So our semester is coming to a close and it has been a crazy and amazing experience. I have learned tons about Buddhism and Hinduism and even some Jainism. I have been blessed with the most magical group and couldn’t have gotten luckier. We have all shared our ups and downs and everything in between. It is a crazy thought that for my next shower I will be at home.… Read More
As I reflect on these past three months as a whole experience, it is difficult for me to come up with one cohesive piece of writing to sum it up.
It is easiest to talk about the more concrete internal and external changes that have taken place. The reasons why those changes have taken place here and now will have to wait. Family: We have built a family together. We… Read More
Free travel started off in Rishikesh, a beautiful, mountainous region near the Ganges filled with yoga-loving backpackers, and ended with an epic camel trek in the deserts of majestic Jaisalmer. Rishikesh was fun and relaxing for the Carpe Shiva group. We got in a fair amount of down time filled with good food (Oasis hummus being a fave of mine) and shopping (Lil and I got Punjab suits custom made!)… Read More
The writing of this post came at a time when I was (and still am) struggling to figure out how I would possibly describe and explain my experience here to family, friends, and even casual enquirers once back at home. For you Carpe students about to embark on your own journeys here in India, though, there is no point in trying to explain it… each of us will have had… Read More
A warm hello to everyone reading back at home! The group just re-entered civilization after an awesome 5 day outback experience with WayOutback tours. Our guide, Tamara, took great care of us while we all got acclimated to the 40+ degree desert lifestyle. We left Alice Springs on December 1st bright and early in the morning so that we could get to camp in time to hike around the famous… Read More
This week has been full of amazing experiences.
Let’s look at a normal day in the life of a Turtle conservation volunteer:
7pm: shift #1 starts
11pm: shift #1 ends – shift #2 begins
4am: shift #2 ends
7-8am: breakfast (optional, lots of people slept through it.)
12-1pm: Lunch (the more popular first meal of the day, depending on your shift the previous night)
1-6pm: hang out, read, sleep, rest,… Read More
Our adventure from Ometepe began with the very rocky boat ride back to main land Nicaragua. Cheridyn, Elise and I had a pretty normal boat ride, excluding the very bad dog horror movie that was playing for the duration of the boat ride. And then it hit us, a huge wave came through the window onto us and our bags just as we were turning into the dock! We weren’t… Read More
After leaving Tyler’s home in Playa Maderas, we began our free travel by spending Thanksgiving Day in nearby San Juan del Sur, where people could call their families at an Internet Cafe while others were able to secure transport and reserve a few nights at a hostel to our first destination. After a number of discussions, our group decided to all go to Isla de Ometepe, an island formed by… Read More
We started student-directed travel with a bang! Sarah and Tully (who are writing you now) headed the first leg of this massive operation. We decided to go to Bikaner and explore the massive state of Rajastan which includes the Thar desert. Pray tell, what is the best method of desert exploration? CAMELS! That’s right, we did indeed decided to do a camel safari to kick off our last leg of… Read More
Sorry for the delay 😀Kailash-La again, wrapping up the our last week of planned travel here in the beautiful mountainside town of Mcleod Ganj, the home of the one and only, Mr. Lama himself. It took some serious skills of bus hoping to get here, but we finally arrived early afternoon on Thursday just in time to meet Neema La. Neema La is the fantastic woman who helped organize … Read More
After discusions and discusions we came to a conclusion on where to go during free travel: Lake Titikaka, the biggest lake in South America. To get there we reserved a posh bus from Cuzco to Puno that served Coca-Cola and coca tea, had a buffet lunch and stopped at a church, Incan ruins and a museum. Each stop had local women that sold artisan crafts to the gringo tourists visiting… Read More
There is a song by Guns and Roses that starts off “Welcome to the Jungle, we´ve got fun and games¨ and continues with ¨Welcome to the jungle we take it day by day. If you want it you’re gonna bleed but it’s the price to pay¨ and that is just what we had to do to have an awesome time in the Amazon Jungle.
We traveld from Cusco to a… Read More
Hari om (namaste, rishikesh version)!
It’s been awhile since we’ve last posted, so there is a lot to catch everyone up on.
Going back in time about two weeks ago- we were in the wonderful city of Darjeeling for three days to relax after our trek. Darjeeling is an absolutely magical hill station located in North eastern India, surrounded by rolling hills and the Himalayas. It is well known for… Read More
Hola!
Here I will pick up from where our own lovely Robin Berk left off from her last blog post. As all of our followers know, we had a lovely thanksgiving dinner upon our arrival to the “Bay of the Pirates”, which is a fairly remote beach on the western coast of Costa Rica. The journey there consisted of a few hours via public bus with a few transfers but… Read More
In the spirit of choosing our own adventures, we decided on Monday to split into two groups: Abby and Ole headed off towards the crimson rock spires surrounding the town for a hike while Hannah, Mike and I opted to have our own “urban” hiking adventure. We set off from the Super 8, our home for this leg of our trip, towards a part of Sedona referred to as “Uptown”… Read More
G’day family and friends!We’ve had an eventful week here in Australia that began in the lovely city of Brisbane!After arriving in Brisbane last Monday, we all headed out to explore the city. Some of us shopped, explored, went to museums, or just layed on the public “beach” and tanned. Our 3 days in Brisbane ended with a lovely Thanksgiving brunch with our new Carpe family. While this … Read More
Bienvenidos to all the Parents, Friends, Acquaintances, and whomever else is reading this blog.
As we bade our farewells to Nicaragua, we are again faced with the bittersweet transition of leaving a country we have grown to love, while also anticipating with excitement the adventures ahead. As Thanksgiving rolled around and we traded in the roosters whose cockles woke us up every morning in lieu of the sea turtles… Read More
¡Hola Amigos!
As our time with Project WOO (http://www.projectwoo.org/) came to an end, we reflected back on the amazing week we had. Who could forget all the hard work that we put into the repair and beautification of the elementary school´s fence, the time we put in teaching lessons, and the rewarding experience of working alongside the members of the community, children and adults alike? In addition, our… Read More
Guat is over. The section was fun while it lasted. We had a flawless travel day coming into Nicaragua. We spent are first few days in Granada.Most of Granada’s streets are narrow, as the city evolved centuries before the advent of motorized vehicles. Therefore, today, many streets allow only one-way traffic, offering a challenge to visitors traveling by car. Luckly we were striking on our feet. Granada is located along… Read More
