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
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
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
Today was our last full day here in Baños before we leave for the Amazon and the end to an amazing week. We topped off our stay here with white water rafting trip earlier today, everyone had a blast and Harvey even went for a little swim. Yesterday we went on a little trip up to Casa de Arboles, a beautiful park atop one of the many mountains that surround… Read More
From Aiden Blood
Greetings from the town of Kabale. I am going to tell you about my experiences in Jinja and Kampala.
We stayed at the Nalubale River Rafting Camp ventured into Jinja for the afternoon. While walking on the street someone offered me a piece of his chicken; I didn’t want to be rude and turn it down so I ate it. After thanking him, I went back to… Read More
Today is our fourth day in Baños. We have all settled into our host families. Me and Katie are staying with Lorena, the administrator of the Spanish school Raices. We have three dogs that are constantly playing with us and looking to be rubbed on their bellies. Tasting all the home-cooked meals is a delicious way to experience the local culture. Our classes are 3-4 hours a day, with a… Read More
Its been a crazy but amazing two weeks diving further into our adventure and deepening our relationships with each other. We’ve been humbly hosted by two lovely people known as Yvette and Manaia of Koukourarata community in their beautiful historically rich maraes. Waking up to such a breathtaking view is something none of us will ever forget. We then stayed 3 nights in a revamped schoolhouse in the are of… Read More
Submitted and written by Matthew Nguyen. Photos from the Overseas Educators, Jon and Anya.
Problog:
Here we are! The moment of truth has arrived. With heavy, yet optimistic hearts we fly away from familiarity and the place we called home, lying in anticipation for what’s to come. Three months. New sights. New sounds. New friends and family. A completely different side of the world to explore and discover. After the… Read More
Imagine walking into a home in a small village in Northern Thailand where no one in the family speaks English. You’re on your own now and you have to figure out how to communicate with the limited Thai you’ve learned so far. The cultural differences make for an adjustment, for example the squatting toilets, bucket showers, beds so hard they feel like cement, and feeling conscientious about where you point… Read More
Writing to you from an internet cafe on the busy streets of Rishikesh. We have made it back safely from our 3 day trek in the Himalayas! We are sad to say goodbye to Kiran, Ankit, and all of the Red Chili crew from our trek. The past three days have been incredible. We began our journey with a two hour hike straight up the mountain. When we arrived at… Read More
This is the first blog of many but the only one by me… We arrived at the spanish school on Sunday and it was amazing!! The first thing that we all noticed was all the amazing scenery and all the green. Coming from the city with all the noise to just nothing but silence for the most part. The only exceptions are all the dogs and roosters that constanly keep… Read More
Hola from Santa Domingo, Ecuador! Currently on our way to la playa for our last day here on the finca (banana farm). The finca is a banana/plantain farm. It is beautiful here! Our first day we picked bananas and plantains to help the farm’s weekly harvest. The owners of the farm are the kindest people. They made their home feel like our home. Even though Chari and Juan Carlos (the… Read More
Hey Everybody, Miriam here!
We are officially adjusting to the magical whims of Cuban lifestyle here in Baracoa. So far the adjustment process has been tough… Swimming in the ocean everyday during Spanish class, learning how to cook a traditional Cuban meal, riding horse carriages to arrive at our destinations, having multiple salsa dance lessons and eating three huge amazing meals a day that are most often accompanied with fresh… Read More
