Follow the Journey

  Our stay at the Dharma Center was eye-opening. Our guide, Laurie was a very nice, funny, wise, old man from Australia. It was our first time with an English translator at a temple so it was inspiring to learn the history and true methods of Buddhism. The first day we traveled to the border of Burma and learned about the history of conflict between the different villages. We saw… Read More

So this blog post is a little late. but we spent a week at the Sam Fan Orphanage with some orphans from Thailand. They were all great kids and have very bright futures. they are getting valuable life skills from living there. We helped the kids every morning doing their chores, making compost and playing with them. One day we went on a hike up a creek to a place… Read More

Hey everyone!  We just got back from our week at pun pun farm, doing various acts of volunteer work for the farm.  We learned a lot about eco-friendly farming and recycling various sorts of resources to save money and help the environment.  It was a cool experience and we got to talk with a lot of people who have been working with these sorts of things for their entire life.  … Read More

sorry for this late blog post but for some reason it didn’t get posted and we lost it 2 weeks ago Sa wat dii kha! We are now back in Chiang Mai about to leave for Pun Pun to volunteer on an organic farm for a week. The past week has been amazing! We’ve been living with the hill tribe people in the Jafu-Jaka village. We made a 15 mile… Read More

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Hey everybody! We just finished our home-stays and language classes so we’re on to our next adventure. Currently we are back in Chang Mai, exploring the city, food markets, and attending a Monk Chat. Tomorrow we plan on going white water rafting on some class 4 rapids so I hope everyone can swim!! We leave Chang Mai in a couple days and go to Chang Rai where we go on… Read More

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Hey all you carpe diem students and/or followers, This is Chris here with all the details on the SE Asia trip so far. So we have now been in SE Asia (Thailand to be exact) for 2 weeks exacly. Crazy right?!?! It’s funny because it feels like it’s been atleast a month because of all the wicked awesome things we have been doing so far. Some examples of our adventures… Read More

A slightly belated photo of the group all together at the airport in San Fran. We thought the SEAsia blog followers would appreciate a photo of all the fabulous blog authors! … Read More

The first couple days in Thailand has been awesome!  Chiang Mai is such a beautiful city, especially the temples.  The food tastes great, but i’m definitely going to get used to eating rice, it’s in almost every meal.  We started our Thai language classes and our teacher is very nice and enthusiastic as we struggle through the different tones and meanings of the new language.  Yesterday we visited a Buddhist… Read More

So its Emma. im chiang mai in an internet cafe chillin. im having a great time and I have no clue what to write on this blog. The days are hot, and i have 3 misquitto bites. They itch. The food is amazing and so are the smoothies. Ok im out of things to say. Emma signing off.… Read More

Chris and I are in the middle of an internet cafe in Chiang Mai.  We are doing a scavenger hunt and things are coming along nicely.  We’ve had a lot of unique experiences so far ranging from going to a buddhist temple to eating crickets and cayenne red peppers.  It’s been a lot of fun so far and we will make sure to keep everyone posted with updates!… Read More

So this is CJ or Chris or whatever nickname any of you have called me thus far checking in. We are officially in Thailand and at the Mojito Garden. Pretty chill so far and plenty of nice people. I’ve tried so many new kinds of food and even crickets. The latter was not my favorite. We’ve seen a Buddhist temple, taken thia lessons, and a multitude of other things. Anyways… Read More

We finally made it! The sights, people, and food are amazing. Yesterday we went to the waterfall park and visited a temple. After Derek slipped and fell into the water it was a pretty uneventful day. Although this is short we just wanted everyone to know at home we are safe and having fun. We’ll post again soon!  … Read More

Dear SE Asia families and friends, Carpe Diem HQ is happy to report that the SEAsia group all found one another in SFO this evening and are currently together at their gate awaiting departure. All flights are looking to be on time, and the students and leaders are full of smiles and excitement. While one group member unfortunately decided not to join the group, 6 students and 2 overseas educators… Read More

Saw wat dee ka (kap) friends of SEASIA 2012. Marisa and Ryan here – sending our love from Portland, Oregon.  8 days until we take flight over the pacific in route to Thailand. We’ll be utilizing this blog over the coming months as a medium for sharing our adventures with family and friends back at home. Each week a different student will be in charge of posting stories and pictures… Read More

The following story is a retelling of an incredible experience I had early one morning at an Orphanage in Thailand.  Enjoy! Standing in the middle of the street under a moonless night sky, I cup my hands together and blow into them for warmth.  Right now its cold, but in a matter of just a few hours all that will change as the sun rises and unleashes its harsh, tropical… Read More