Scavenger Hunt

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
We arrived in Uganda two days ago..we think. It has been very warm and quite the cultural shock. The streets are bustling with thousands of people, jammed pack in cars and vendors lining the streets. Yesterday we got our first taste of Kampala, gathering our barrings. We are staying at Kampala’s Backpackers, where the natives are much more patient with the many white guests. We have been able to enjoy… Read More

The SAM group sends its love!

Archive South America- INTI
We’ve just received a call from Heather letting us know that they’ve all safely arrived in Mindo (outside of Quito) after a couple hours’ ride in a minibus. Everyone is healthy, happy, and ready for adventure. (They will not have internet access for another 2-3 days at best, so they wondered if we would post for them so you all can know that all is well and they send their… Read More

Welcome to the airport!

Archive South America- INTI
Well, it is indeed official. Another South America Carpe Diem group has come together to find themselves embarking on their journey. The entire group is together in South America and they’ll be boarding a plane South to Ecuador “prontisimo.” We’re sending them off with great wishes and blessings aplenty for a phenomenal semester!… Read More

The Eagle Has Landed…..

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
The Africa group has landed in Uganda, safe & sound! The internet in the internet cafe where they are staying is down….again….(one of the many challenges of traveling in the developing world); but our leaders managed to borrow someone else’s laptop connection long enough to touch base with HQ. As I write this, they have been in Kampala approximately 10 hours, and no doubt hitting the wall of jetlag. They… Read More

Hasta Luego!!!

Archive Central America- QUETZAL
It’s official! The Central America group is together, and Nick and Amanda have confirmed that all are accounted for! Sit down and hold on, because our next stop is Guatemala! From here on out, the group will be sending all of you love and updates from this blog site, so check back and follow them through their travels. (You might want to give them a good 24-36 hours, though. Long… Read More

And they’re OFF!

Archive India- SHIVA
All India students are present and accounted for at SFO, greeted by an enthusiastic co-leader team. In just about 3 hours they will be in the air bound for Hong Kong, then Delhi. After they get settled in Delhi, they’ll take over this blog for the next 3 months-so stay tuned! (Give them at least 36-48 hours). From Carpe HQ, this is Nannette and Amy saying “Shanti bahar!”… Read More

All Accounted For

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
After an exasperating time not locating the final four Africa groupmates in Heathrow (until 15 minutes prior to boarding), it is with a collective and deep sigh of relief I can announce the completion of the group. All 7 students and both leaders (albeit with a few years shaved from their lives, no doubt) are boarding their fight to Entebbe as I type this. Whew! You’ll next hear from them… Read More

The Spring “09 Adventure Begins!

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
It’s official: the SFO contingent of the Africa team is all together, accounted for, and ready to board their flight to London in about an hour! They’ll meet the rest of their group in Heathrow tomorrow morning our time back here-so stay tuned! For now, this is Nannette at Carpe HQ wishing all a good night…… Read More
Archive India- SHIVA
“May today there be peace within you. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the Love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your… Read More

First post of spring ’09.

Archive South America- INTI
Hola from Portland, OR, and welcome to the South America spring ’09 blog! We are very excited about the upcoming journey and have spent the past week here at Carpe Diem HQ going over all the final details. We are looking forward to meeting you all on Wed. Feb 11th at 10pm at the TACA airlines counter in LAX. Enjoy your last few days in the states and we will… Read More

pre-launch

Archive Central America- QUETZAL
Saludos amigos, The countdown is on, and we (Nick & Amanda) are brimming over with excitement for the upcoming adventure. The itinerary has been fine-tuned and is chalk full of opportunities to learn, serve and explore… with the eight of us experiencing all of this together, we will deepen into Central America in a way unique to any other method of travel. Over the next three months, a weekly update… Read More

The final blog…

Archive South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Hey all, Was it really just a two weeks ago we were sweating buckets in the intense Port Douglas heat, and exploring a totally foreign underwater world? Seems so distant as all of a sudden it gets dark at 4:00 and we are surrounded by all this snow… How can one sum up such an incredible three months, the journeys we went on, the people we have encountered, the changes… Read More

A final Farewell

Archive Central America- QUETZAL
What an amazing trip it’s been! Our last week in Honduras was spent on white sandy beaches Scuba diving, and eating delicious Caribbean coastal food, while our friends and family at home were probably wishing for a little more sun. We have been to four countries, and had the chance to discover Central America, learn Spanish, and make friends that will last a lifetime. Thank each and every one of… Read More
Archive India- SHIVA
Namaste lovely people…Hopefully everyone is slowly recovering from the jetlag and even more ready to begin a new exciting phase. As we all know…the last part of the trip just flew by, and it seemed as though we were saying goodbye much sooner than we were ready for. I know that Shangu and I feel so very blessed to have met you all and to have had the opportunity to… Read More

Galapagos

Archive South America- INTI
Its Stacy here again to give a real quick summary of the Galapagos before we all come back to the states and tell you all about it ourselves! This week in galapagos has been pretty much the best time of my life. The moment we climbed off the airplane and dumped our stuff off on the boat we spent our nights on we were ushered off to see the giant… Read More

The Final Countdown

Archive Southeast Asia- SABAI
Hey all,As our trip comes to a close, it’s time for the final blog. We find ourselves possibly stranded on Koh Tao, and as being stuck somewhere goes, it definitely could be worse. (More beautiful beaches and scuba?! No! Anything but that!) As most of you probably know, the situation in Bangkok prevents any possibility of leaving on our scheduled Bangkok- Hong Kong flight. As of now we don’t really… Read More

Wrapping it Up…Kigamboni to Stone Town

Archive East Africa- KIFARU
So we originally were going to “Paradise” this run-down little two-bit joint complete with brownish water, tents and millipedes. We did that for a night and decided that free-travel or no, lazy time on the beach or no, sometimes it’s better to be proactive. Thus, Camille, Jessie, Aura, David and some other investigatory types walked a total of 50 yards to the left and found what we were looking for.… Read More

Chocolate Salami

Archive India- SHIVA
Before we move on to less important matters, let us touch on a subject that is as deeply ingrained in our hearts as your love: Chocolate Salami. Now, moving on. These last few days have been quite hectic with the Mumbai attacks, but thankfully we are all safe and sound in Calcutta. We are lucky enough to still be staying at Nalin’s aunt’s apartment and the hospitality has been superb… Read More

Last Days

Archive India- SHANTI
Namaste Family and Friends.We finished up the ashram program with a nice Puja ceremony, in which we chanted a mantra 108 times before burning our worries away. Then we left the rushing Ganga and drove down to Haridwar. We stayed here last night and watched the news of the Mumbai attacks – a crazy way to come back to the world indeed. Scary, but luckily it’s far from where we… Read More