Written by Italy & Greece Semester Students, Tai & Henry
After we arrived in Castelnuovo di Garfagnana by train we were excited to finally arrive in Paladini. We were met by wonderful volunteers from Ireland, France, Italy, and Hungary. Our partner, Colm, his sons, and multiple fluffy friends made us all feel like a part of the community and family. We spent nights in tents and slept in some very… Read More
Written by Hawaii Students, Abdulaziz & Nick
Our group had a lot of fun with bee farming and making medicine from natural plants! We harvested vegetables, planted banana trees, and built a water tank for our friends and hosts at the Pono Grown farm. Everyone is happy to have a bed and indoor showers again, after flying to the Big Island and staying at a hostel. The views are stunning… Read More
Written by Hawaii Students, Olivia & Emma
We have spent the last week at Pono grown weeding, planting, and harvesting. At Pono Grown, we have had the opportunity to work with Evan, the owner of the property, and the interns who are also living on the farm as well. The interns are really cool! Its so fun to learn from them and talk about all our different lives.
Our Top … Read More
Written by Mateo Lombard, 2022-23 Latitudes Student
My semester started in South India a few hours away from Chennai, at a place called Sadhana Forest. This place is a vegan community that focuses on reforestation and water conservation. At the time I arrived, Sadhana Forest was hosting a huge Vegan Festival that took place over three days. Guests were able to camp out and enjoy many workshops and free meals… Read More
Written by Talia, 2022-23 Latitudes Student
My typical weekday begins with two snoozed alarms, followed by a hasty rush out the door to catch the 59 bus. I arrive at school at 9:35, late as always, with a sheepish grin. During our first break, I walk to the Tienda de Cafe with my friend Anna, for a café con leche and two medialunas. After school I catch the 67 to… Read More
Written by Aiden & Naomi, Italy & Greece Semester Students
After sadly ending our stay in Florence, we made our way to Gambassi Terme to begin our Via Francigena Trek!! That afternoon we met Lauren, our guide for the trek, and prepared to begin our journey.
Lauren guided us the beginning of the hike as we walked through the nearby town, noting all the via Francigena signs and painted pilgrims… Read More
Written by Central America Students, April & Ozzy
This week we were presented with more of a mental challenge than a physical one. We traveled across the lake on a boat to San Juan, then went to our separate home stays and started Spanish classes as well as skill-based classes.
Our top highlights of the week:
🎨 To start off the week, we all had different classes teaching us cultural… Read More
Written by Laura and Jonah, Italy & Greece Semester Students
This week we finished up our stay at Panta Rei, and went to Florence. In Panta Rei, we helped give back to the community by picking up any trash around the property that we could find. We also made some challah for us and the community, which they loved. During our last day on Panta Rei we had quick Yoga… Read More
Written by Central America Students, Izzy & Dylan
Since coming back from the very long and tiring hike, we all stayed at a hostel in Tzununa called Granja Tz’kinin, where we met Neal, who gave us his perspective on how permaculture can shape the way you view the world. With help from Shad, the owner of Atitlan Organics, we continued to learn more about permaculture and put it into practice.… Read More
Written by Kat & Lucky, Southeast Asia Semester students
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi
After our brief yet amazing time in Phnom Penh, we began our 3 hour journey. Jammed into one van with our belongings, we met up with our good friend Sela, who speaks great English, and his family. We arrived at VitaminAir!
Upon our arrival, we were greeted with the peace of nature, complimented… Read More
Written by Hawaii Students Nicole🐞and Jaidan🐝
We arrived at our new campsite at Whispering Winds, a bamboo farm where we got the opportunity to volunteer with River. We also were lucky enough to get a tour from Rich who taught us all about bamboo and the process of growing and preserving it!
Our Top Three Highlights of the Week:
🗻 We took a long winding road to Hana where we… Read More
Written by Central America Students, Justin and Addie
Second week in Xela! Moved in with our host families this week and got to immerse ourselves in the culture of Guatemala even further while practicing the Spanish skills we’ve been working on. Continuing our Spanish classes, we advanced our language skills even further. Throughout the week we spent time with our families, participated in group bonding activities such as karaoke, visits… Read More
Written by Dulce & Hayden, Southeast Asia Semester students
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi
We started our week off by boat, traveling to the floating villages. We met our fun tour guide Yusef. Upon arriving, we got to the nonprofit, Osmose, who provided our meals for the entire stay. After a delicious plate of rice, veggies, meat, and fruit we headed to meet our host families.
This… Read More
Written by Hawai’i Students, Izzy and Abby
On Sunday March 12th, we arrived at the Hawaiian Island Land Trust campsite in Waihe’e. We took some time to get in the water and watch the sunset after our arrival.
Monday morning, we weeded with Demby in preparation for planting later in the week. In the afternoon, we got a tour of the land with Scott Fisher to learn more about where… Read More
Written by Cat and Henry, Italy & Greece Semester Students
We spent this week at Centro Panta Rei. On Monday we embark by train towards Florence. We are all looking forward to being back in a city! We can’t wait to see and walk around the beautiful city of Florence and taste the world’s most recognized and flavorful wine. But we will wish a bittersweet goodbye to our beloved farm… Read More
Written by Kate Sandoval, 2022-23 Latitudes Student
Arriving on a beautiful Sunday afternoon (beautiful by the Seattle Washington definition), I settled in the small apartments in Las Rosas to meet my first roommate, Vanessa. Daniela and Misael of Biosean allowed me a couple days of downtime until Nathalie, our third roommate arrived. Vanessa showed me a little intro of the beautiful beaches and led me around to memorize the necessities… Read More
Written by Kelli Parker, 2022-23 Latitudes Student
This semester was overwhelmingly empowering. I flew halfway across the country by myself and somehow managed to get myself to all the places I needed to be. Just for some context, I’m extremely directionally challenged. Like, extremely. So, just that was an accomplishment for me, but the other great thing was how out of my comfort zone it pushed me. I was forced… Read More
Written by Peyton Molacek, 2022-23 Latitudes Student
My first 6 weeks in Koh Tao, Thailand have been full of many, many, many unexpected adventures. I came into this experience thinking I was going to dive everyday and maybe input some data. I never imagined experiencing everything I have so far.
Last week, the other interns and I spent over 6 hours snorkeling in an attempt to find a reported injured… Read More
Written by Central America Students, Caedin and Menna
This week, we arrived in the beautiful city of Quetzaltenango, aka Xela! After a 4 hour car ride, we finally arrived at our hostel Casa Seibel. We started off the week with Spanish classes at PLQ, a school within the city that has been around since the 1980s. We met our teachers and began our individual learning experiences. Some of us chose… Read More
Written by Levi, Southeast Asia Semester student
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi
This last week, we traded our cushy, air-conditioned rooms in Siem Reap for cozy cabin beds with bug nets in (near?) Battambang. We stayed at Pteu Teuk Dong (PTD), a school that is part of a NGO focused on international education access and community development. We were welcomed and introduced to the program by program… Read More
