Australia Photo Story: Part II
By Peter Kelsh
Here are some additional pictures of our times in the Outback through present day in Newcastle, Australia.… Read More
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Australia Photo Story: Part I
By Peter Kelsh
These are some pictures of our time in Sheoak Ridge and the Outback.… Read More
Reflections on The Sweat Lodge Experience
By Wordmasters Daisy and Luke
A sweat lodge is a hut, typically dome-shaped and made with natural materials, used by indigenous peoples for ritual steam baths as a means of purification. The sweat is intended as a religious ceremony—it is for prayer and healing, and the ceremony is only to be led by elders who know the associated language, songs, traditions, and safety protocols.
“The inside of a tea kettle. … Read More
Life By the River: Varanasi
By Katie Delaney
We spent this past week exploring Varanasi, known as one of the oldest living cities in the world. Each of us has had a chance to explore some of our passions by taking classes including jewelry design, painting, music, and even fire dancing.
We also had the chance to wake up at 5:30 one morning and take a boat out on the Ganges river and watch the… Read More
Adventures on Lake Bunyonyi & The Big City
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
Heigh Ho, It’s Off to Work We Go…
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
Gettin Shanti in the Daintree
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
Enlightened, but Hungry
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
Just Gringo Things
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
Walking El Camino in Spain
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
Moce
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
Bula
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
The Blue Mountains & Sydney: A Photo Story
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
An Exceptional Week at SNEC
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
A Typical Day at PLQ
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
From Malaga to Granada
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
Hongi is Hungry for Adventure!
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