A day to reflect

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
The beeping of motorcycles and construction is heard down below this balcony. A cloudy blue sky, tall intricate buildings and a couple of potted plants frame my view. A good view, a good place to reflect. We arrived in Phnom Penh Friday the 28th from a semi long bus ride to Cambodia’s capital. I noticed the crumbling buildings, the new shiny skyscrapers, and the traffic going left, right, forward and… Read More

Rwanda

Archive East Africa- NKULA
Last week our Nkula group drove to Rwanda from Uganda. We immediately felt a difference as the dusty red road turned to smooth pavement over the border. The drive itself was probably the easiest thus far because we were in a private bus, not packed with a zillion other people. We entered Kigali (the nations capitol), and were taken back by the infrastructure. There were sky scrapers, side walks, and… Read More

The Unspoken Words

Archive Central America- MAYA
Hello everyone, Damian here, it’s my turn to write this weeks blog. I’ve noticed that there’s an absence of photos, so this week I thought that I would change it up a bit and post visuals for the great descriptions previous bloggers have mentioned. Before I get to that, here’s an update of what’s been going on since our last post. Our last few days at the turtle conservation felt… Read More

Angkor Wat

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
Third and last post from me (Emma)- I promise! Today we enjoyed the ancient and beautiful ruins at Angkor Wat. One of the 8 Wonders of the world, this was one of the most stunning places I have ever been to, and I think many members of the group agreed. Our group watched the sun set last night over the magnificent brick structures, and woke up at 4:30 this morning… Read More

Goodbye Thailand, Hello Cambodia!

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
Hello from Cambodia! This is Emma again, and I am writing from a internet cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia. We arrived a few nights ago after 2 extremely long days of bus travel, including a pretty smooth border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia. We are all enjoying a free afternoon, and are mostly trying to stay cool in this heat. It is currently 98 degrees here, and we have not… Read More

Getting down and dirty at Sentry Hill

Archive South Pacific- HONGI
This week on hongi student adventures, we departed from the warm stay with the Maori and arrived at Sentry Hill, a WWOOFing farm. ( World Wide Organization of Orgainic Farmers). PJ, Tom and their three awesome kids, were our amazing hosts that kept us organizaed and made us feel right at home.We sweated hard as we herded and milked cows, cleaned paddocks, and for Liz and Annie castrated bulls. Even… Read More

Chiang Mai and Sukothai

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
Sawtdeekha everyone- this is Emma here, writing as the designated blogger this week from a small internet cafe in Sukothai, Thailand. We arrived here yesterday afternoon and already have made many great memories in the last 24 hours at this new place! Today was a day full of unexpected rain, joy and lots of laughter. It is definitely one we will never forget! We left Chiang Mai yesterday morning, after… Read More

Arequipa Part I

Archive South America- INTI
Heya! So, you might already know, but we’re in  Perú!  After just over a month in Ecuador, we left it via a very early taxi ride and plane trip last weekend.  Arequipa, our Peruvian city for the past and next week, has been kind to us.  For the most part.  The pickpocketing warnings that we had been given before our arrival were given for good reason.  Two of our group… Read More

Kia ora!

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
“Kia ora” is the Maori greeting, like hello, directly translating to “be well and healthy.” Our week with the Maori has flown by. Our days have been jam packed, getting up early and working hard all morning, and finishing the day off seeing some of the beautiful sites New Zealand has to offer. We arrived at the Marae (the communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes) on… Read More

Hola from Cochabamba!

Archive Latitudes Year
I have been in Bolivia for about 6 weeks now. My experience thus far has been very different than I imagined. It was really hard for me when I first arrived in Cochabamba for my homestay and Spanish lessons. I felt so overwhelmed and lonely, being in a new county by myself where I don’t speak the language. I wanted to jump right back on a plane and come home.… Read More

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words…

Archive East Africa- NKULA
    The whole crew on our last day in Uganda! Love to all from Rwanda, “the land of 1,000 hills.” We appreciate all of you who are following our journey and equally appreciate all of your patience with the sometimes-slow internet connections out here in East Africa that can make posting images difficult. We wanted to take advantage of a faster connection to throw up a few f or… Read More

Pura Vida

Archive Central America- MAYA
Few words have but one definition. To wrap up our week in Matagalpa, talent reared its many heads in our desolibri Spanish School. To start us off, Easten and Ryan demonstrated the power of teamwork by being the respective arms of Amelia and Damian. Essentially making a really terrific, talented mess. Next up was Nattie, who resourcefully glued cordabas to the bottom of some toms to perform some tap dancing… Read More

Sawatdeekah from Chiang Mai!

Archive Latitudes Year
Here in Thailand, I am thoroughly exhausted, sunburned, and smiling. Truthfully, I have never been happier. When I first touched down in Chiang Mai, after many requests to stay home while the political unrest blew over but coming anyways, I was delighted and exhausted. Here I was, alone in a country. No friends, no acquaintances, just a name and an organization that would be my home for the next four… Read More

Pleek Wiwek Dharma Center

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
Hey everybody its Karenna! I’m writing to ya’ll from home base in Chiang Mai as we spend our final rest days in this now familiar city.  THe past week has been filled with daily meditation and morning and evening chanting, as we enjoyed the company of the novice and full monks at the Pleek Wiwek Dharma Center located just a few minuets from the Burmese boarder.  While there our days… Read More