Written By OEs Mara & Matt And with our journals full of discoveries, our hearts full of memories, and our clothing full of new smells, we’ve found our ways back home. It’s amazing how quickly time has passed! It feels like we were just meeting each other in the Sonesta hotel and carrying a massive pizza box through security. Rides in the back of pick-up trucks and volcanic eruptions set… Read More

Written By Abby Wow. It seems like just yesterday we were all watching the volcano, Fuego, erupt during dinner at the famous EarthLodge above Antigua, Guatemala. Now we are counting the hours we have left here in Costa Rica, making the most of every moment. After our time at Villas Mastatal was up, we braved the stormy ocean by boat to make our way to Drake Bay. We waded off… Read More

Written By Gabriel, Abby & Lindsey First full week in Costa Rica! We spent the week in the town of Mastatal with a local family on their farm with many interesting characters: their hilarious son Andres, several bats flying overhead every night, and a stinky dog we named Kevin, even though she was a girl. The days consisted of farm work, painting murals, and visiting local businesses. Every morning the… Read More

Written By Helen, Ella, & Chance ¡Hola from the jungles of Rio Dulce! Boy, do we need to fill you in. Sit down, grab a snack, and listen to the adventure of a lifetime. Bang! We started off with a bang on Monday morning by competing in a series of group competitions. The group participated in two heated tournaments; ping pong and cannonballs. Mats roared as he devoured his competitors… Read More

Written By Mats & Wendy With this week our two week stay at San Juan and our time at the beautiful Lake Atitlan has ended. After getting to know our new host families, another week of school started on Monday. Some changed their teacher, but everybody sticked to improving their spanish skills in the magical school’s garden. With many games, dogs, and fun the hours of learning flew by, sometimes… Read More

  Written By Helen and Kate Another wonderful week in the books! After saying hasta la vista to the Bambú back in Tzununa, we boated across the lake to San Juan. The group got a glimpse of life in San Juan after the trek but now they get to experience it in its full form. Once arriving in San Juan, we walked to the Eco Language Spanish school to meet… Read More

Written By Gabriel & Michael When our overseas educator Matt told us we’d be working on a farm and that the place we’d be staying would have a compost toilet, many of us expected a typical farm setting and all that entails. However, when we arrived at The Bambu midday Sunday we were all blown away by the stunning views of lake Atitlan, the local homes and village, and a… Read More

Written By Lindsey & Ella On Saturday afternoon, at PLQ (the Spanish school), we split off into groups of two or three and met our host families. We all walked to our new homes carrying our heavy packs. Saturday evening we had the pleasure of cheering on the fútbol team, Xelaju, at their home stadium. Everyone had a blast singing and cheering on the team alongside their very passionate fans.… Read More

Written By Sofia & Sam Off to Xela! The group piled into the cars and started the 5 hour drive to the big city. After lots of twists and turns, we stopped at a beautiful lookout (where we were able to see Lake Atitlan!) and ate some much needed lunch. We arrived in Xela and got an introductory tour of the hostel and the city. The group later explored the… Read More

Written By Abby and Mike H After a beautiful start to the program at the heavenly EarthLodge above Antigua, the group braved the infamous hill out, and we made our way to Comalapa. A supermarket stop, winding roads, and way too much ice cream eaten with measuring spoons later, we arrived at our next destination: Long Way Home. Our main-man, Omar, showed us around the school and property where we… Read More

Written By OEs Mara & Matt We are coming to you from the ever rainy and evermore stunning hills of Guatemala. Our first few days as a group have been spent tucked away above Antigua, Guatemala’s old capital, at the aptly named Earthlodge. The food has been unreal – some have even said it slaps and is gas – as we have been served homemade bread and tortillas and fresh… Read More

Hooray, the QUETZAL group has arrived safely to Guatemala! They are making their way to Earthlodge Eco Hostel, where they will spend the next few days in orientation. They’ll learn more about one another, the program, and Guatemala, as well as strategies for staying safe and healthy while traveling. They will post another blog here early next week to share about their first few days together, and then every 7-10… Read More

Hola amigos! Matt and Mara, this Fall’s Quetzal OEs, coming at you from Carpe Diem HQ in Portland, Oregon! We are incredibly excited for the upcoming semester and all the adventures that await us all. Our days at training have been filled with rich conversations, planning time, and plenty of laughter and games. We have been enjoying this time to reconnect with the greater Carpe community and prepare for the… Read More

Written By Rachael & Ryan Hello friends and families! We are Rachael and Ryan, the Quetzal OE’s writing a final blog. First we want to extend big gratitude to you all for supporting your kids in joining us for this adventure. The support and love from home has been felt and relied on during this trip, it is clear the solid, loving connections these people are coming from that has… Read More

Written By Ethan & Claire Hello from Ethan and Claire! We’re thrilled to tell you about our past week of learning & adventure. After a fun filled day at the water park, we packed up from the hostel and took a short drive to Pachaj for our home stays! Arriving to our partner organization, Chico Mendes, we met with Armando for an orientation and then separated to eat lunch with… Read More

Written By Jill & Maya Hi everyone! As the cobble stone streets woke us up from our car ride naps, we entered the City of Quetzaltenango, otherwise known as Xela. We then settled into our hostel and took our first shot at wandering the slightly confusing city. We quickly found delicious hot chocolate, a Central Park, and the sweet smells drifting from Panaderias. The next morning, we walked to the… Read More

Written By Rosa & Maddi Hola! Rosa and Maddi here. We kicked off our second week at Long Way Home in festive style with spooky Halloween Murder Mystery Party. Each member of the group impersonated and dressed up as another member of the group as we played out a script written by Ryan, with Ethan’s character (actually Ryan) and Spencer’s character (actually Rosa) getting murdered! Many suspected Rachael (actually Maddi)… Read More

Written by Emma & Spencer Hi guys! Emma and Spencer here. We have now successfully finished our first week at Long Way Home in what is known as the “Florence of Guatemala,” the vibrant town of Comalapa. Our first night in Comalapa we settled into the innovative and beautiful Long Way Home Lodge, only a stones throw away from the Heroes School which is the main focus of the Long… Read More

Written by Alex & Claire Hey Quetzal Family & Friends! It’s Alex and Claire, here to update you about our last week in Costa Rica- one of our busiest weeks yet! After saying goodbye to our man Stwarth and all the turtles with a final “Turtle Vibes!” chant, we had a pretty short drive to Samara. The group had an hour of free time to explore the city before meeting… Read More