A little over a week ago we left behind all of the luxurious and touristy comforts of Cusco and took an overnight cama cama bus loaded with la-z-boy recliners, movies, AC, questionable airplane food, and even our own flight attendant. It was quite the experience, but short lived and the pampering was over when we woke up in the sticky heat the Amazonian river town Puerto Maldonado. The town is… Read More
Mcleod Ganj is a suburban town in the northern section of Dharmsala, laying on the ever rising hills with miniature, breakneck curving roads that redefine traffic laws and pedestrian awareness. Mcleod Ganj has been an area of refuge for the Tibetan people living in exile and fear caused by the Chinese Government. After resting our bones for a couple days in a local guest house, our contact introduced our group… Read More
This week our family got seperated in half an we each went to different areas to do conservation volunteer work with the CVA (Conservation Volunteers of Australia). I think we were all in agreement that it was weird not being together with a huge group of 12 all the time. Just from the excitement and smiles and hugs when we finally reunited, it was clear how much we missed each… Read More
After our four hard days of work at the conservation project the fam reunited to spend 3 amazing days in beautiful Noosa. It felt so good to be back with the rest of the group. Time has been flying by and we cant believe theres only 2 weeks left. After being seperated from half the group for four days we all realized how much we are going to miss eachother… Read More
This week started off heavy when we visited S-21 and the Killing Fields in Phnom Penh. For those of you who don’t know, S-21 stands for Security Office 21 which was originally a high school but was turned into a prison during the ruling of Pol Pot and the genocide (1975-1979). The number 21 stands for the 21st prison out of 167 prisons that existed during the genocide. At the… Read More
Swag (adj): The new generations alternative word for cool. Anyone who thought they carried themselves in a cool or sexy way.
Swag (n): Canvas bedroll to protect oneself and belongings when camping in the outback. combination between a sleeping bag and tent.
Swags were swag, the outback was swag, we are swag.
We spent our nights sleeping under the brilliant southern hemisphere constellations and spending most nights trying to figure… Read More
There is no way to describe the feeling of travelling besides ecstasy. Driving through a new city on a rickshaw, dodging through crowded streets filled with cars, motorbikes, free-roaming dogs and holy cows. Sitting on an Indian hotel roof, looking at a different side of the same moon that you know so well.
The feeling of euphoria I get when I am experiencing something totally new, something completely out of… Read More
Susaday (Hello) families! For only being in Cambodia for a week we’ve already had a lot of new, eye-opening experiences. Our week started out in Battambang, volunteering at the Ptea Teuk Dong organization and then ended in Siem Reap, exploring ancient ruins.
We volunteered at an organization called Ptea Teuk Dong'(PTD) which in Khmer means ‘House of Coconut Water’. This is a non-profit organization that previously worked with sexually trafficked… Read More
For starters, mode pronounced like (mo-day) is goodbye in Fijian and that is what we said to our Fijian getaway resort, and Fiji entirely. And with that mode to Fiji we said G’day to Australia and began the final leg of our journey. We arrived in Brisbane and had a little time to explore this city before we departed for Chenrezig Buddhist Institute. Here is where we say Namaste. We… Read More
Hamjambo marafiki na familia!
We spent the past week at a retreat about 45 minutes away from Njombe at Ohana Amani in the company of the amazing Curry and Luca. They were so welcoming and we all are super refreshed. From starting our mornings with an hour of yoga, to three very healthful meals per day (prepared with the help of our own group members), to engaging in labor including… Read More
Well Rishikesh was truly a dream! Full of breathtaking nature, yoga, live music, crystals, vegan food, and dreadlocks…yum. I know I’ll be back one day. In some ways, it kind of felt like a little bubble; it was too clean, peaceful, and full of Westerners to be “real India”. I was starting to feel really comfortable there, but that just means it’s time to move!
After fourteen hours of bumpy,… Read More
We spent the past week at the Special Needs Education Center (SNEC) up in the hills outside of Kabale, Uganda. The center is home to primary school-aged children with physical and mental disabilities and is one of the only institutions of its kind in the country. Each day we would split up and half of our group would go hangout with the kids either in the classroom or outside playing… Read More
Our week in Arequipa sold us on Peru pretty easily. Aside from Jimmy, Ryan and TJ, whose inconvenient location necessitated a 45-minute commute to and from the Spanish school, the majority of us took a quick liking to the new country – 5000-meter snow-covered warts and all.
This was especially good news because our next week was libre: We had six days to plan and follow our own schedule, operating… Read More
We left the Intag Watershed with a pretty simple itenerary: Head back to Quito, check into Community Hostel, hit the laundromat, eat ludicrous amounts of brownies, and fall asleep watching movies on the wall projector.
Community is an exceptionally comfortable hostel with delicious meals, friendly (English-speaking) staff, and a welcoming vibe. It was the first place we stayed after arriving in Ecuador back in September, and most of the group… Read More
!Hola muchachos! This week the Quetzal Queens and Kevin nested in Quetzaltenango; we finally made it home! Well, maybe not, but the time is flying by.
Our homestay families here were awesome. Everyone enjoyed some thrilling nights with their fams watching classic movies dubbed into Spanish with fun new names like, “Que Paso Ayer?”, “Los x hombres”, “Alecia en el lugar de los Maravillosas”, etc. Pop those into a translator… Read More
“Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy.”
-Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
On November 8th, the Sacred Valley, near Cusco, greeted us with an overcast sky, a calm river, and enormous, cultivated mountains on… Read More
Hola. The group has gotten very good, at becoming very comfortable, very fast. After a long day of travel, we arrived at the Bona Fide Permaculture Farm. Permaculture is a design science, an agricultural system that is the most sufficient, simple, and sustainable way of human life. A system in which every element has multiple functions, and every function has multiple elements. We started off the week with a brief… Read More
As we spent our last couple of days in Matagalpa enthusiastically talking about our Halloween trek through the Selva Negra all of the talk finally became realistic. Our 30 minute car ride was filled with excitement as we inched closer and closer to our hiking destination. Once we started our trek we stopped every so often to take some pictures and take in all the scenery that was around us… Read More
Wow! Week 7 already??!!
This week we stayed in a small rural community near Xela, Guatemala. We stayed at the school called Escuela de la Montaña! Though we lived at the school, we ate our meals with families in the community. Most of the meals included lots of tortillas, beans, vegetables, and sometimes pasta. I think everyone avaraged about 15 tortillas per day at least! All the families made them… Read More
