Follow the Journey

We are proud to announce that the Carpe Crew is officially on island time! After 3 months packed with volunteering, travel, and fun, we’re all excited to be getting some beach time in Vietnam’s beautiful “Phu Quoc Island”. Saying goodbye to Cambodia was definitely hard; over the past few weeks we fell in love with its rich culture, friendly locals, and beautiful scenery, and were lucky to wrap up our… 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

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

As we look upon the ruins of a once prosperous city, visions of grand temples and elaborate ceremonies enter our minds. Once the capitol of Thailand and the largest trade hub of the Asian world, now left to trade in its stones for dust. The disintegrating stone temple towers loom high overhead each once serving its own distinct purpose. These ruins are a monument to a once great people now… Read More

After 4 hard days work at Mirror Foundation we started our Trek to the Akah village which is a hill hill tribe in northern Thailand. The trek started out with a drive to our guides village where he showed us the Hill Tribe village museum which was an eye opening experience to see how these villages work and the tradition that the Thai government is trying to make disappear, which… Read More

Today marks the halfway point of our journey together. We have grown a lot since those first days at Diva 3 in Chiang Mai, both independently and as a group. We now crave the sweet sweet release that all white rice meals (aka all meals) leaves us with. Our thigh muscles are rock hard and our aim has increased ten fold from all the post white rice squat toilet visits.… Read More

You may have heard of the term monk. Maybe you think they’re all punks. Turns out they’re real cool, following tons of rules, and they made us all look like chumps. Last week, we stayed at the Plikwiwek Dhamma Center on the border of Burma, and learned all about the monk lifestyle. We were introduced and led around by an Australian bloke named Laurie. He liked to say “ah?” sort… Read More

Hello again from the soap making, garden raking, “from scratch” baking Sabai group! We’ve just arrived back in Chiang Mai after an incredibly fun, eye opening, and beautiful week in “Pun Pun”. “Pun Pun” translates to “Thousand Varieties” and is a community centered around self-reliance and improving personal and global health, the economic struggles of current Thai farmers, and the environmental implications of sustaining our planet (with a focus on… Read More

Sorry for the late blog post, we’ve been having too much fun living in the moment – we are all alive and well (parents please don’t worry, all is top notch on our end). After orientation in Chiang Mai and our trek with third eye travel, our group headed about 6 miles north of Chiang Mai to a town/village called Mae Rim. We met our Thai teacher, Petchara, at the… Read More

Do bring toilet paper Don’t believe the guides, especially when they tell you it will be a short flat trek Do appreciate the morning roosters Don’t kill the morning roosters Do talk to the locals Don’t get attached to the village dogs (Roger nooooo) Do morning yoga with Alisha Don’t forget to hydrate Do ride the elephants Don’t forget bug spray Do your best to avoid flying elephant poo poo… Read More

Sah-wat-dee kah/krap! Our time in Chiang Mai has already taught the group so much about traveling in a new place. We have spent the past week getting to know each other and our new home away from home, Chiang Mai. We have learned… – You can always rely on the kindness of strangers to give you directions or just a friendly hello – Always be willing to try new things… Read More

Day one is quickly coming to a close. The question of “Is 7:30 too early to go to sleep” has been floating around for the last few hours. Fortunately all of the flights went smoothly and we immediately jumped into a damp adventure. The students eyes were wide as we zoomed to our hostel, and even more so when their first plates of Pad Thai hit the table. The rain… Read More

We’ve received word that the Seasia group has landed safely in Chiang Mai! Stay tuned to hear more from the group themselves as they begin their exploration of Thailand.… Read More

The mighty Southeast Asia group has successfully gathered together at the San Francisco airport. They’ve gone through security and they are off to board their plane. We’re wishing them traveling mercies as they travel across the world. Stay tuned ’til we hear from the group in Thailand! – Mike and the HQ team… Read More

Hello wonderful Sabai family! This is Alisha and Brett, we are your Overseas Educators for your semester in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The time is drawing near! Before we know it a plane will be taking us to the other side of the world (how crazy does that sound?). We have been working hard here in Portland, preparing for this massive adventure we are about to embark on. We frolicked… Read More

Some final words from your OE team ol'greg and Audrezzy Dear Sabai, it's Audrezzy here! Your capacity to push yourself, to learn, to grow, to love, to accept each other, and your crazy OE team has inspired me beyond words. How can I possibly tell you how much I adore you all!? I am so thankful that each and everyone of you heard the call and signed up for this… Read More

We've received word that the intrepid Southeast Asia group has safely checked in for their flight homeward from Hanoi.  Here is a final shot of Andi and Sam, the last two to go through security.  Traveling mercies to you all.  You've been an amazing group.    … Read More

This week started out with some gardening in Ho Chi Minh City. We visited four different gardens across the city and spent the day planting herbs, making tea, and trying mystery fruits. We closed off our gardening sesh with a rap battle led by Sam and Audrizzy. Our new friend Vie even spit some rhymes of her own. The next morning we set off on our next adventure through Nam'.… Read More