Written by Tara and Anand, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year India Nepal semester closing out their journey together Eight Wild Women and Anand! This wild journey went through Nepal and India encountering all that it had to offer. We began as a group of 9 individuals but slowly made our way to forming a group of people who were ready to take on this world. We… Read More

  Written by Sarah Ross and Iona Asher, students on the Carpe Diem gap year India Munar trek through tea plantations before homestays in Kochi What’s New in Our Journey? Hi everyone!!! Sarah and Iona here, reporting live from a café in Kochi. It’s been a heck of a week here on this side of the globe! After departing from the Sivananda Ashram, we hopped on a bus and drove… Read More

  Written by Ava Mendler and Nora Thomas, students on the Carpe Diem gap year India Golden Triangle semester visiting Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi What’s New in Our Journey? Jaipur: The First Golden Triangle City Jaipur was truly a shock to my (Ava) system, both mentally and physically. Immediately when I got into the Rickshaw after our long train journey from Udaipur, I was totally overwhelmed by the commotion, sounds,… Read More

  Written by Mae Reinke and Stephanie Jones, students on the Carpe Diem gap year India Udaipur unschooling program before exploring Jaipur What’s New in Our Journey? We arrived at the Shikshantar campus after a long travel day from Kathmandu to Udaipur. The campus was full of eco-built structures, colorful murals, and a junglesque ecosystem. After crashing hard, we had an incredibly warm welcome the next morning by our leaders… Read More

  Written by Sarah Ross and Iona Asher, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Nepal trek Himalayas program before celebrating Dashain in Kathmandu What’s New in Our Journey? Hi everyone!!! Sarah and Iona here, reporting live from a café in Udaipur, India (we’re always on the hunt for a sweet treat). Last week, after saying goodbye to our friends from Conscious Impact, we departed on a three-hour jeep ride… Read More

  Written by Ava Mendler and Stephanie Jones, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Nepal Conscious Impact program living in homestays in Takure After our restful and rejuvenating time at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, we embarked on a wild four-hour jeep ride through the winding roads of Nepal and arrived at Conscious Impact (aka camp), our new home for the next eight days. I (Steph) arrived at camp riding… Read More

Written by Nina Shear and Mae, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Nepal Kathmandu semester beginning at the Boudhanath Stupa and ashram What’s New? A Girls’ Trip + Anand This is our first official blog of our journey to Nepal and India, and we have so much to share. Our adventure began at the San Francisco airport, where we met as a group for the first time. Mae and… Read More

Written by Tara and Anand, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year India Nepal semester preparing students for the journey ahead Greetings earthlings! Here we are in rainy Portland, just returned from a rambunctious scavenger hunt. Some things that Tara learned about Anand: He’s very playful and masterful in chess and pickleball ♟️ 🟡 He hails from Pune, India 🇮🇳 He has a deep understanding of leadership and developing… Read More

Written by Soumya, an Overseas Educator on the Carpe Diem gap year Nepal trek Pokhara closing out the India Nepal semester Namaste! It’s your favorite Sagittarius OE, Soumya. This morning, I said goodbye to the Qaasid cohort and our own British prince, Andrew. As I zoomed away from the airport feeling the smoggy Kathmandu air on my face, I could not believe the moment had arrived. This week closed out… Read More

Written by India & Nepal Overseas Educators, Soumya and Andrew Greetings earthlings! Here we are in rainy Portland, just returned from a rambunctious scavenger hunt through the hallowed halls of Forest Park. Along the way, we got to know each other as co-leaders, enjoyed a delicious meal of red curry and vegan cheesecake, and spotted some really cute woodpeckers. Soumya’s Discoveries of Andrew: Andrew was once attacked by an owl… Read More

Written By Tanya, Will, Jahmeil, and Grace It is with sadness and hope in our hearts that we write this final blog. We feel no need to pull punches: we are nothing short of devastated to be saying goodbye so quickly and abruptly to our new, bright, nomadic little family. Just a few short days ago we were alerted to the true panic of the worldwide Corona Virus (gotta remember… Read More

Written By Emma & Jahmeil When we were told we were going to Sadhana forest, we had no idea where that was, and much less what it would be like. Naturally, our open-minded, optimistic group was so excited to be in an area for a full week (enough time to do laundry and actually get settled!) and we were looking forward to this majestic place which our OEs were describing.… Read More

Written By Riley & Will Part 1: the trek After a bittersweet goodbye to our host families, we took a 4-hour long bus ride to our next destination. As the scenery transitioned from a bustling city to rural hills, to the dramatic green slopes of the Western Ghats, the group became more and more excited for a change in the view. Our destination was a campsite located a couple of… Read More

Written by Daniella & Grace On the 18th we got to settle into our family homestays. Bonding with these families, learning about their culture, customs and food have been the highlight of the trip so far. Each host family provides us with a roof over our heads and home-cooked food. And in return, Carpe students have the opportunity to connect with the family (and are responsible for being home by… Read More

Wow! What a jam-packed first week it’s been. After close to 40 hours of travel, we woke up early our first day and we were warmly welcomed by our host, Celia, to a delicious Kerala breakfast. We were lucky to start our days off like this, and every morning Celia would cook a new Kerala specialty for us. By the way, they cook with lots of coconuts in Kerala-as Kerala… Read More

Dear Friends and Family of the Shanti group: We have received word that the group has landed in Kochi, India. The group had a long flight over, and will now go to their guesthouse and get some much-needed sleep. They will start orientation tomorrow, and begin getting to know each other and the amazing land and culture of India. We wish them well in their upcoming journey! All the best,… Read More

Dear Shanti Friends and Family: We wanted to update you and let you know that the entire Shanti group has safely arrived at SFO airport. The group will go through security and then dive into a few introduction and orientation activities led by their Overseas Educators, Rebecca and Adam. The group will then embark on their long flight across the Pacific Ocean, en route to Kochi, India! We will provide… Read More

Hello, Shanti parents and students! This is Rebecca and Adam, Carpe Diem’s Spring 2020 India Overseas Educators! We write you from Carpe Diem staff training in sunny (for the most part) Portland, Oregon. We find ourselves working to put the finishing touches on our upcoming adventure together, getting to know each other better, as well as relaxing, recharging, and doing some much-needed yoga! With just one short week until take… Read More

To our dear Shanti Family, It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to each of you today. We have shared so much over these past few months and grown close, like family. Each of you have shared your beautiful spirit with our group and with the communities we have met in India, and we will always be grateful to each of you for the originality, light, and kindness that each of you… Read More

It is hard to believe that this week brought about the end of November and the final stages of our itinerary here in India, but there is no where I would have rather spent it than in Sadhana Forest. Our group spent 10 days sleeping in tree-house bamboo huts under mosquito nets in a small community outside of Auroville that is based on forest regeneration, water conservation and sustainable living.… Read More