By Eve and Hanya
Hey Everyone!
It’s currently our third day in Kigali, Rwanda. After an eventful and challenging week trekking the beautiful rolling hills of Lake Bunyonyi, it’s nice to be back in the city. In fact, we’re currently on the 13th floor of a plaza overlooking the hills of Kigali munching on some yummy Chinese food.
Eve took the photo, picturing Hanya, Ben, and Ellie G.
Our trek… Read More
By Justin Wade
Hello, again viewers!
Yesterday after a long train ride, we made it to Newcastle. We are staying in a really really nice dorm with a TV, beach, and a bunch of other stuff to keep us entertained. It isn’t just fun and games, though, as for this week we have to help out with a conservation group by doing some manual labor. Today we ended up planting… Read More
Jacob Monkarsh
What’s good peoples?! We’re out here at the Prema Shanti yoga and meditation retreat having a really good time. For the past five mornings, we have been waking up at 7am for 30 minutes of meditation before breakfast. We then have free time until 11am, when we participate in Seva (selfless-service for the retreat center) followed by enjoying some deliciously cooked lunches.
We then head out for a… Read More
By Peter Kelsh
Good morning, afternoon, or evening, readers. After a couple of fun days in the Hamptons-esque town of Noosa, Australia, we boarded a train for Chenrezig, a Buddhist monastery in the hills of Eudlo.
Chenrezig had beautiful prayer flags draping the mountain and a large Stupa that had to be circumambulated clockwise. However, it was much easier for some of the group members to enjoy the scenery than… Read More
By Eliza Sharland
Hola!
After a week practicing our coffee picking skills at finca mono verde we hopped on our 8-hour bus ride to Banos. we were all sad to leave the hammocks and the constant healthy competition for them but when we got to Banos we were all peering out of the bus in awe. The landscape here is mountains covered in jungle that drops to rivers.
On arrival,… Read More
By Leighton Katz
Rayah’s third week in Spain has come to a close, and the group has opted for a well-deserved rest day in Córdoba. We’ve all been reflecting on our experiences, namely the ones we’ve had over the past week. Our short time in Granada came to a reluctant close on Friday. Starting with a crack of dawn wake up, we embarked on our journey on El Camino Mozarabe… Read More
By Veda and Adam
After adopting Bula into our everyday vernacular, it became easier to add other Fijian words as well. One of our of guides, a Fiji native named Villi, gave us a crash course on many other everyday words and phrases. We did this before we left for our Fijian homestay, so when we did arrive in the village, we would be comfortable and confident in our use… Read More
By Adam & Veda
What’s one word that will make everyone smile, enable conversation with strangers, and light up any face? Here in Fiji today, we found just the right word…Bula. It means Hello by translation but carries much more than a greeting. It’s a way to instantly connect with anyone. It’s greatest use is to open the door, inviting conversation and questions. Thinking about our own culture back home,… Read More
Taking a break from orientation and taking in some views from the Blue Mountains.Walking the dingos at the Dingo Den!More views on our hike to a waterfall in the Blue Mountains, Katoomba, New South Wales.Bondi Beach, Sydney.Kathleen and Diana taking in the ocean views.… Read More
By Maddie and Hanya
Hello family and friends,
It has been an exceptional week at SNEC (The School for Special Needs Kids here in Uganda). We met all different kids with many different disabilities whether that be mental or physical. Every kid stole our hearts. We loved being able to work with them and helping them with different school subjects such as Math and we even did some Art lessons.… Read More
By Camille and Kaylee
Camille and Kaylee here to refresh you on the adventures of the Carpe Diem Maya group. This week we were happy to return to Xela to continue our language classes at the sister school of Escuela de la Montana, PLQ. The group was paired off and put into homestays with some of the lovely locals that lie around town. On a typical day, we wake up… Read More
By Cole Daniels-Heald
Another week gone by for the Rayah group and the number of stories to tell has been steadily increasing day by day. After our time at La Semilla, we traveled to a permaculture farm called El Molino del Guadalmesí, where we learned alternative group building exercises and goal visualization, all while questioning whether or not we were being unknowingly assimilated into a cult. We all participated in… Read More
By Coop Sanchez
Hello blog viewers! (Hi, Mom.)
What a week we have had! It started with an incredible few days in the outback hiking around Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata-Tjuta while sleeping on the ground under the stars every night. Our guide Joe and the Aboriginal contact Lou taught us so much about their incredible culture and we got to touch 7,000-15,000 year old hand prints in a cave… Read More
By Kobbe
Hey family and friends!
After two amazing days in Sydney, the time had finally come for our six-day adventure in the Australian Outback. We arrived in Uluru after a three hour flight and met our GUYde who is a really cool guy named…Guy. He immediately took us into the wilderness and showed us around. Collecting firewood, singing songs around the bonfire, hiking under the Australian sun, stargazing, driving,… Read More
By Paige Marcano-Buchanan
As hazy fog drifts over far-off trees, the rising sun dyes the sky a soft purple. We cradle hot mugs of chai in our hand listening to the birds flying overhead. With the strike of a gong, we march to morning meditation. This is a completely different experience from the boom and bustle of Kolkata’s honking horns; now we sit quietly and watch cows graze. Instead of… Read More
By Kaela Horton
Hello friends, relatives, and everyone else who is along for the ride. It’s crazy to think that two weeks have gone by since I met the 13 strangers that I’ll be living and traveling with for the next three months. It’s also unbelievable that in that short period of time we’ve become the opposite of strangers and are building relationships and creating memories.
After a week of… Read More
By Kathleen
Hi everyone!
Our week started out on our last day at our hostel in Katoomba. Our time in Katoomba was spent doing orientation activities while also going on hikes and exploring our surroundings. After Katoomba, we went a few towns over to Penrith to settle in before starting our volunteer work at a dingo sanctuary the next day. We showed up to the dingo sanctuary the very next… Read More
