Healing House & Year End Reflections

carpediem Latitudes Year
Blog by Paiton Marshall I was sitting in a circle with eleven strangers on the spiky grass outside a hostel that was a deeper hue of orange than the dusty sidewalks of Entebbe. One of our overseas educators, Adam, was speaking. “Okay, we’re going to do a quick check in with everybody about how you’re feeling about being here on a scale from one to five. One finger means you’re… Read More

On to Peru!

carpediem South America- INTI
Blog from Mark Ahari Our time in Ecuador is almost up! What better way to spend it than riding the highest and longest zipline in South America! It was definitely a bit daunting at first sight, it was awesome to see everyone conquer it. We spent our final two days at a hostel in Otavalo. We had a lot of time to relax and get some good food before our… Read More

Matagalpa

carpediem Central America- MAYA
This past week was one for the ages! After spending last week in the remote town of El Pisacho, we set forth to the city of Matagalpa, for our fourth and final week of spanish classes. We spent each morning taking classes at the Colibri Spanish School, and were blessed with yet another wonderful set of teachers. Much thanks and love to Diana, Carla, and Myra for an amazing week… Read More

Cambodia

carpediem Southeast Asia- SABAI
This week was spent transitioning, we left from a peaceful yoga meditation retreat into the small city of Chaing mai Thailand for one day.we spent this day at a pool and for the first time during our stay in Thailand we experienced rain. That night we took an overnight bus to the capital city of Bangkok. The bus ride was long and entertaining due to the fellow travelers sitting near… Read More

final time in fiji

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Bula! We’ve been in Fiji for nearly two weeks now and absolutely loved our stay in Nakuku. We were able to get to know such a unique part of the world that we didn’t even know existed. We dove into new cultural practices, including eating all of our meals while sitting on the floor, wearing traditional Fijian attire, and participating in local practices. On Sunday, we went to a neighboring… Read More

Las Terasas!

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
Blog by Sean and Colin Hola, Hello, and welcome to our 7th (I think) blog! This week we began our retreat in Las Terasas, named for the terrace like system of agriculture established to create a sustainable ecosystem. We were each placed in our separate bird houses and have enjoyed it so far. Each bird house is 9 feet above ground and requires super human strength to enter. We have… Read More

Fiji Time!

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Hello from paradise! This is our 6th day on the beautiful island of Vanua Levu, one of the two largest Fijian islands. Last Tuesday we said our bittersweet goodbyes to New Zealand, and were excited to embark on the next leg of our journey. After a brief flight from Christchurch to Auckland, we boarded our next plane heading off to Nadi, Fiji, on the island of Viti Levu. We were… Read More

Rishikesh & Yoga

carpediem India- SHANTI
Blog from Emma Parker We arrived in Lakshman Jhula, Rishikesh, exhausted, after a 5 hour train ride and almost 2 hour rickshaw ride from Haridwar station. Despite most of us being in desperate need of a nap, air-conditioning, and lunch, we were immediately struck by the beauty of this unique town. Temples and stupas stuck out among buildings, nestled in between the beautiful Ganges river and huge green hills. After… Read More

Our Time in Rwanda

carpediem East Africa- KIFARU
Blog from Moreh Stewart I think I speak for all of us when I say we wish we could have more time in Rwanda, especially the beautiful city of Kigali. We arrived in this vibrant city on the 28th of March and each day has brought its own challenges and joys. we visited five memorials, a colorful market, and an amazing Coffee farm. After our first night in Kigali we… Read More

Viñales, Español, y Cuevas!

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
Blog by Ally and Julia We’ve spent this past week farming, speaking Spanish, and relaxing in the beautiful town of Las Jazmines right outside of Viñales. During our mornings here we’ve been helping out on local farms, doing jobs such as planting lettuce, moving soil to beds, harvesting tomatoes, and prepping beds. The farmers here had difficulty finding jobs for us to do because of the drought that has been… Read More

Pun Pun and Suan Sati

carpediem Southeast Asia- SABAI
What a mindful week we’ve had! We began with a warm welcome from Rompei and Peggy, our wonderful guides at Pun Pun Organic Farm. Rompei could teach you about virtually anything, from soap making to Thai massages to the uses of garlic and all the plants in Pun Pun’s garden to an intense organ massage Luke was able to experience! Each night, we would take on a job: We’d gather… Read More

Project Bona Fide

carpediem Latitudes Year
Blog and photos from Matthew C Hello from Ometepe, Nicaragua! I’ve spent the last 2 months or so here on Ometepe island in Lake Nicaragua volunteering at Project Bona Fide, a permaculture farm based in the small community of Balgue. Each day starts at 6:45 here on the farm, when all the volunteers meet in the communal kitchen areas and break off into different groups going to work in different… Read More

Student Directed Travel and Gooood times

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Kia Ora! After a high-action week: trekking from Raglan on the North Island to Wellington, across the Cook Straight by ferry to Picton, a bus ride to Nelson, a van ride to Tākaka, a few days hiking, swimming and kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park, and finally a relaxing night back in Nelson… …we began our second week of Maori cultural exchange in Le Bons Bay on the Banks Peninsula… Read More

Yogendra, Columbia

carpediem Latitudes Year
Blog and photos from Jada Smith Greetings from Yogendra! If someone told me a year ago I’d be living at a yoga ashram in the middle of Colombia at this time in my life, I’d probably brush them off as insane. Upon finishing my senior year of high school, I was committed to what I thought was the university of my dreams, despite having never visited it. It was a… Read More

Twiga, Tembo, and Pumba, Oh My!

carpediem East Africa- KIFARU
Blog from Nina S, photos from Chris and Kelsi Over the last week we had the honor of living and working with the NGO Wildlife Connection. This NGO specializes in bridging the gap between wildlife and humans. We worked with them to build elephant friendly fences for local farmers. Elephants will often travel outside of Ruaha National Park, looking for food, often finding it on farms and tramping all the… Read More

Madagascar!

carpediem Latitudes Year
How many people do you know have been to Madagascar? Me, I’ve only ever met one person, a well traveled man whom i greatly respect and admire. “What do you think of me going to Madagascar for my Latitudes program?” I asked. “You’ll love it.” A 14 hour international flight to Tananarivo, the capital, an hour and a half local flight to Fort dauphin, Madagascar’s most southern city, a three… Read More

Mirror Foudation Fun

carpediem Southeast Asia- SABAI
Blog from Cooper After arriving at the Mirror Foundation and helping restore some of there rice fields, we got dropped of in the Lahu village. Right away we got greeted by friendly smiles and kids jumping on us already wanting to play football. Abooja, abooja saying hello in Lahu to the friendly people. We get into our home stay and get accustomed to our blankets for beds and the ground… Read More