Safe arrival

Heather Vaught Central America- QUETZAL
We received word that the QUETZAL group has arrived safely in Matagalpa. They are settling into their hostel and getting ready to head to lunch. They are very excited to have arrived and to be beginning their journey. In the coming days, the students will be posting updates here, sharing how their orientation is going. We look forward to reading about the this adventure from their perspective.… Read More

Safe arrival

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
We’ve just received word that the MAYA group landed safely in Guatemala. They are gathering their bags and getting ready for the drive to Xela. They are very excited to have arrived and to be beginning their journey. In the coming days, the students will be posting updates here, sharing how their orientation is going. We look forward to reading about the this adventure from their perspective.… Read More

And they’re off!

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
The MAYA group is all together for the first time! They’ve all arrived safely to LAX, checked in for their flight to Guatemala and are getting ready to head through security. They are already enjoying getting to know one another and are looking forward to the journey ahead. We wish them safe and easy travels tonight and will post another blog here once we receive word that they have arrived… Read More

Off to Nicaragua!

Heather Vaught Central America- QUETZAL
The QUETZAL students have all arrived safely to LAX and are together as a group for the first time! They are checked in for their flight to Nicaragua and are getting ready to head through security. They are already enjoying getting to know one another and are looking forward to the journey ahead. We wish them safe and easy travels tonight and will post another blog here once we receive… Read More

Beginning The Journey

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
Just over a week ago we met face to face for the first time. Much like what our students will face, the moment was filled with excitement and anticipation. Will this person like me? Am I good enough to be here? The doubts and worries soon faded as we embarked on a variety of workshops and sessions, acquiring the knowledge and resources needed to empower and lead our students through… Read More

Group Chango!

Heather Vaught Cuba - CHANGO
Greetings from beautiful Portland, Oregon, the home base for Carpe Diem. Liz and I hope you are as excited to meet us as we are to meet you. During our Overseas Educators Orientation we obtained some great information and fun stuff to transition into Cuba. The first 4 days we camped in the beautiful Milo McIver Park with 22 other Overseas Educators. It was great to swap stories and hear… Read More

Blog from Pucara

Heather Vaught South America- INTI
Saludos from Pucara, Ecuador! Our last week here in Ecuador has been filled with knowledge, adventure and inspiration as we traveled through the Intag region, learning from several communities and taking long hikes through bio-diverse forests. Arriving into Pucara, we were enthusiastically welcomed with a big celebration filled with games, music and dances. After the ceremony we were pushed further out of our comfort zones, once again, by being divided… Read More

First week in Nicaragua

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
Hola familias!! Its our first week in Nicaragua. Wooo homestays and spanish school! We are in the highlands of Nicaragua outside the city of masaya. We each lived with our own homestay in the tiny village of La Concha. In the morning we volunteered with children at local schools and in the afternoon we were in spanish classes. Our teachers are awesome. The school is a refuge for many stray… Read More

Mystical Yoga Farm

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
Hola de Carpe Diem! We have reached the end of our Guatemalan adventure and about the midway point of our trip in total. The last 5 days were spent at the mystical yoga farm where we encountered some of the biggest challenges thus far. The food was vegetarian only but some of us would mozy on over to the near town to grab a little pollo frito. It was a… Read More

Viñales

Heather Vaught Cuba - CHANGO
After being introduced to the beautiful town of Viñales, the group was excited to learn about sustainable agriculture hands on! On our first day, we arrived at a farm – little did we know this was soon to become a regular thing. We were greeted with a tour of the farm: goats, pigs, chickens and more roamed about. (Including a seven-hundred pound pig, that wobbled and snorted to our delight)… Read More

Updates from South America

Heather Vaught South America- INTI
This week took us from the Amazon to the Andes. We have spent the past 7 days in Peguche, a small indigenous town in northern Ecuador. Our group of 12 split into three smaller groups for homestays with local families. We have lived and eaten with our host families as well as had Spanish classes in their homes in the mornings. In the afternoons, the whole group got together to… Read More

La Choza Chula

Heather Vaught Central America- MAYA
After two strenuous weeks of language classes at PlQ and la Escuela de la Montaña we took a four hour bus ride to the city of Antigua where we spent one night. The following day we left for the remote town of El Paredon where we have been volunteering with the local non-profit La Choza Chula. We have been learning about sustainable development in small communities. We volunteered with local… Read More

Updates from the Amazon

Heather Vaught South America- INTI
On Sunday we arrived to the amazon and it was amazing. The water was flowing nice, the amazon house that is owned by Tom had one lounging room that had a dinner table that overlooks the river. Dinner was very special because there was no lights and so its candle-lit throughout the table along with buffet style food served to all 14 of us. Breakfast at 8, work from 9… Read More

Cuba – from Bayamo to Viñales

Heather Vaught Cuba - CHANGO
It felt like we were only back in Bayamo for a split-second before we were on a bus to a new city. A new place to explore, a new group of Cubans who can share their lives with us! The buses in Cuba have been surprisingly comfortable. Chinese made, they have reclining seats and AC consistently cranked down to below freezing…allowing us to finally make good use of our Patagonias,… Read More

Whenua Iti Outdoors

Heather Vaught Latitudes Year
I couldn’t have made a better choice than to come to New Zealand for the second semester of my latitudes year. The past seven weeks here in the Tasman Region on the South Island have exceeded expectations, and I’ve had a blast at my FVP. Interning at Whenua Iti Outdoors, an experiential education organization that brings in school groups for multi-day expeditions and camp programs, I’ve been documenting activities and… Read More

Trekking in Cuba

Heather Vaught Cuba - CHANGO
Day 1 The crew piled into the two vehicles and headed for Santo Domingo! After a long and bumpy ride we arrived, hungry for adventure and maybe a second lunch. We split up into our houses and then met back up to hang out before dinner. There we met our guide Miguel. A man who was friendly and was ready to show us around the mountain. He described the plan… Read More

Updates from Cuba – week in Bayamo

Heather Vaught Cuba - CHANGO
It has been a jam packed week full of all things Bayamo. Bayamo is one of the most historic cities in Cuba, allowing us to better understands this beautiful nation’s history. On our first day in Bayamo we began the day by riding horse coaches throughout the city. We quickly learned that about 40% of the city relies on horses as a means for transportation. The city felt almost farm… Read More