Hello parents and students alike from Forrest and Stace, Carpe Diem’s Fall 2022 Hawai’i OEs! We write to you from Carpe Diem staff training in sunny (for the most part) Portland, Oregon. Here we find ourselves working to put the finishing touches on our upcoming adventure together, getting to know each other better, as well as relaxing, recharging, and having some much needed fun! With just under one week until… Read More

Written By OEs, Mara & Cahill Hey Campers. This wild ride had to come to an end at some point, turns out that was last week! This time spent learning from our numerous kipunas, our crash course in living a life filled with kupono, and singing our oli everywhere we went cannot be summed up with words on a screen. To all those reading these very words, know that these… Read More

Written By Wynn & Emily It’s officially our last week on the program, and by the time friends and family read this, most of us in the group will probably be in the air or already landed at home. It is a very bittersweet ending, with everyone sad to say goodbye and also excited to see their loved ones again after seventy days. The past week was very full, with… Read More

Written By Gigi & Delia This week Mara and Cahill were dismissed from scheduling obligations and joined the chicken ranks for our student led travel week! Dun dun dun!!!! Destined to be the most chaotic but definitely not lacking in fun, we started our week by wrapping up our time in Miloli’i. The group participated in a town hearing to push forward legislation proposed by the village to protect 18… Read More

Written By Lana & Luke To begin the week, we said goodbye to Pineapple Park Hostel, heading south of Kona. An hour long drive and serene views took us down to Miloli’i, the last fishing village on the island of Hawai’i. We arrived to a barren landscape of jagged lava rocks, all of which formed from Mauna Loa erupting one hundred years ago. The change of scenery was drastic. Dry,… Read More

Written By Omer, Mikayla, & Andrew From more goodbyes to ocean time to bees, this week has been all the buzz! We began Wednesday farming with our new friends, the interns at the local organic and regenerative farm. We loved having another day getting our hands dirty and connecting with the earth, planting and picking different crops. We then met Jennifer, an incredible woman who singlehandedly created a department of… Read More

Written By Luke & Wynn To start off this busy week, we worked with the amazing interns at the local farm to prepare gardening beds for future planting. We weeded, aerated, and flattened the beds using hula hoes, pitchforks, and rakes. After prepping most of the beds, we split into groups of two to plant a wide variety of crops including carrots, lettuce, fennel, tomatoes, and beans. When our day’s… Read More

Written By Emily & Andrew Wednesday the 23rd, our morning started out by leaving our campsite at the refuge with a gorgeous rainbow shining above our heads, good luck before taking on the long, windy road to Hana. During the three hour drive, we stopped at Ke’ane Peninsula to watch the waves crash against the large rocks, sending sea mist into the air before it landed on us. Our next… Read More

Written By Lana & Mikayla As the pink clouds reflect on the shimmering, churning ocean, transforming it into an opalescent purple sea of wonders, we awoke to another week that will transcend beyond our expectations. IT WAS CRAZZYYYY!!!!!!!! Truly fulfilling our internal desires to work vigorously, we gave this week our all. With that, we experienced so many beautiful moments, laughed until there were tears in our eyes, and shared… Read More

Written By Omer & Delia This week we had some major transitions. We’ve had to say goodbye to people and places that have become an intrinsic part of our life: Camp Olowalu, whose sprinklers and wooden showers will be remembered; Kipuka Olowalu with all its magic; Joi the dog, whose enthusiasm will forever be unmatched; Teje, who will forever be our auntie; and most sadly, Reggie the rooster, who we’ll… Read More

Written By Caroline and Max A group of twelve, Reggie the rooster (with the addition of Lil Peep and many cats), and the continually infamous cooler that goes by Uncle George have been romping around the natural playgrounds of Maui for a second week, with much to share. On Thursday, we returned to Kipuka Olowalu where we tie-dyed our own kiheis out of a dirt/water solution, found our inner little… Read More

Written By Team Aloha, led by Wynn and Omer! A group of twelve (along with Reggie the rooster) have been roaming Maui for a week. Shockingly, we all know how to swim. From orientation activities to planting taro, we’ve had a stellar time. We’ve swam a bit and saw whales from afar, visited two farms, went to the real Uncle George’s live slack guitar show with his buddies, and celebrated… Read More

  Dear Families and Friends of the Spring 2022 Carpe Diem Aloha Group: Team Aloha has made it safely to Maui and has gathered at Camp Olowalu! They’ll enjoy a few days of orientation activities, day hikes to waterfalls, the sight of breaching humpback whales, and epic sunsets. We are grateful to everyone who helped to make this journey possible! We wish the Aloha group all the best as they… Read More

Written By Overseas Educators: Mara & Cahill Aloha! Mara and Cahill here, coming in from Portland, Oregon. Although the students will be the usual voice on the majority of the blogs throughout our adventure, you will be hearing from us periodically too. We have been preparing for the semester ahead with some great conversations, an in-depth look at our logistics, and enjoying the Portland culinary scene. Our minds have been… Read More

Poem by Overseas Educator Rachel Lightner 68 days later, we have arrived. It has been quite the wild ride. Remember the awkward small talk in the airport, trying to figure out who was a Carpe Diem kid? The ones with the massive backpacks, lost look, that one has my bid. The quiet car ride back to Olowalu and a sleepless night, 4am wake up call from roosters and cat fights.… Read More

Written By Amanda & Calvin Gather ‘round, gather your young and old and prepare your ears to listen to Carpe Aloha’s spinsters of tales, Amanda and Calvin! Not too long ago, on Wednesday the 10th of November, the children trekked through highways and side roads to the magical lands of Auntie He (”hay”). There, they crouched low to the fragrant soil and ridded the ground of its petulant invaders. That… Read More

Written By Katharine & Gus Wassup from Katharine, and Gus. Thursday morning was very relaxed. Katharine, Katie, Belle, and Cooper went with Rachel to fill up our water jugs while the rest of the group hung out at the campsite. On the water trip, they also stopped at the grocery store and made sure to get Vanessa her yerbs. In the afternoon, we headed down to the park and balled… Read More

Written By Vanessa & Belle Aloha from Vanessa and Belle Last time we blogged we had just finished out a day of tree planting the local farmstay. For our final day on Maui, we worked on Uncles George’s farm. We had the opportunity to work with some animals, including horses, goats, sheep, cows, chickens, and pigs. Belle even got the chance to tangle a small pig that had escaped its… Read More

Written By Vanessa & Belle Greetings from Vanessa and Belle When we arrived at our new placement (a local organic farm), Katie gasped at the site of a refrigerator. Evan, our host, graciously prepared a covered kitchen and living area. We spent our first day getting aquatinted with the land through a short tour and setup of our camp site in the fruit forest. In the afternoon, we had the… Read More

Written by Ty & Katie Aloha from Ty and Katie, We started off our week by working with Kia’i, continuing our work on the stream pulling weeds. Nicco helped organize us when we pulled large weeds using a rope. Ben then heroically worked during lunch to machete the remaining weeds in the stream. That afternoon we hung out at camp and Gus and Cooper built a huge fire. On Wednesday,… Read More