Blog

Trekking Lake Bunyonyi

Nkula Overseas Educators East Africa- NKULA
By Jason Tyler Hey! Hoping this finds everyone back home doing well! We’ve had an eventful past few days at SNEC and Lake Bunyonyi. We arrived at SNEC, a school for special needs students in Uganda, on March first. While there we volunteered in the classrooms doing activities with the students and helped rebuild a veranda around a classroom building. It was a lot of hard work but our group… Read More

Volunteering at SNEC: A Photo Story

Nkula Overseas Educators East Africa- NKULA
Dressed up to visit the Gaddafi Mosque in Kampala. Buying produce in the fruit market in Kabale. Exploring the hills near the Special Needs Education Center outside of Kabale. Goofing around outside of SNEC. Kiara contemplating the hills of southern Uganda. Saying goodbye on our last morning at SNEC. The veranda that we helped build at SNEC. It’s not done yet, but our local carpenter friend Silas is finishing the … Read More

Our Stay at Finco Mono Verde

Inti Overseas Educators South America- INTI
By Desi Casanova Hola from Baños, Ecuador! The group and I arrived here late last night after a long and tiring 10-hour van ride. Here we will spend a week learning more Spanish and diving deeper into the culture with our homestay families. I won’t give too much away; that’s for our next storyteller! I’m here to tell you all about our beautiful stay at Finco Mono Verde, a permaculture… Read More

Foods of Lobitos

carpediem Latitudes Year
By Josh Krauss, Latitudes Peru ’18 Welcome to Lobitos Greetings everyone, I am Joshua Krauss, and I’ll be your spiritual guide to all things food. And our first destination is in the small beach town of Lobitos Peru. Most people come for Lobitos to catch some waves, enjoy the time on the beach or even watching the beautiful sunset on the edge of the horizon. However, deep within the heart… Read More

Homestays, Salsa Lessons & Lagoon Hiking in Xela

Maya Overseas Educators Central America- MAYA
By Paige Harris Buenos dias from Xela! We’ve had a very busy week learning Spanish and continuing to immerse ourselves in Guatemalan culture. Prior to our departure from La Escuela de la Montaña, we had the unique opportunity to tour La Florida, a cooperatively owned, self-sustaining permaculture farm. Our guide led us around the plots of land owned by various local families, pointing out bananas, macadamia nuts, cacao, and the… Read More

Adventuring in Abel Tasman: A Photo Story

Hongi Overseas Educators South Pacific- HONGI
The Crew outside of Te Papa. Getting into mermaid mode before hopping in the Waka-Māori canoe (Abel Tasman). Lunch break snooze while backpacking the Abel Tasman. Exploring Ocean Waves-Motueka. Taking a moment to breathe at the beach. Hiking to a hidden cave during our time with Whenua Iti. Rachel gather seashells down by the seashore. Making markings in the sand. Preparing for the adventure ahead in Christchurch. Taking a break … Read More

#momsendmoney

Hongi Overseas Educators South Pacific- HONGI
By Bella & Rachel Kia Ora! It’s been a rollercoaster ride since we landed in Christchurch New Zealand. We had our first few days of orientation while exploring the city. After losing a few group members and enduring the cyclone we hiked to an 80 million year old cave, went to the beach and met many awesome locals along the way. We stayed a few days near Nelson at Whenua… Read More

First Impressions

carpediem Latitudes Year
By Emma Clements, Latitudes Uganda Spring ’18 When I first arrived at the airport I had no idea what to expect. Were people going to be mean? Would I get lost? How many marriage proposals would I get? Mosquitos? Weather? Did I pack enough? With all these questions running through my mind, I stepped out of the airplane and into a new beginning to an end. After dealing with all… Read More

Bananas and Rice

Inti Overseas Educators South America- INTI
By Alex Combs Hello Everybody, My name is Alex Combs and I am from Washington State. I am currently 18 years old and also a part of Carpe Diem Education’s South American program. This week was full of memorable and extravagant adventures so I hope you are prepared for a decently-sized read. Over the past week, we have been staying in the coastal region of Ecuador more commonly known to… Read More

Diving into Thai Culture

Sabai Overseas Educators Southeast Asia- SABAI
By Nitzny This week we stay at our homestays in a village outside of Mae Rim. This was an awesome experience! We really dove into Thai culture. We got Thai lessons, learned a culture dance, and got to explore the village. We also did our service project which was cleaning a national park to help prevent wildfires. Saying goodbye to our new families was very hard but we are all… Read More

Kicking off our Journeys in Central America!

Maya Overseas Educators Central America- MAYA
By Hanna McKee ¡Hola Tod@s! This week kicked off the official start of our three-month journey in Central America! After spending our first few nights in a beautiful hostel in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala, getting to know each other and the itinerary, we loaded ourselves into a minibus, said goodbye to our brief home-away-from-home, and made the trek to our first destination. The car ride was filled with nervous hearts, a… Read More

A Warm Introduction

Nkula Overseas Educators East Africa- NKULA
By Ellie and Maytal Hi family and friends! Nkula 2018 wanted to start by introducing ourselves so that you have a better idea of who you will be reading about over the next three months! Tosca – Known by the Ugandans as Jesca Vancostrum, the professional bird spotter and rhino ranger, represents Europe. She’s passionate about discovering new animals, especially black mambas and cobras. Kayleigh – A true Portlandian, Kayleigh… Read More

Deforestation, One Week Later

carpediem Latitudes Year
By Scott Penfield, Latitudes Brazil Last week, I posted about a farm that we visited near Belisario, where we witnessed firsthand the destruction of the rainforest in the name of agriculture and mineral extraction. Today, we received a somewhat hopeful update from Robin. He was initially skeptical that a complaint to the police would yield any results, despite the fact that the cutting of the forest was objectively illegal. Earlier… Read More

Scavenger hunt blog: Smells

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
Walking through Xela, there are so many different and unique smells. From delicious street food to the dry herbs in the market. But not all of the smells here are ones to be sought out. Walking through the streets, the unfortunate odor of garbage and gasoline is extremely prevalent. Luckily enough the hostel we are staying in is usually filled with the aromas of cleaning fluids and basil. But, if… Read More