Written By Daniela
Greetings family and friends 🙂
We hope you are all doing well and enjoying life back at home.
This is Daniela reporting to you from a big porch with chickens bocking away and an incredible view of green mountains.
Last week, we had the opportunity to stay in Chiang Rai for a couple of days.
The city was filled with beautiful streets and a vibrant night market… Read More
Written By: Isabel, Latitudes Year ’20 Kenya
The liveliness and hospitality in Kenya is inescapable. I always find myself in awe of the sense of community I have seen many countries embody. Often times, being seen as or referred to as a “sister” or “brother”. The way of life here feels so natural; with months left here it still doesn’t feel like long enough. From the loud music, the cultural… Read More
Written By Sammi, Latitudes Year ’20 Costa Rica
For my Focused Volunteer Placement I chose to work at a jungle animal rehabilitation sanctuary in Costa Rica! To start my day, I eat breakfast with all of the volunteers and staff, including fellow Carpe Diem member, Sierra. We start work off by chopping fresh fruit and vegetables for the animals, and making sure everyone gets their necessary medication. Some animals housed… Read More
Written By Madison, Latitudes Year ’20 Thailand
Hello from COREsea, in beautiful Koh Pha-ngan-, Thailand. The island of Koh Pha-ngan is like a sense from a movie. At COREsea Jackson, Lily and myself have been hard at work. During diving we have been doing fish survey’s, coral bleaching surveys, coral identification and coral predator surveys. On conservation Friday’s, we pick up trash on the beach and take out plastic and… Read More
Written By Riley & Will
Part 1: the trek
After a bittersweet goodbye to our host families, we took a 4-hour long bus ride to our next destination. As the scenery transitioned from a bustling city to rural hills, to the dramatic green slopes of the Western Ghats, the group became more and more excited for a change in the view. Our destination was a campsite located a couple of… Read More
Written By Catie & Andie
This week we stayed at the wonderful Bambu Guest House in Tzununá. Although we missed our homestay families from last week in San Juan, everyone was very happy to once again be sleeping under the same roof. We have a gorgeous view of Lake Atitlan and the mountain ranges surrounding us. On clear nights, we have even gotten to see El Fuego volcano erupting in… Read More
Written by Daniella & Grace
On the 18th we got to settle into our family homestays. Bonding with these families, learning about their culture, customs and food have been the highlight of the trip so far. Each host family provides us with a roof over our heads and home-cooked food. And in return, Carpe students have the opportunity to connect with the family (and are responsible for being home by… Read More
Kia Ora Hongi fans, what’s up y’all, this is real life,
After orientation we moved to Solscape, a sustainable hostel looking over the ocean, and slept in train cars for a couple nights. Here we began learning about Maori culture with Tiaki and Madi. Starting out strong at 5am, we headed over to Wairenga Falls; it was a really powerful experience. This waterfall is a place where Maori people let… Read More
Written By Whitney
Hey friends and family of the hustling and bustling Sabai 2020 group. This is Whitney (Whitneeeeyyy in Thai) coming to you from our first official laundry stop in 2 weeks in Chiang Rai, Thailand.
After an inspiring first week in Chiang Mai for orientation, we packed up our bags from the Sarah Guest House and our lovely Ajarn (teacher) Panom drove us a quick 45ish minutes past… Read More
Written By: Alissa and Rachel
Buenos dias from San Juan! Rachel and Alissa here to share with you the adventures of the week! We left Antigua on Monday morning and drove to Lake Atitlan. We got to enjoy a lovely boat ride across the lake to the vibrant town of San Juan. From here, we met up with our welcoming homestay families and went to see our new homes for… Read More
Is this you?
You’re thinking about taking a gap year after high school or in college, so you start googling gap year ideas to find the best gap year programs, and what to do during your gap year to see what your options are.
Maybe you also take a look at the gap year travel programs on GoAbroad.com or GoOverseas.com, read program reviews, and talk with friends who’ve gone… Read More
Wow!
What a jam-packed first week it’s been.
After close to 40 hours of travel, we woke up early our first day and we were warmly welcomed by our host, Celia, to a delicious Kerala breakfast. We were lucky to start our days off like this, and every morning Celia would cook a new Kerala specialty for us. By the way, they cook with lots of coconuts in Kerala-as Kerala… Read More
This is Nathan and Rachael, the Hongi group OE’s, saying hello and updating you on what we’ve been up to. 5 days ago we met each other in LAX where we shared snacks and some cute, awkward introductions. We boarded our 13 hour flight, traveled a whole day forward in time and landed in Auckland on Valentine’s day!
Getting in our rental vehicles we made our way down the long… Read More
Hello from the land of smiles!
We are excited to be reaching out for the first time together as one and hope this blog entry finds you well. We are wrapping up orientation in Chiang Mai and are about to depart for our initial homestay experience in Mae Rim. The crews (Team Free Boyfriend, Lost Wanderers, and Mango Vibes) just returned from their scavenger hunts filled with stories. Here are… Read More
Bathed in sunshine and surrounded by impressive volcanoes, Antigua, Guatemala has served as our introduction to Central America. Laughter, exploring the city, trying new foods, playing games, sharing life stories, and orienting ourselves to our three months in Central America…our first few days in have been jam-packed with activities. Although it’s only been a few days, our group has started to take shape and inside jokes have already started to… Read More
Dear Friends and Family of the Shanti group:
We have received word that the group has landed in Kochi, India. The group had a long flight over, and will now go to their guesthouse and get some much-needed sleep. They will start orientation tomorrow, and begin getting to know each other and the amazing land and culture of India. We wish them well in their upcoming journey!
All the best,… Read More
Greetings friends and family
The Sabai group landed safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand on February 14th. The group had a short layover in Hong Kong, and have arrived happy and a bit tired. The group will now make their way to the East side of Chiang Mai city to their orientation accommodation and will meet up with their final group member! After some food and a nap, the group will… Read More
Dear Friends and Family of the Hongi Crew:
We have received word that the group has landed safely in Auckland. The Overseas Educators report that it was a smooth flight and that all are well, if not a bit tired. The group will now pick up their rental vans, and make the short trip to Raglan where they will begin their orientation. We wish them all well in their journey… Read More
We’re happy to report that the MAYA group has arrived safely in Guatemala! After their overnight flight, they are tired but excited for the semester to come. They’ve checked in to their hostel in Antigua and had their first Guatemalan breakfast. They are going to take some time to rest and recharge now before diving in to the rest of their orientation. Stay tuned as they will start posting updates… Read More
Greetings, Family and Friends of the Carpe Diem Spring 2020 Sabai group,
We are happy to inform you that the Sabai group is united and already beginning to get to know one another at the San Francisco airport.
They have quite a journey ahead of them, with a long overnight flight and a brief Hong Kong layover, however, they seem to be a group that is more than up to… Read More
