos, or it… Read More
HEY!
Our last post left off in Bikaner, home of the Camel Man and the desert in which we safaried through atop smelly camels.
Early in the morning on December 7th, we rickshawed our way to the train station and spent two 6 hour train rides playing tai-pan and laughing, finding ourselves in a foggy midnight Agra, eager to see the Taj Mahal the next morning.
The day of the… Read More
Team leaders Brooke and Greg offered their final goodbyes on December 9th (Asia Time) 2013. In a rushed yet emotionally sincere exchange at the airport in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam the final weeks student leaders, along with Greg and Brooke, scrambled to collect everyones bags and set the crew on their way back home. After three months of deliberate living, intentional action and service offerings to life, we parted ways,… Read More
