Bula! Fiji is great!

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Just a quick hello from Fiji to all our fans in the Carpe Diem family.  The group has safely arrived to Fiji.  Orientation is going super well at Mango Bay and other than the occasional rain the weather is great and pretty mild.  The group is shaping up nicely and Justin and Jessica are feeling the vibe of a big love fest already.  Get ready for memories and life long… Read More

Kira and Jan in Antigua

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hi everyone! We´re here exploring in Antigua. So far we have walked around a ton, looked in lots of cool shops, and went on an amazing tour of a cathedral from the 1600s. The architecture was amazing and we got to see the crypts of both important famous people and commoners who had died of infectious diseases. We still have a lot of work to do to complete our scavenger… Read More

Antigua Adventure

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hi Everyone, Ana and Jessie here… we just met a three month old huskie and his owner who wanted to speak English as much as we wanted to speak spanish. The town is beautiful with cobble stone roads and is  full of life and color. Everyone here is so incredibly friendly, helpful, and appreciative. The vibes are awesome. It feels surreal that we are finally here! We are looking forward… Read More

Blake and Yuri

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hola Friends,   We are in Antigua, Guatemala.  Today we are having a scavenger hunt and enjoying the beauty of Central America.  We came down to the town today at noon after getting a solid nights sleep and have a list we have to accomplish in order to win! (which we will)  Hope all is well and we are having fun! Adios… Read More

Antigua Day 2

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hola, Today is our first day of exploration in Antigua. Jana and I are making our way around the city as well as our senses of direction allow us, but enjoying every minute of it.  We´re trying to curb our hunger because we want to space out our meals so that we don´t over eat; healthy living  is one of our missions on this trip. We´re doing a scavenger hunt… Read More

See you in Fiji!

Archive South Pacific- HONGI
In Maori, the indigenous language of New Zealand the word Hongi literally means breathe of Life.  When you enter a Maori community you press your nose to everyone’s there, one by one, and share a breath together.  This marks the point where you are no longer strangers and visitors, but part of the land and community and obliged to take part in it.   It is with that spirit that Carpe… Read More

Hasta Luego Estados Unidos!

Archive South America- INTI
Good bye Pizza Hut, hello ceviche! Our South America crew is all together, headed through security, and ready to embark on this incredible 3 month chapter of their lives!  Despite the hour (3:30 AM, PST) and the fact that their flight does not take off for a few more, there is not a single yawn to be heard in the group.  You can feel the excitement of these explorers and… Read More

Que les vaya bien!

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hasta luego friends and family! As you are reading this, a new group of curious travelers are likely sitting in a circle somewhere in the airport getting to know their travel companions for the next three months.  They have all met up, checked in, gone through security, and our ready to embark on an epic journey.  It was a bittersweet good bye in the office today as we dropped Ben… Read More

Goodbye LA, Bula Bula Fiji!

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Its official!  The group is all together, bags are checked, smiles are prolific, they are through the gates, and in about 30 minutes they will embark on a very, very long flight to Nadi, FIji! A journey of a 1000 miles begins with one step – 8 new travel companions along with Jessica and Justin just took that very first step.  On the surface the journey will take them through… Read More

And they’re off!

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
And so begins a wonderful semester!  The group is together and giddy with excitement about these next three months.  Everyone’s met at the airport … sadly, one of the women had to bow out at the last minute because of an unexpected medical issue – so we wish her the best and speediest of recoveries and hope she can share in this journey if only by following you all in… Read More

last meal!

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
We have 6 of the 7 here at Pdx! We are enjoying the last American meals of gummy worms, bagels, and salads before the warm breeze of Dar Es Salaam greets us late tommorrow night. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we have Internet again. -Team Africa… Read More

Away we go!

Archive Central America- MAYA
Saludos a todos los estudiantes de Carpe Diem Centro America!  We hope everyone’s winter has been fantastic!  We are quickly approaching our rendezvous time at the SFO airport, which is now only 1 day away.  Weee!  We are ridiculously excited to meet all of you and start this excitedly anticipated adventure. This is the blog that you all will be the authors of during your semester, so please pass this… Read More

I come from the land down unda’!

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
At least you will once we embark on this exciting adventure!     Justin and Jessica here in Portland, OR.  We are scurrying around to finalize the details for our amazing journey.  We’ve spoken to all of you as an introduction and to go over the important details of prep, packing, and placement (at the LAX airport).  You should also have emergency phone numbers for the day of travel.  Check… Read More

Hello from Portland

Archive South America- INTI
Hey SAMers!  It’s only a few days now until we are meeting up in LAX bright eyed and bussy tailed at 3am in the morning, which is going to be super fun.  We are meeting at the TACA counter…Feb 9th 3am.   We are both excited about the growth, laughter, and fun we are going to experience in the upcoming months of journeying through two of the most spectacular countries in… Read More

Goodbye Winter… Hello African Sun!

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
  It’s a cold, sunny day here at the Carpe Diem headquarters in Portland, but we’re putting our hats and scarves in storage, busting out the sunblock and sandals, and brushing up on our Swahili.  We fly out in a couple of days, and can’t wait until our whole group is united in Dar Es Salaam, so that we can start the adventure.  For all of the family and friends… Read More

Seganalega Marau! (“No worries, Be Happy!”)

Archive South Pacific- HONGI
What up 2012 Hongi crew:  Zachary, Ben, Annie, Anna, Michael, Katie, Morgan, Maddie, Ori, Brian, and Molly !!! We hope you have been enjoying the last icy gasps of winter and are psyched for our South Pacific adventure.   We leave in six days! This is our group trip blog, a site where all of your friends, family and random stalkers will be able to keep track of our movements and… Read More

Vote for your favorite photos and videos!

Archive Central America- MAYA, Central America- QUETZAL, East Africa- KIFARU, India- SHANTI, India- SHIVA, Latitudes Year, South America- INTI, South Pacific- HONGI, South Pacific- WALKABOUT, Southeast Asia- SABAI
Thanks for all your submissions and drum roll please! After going through a rigorous selection process, we narrowed the field down to 14 photos and 3 videos – there were so many good ones to choose from, so thank you again. We just posted the videos and pictures up on our Facebook page and now it’s time to vote on your favorites! It’s pretty easy, just ‘like’ your favorite and… Read More

“An Unexpected Hello,” by Ryan St. Pierre

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
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

Fall 2011 Photo, Video, and Short Story Contest

Archive Central America- MAYA, Central America- QUETZAL, East Africa- KIFARU, India- SHANTI, India- SHIVA, Latitudes Year, South America- INTI, South Pacific- HONGI, South Pacific- WALKABOUT, Southeast Asia- SABAI
Thanks to all of you for your submissions for this semester’s contest! We are going through all of them right now and will post the finalists very soon for everyone to vote on their favorites. Stay tuned and thanks again for another amazing semester.… Read More