So after three days of being in Bodhgaya, the place where the Buddha received enlightenment, we began our crazy journey to Calcutta. It was not an easy journey to say the least. We were wait listed for seats for the train to Calcutta, which we luckily did make it on; but we had to sleep two to a sleeper bunk on an overnight train. We were suppose to board our… Read More
Bula from Fiji,
Our group’s stay in beautiful Fiji is coming to a close today. We spent the last two weeks in the friendly village of Rewasa near the town of Rakiraki on the north side of Viti Levu island. Our experiences inside the village will always and forever be remembered as a time where two cultures were able to share and take from one an other. The group’s time… Read More
Hey everyone!
We just spent our last few days in the village this week and headed out for our free travel in Nadi this past Wednesday morning. We are now spending some time at a resort in Nadi and have a very early wake up call tomorrow morning to fly out to Auckland! All of us are very excited for a change of scenery but will never forget our beautiful… Read More
I never thought I’d be back in school so soon, but who would’ve expected a school where you could swing in a hamock while sipping coffee in an outdoor classroom? The last two weeks have been nothing but amazing.
Throughout the remainder of our time in Matagalpa the group continued to participate in activities organized by the language school. We visited an organization called Agentes de Cambio (Agents of… Read More
¡Hola Amigos y Familia!
We are currently sitting in the deserted, gringo-opperated internet cafe here in Xela, listening to the daily thunderstorm overhead. This past week has been adventurous, thought-provoking, stomach-inflating, and generally a positive experience for all!
Coming from Pasac (population 1200), the city life in Xela has been a welcomed change. When we`re not spending all of our Quetzales on overpriced hipster cafe food (and by that we… Read More
Hello all,
I am posting from an internet cafe near Pucara. Sorry this will be a really short post but I want all to know that there is no internet in Pucara, so we most likely wont update until Monday when we leave Pucara. However, that is the begining of group directed travel which, depending on what we decide to do, may or may not allow for internet access! Updates… Read More
This shot was taken by Jenny on Grant’s camera during home-based care visits to the sick and vulnerable. During our time visiting each home we encountered sadness, joy, hope, and inspiration mixed in clouds of empathy as we say in Kiswahili “Pole”
Our group has had it’s fair share of health struggles here lately, but all in a matter of perspective after these home based care visits as the majority… Read More
Hello friends and family- Katie here! This morning, our group had to say goodbye to all of our friends that we made in Mufindi.
Before arriving at Igoda Childrens Village (Orphanage+), our group talked about the “single story”. The idea of a “single story” is that it is the stereotypical view or idea of something. So, our single story for an orphanage was that it would be a sad place,… Read More
We’ve just returned from a sticker factory, where we alll designed MAYA 2013 logos to represent our group. As we sat “ohhing” and “ahhing” over the designs and wondering which ones would turn out the best, we were reflecting on each student and thought you all might like a little update on who exactly is forming this wonderful little group. So without further ado, here are Jessica and Brent’s updates… Read More
Greetings from Kampala! Lilly here!
This past week has been incredible. We went white water rafting on the Nile River last Monday and we all had a blast. We went on class 3 and 4 rapids. Nobody fell out and the raft did not tip over. We spent the night at Nile River Camp, which was very much like a resort. We got up early the next morning and took… Read More
Namaste from Bodh Gaya!
It’s been too long since our last post… So sorry friends.
Since the last posts, we’ve been in Jaipur and Varanasi – two very different {amazing} experiences.
A quick list of highlights:
In Jaipur
First of all, our contacts Rekha-ji and Rishi-ji were wonderful teachers and hosts. They truly made every day chock full of Jaipur’s finest. From Hindi lessons to yoga and ancient architecture, our… Read More
Namaste everybody!
This week has been full of surprises and fun activities. We attended the teachings of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, adventured to an amazing waterfall in Bagsu, and we drank boatloads of chai (as usual). We have all been learning Hindi, and apprenticing in trades such as Tibetan Massage, Tibetan cooking, and jewelery making. We had the opportunity to watch a documentary that explained the Chinese occupation… Read More
Greetings from Thailand! We are now back in Chiang Mai, after a fun two weeks with our home stay families. This past week we continued to practice our Thai language skills, rao puut passaa Thai dii maak. Which mean we speak Thai very well. Apart from our lessons, and spending more time with our families getting to know them better. Our teacher ajhan Petchara gave us a mini cooking class,… Read More
Hello friends, families, and loved-ones,
This week we have been living in the beautiful city of Baños! The city is surrounded by mountains and a semi-active volcano. PLEASE NOTE: semi-active means that you cannot go all the way to the top because the volcano can spit out small amounts of lava at times but it is not a threat to us nor does this happen often. That said, some people… Read More
Long days of plastering where off set with plenty of laughs, experiments in food, and learning. Every day we build off the past, both figuratively and literally. Two weeks ago we came in fresh faced and new. Now we’re covered in plaster, and significantly less new.
Ever try a Kool-Aid pickle? Not many of us here have. Experimenting with food is a wonderful way to journey outside ones comfort zone.… Read More
Hola from Baños!
Last week we stayed at a plaintain farm (finca) on the coast of Ecuador. The finca is owned by Juan Carlos, a very nice man with a great personality, and his family. Our mornings were spent learning Spanish from the entire family, split into various groups to study at various places (mostly outside!) at the farm. In the afternoons we did various activities, including visiting a beautiful… Read More
Hello friends and family of the fabulous maya group, since we last updated the blog we have had many adventures. Thursday we explored the beautiful Ixtacapa river, which is about an hours hike from Pasac. After our swim we flew kites that our wonderful guides made for us. We were surprised when they let the kites go, and learned that this is a Mayan tradition symbolizing the release of a… Read More
Bula bula everyone!
We’ve been in Fiji for a little over a week and we are loving it! During the first four days we stayed in pure paradise. The Mango Bay Resort was the perfect place for orientation and to get to know everyone. We left the resort and was a little nervous, but definitely excited about our home stay families. We were very humbled when we saw the homes… Read More
Bula Bula from Rowasa village! Day 10 here in Fiji and we are loving every minute of it. Our group project is coming along great! We have finished on walkway already and are in the process of completing our second. Everyone in the village is super excited and impressed on how fast we completed the first walkway. Not only are we having a great time with everyone in the village,… Read More
