Worth The Wait: Make the Most of Your Travel Anticipation

carpediem Portland Headquarters
By Sarah Pike The more you’re looking forward to your long-awaited gap year experience, the less you want to wait, especially if you’re stuck in the middle of seemingly endless classes, dreaded exams, or just the drudgery of everyday work. But if you can change your thinking and take a few steps in the right direction, you can make the time spent waiting more productive and enjoyable. Here’s how to… Read More

Snapshot vs. Story: 5 Tips for Ethical Travel Photography

carpediem Portland Headquarters
Storytelling Through Travel Photography I felt like a caged zoo animal. Traveling through India, I tried to blend into the environment by wearing traditional Indian clothing, a scarf to cover my curly hair, and a bindi between my eyebrows. I still stood out. I was stared at, pointed at and my photo was taken by countless strangers. All this left me feeling exploited. As a long-time photographer who has shot… Read More

#CDEphotos2015 Photo Contest

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Calling all alumni! Ready to make every day a #TBT? Post your favorite photos from your Carpe Diem Education semester, and enter to win $50 gift card(s) to your store of choice! ELIGIBILITY We love our alums! The 2015 Carpe Diem Education photo contest is open to ALL past Carpe Diem Education alumni. CONTEST ENTRY PERIOD The contest will run on a rolling basis from May 18 – June 19, totaling… Read More

Caramel Endings

carpediem South Pacific- HONGI
As we've said throughout the semester…   Life is like a carton of caramels, you just have to guess which ones you will find inside.   We want to thank everyone for such an unforgettable journey through the mountains of New Zealand, across the beaches of Fiji, and from desert to rainforest in Australia. Thank you to all the people that opened up their homes to us, fed us, and… Read More

Hongi has landed in LAX!

carpediem South Pacific- HONGI
They have arrived safe and sound in LA.  Thank you to everyone for an amazing semester filled with adventures, connections, and incredibly valuable work both inside and out.   Best of luck to all of the students in their onward journeys.  So much gratitude from the Carpe office for being a part of this journey!       … Read More

Great White Shark Conservation

carpediem Latitudes Year
Greetings from the Great White Shark Capitol of the world. Gaansbaai, South Africa. Being about 3 feet away from these massive creatures it is so breathtaking when you see an 18 foot shark breach out of the water. It only takes two powerful strokes of their tails and they are at full speed. On the boat one of my favorite things to do is make fish head necklaces for the… Read More

With Love for Nkula

carpediem East Africa- NKULA
From Megan and David:  Madeline & Cass did a better job at writing the final blog post than we could ever hope. We could hardly hope to improve upon it, but we can offer a few small, but incredibly powerful and wise words. Thank you. Each of you. Madeline, Marley, Monica, Meredith, Mamie, Mevin, Madrienne, Mat, & Mass. It has been an honor and a privilege to be apart of… Read More

Yogis and Yoginis

carpediem South Pacific- HONGI
  "Hey y'all! Well, here we are! The trip is coming to an end. We've spent the last week in the rainforest at Prema Shanti. We've been training and studying our minds with the power of meditation, and are becoming little Yogi masters! In our free time we've been swimming in the Blue Hole (literally the bluest water you could ever imagine), reminiscing with each other about the trip, and… Read More

Outback living

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
We are 81 days into our journey and we are preparing to say our goodbyes. We have spent the last five days in the Australian outback sleeping under the stars, hiking our way through the unreal beauty and watching our small family of fourteen get weirder by the day. On the first day we were picked up in Alice Springs by our hilarious guide Dan. He took us on small… Read More

Nkula Returning Home

carpediem East Africa- NKULA
We just heard from Megan and David, our fearless Nkula Overseas Eduators.  The group is about to board their flight from Dar es Salaam and onward as the Spring 2015 East Africa semester comes to a close. It's been such a privilege and honor to see this group grow and thrive over the past few months – we wish them Safari Njema (safe journeys) as they embark on the next… Read More

Opening Minds, Opening Opportunites

carpediem Latitudes Year
Abriendo Mentes could not be a more appropriate name for this organization. Translated as “opening minds”, perhaps the long-term goal of this non-profit is to engrain in these small communities that the world is full of exciting things which they have not even scratched the surface of. Our main work here at Casa Brasilito (a small, newer branch of Abriendo Mentes) is working with kids by providing them with after… Read More

From Rain to Reef

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
Hey everyone! Pistol Pete and Madeleine here, with the latest update from your favourite Carpe group. We began this week finishing up our conservation work in the very lush and moist Daintree rainforest with ecowarrior Hugh Spenser. After spending a week hacking out invasive species, picking up beach litter, planting seedlings, and working with everyone's most liked plant- guinea grass with Hugh, I can happily attest he belongs in ecowarrior… Read More

Latitudes students safe in Nepal

carpediem India- SHANTI, Latitudes Year, Portland Headquarters
After the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal this Saturday, here at Carpe Diem we are holding all of the people affected in our hearts and thoughts. Our three Latitudes students are safe, uninjured, and we are in communication with each of them.  We also have a semester group in Northern India who are unaffected by the earthquake. Two of our students were volunteering in Kathmandu at the time of the earthquake.… Read More

Hakuna Matako

carpediem East Africa- NKULA
From Adrienne and Devin   The transportation gods of Tanzania continue to frown upon us (but don't fret – it gave us tons of good karma for better adventures later on in our SDT!) . Our decision to take the train from Mbeya to Dar backfired when the 24 hour ride turned into 40. We sat for hours on end in uncomfortable seats. In the typical Tanzanian fashion, one seat… Read More

SCUBA SCUBA

carpediem South Pacific- HONGI
Hello to our friends and family back home. You are now speaking to licensed PADI open water scuba divers! This week was spent in Cairns, australia's top diving location. Each morning at 8:00 AM we went to the Cairns Dive Center for in-class knowledge based learning and finished the days in the pool, putting our skills to the test. On the final day, we nervously sat down for our class… Read More

Path to Enlightenment

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
    The gang finished off Chenrezig (the Buddhist retreat) on a high note. Most of us liked a lot of what was being taught and had a good time.. Meredith enjoyed the week so much that she decided to stay there as a volunteer and take her studies further. The rest of the gang is very excited for her but we will all miss her company. After Chenrezig, we… Read More

Be Here Now: Unplugging Abroad

carpediem Portland Headquarters
On all of our Carpe Diem gap year programs, we politely ask that students leave their cell phones, computers, and any other wi-fi devices at home for the duration. “WHAT?!! 3 MONTHS WITHOUT AN iPHONE?!  OMG!  WTF!  LMFAO!” The above response, though imaginary, is not far removed from what we sometimes receive. In the environment of today, “unplugging” is often seen as a radical gesture, something for neo-Luddites or social… Read More

Dylan at Amazoonica, Ecuador

carpediem Latitudes Year
From Dylan S.  So how can I explain the time I've spent in the amazon so far? Hot, sticky, sweaty, smelly, itchy, and wet… But despite everything I own growing a thick layer of mold, I've loved every second of it. I've been volunteering at Amazoonico, an animal rescue center near Tena, Ecuador. I wake up at 6:30 and work 5 days a week until anywhere from 5:00 to 10:30 pm. Mostly feeding… Read More