Written By Kaeley & Sophie ¡Buenas tardes from Pachaj! It has been a busy, yet absolutely wonderful, week. During our time in Pachaj, we had the privilege of experiencing Guatemala’s lifestyle through living with host families. We also had the privilege to serve this culture and these people by helping to protect their forests. To finish up the week, we had the incredible opportunity of exploring more developed versions of… Read More

Written By Ava & Ana Hola a todos! Our new adventures in Xela started with new student leaders, Ava and Ana! After our bittersweet adios with the Long Way Home family, our group unpacked our bags and settled into our new cozy hostel located in downtown Xela. As we began to explore our new home we were quick to discover Xelapan, a marvelous bakery filled with dozens of delicious pastries… Read More

Written By Alesh & Flannery ¡Buenas tardes desde Comalapa! Your student leaders Flannery and Alesh here! It has been another jam-packed week filled with many new and exciting activities. Alongside our daily commutes to the school for work and Spanish classes, we have begun to further explore the area and learn about Guatemalan culture and lifestyle. We began the week by trekking into town to eat pupusas, churros, and other… Read More

Written By Maya & Eli ¡Hola desde Comalapa, Guatemala! Maya and Eli here. After an exciting four day orientation filled with volcano sightings and nightly lightning shows, the group said farewell to the beautiful town of Antigua. The farewell was followed by a scenic two hour drive through the Guatemalan countryside to get to our new destination, Long Way Home in the colorful city of Comalapa. We were met with… Read More

MAYA group reporting in from Antigua at the end of a busy program orientation! We’ve hit the ground running here in Guatemala. Our days have been full of group games, orientation sessions, and getting to know one another. Our base has been the Purpose Hostel, a beautiful little place with an awesome terrace where we have loved watching nearby Volcan Fuego erupting on a regular basis. It can be a… Read More

The MAYA group has arrived safely in Guatemala! They are heading to Antigua to settle in to their hostel, to have some breakfast, and start their orientation. They’ll post an update here on Monday to let us know how their first few days went. Stay tuned!… Read More

We’re happy to report that the MAYA students have all safely arrived to LAX! They are finally together as a group and are looking forward to starting this adventure together. We’ll post another blog here tomorrow once we hear that they’ve arrived safely in Guatemala. Buen viaje, MAYA group, we look forward to following along on your journey this semester!… Read More

Hola everyone! Soumya and Matt here, your Overseas Educators for this semester’s visit to Central America! We’re here in Portland finishing up some final logistical preparations, but we’re excited to soon be all together in the land of tortillas, toucans, and volcanoes! As we approach the start of this semester, we are both feeling all the usual emotions: excitement, nervousness, anxiousness, joy, restlessness, just to name a few. We expect… Read More

Written By Rachael & Adam Hola! This is Rachael & Adam your OE’s checking in one last time. What a trip it has been! We have been honored to guide this group through these last two months. We formed a thoughtful, joyful, & capable community together and we are so thankful for each one of our students. We embarked on this journey at the end of what has been a… Read More

  Written By Alma & Maggie Sunday was our first full day at Cirenas. We awoke to the briny ocean breeze and the hilly permaculture campus, littered with tree debris disguised as biomass. Haunted by a clan of walking skeletons, also known as a group of stray dogs, and a friendly cat whose name is still highly contested, scholars do not agree (we are scholars thank you) we had a… Read More

Written By Hank and Macy After a long and rewarding week at Rancho Mastatal, we used our Sunday to regroup. We slept in until brunch at 10 a.m. and had the day to ourselves. In the evening, the group trekked up many hills to the next town to see the beautiful Costa Rican sunset. We watched as the sky grew pink, relaxing on the cliffside and taking many photos. After… Read More

Written By Balkhiis and Cole It was a beautiful, sunny, and humid, yet melancholic day leaving Turrialba last week. We were leaving behind our Spanish teachers and beautiful balcony that allowed us to see perezosos (sloths) during class almost every morning. We were leaving behind Fernando’s amazing cooking and the kitchen that enabled us to cook exquisite meals. Most importantly, we were leaving behind the living room where Zumba sessions… Read More

Written By Suzannah & Matt Hola a tod@s! Matt y Suzannah here, together in spirit if not in body! It’s been a crazy few days but we hope everyone is home (or in Xela) safe and sound. While our time together in Central America did not end the way we would have hoped, we want to focus on the great experiences we were privileged enough to have during our month… Read More

Written By Liona & Ben We started this week off with a spectacular welcome into the grand city of Xela. We met our host families for this week. We are no longer doing one on one classes however we are definitely getting our Spanish practice in by talking to our host families and our teachers. We have explored many places in Xela and visited many restaurants. While sitting down in… Read More

Written By Ish & Dish Saludos desde la escuela de la montaña! We’re now in the welcoming town of Nuevo San Jose where we’re back to enjoying more rice, beans, and tortillas with local families with whom we’ve been having our daily meals. We’re also back to learning more Spanish in one-on-one classes dividing us up between morning and afternoon batches. While we were hoping for a bit of a… Read More