Blog

Here, There and Everywhere

Georgia India- SHANTI
Hello Friendis!! Georgia at the blog again for a second week (woot woot!) Where to begin?! We kicked off our student directed travel by going to the Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh. This is a seven acre abandoned Ashram where the Beatles stayed in the late 60’s and produced most of the “White Album.” The Ashram has become a shrine to the Beatles with incredible graffiti everywhere. We spent our time… Read More

Mariposa and San Juan del Sur(fing)!

Michael Kearney Central America- MAYA
Hola a todos desde San Juan del Sur, Our last blogger, the eloquent Sayaka Kikuchi, left off the blog on the mystical dual-volcano island of Ometepe (which means “two peaks” in the indigenous Nahuatl language). We spent our last afternoon on the island making jam from freshly picked starfruits and cayenne – Yum! We took the ferry and a bus from Ometepe to the Mariposa Language School in La Concepción,… Read More

Good Morning Vietnam!!

Elliot Southeast Asia- SABAI
A crowded bus. A bumpy road. A washed-out casino, built with a grandeur that doesn’t quite penetrate beyond the faded sign, splashed like an afterthought across the front. An unknown woman, clad in a white t-shirt and a skepticism-inducing aura, whose English knowledge appears to be limited to “give me your passports, now.” A high stone archway, and a rush of humid air as the bus doors close behind our… Read More

Bird Loving in South Africa

carpediem Latitudes Year
During the process of completing my FVP, I think I have become the ultimate mother figure. Well…A mother figure to about fifteen to twenty (depending on the day), screaming, filthy birds. I spend most of my work days in a very small, hot room, and watch my children, catering to their every need and desire. Every one hour, I sit on my tiny stool, and force dog food, or fruit… Read More

Latitudes Year: Reflections

carpediem Latitudes Year
This has been the fastest year of my life. I honestly can’t believe it’s coming to an end after I’ve been thinking about this year since my junior year of high school. I’m not ready for it to be over in some senses (traveling, adventure, different culture, my carpe friends and community) but in some ways I feel more prepared than ever to take on college and go forward in… Read More

New Crew in Newcastle

Hongi Overseas Educators South Pacific- WALKABOUT
The true start to our smaller, reinvented semester began with tree planting, vegan smoothies, cute shops, and ocean pools. Newcastle was the perfect small town respite that we needed after the emotional rollercoaster that was Fiji. We were welcomed by Elise and Kaz, two members of Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA.) The last five of us were overjoyed to spend the week staying in a house with a full kitchen and… Read More

Thank you to our donors!

Hongi Overseas Educators South Pacific- WALKABOUT
We would like to thank every one who donated to our Fiji cyclone relief effort! Over the course of 3 days our group delivered rice, flour, lentils and other essentials to 4 villages who suffered greatly in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston. The devastation was much larger than we could have expected, (our own village Nananu lost 42 houses) but the gratitude and generosity of the people we encountered was… Read More

Fiji transitioning to Australia

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
To quote one Charles Dickens, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Our time in Fiji was a roller coaster from start to finish. Some of our favorite moments in Fiji were the first few days at Bamboo Backpackers, enjoying our opening kava circles, late night pool swims, and lazy afternoon hammock naps. We visited one of the most pristine beaches I have ever witnessed… Read More

Neti-Potting a Day Keeps the Doctors Away

Georgia #CDEphotos2014, India- SHANTI
Greetings Everyone, We have just arrived back in Rishikesh after a week long stay in a yoga ashram. We had six days starting at 5:30am full of yoga, meditation, chanting, nature walks, and believe it or not neti potting. Although challenging at times, we loved the warm people and beautiful surroundings. On one of our days, we took a nature hike to a waterfall and spent a couple hours relaxing… Read More

Bona Fide

Maya Overseas Educators Central America- MAYA
Hola amigos y familias! This is Saya writing my blog draft in a mango tree. After a long week of ups and downs and the longest travel day yet, we arrived at Isla de Ometepe. We are staying at Bona Fide, a farm that focuses on experiential learning on permaculture. We also have afternoon workshops on basket weaving, jam making and chocolating. We are surrounded by nature here with no… Read More

Mcleod Ganj- Tibetan home stays!

Haley M India- SHIVA
Hi guys! It’s Blanca here not to be confused with the name that’s being attached to this blog- some of us forgot our passwords and Haley Murphy is such an amazing human being for letting us use her account! 😉 P.S “Holi Camel” was written by Travon Braswell and he deserves credit for it 🙂 Back to buisness!.. After two very tiring over night train rides we finally arrived to… Read More

Mangroves, Mud, and Mischief

Sabai Overseas Educators Southeast Asia- SABAI
We started off the week by travelling by van from Phnom Penh to Kampot where we worked with the mangrove conservation project. Being in a remote village was a nice change after the busy city. An awesome Cambodian guy named Sela led us through our week. On our ride to Kampot, all 13 of us along with Sela and our driver were jam-packed in a small van with our huge… Read More

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

Heather Vaught South America- INTI
For the most part, our week was relatively quiet. Everyone had Spanish lessons, either in the mornings or the afternoon, depending on skill level, which left half the day to roam free and explore the city of Arequipa. The real height of our trip was the weekend trek the group chose to do, through the Colca Canyon. As we learned, it is one of the largest canyons in the world,… Read More

Safey Stop

Parker Latitudes Year
Hello all! I’m checking in here from Koh Tao, a small island off the coast of Thailand where the sun is hot and the water is blue. I am here working as an intern with the New Heaven Reef Conservation Program which is actively trying to protect and restore the ocean ecosystem around Koh Tao. On an average day I’ll wake up and be at the dive school by 9am.… Read More

At Home with the Elephants

Claudia A Latitudes Year
It’s crazy to think about where I was one year ago. I was in my second semester of my senior year, frustrated and worried about my future. I had applied to several universities, and was starting to hear back, rejection and acceptance letters, and began to feel like I was being led down a path that didn’t feel right for me. It was my mom who actually suggested that I… Read More

The Shanti crew lives to trek another day

Alex India- SHANTI, Uncategorized
Dear loved ones, After a beautiful excursion through the pristine wilderness of the Himalayas, we’ve stopped in the rolling hills of Darjeeling for a few days of rest. We’ve found great food, atmosphere, and an amazing abundance of tea in Darjeeling. However, tonight is our last night here and we’ll be moving onwards to Rishikesh for a week long yoga retreat in the morning. There is no stopping the powerful… Read More