Tess’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
I grew accustomed to seeing dogs speeding along the road with soda cans tied to their tails. Or the daily incident in which four dogs were intertwined with one another post intimacy. The four remained stuck to each other like the cartoon “Cat Dog” as more dogs would attempt to join in. This was typically followed by numerous voices shouting “dale dale” to the pack of conjoined dogs attempting to… Read More

Lasting Impressions

carpediem India- SHANTI
We’ve just received word that the Mighty Shanti is off! Two students are staying on to explore India; one is heading back to Australia; and the rest are currently boarding their flight back to San Francisco. Much gratitude to all for the support over these last months, and please enjoy this final reflection from our extraordinary Overseas Educators Twelve weeks ago, we were sitting in a circle in Raj Ghat… Read More

Billy’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
So after our first week in Viñales we moved to the more rural part called Los Jasmines. This was for our farming portion of the trip. We had amazing food for every meal and Anni, our host mom, was always so gracious and had this super infectious laugh that got everyone around her laughing, regardless of if we understood her or not. She would always serve Nina and I tea… Read More

Julia’s vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
We were in Viñales and everyone was geared up for a relaxing day on the beach. When we all went to meet up to head out on said adventure, Grant decided to smash his head into an AC unit while frantically looking for his phone, the momentum of which caused his front tooth to skyrocket out of his head. This caused a radical change of plans due to the fact… Read More

Bryan’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
BK ‘barracuda’ Kohler presents: a Vignette We were at a restaurant outside Bayamo, experiencing ‘Cuban time’: Two hours of waiting and still no food. I felt fine as I had eaten a breakfast fit for some tottering creature from the Jurassic period, but others weren’t so lucky. The stagnancy of the whole thing assured that a fair amount of voltage was coursing through our veins come meal time. We had… Read More

Zoe’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
Coming to Cuba I had no idea how intertwined dancing is in the culture here. I’ve yet to meet a single Cuban who can’t girate their hips like a professional. So naturally I was pretty intimidated when it was decided that we were going out dancing with the Café Caliente dance team that we were working with in Santiago. We had learned a few moves from the classes that we… Read More

Nina’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
A week of stomach sickness, homesickness, and heat had drained me emotionally. It was Los Jazmines, smack dab in the middle of the trip, and I was getting in my head. I came home stressed out and upset after a trip to the hotel to try to call my mom proved unsuccessful, and I was feeling pretty down. I sat down all alone to drown myself on pity as I… Read More

Grants vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
In Playa Larga, one of the last cities (towns) we visited, the contrast between old “Hemingway Cuba” and the modern Cuba involving casa particulars and restaurants was incredibly visible to me. I was sitting on a rickety old pier under the stars, gazing at the old wooden fishing boats bobbing up and down with each passing wave. Off in the distance I could hear the booming stereos playing reggaeton and… Read More

Sean’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
I’d say my most memorable experience was the one that came to mind when asked the question. It’s not very crazy or incredibly interesting but it has value to me. So, we were hiking in the sierra maestra, visiting places where both Fidel and Che had established a “centro” or headquarters in English. The group separated into squads by pace, as most hikes devolve to, and I found myself without… Read More

Kemper’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
For those who don’t know, Cuba has been experiencing a severe drought over the last few years which makes it very challenging for farmers to grow crops. One afternoon during our stay in Los Jasmines (a small farm town), a few group members and I were relaxing quietly on the back patio of our Casa Particular. The sun was beaming brutally against the dry soil as it had done everyday… Read More

Ally’s Vignette

carpediem Cuba - CHANGO
On our first solo day in Havana, I ventured out by myself to go and walk around the city for a while. My goal this afternoon was not to go out and explore the city or to practice Spanish, it was to finish my college housing application. I walked down the Malecón and ended up on a bench at the back of the Hotel Nacional, with a beautiful view of… Read More

Happiness

carpediem India- SHANTI
Blog from Liam K I think the main thing that I learned from my time in India is what being happy really means. Before going on this trip I felt lost and not sure what I wanted to do with my life. Although I didn’t find a dream career or a job I know I want to do for the rest of my life while traveling in India, I now… Read More

Kifaru is Homeward Bound!

carpediem East Africa- KIFARU
We’ve just received word that the Kifaru crew is all checked into airport security and, after 3 wonderful months together, are parting ways. A huge asante sana (thank you!) to everyone who has supported the journey along the way, from our incredible contacts and hosts in East Africa to friends and families back home. An especially big thank you to our rockstar Overseas Educators, Kelsi and Chris, and to all… Read More

Zanzibar!

carpediem East Africa- KIFARU
Blog from Riley S. Photos from Kelsi & Chris Greetings from Zanzibar, friends. We have recently spent the last week exploring paradise! After an hour and half voyage on a crowded ferry, we finally made it to Stone Town. There we found ourselves greeted by our guide. He showed us to our home stay. We spent six days staying with Muslim families in the heart of Stone Town. Each day… Read More

“Walkabout: A World 14+ Hours Ahead of the USA” Conservation Edition

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
walkabout This week on “Walkabout: A World 14+ Hours Ahead of the USA” : Our strong young cadets head into the wild, wacky and inspiring world of marine conservation where they plant fig trees, take part in a world-wide campaign for scientific research, battle nimble wallabies, and pursue a dangerous mission into the mysterious Daintree Rainforest! And a twist: the advice of a lifetime will be doled out in the… Read More

Tortugas

carpediem Central America- MAYA
“title” : TORTUGA! Welcome to sunny Costa Rica where we’ve been staying at a turtle conservation project for the last week. Apparently we came in the low season which was a disappointment because we’ve all been looking forward to seeing turtles for the last 11 weeks. 3 of us did actually end up seeing a turtle on the beach the very first night but no more after that. The beach… Read More

Blowing Bubbles

carpediem South Pacific- WALKABOUT
G’day mate, This week our crew traveled back to Cairns once again to explore the wonderful world of SCUBA diving and snorkeling. Tommy Boy, Loose, Molls, JJ, Georgie, Randy, Caro and Aisil woke at the crack of dawn to get ready for their first day of SCUBA school!!! They spent the day watching videos with their instructor Rob as well as blowing their first bubbles underwater!! While they were in… Read More

Student Directed Travel!

carpediem Central America- MAYA
Nicaragua has been a dream. We started off the week leaving Bona Fide which just about everyone was excited for. Getting up before the sunrise was hard for most but we managed to make it to the bus stop in time. The day was full of a lot of ‘playing it by ear’, running to catch the next bus and being squished by random Nicaraguans. We eventually managed to make… Read More

SCUBA!

carpediem Southeast Asia- SABAI
Hello and welcome to one of our final blogs as we enter the home stretch of this trip. This week we came out of student directed travel through the wild city of Saigon and entered the most more relaxed tourist hotspot of Nha Trong. Surrounded by sandy beaches and full of shirtless Russians, Nha Trong reminds you more of a florida beach resort than a Vietnamese city. Here we got… Read More

Mr Him

carpediem Southeast Asia- SABAI
Nestled on the southern coast of Cambodia lies the town of Kampot, a short walk through the town will find you more english text than Khmer script as foreign run bars and burger joints dominate the center of town. Stationed along the beautiful Kampot river that has provided the town with a steady supply of fish markets and seafood restaurants, it has also provided a living to the countless fisherman… Read More