Follow the Journey

Written By Sierra, Latitudes Year ’20 Costa Rica Hello everyone! I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to volunteer at Kids Saving the Rainforest which is located in Quepos, Costa Rica. I visited Costa Rica when I was much younger, but going back and being able to give back changed my perspective and increased my appreciation for the beautiful country. Kids Saving the Rainforest is a nonprofit organization that… Read More

Written By Molly, Latitudes Year ’20 Argentina Selecting a FVP was a long process for me, juggling between a variety of different focuses and locations across the globe. But eventually I committed to teaching English in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From exploring the trendy and historical city to practicing grammar with energetic children, it was an experience that resulted in both unforgettable memories and personal growth. Let me walk you through… Read More

Written By Hunter, Latitudes Year ’20 Zanzibar Jambo from… Texas! That’s right. I am currently spending the remainder of my Latitudes semester at home in the luxuries of air conditioning, refrigerated food, and a bed that I actually fit in; but let me tell you, it wasn’t always this way! My early return home due to the coronavirus outbreak was totally unexpected, but it has given me a lot of… Read More

Written By Nicole, Latitudes Year ’20 Zanzibar Overflowing heart moments are those when you feel an incredible lightness, fireworks in your belly, complete love and joy in your heart, with a goofy, uncontrollable smile on your face~ they make you want to dance, run and jump all in one breath. When I find myself with an overflowing heart, I feel like a child~excitedly looking at a world map~ understanding for… Read More

Written By Nika, Latitudes Year ’20 Belize I’m at Wildtracks in Belize, which is a rehabilitation/release center for monkeys and manatees. The owners are Paul and Zoe, who are the nicest people. They work so hard for the betterment of the animals here at Wildtracks. Wildtracks have two different types of monkeys: Howler monkeys and Spider monkeys. I work in the nursery with the baby howler monkeys. I’ve been here… Read More

Written By Lily, Latitudes Year ’20 New Zealand Picture this: it’s approaching midnight, and you’re sitting in the middle of the dense, ominous New Zealand forest. You sit in the dark, so your sense of hearing is stronger, and you’re alone. The many sounds of the diverse forest distract from the fact that you can’t tell if your eyes are open or closed due to the intense darkness. You listen,… Read More

Written By Lily, Latitudes Year ’20 Thailand S̄wạs̄dī from Koh Phangan, Thailand! It’s crazy to think that 6 weeks ago, Jackson, Madi and I were boarding our 22-hour flight to arrive on this beautiful island in the Gulf of Thailand. Time is flying by; it’s hard to believe we are past the halfway point in the semester! At Core Sea, on our daily morning dives, there is always a new… Read More

Written By Sydney, Latitudes Year ’20 Indonesia Hello from Bali! I am currently living in a village called Tianyar on the North East coast of the island. For the past few weeks I have been working with other volunteers and local fishermen to deploy reef structures into the ocean out front of where I have been living. Each morning we go to the beach to either build, move, or deploy… Read More

Written By Lindsay, Latitudes Year ’20 Guatemala Living in El Paredón, Guatemala is akin to constantly being on vacation, I am surrounded by palm trees, it takes me 3 minutes to walk to the beach, and the weather is hot and tropical. A day in my life begins with an early start at 8:30 am (early for me at least because I am a teenager and used to waking up… Read More

Written By: Isabel, Latitudes Year ’20 Kenya The liveliness and hospitality in Kenya is inescapable. I always find myself in awe of the sense of community I have seen many countries embody. Often times, being seen as or referred to as a “sister” or “brother”. The way of life here feels so natural; with months left here it still doesn’t feel like long enough. From the loud music, the cultural… Read More

Written By Sammi, Latitudes Year ’20 Costa Rica For my Focused Volunteer Placement I chose to work at a jungle animal rehabilitation sanctuary in Costa Rica! To start my day, I eat breakfast with all of the volunteers and staff, including fellow Carpe Diem member, Sierra. We start work off by chopping fresh fruit and vegetables for the animals, and making sure everyone gets their necessary medication. Some animals housed… Read More

Written By Madison, Latitudes Year ’20 Thailand Hello from COREsea, in beautiful Koh Pha-ngan-, Thailand. The island of Koh Pha-ngan is like a sense from a movie. At COREsea Jackson, Lily and myself have been hard at work. During diving we have been doing fish survey’s, coral bleaching surveys, coral identification and coral predator surveys. On conservation Friday’s, we pick up trash on the beach and take out plastic and… Read More

Training is a wrap! Safe travels to all the Latitudes Year students as they head off to volunteer with organizations working in wildlife & marine conservation, environmental justice, community development, human rights protection, sustainable tourism and many more. The group of 28 students will be spread across placements in Thailand (3), Indonesia (2), Sri Lanka (1), Cambodia (1), New Zealand (2), South Africa (5), Namibia (1), Kenya (1), Argentina (2),… Read More

Greetings Latitudes families and friends! We wanted to report that our cohort of 27 Latitudes students have arrived to Portland safely and have made their way to Camp Angelos. We have spent our first evening getting to know one another, looking back at everyone’s group semester, as well as beginning to look ahead and set goals for the upcoming semester. Not to mention a delicious dinner and fire to sit… Read More

Written By Sarah, Latitudes ’19 Guatemala I had a really hard time deciding where I wanted to go on my latitudes semester, so much so I almost backed out of it entirely, but I’m so glad I didn’t. For the last two and a half months I have been living in Chimaltenango, Guatemala working with a ministry called One Way Community which offers extra classes after school. We have kids… Read More

Written By Sophie, Latitudes ’19 Cambodia About three months ago I hopped on a plane for twenty-seven hours and eventually found myself in the tiny coastal community of Kep, Cambodia. Even though I was quite literally as far from New York as I could be, arriving in Kep and arriving at Vagabond Temple felt like I was arriving home. From the beginning, everyone welcomed me with open arms, and I… Read More

Written By Shelby, Latitudes ’19 Belize My first night at Wildtracks in Belize was rough. I called my parents, tears streaming down my face, and begged them to book me a flight home as soon as possible. I was convinced I had made the wrong decision because it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Not to mention, a live mouse and a cockroach were living in the mosquito net… Read More

Written By Camille, Latitudes ’19 Belize I am a horrible decision maker. I have a tendency to over think everything, minute or not, and am a definite worrier by nature. This little factoid about myself, as you might imagine, made picking a latitudes placement one hell of a ride. The moment I signed onto Carpe Diem I started sifting through years of blogs by previous latitudes students and researching the… Read More

Written By Josh, Latitudes ’19 South Africa The past 3 months in South Africa have been some of the quickest but most memorable days of my life. I spent my time there doing amazing work with a program called Dreamcatchers, that has been working tirelessly to improve the community of Melkhoutfountein in any way that they can. Every day I was doing something different, some of it was hard but… Read More

Written By Madeleine, Latitudes ’19 South Africa A life changing volunteer experience in a place where everybody knows your name is what the two-and-a-half months I spent in Gansbaai was. There is no “typical” day working for Marine Dynamics. You can expect anything from having to leave a lecture early to collect dead sharks off the beach then having to ride on top of them in the back of a… Read More