By Renee Noordzij
It’s always hot here. And when it isn’t hot, it’s downpouring. So I’m either sweaty or soaked with rain. It’s just a little bit different than the snow of my hometown near Boston. There’s bugs. Everywhere. On the walls, the floors, in the shower, in my bed. My legs are covered in bug bites. My main source of nutrition is rice. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner I… Read More
By Grace Cain-Kellman
Hola from a new country!!!!
Picking up from the last post midway through our stay in El Paredón, our group squeezed in as much as we could during our last days on the ocean. Each time we were sent off for free time, someone grabbed a surfboard, a boogie board or just a towel to get tossed around by the Guatemalan sea, inevitably swallowing some to take… Read More
By Karly Britt
Hi friends and family!
This past week, the group had the amazing opportunity to explore the Amazon! The week started with a boat ride down the Arajuno River, a tributary to the Amazon River, to our home for the week: the Arajuno Jungle Lodge. There, we met Tom Larson, AKA the coolest guy ever. Tom told us about all the work he has been doing to help… Read More
By Maytal Agasi
Habari gani ndugu?
Tunajifunza Kiswahili Morogoro.
Tunasema Kiswahili kidogo.
Hali ya hewa ni joto na mvua.
Tunafurahia kunywa chai ya moto.
Tumekula mikate mingi.
Miti na maua ni mizuri.
How are you friend?
We are learning swahili in Morogoro.
We only speak a little Swahili.
The weather is hot and rainy .
We like to drink hot tea at tea time.
We eat a lot of bread.… Read More
Meeting with the director of WeAct, an organization that provides health services and entrepreneurship opportunities for women infected with HIV/AIDS in Kigali, Rwanda.Meeting with the ladies of the sewing cooperative in Kigali.Freshly picked coffee beans at the Huye Mountain Coffee Farm.Tosca learns how to roast coffee beans the old fashioned way in Huye, Southern Rwanda.Morgan enjoying the view after a hike at the Huye Mountain Coffee … Read More
By Tosca van Oostrum and Maytal Agasi
Last week we were in Rwanda and experienced a lot of emotions that we wanted to share with you.
Apprehensive for crossing our very first land border.
Thankful for better infrastructure in Rwanda.
Frustrated with the language barrier.
Clean due to the supposedly “free” laundry service.
Intune with the nature that surrounds us (even the bugs).
Shocked by the personal stories of the… Read More
By Chandler Christopher
During my time with the Batwa, I received the opportunity to interview four of the members who spoke English. In Batwa communities, it’s very rare that people are educated and know English. So, this was a very big, uncommon opportunity to verbally communicate in the same language with these people. The Batwa are the indigenous people of Uganda, the native people of this beautiful country. Their ancestors… Read More
By Daisy Osowski
The rainy season is upon us. Dirt paths have turned to slip and slides and hauling water from our water tank 30 feet away has turned into an adventure. Just the other day while I was hauling a 40-pound jerrycan up to my house I made it to the top of the hill and slid all the way back down it.
The rainy season isn’t all bad… Read More
By Maggie Otal
Been in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala for a few weeks now and it is just as beautiful as I remember. I love the atmosphere and all the friendly faces. Every person you walk past says “Buenos Dias” or “buenos tardes” even if they have no idea who you are. Some of my favorite parts of being in Xela (short for Quetzaltenango) is seeing the panaderias (bakeries) on every corner… Read More
By Kyla Moede
I never would’ve imagined myself to have gained a deep obsession with five baby howler monkeys in such a simple, tiny town in Belize called Sarteneja.
It’s amazing how life always seems to work itself out. My initial inclination was drawing me to Australia, Thailand, Bali or Costa Rica, and I was somewhat disappointed in my choice of location, but now, I’ve realized that there is no… Read More
Beginning the Lake Bunyonyi Canoe Trek.Mana Bena’s on Lake Bunyonyi.Maytal learning how to shoot a bow and arrow from the B’twa people.Peter and Morgan doing headstands at the top of the mountain we climbed during our trek.View of the coast of Lake Bunyonyi.Learning how to make woven bracelets on Lake Bunyonyi.… Read More
By Juliette Clem
Hola friends + family of Maya!
Greetings from El Paredon, Guatemala. This past week has been packed full of so many fun and interesting activities that I thought the best way to share them would be through a collection of photos. I hope you enjoy!
We started our week in Antigua, where we had our first student-directed travel time so we got to choose our activities, which… Read More
By Jamie Vischer
Hey Parents!
We have had an unbelievable week exploring the coast of the North Island. We started in Raglan, a cool surfing town on the West Coast. Our time was mainly spent at the Marae, a Maori community gathering space. We learned tons of stuff about Maori history, ceremonies, and language. We had the pleasure of experiencing a pōwhiri, a traditional welcoming ceremony in the Maori culture.… Read More
By Alejandra Villanueva Navarro
We have arrived back to Chaing Mai after four days of trekking and walking to small villages. Our first day of trekking seemed like an endless walk of going up and down steep hills but arriving at the small welcoming villages made it all worth it. We stayed in a cabin with no electricity and a small mattress to sleep on, but it was all we… Read More
Hola familia! We spent this week in the beautiful city of Banos, a backpackers dream city full of opportunities for great food, extreme sports, relaxation, and good times. The group has enjoyed our homestays this week. We were able to become part of a real Ecuadorian family. We were treated like real daughters and sons, as we were served great meals and kindness.
One of the most important things we… Read More
By Angelo Accus
Our journey to Lake Atítlan began with Talia being a team player and using her Level: 100 finesse skills to talk down our boat driver from 500 quetzales to 280 quetzales. Talia truly raised the bar for the Transporte position. We then glided across the sparkly blue-green Lake Atítlan, which smelled much cleaner than we had anticipated. Many of the Maya group members took photos as the… Read More
By Olive
Hey guys!
I wanted to go a little more in-depth about student-directed travel. We drove from Wellington to a town north of Raglan and we stayed there for four days. We worked on getting into a groove with cooking and our group roles. There was also a lot of free time with opportunities to go kayaking, laying out in the sun, playing in the waves and exploring the… Read More
