Written by Aisha and Malcolm, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece semester closing out their 10-week journey Wow, what a trip! As we rest and recover from a busy whirlwind journey over the past 10 weeks, we are reflecting on the many highlight moments we experienced and beautiful relationships we built. Beginning with our time at Centro Panta Rei above the picturesque Lago Trasimeno in Umbria,… Read More

Written by Sage and Madeline, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Greece ReGreen permaculture program completing their final week We finished our week in Aegina and traveled back by ferry to Athens to start our last week of the program. We traveled to ReGreen and started off our week with a tour of the permaculture farm, hike up the mountain and daily drumming lessons with Nikos. We have eaten… Read More

Written by Reilly and Chloe, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Greece Aegina student directed travel week exploring Athens and the Mediterranean Since our last blog we made it to our student directed portion of the trip. We decided to go to Aegina, Greece, which was about an hour and 15 minute ferry ride from Athens. We planned a few activities that consisted of Rail Biking our last day… Read More

Written by Eva and Ella, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Greece Crete village program before exploring Athens and Aegina Since arriving in Greece we spent a little over a week in a beautiful village in the mountains of Crete. During our time there we got to experience many different activities such as sunrise/sunset hikes, feeding goats with a shepherd, exploring ancient archaeological sites, doing greek lessons, swimming in… Read More

Written by Reilly, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Naples Pompeii semester transitioning to Crete and the start of Greece Our last days in Italy were slightly hectic but also meaningful and lots of fun. We arrived in Naples at night after a long bus ride, including an impromptu bus swap an hour in. Having skipped dinner, the group checked in to the hostel then walked to… Read More

Written by Tala and Chloe, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Matera culture exchange program with B-Link near Altamura Since our last blog, we left Rome and made our way to the south of Matera. We spent the last 5 days in a monastery near the town of Altamura with the company B-Link. We got to learn a lot about this region’s Italian culture. Especially because we were… Read More

Written by Phineas and Sage, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy chestnut picking program at Paladini camping in nature near a medieval town This week we were at Paldini! We picked chestnuts, learned how to build mud/clay houses, and went to a cool medieval town. We met super cool volunteers who were helping us do all the tasks. What were three of the top highlights this week?: The… Read More

Gap year Italy Florence students explore the Uffizi, Michelangelo’s David, sunset views, and Medici history before heading to Paladini. This week we traveled to Florence and spent our time at the Emerald Palace hostel in the center of Florence. On our first full day we got a tour from our trek guide, Lauren. She showed us around the local churches and taught us about the Medici family and the history… Read More

Written by Eva and Ben, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy trek through Tuscany on the Via Francigena Since leaving Centro Panta Rei, we have embarked on a four day trek on the Via Francigena through Tuscany! We got to stay in small towns and the city of Siena. During the trek we had amazing views and beautiful scenery. We got to make bread, see a medieval village,… Read More

Written by Aidan and Sage, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Umbria semester at Centro Panta Rei learning sustainable practices near Perugia We have come a long way in our stay at Centro Panta Rei. We have learned a plethora of sustainable practices that have greatly impacted our perspective on how we as humans use the natural world, as well as participated in culturally significant activities such as… Read More

Written by Aisha and Malcolm, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Panta Rei orientation program starting at Lake Trasimeno After a looong travel day from our various homes to JFK to Rome to our home for the first week of the program, Centro Panta Rei, we enjoyed our first delicious Italian dinner and collapsed in bed for a good night’s sleep. The next few days we split… Read More

Written by Aisha and Malcolm, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece orientation for the Terra Fall 2025 semester We are passionate travelers, inspired educators and global citizens, excited to embark upon this adventure together with all of you! Here are a few pro tips before we embark: Pack layers, and consider comfort! Keep an open mind, be ready to try new foods! Learn how to say… Read More

Written by Maggie and Chelsea, Overseas Educators on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece semester, Fall 2024 Lovely students, what a wild and wonderful 70-day journey we’ve been on. You all have absolutely rocked it every second, and we cannot express how proud and honored we are to have spent the most precious resource we have together: our time.  From meeting you at JFK, we traveled from Panta… Read More

Written by Izzy, Peter, and Malcolm, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece permaculture semester, Terra 24 What’s New in Our Journey? After an amazing week of student-directed travel on Aegina, the group took a train two hours outside of Athens to Akrata. The week was spent at Re-Green, a permaculture community dedicated to the regeneration of Earth. Each day, the group participated in learning activities like garden… Read More

Written by Kyle Chang and Arianna Wilson, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece semester during student directed travel week in Aegina What’s New in Our Journey? We have arrived on student-directed travel week! Since our last blog, we met as a group and decided on a location to travel to. Keeping the budget and all members of the group’s interests in mind, we settled on Aegina. Aegina… Read More

Written by Ally Hudsyn, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Greece Athens semester exploring ancient ruins and city life in Greece What’s New in Our Journey? Traveling to the city of Athens was an exciting adventure after exploring the peaceful towns in Crete. From the acropolis to hay markets there was plenty to explore. Walking on ancient ruins everywhere we went is an experience we will never… Read More

Written by Peter, Izzy, and Ester, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Matera semester exploring ancient cities and Italian culture What’s New in Our Journey? This week, the group was in Matera working with local contacts from Link and B-Link. We started our week in Matera, doing a scavenger hunt to learn about the ancient city, Sassi, and what makes Matera the European Capital of Culture. The next… Read More

Written by Pepper Travers and Aidan Stier, students on the Carpe Diem Italy & Greece gap year semester What’s New in Our Journey? Since we last wrote a blog post, we’ve been to Rome! We visited all the major sights: the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. Our hotel was a monastery very close to the Vatican, so just a short walk brought us to St.… Read More

Written by Hudsyn Toppenberg, a student on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy campsite experience at Paladini in the Garfagnana region What’s New in Our Journey? The past week has been full of incredible experiences in unlikely places. The group traveled by train to a quaint campsite called Paladini, nestled beautifully in the region of Garfagnana. It was quite an adjustment for the group to go from a big and… Read More

Written by Ally and Malcolm, students on the Carpe Diem gap year Italy Via Francigena trekking semester through Florence and Siena What’s New in Our Journey? Welcome back! We just finished our trek on the Via Francigena, visiting our first two cities, Florence and Siena. The group enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the trek and admired the historic architecture in both cities. Along the way, we had the chance to… Read More