Blog
First Week on Finca Bona Fide
After 2 bus rides, a taxi ride, a ferry, and a van ride, the group successfully left Matagulpa, and arrived at the Bona Fide permaculture farm on the island of Omatepe, located in Lake Nicaragua. We’ve spent the past week getting up bright and early, and tasking ourselves with a variety of jobs such as hauling firewood and rice husks, weeding the gardens, and trailblazing with machetes. We’ve adjusted to… Read More
The Amazon
We arrived here on Sunday evening after a long travel day. We were dropped off by the Arajuno Bridge and then took a motorized canoe (which was pretty awesome) to our destination. My first thought when we pulled to the Arajuno Jungle Lodge, was that it was much more modern than I expected. The facility is very nice, which is a relief because we are working quite hard and it… Read More
Lord of the Rings Tramping
Upon arriving at Blue Mountain Adventure Center the group was challenged with team building activities that forced us to grow both independently and together. Our leaders for the week Paddy and Sally outfitted us in the best gear for our high mountain tramp through Mordor. We set out for five days and four nights in the wilderness with a backdrop of sweeping views of the snowcapped Mount Doom (for those… Read More
From Agra to Varanassi to Bodghaya
Blog from Emily S. Photos from Savannah and the Overseas Educators
Namaste from Bodhgaya!
Emilia here, writing from the Root Institute! We arrived here yesterday healthy and excited to be studying Buddhism! It’s a different change of pace compared to Varanasi, a city full of bustling cows, water buffalo, rickshaws and people. We stayed in Banaras (the local term for the city) for almost one week, learned some “survival Hindi”… Read More
Updates from Cuba
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba group,
Good news! I spoke with Michelle and Kevin this morning and they let me know that all is well. The hurricane passed far enough east of them that they only experienced rain. No high winds, heavy storms, flooding, or damage that they can tell so far in the city. They said if they hadn’t known it was a hurricane, they would… Read More
From the Marae to the Permaculture Farm
After we left the Kokiri Center, which is a communal living space for the Maori people, on the 23rd, we went to a small farm run by a couple named Rick and Liz. One of our group leaders, Lolly, had stayed with Rick and Liz before this trip so it was amazing to see them reunited. At the farm, we learned about permaculture and how they farm according to the… Read More
Ometepe Rising
After an epic (and highly successful!) travel day we arrived on the island of Ometepe, which will be our home for the next two weeks. Sunday morning started early when we met at the bus terminal in Matagalpa and, under the direction of our student travel leader, we purchased tickets to Managua and piled onto the bus, while our packs were secured to the roof of the repurposed yellow school… Read More
A Feasting, a Bathing, a Rafting, Oh My!
Omchapeur from the Karen tribe and us at Chiang Mai! After a beautiful and touching homestay experience, the Fall Seasia group embarked on our first trek and what was to be a truly authentic three days in Thailand. After the ride back to Chiang Mai we decompressed at our new hostel Mojito Garden, which included a complimentary hammock, a Koi pond (where I had my camera lifted off of me… Read More
Week 3- End of the Homestays
Sawatdee Kha!,
The last part of the homestays went by relatively quickly. On September 27th, we had the opportunity to teach English at a girls school in Mae Rim! We planned out games and some basic lessons to teach, regarding body parts, places, and numbers. The girls were all high school age, and very polite; an intereting contrast to a typical American high school environment. We broke into four groups… Read More
Fun in the Outdoors
Hongi group’s second full week was filled with lots adventure (and quite a bit of rain). We started off the week at Whenua Iti headquarters, where we were briefed on the week ahead of us, by our two leaders, Rob and Joe. Our original plan was to hike the full Abel Tasman trail over six days, but a forecast full of rain caused us to change our plans to accommodate… Read More
Jhadol and Udaipur
Blog from Elana O. Photos from the Overseas Educators
Last week the Shiva group packed their bags and said their goodbyes to the host families in Jaipur. We headed to the train station and, after many ukelele songs and the death of one flip flop, boarded the train to Udaipur- the Venice of India.
The first day in the lake-filled city included a lovely breakfast and walking tour of the… Read More
Special Needs Education Center
Blog from Jada and Matt. Photos from the Overseas Educators
Hello friends and family! Reporting from SNEC- Special Needs Education Center- 30 kilometers outside of Kabale. It’s hard to believe we’re almost 3 weeks into our 3 month adventure!
After a fun weekend rafting on the Nile, we bussed to Kampala, and on Monday morning, embarked on a 9 hour bus ride to Kabale. As we prepared for our long… Read More
Updates regarding the Cuba group
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba group,
Thank you again for your on-going expressions of concern and willingness to support the group. I understand how challenging this continues to be and we appreciate your support as we navigate how to best support our students and keep them safe as the hurricane approaches. I recently got off the phone with Kevin and Michelle, they said the group is feeling… Read More
Learning in the misty mountains!
Hello from la Escuela de la Montaña,
We’ve had a terrific week! On Sunday morning we moved out of our Xela home stays and caught a public bus that took us to The Mountain School! Immediately, we could tell this was going to be very different from PLQ. The bus dropped us off in the middle of the woods, right in the middle of the mountains we could see from… Read More
Updates regarding the Cuba group
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba semester,
We’ve now heard from a few of you as the press coverage about Hurricane Matthew continues to grow and I wanted to specifically address the concern that some of you have shared regarding the evacuations at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base. Guantanamo Bay has evacuated about 700 of the 5,500 people living at the base. Those evacuated were non-essential personnel and… Read More
Updates regarding Cuba group
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Carpe Diem Cuba group,
Thank you to those who have reached out with questions or concerns regarding Hurricane Matthew.
As many of you know, it is moving through the Caribbean and is currently expected to make landfall in Cuba late Monday night. We have been monitoring it’s progress and have been in touch with the group as well as other contacts in Cuba… Read More
Another week down in the books for the QUETZAL crew!
This week we took on the challenge of diving head first into our first homestay experience in Matagalpa, Nicaragua and successfully completed a week of Spanish classes at Colibri Escuela de Español. Spanish, sleep, and eat isn´t all we did though, we were priviledged to participate in various activities that gave us the full cultural experience of this incredible town. We had a full week of challenging, fun, and new… Read More