Written by Caroline and Susannah, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia Daintree conservation program volunteering at ClimateForce
What’s New in Our Journey?
Hello, world!! Greetings from your Leaders of the Week, Caroline and Susannah. We’ve had another great week here in the Daintree Rainforest and are excited to share our adventures with you. We started our week at SheOak Ridge and continued our work with our lovely hosts,… Read More
Written by Andy and JB, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala service project program starting in Antigua and ComalapaWhat’s New?
The program started in Antigua, Guatemala for orientation. The group quickly found its footing as we explored the town and created a culture amongst everyone. As the first couple of days went by, we explored markets, reviewed the itinerary for the next 10 weeks,… Read More
Written by Nina Shear and Mae, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Nepal Kathmandu semester beginning at the Boudhanath Stupa and ashramWhat’s New?
A Girls’ Trip + Anand
This is our first official blog of our journey to Nepal and India, and we have so much to share. Our adventure began at the San Francisco airport, where we met as a group for the first time. Mae and… Read More
Written by Hudsyn and Allie, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy sustainable community experience at Panta Rei in Passignano
What’s New in Our Journey?
We kicked off our journey at Panta Rei! It’s a beautiful community where we learned useful Italian phrases and how to live more sustainably within our surroundings. Building a community was a new experience for all of us—new people, a new environment. A strong… Read More
Written by Grace and Caroline, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia Daintree rainforest program at SheOak Ridge in the South Pacific semester
What’s New in Our Journey?
After our long flights, we safely arrived in Cairns! Mary and Sushi bravely drove on the opposite side of the road for the first time and got us to our lovely hostel. For lunch, we ventured to our first Australian shopping… Read More
Written by Chelsea Van Eck, Overseas Educator on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy orientation program arriving at Panta Rei for the Italy and Greece semesterCiao!
After months of preparing for this day, I’m ecstatic to say the group has successfully arrived at our first stop in Italy, Panta Rei!
It’s been an eventful 48 hours as we traversed planes, trains, and buses to arrive at our destination and… Read More
Written by Maggie and Chelsea, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece semesterSome interesting tidbits about your leaders:
Maggie calls both Colorado and Scotland home and is passionate about climbing, mountain biking, climate justice, and mental health advocacy.
Chelsea, a Midwest native, has called Korea, D.C., Wisconsin, and Florida home. She enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews, going on nature walks, and learning people’s… Read More
Written by Mary and Sushi, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Australia New Zealand South Pacific semester
Welcome to the gap year Australia New Zealand 2024 SoPac semester, where our cohort kicks off an adventure with Overseas Educators Mary and Sushi!
We are super excited to journey with you this semester in Australia & New Zealand! 😊
Mary (she/her) and Sushi (she/they) here, your Overseas Educators! Mary is… Read More
Written by Tara and Anand, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year India Nepal semester preparing students for the journey aheadGreetings earthlings!
Here we are in rainy Portland, just returned from a rambunctious scavenger hunt.
Some things that Tara learned about Anand:
He’s very playful and masterful in chess and pickleball ♟️ 🟡
He hails from Pune, India 🇮🇳
He has a deep understanding of leadership and developing… Read More
Written by Andy and Jubitza, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Central America semester guiding students through Guatemala and Costa Rica👋 Hola!
Andy and Jubitza here, writing to you from Portland, Oregon. We’ve been in training for the last couple of days, with a few more to go before setting off on this awesome adventure ahead of us. Here’s a quick rundown of who we are and… Read More
Written by RJ Lichten, South Pacific Spring 2023 grad, this Carpe Diem alum sustainability reflection shares how small daily choices add up to real environmental impact.
Finding your path is much more than following what you love; it is about aligning your passions with actions that make a difference. Once you find your passion, any action can have a significant impact. These small actions could be anything from volunteering your… Read More
Written by Macey Tayler, a Carpe Diem gap year Peru surf therapy Latitudes student volunteering with Waves in Lobitos
When I committed to going to a quaint little town, on the northern coast of Peru, I had no idea what to expect. Google Maps showed me pictures that could only be described as extraterrestrial; but for some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Lobitos, Peru was where I needed… Read More
Written by Malcolm and Jasmin, Overseas Educators, this gap year Guatemala Costa Rica recap closes out a full Carpe Diem semester from Antigua to Drake Bay.
It’s hard to believe our ten weeks together in Central America have come to an end. How is it that we won’t all be sharing a meal later today or waking up groggy-eyed tomorrow before another adventure? We formed such close bonds and integrated… Read More
Written by Asa Poole, a Carpe Diem gap year Belize wildlife sanctuary Latitudes student volunteering at Wildtracks with monkeys and manateesSettling into Jungle Life
When I first stepped off the bus I was greeted by a friendly old man named Donnie. I loaded my bags into the back of his truck and jumped in. He started driving down a beautiful path through the jungle lined with giant ferns, and… Read More
Written by Danny Evans, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Costa Rica scuba diving program completing his PADI certification in Drake Bay
We arrived in Drake Bay for the last week of the trip! Here we explored the biodiversity of the Pacific Ocean as through the week we completed our Padi Open Water Dive Scuba certification🤿. We were also fortunate to visit Corcovado National Reserve seeing many different… Read More
Written by Ariana and Megan, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece 8 week semester ending in Athens
Ciao for Now!
It’s hard to believe, but the Terra group is on their last night in Athens! Did we really just do all that we did? Whatever motivated each student to step on that plane on March 5th and fly to a foreign country with complete strangers, we… Read More
Written by Cleo Miller, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Costa Rica chocolate program at Villas Mastatal with Javier’s familyNew Adventures in Mastatal
Landed in Costa Rica! This week we traveled to a small and remote, but extremely beautiful, town called Mastatal in biodiverse Costa Rica! We stayed with Javier and his family in Villas Mastatal, and remained unplugged for the week, which was amazing to connect… Read More
Written by Soumya, an Overseas Educator on the Carpe Diem gap year Nepal trek Pokhara closing out the India Nepal semester
Namaste! It’s your favorite Sagittarius OE, Soumya. This morning, I said goodbye to the Qaasid cohort and our own British prince, Andrew. As I zoomed away from the airport feeling the smoggy Kathmandu air on my face, I could not believe the moment had arrived. This week closed out… Read More
Written by Ben Torregiani and Stavroula Skandalakis, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Matera school program teaching English in the Sassi
This week the Terra 2024 group went to Matera, a town carved out of stone. We started the week by visiting a school where we would be teaching kindergarten students English. In the afternoon, we made pasta in a house carved into the mountain and ate it… Read More
Written by Jess Solit and Danny Evans, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Guatemala Acatenango volcano hike during student directed travel
This week was student-directed travel (SDT)! Our group embarked on the intimidating yet exciting task of planning and budgeting all of our housing, activities, transportation, and food for the week, while also leading our expeditions. We started our week on the west coast of Guatemala in El Paredon,… Read More
