“Como te llamas?!” Alejandra yelled up to my top bunk. My bunk was situated above Caleigh, also newly awakened by the sound of the little three-year-old´s high-pitched question. I looked up from my book to see her smiling up at us, and despite the early hour and the noise of 14 girs getting ready for school that had permeated the house since 5 AM, it was impossible to be mad… Read More
Hello family and Friends!
It has been an amazing week so far, filled with adventure. After sadly saying goodbye to one of our favorite cities, Varanasi, we headed to serene Bodhgaya. For those of you who don’t know, Bodhgaya is the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment. Even I, the not spiritual one, felt the presence of Buddha under the Bodi tree. The Bodi tree is the tree under which… Read More
Hello friends and family of Carpe Diem Hongi group. Sad to say it but it’s time to leave the hot weather of Fiji and on to our next adventure, Australia! Nananu village really became our home away from home. Even though it was a sad goodbye to our nau’s and mongu’s (mom and dad in Fijian) and all of our siblings or all of the little kids we became… Read More
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa is on all of our minds as it continues to permeate the media and tragically affect several West African countries. Our hearts and deepest sympathy are with those communities struggling with the outbreak. At this point in time, we will be continuing to run our East Africa program this spring. Due to the geographic location of our program, the limited air traffic between East… Read More
Bula bula friends and family of the Carpe Diem Hongi group. This last week in Fiji has been a great one! As we got over our culture shock, we were back making an impact in the village after a much needed family day on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday we split into two groups. Group one went to the local school to start a painting of the world map that… Read More
As we are finishing up our second week in Arequipa its interesting to see how our experiences in our first city in Peru has been to the rest of the trip in Ecuador. Coming into the city it was clear that the basic weather and terrain was much different. Arequipa is a high desert it is very dry and about 700′ feet above sea level. It is also the most… Read More
Hola! we just spent two weeks in the city of Arequipa, Peru. We spent our time volunteering at a girls home, as well as a week of intensive spanish classes. At the girls home we built a new bedroom so that the girls can have more space.
We wanted to share some of our halloween traditions with them, so we threw them a fall harvest festival party. We each created… Read More
The past week has been full of truly unique experiences. Since the gang was feeling a little homesick about missing Halloween, we decided to dress up when we got to our lodging outside of Jinja. Our group, we are a creative bunch! Everyone had a really good costume (as you can see in the pictures in past posts). Our costumes may not have been exactly culturally appropriate, but we had… Read More
We´ve had an incredibly laid-back week. We took the weekend to recuperate from Agüizotes and explore the city of Masaya, finding our favorite smoothie shop in town, the Frutería, and going through multiple punch cards during the week. On Monday we started our classes during the afternoons, having the mornings and evenings to do as we please. This was the first time that we´ve had Spanish classes in groups, in… Read More
Due to lack of internet this blog is a few days overdue. I apologize for the delay but it’s Africa and really, what can you do in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary with no internet? Watch the rhinos. C’est la vie.
Five weeks in Tanzania proved to be unforgettable and gave us all wonderful experiences. Though, after five weeks it was time for new adventures. So after a glorious reunion with Gwen… Read More
I’ve received a handful of emails from my friends in the states recently, all asking the same broad question: “what’s India like, Joe?” It’s a simple question, yet it was hard for me to answer until our group arrived in Varanasi. As I sat crosslegged on the banks of the Ganges, with the red sun’s first rays peeking over the distant hilltops, a half forgotten word sprang into my mind,… Read More
Maddy and Nick here, reporting from the lively city of Labasa on the smaller, Northern Island of Fiji! Our 24 hour travel day started yesterday morning when we said our final goodbyes to Togovere, and it has been hectic but fun as always. After a 3 hour bus ride from Rekireki to Korovou, we found ourselves sitting roadside on our packs for a good part of the day waiting for… Read More
k
Bula!
Our final night spent in Togovere village was full of colorful matching bula shirts and dresses, flower garlands, a feast of 18 different dishes, and late night kava drinking with breaks for singing and dancing. We all felt so much love and gratitude extended to us from every member of the village and we certainly gave them our appreciation in return. The next morning after our last… Read More
Varanasi (or Banaras), is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, and also the holiest of all cities in the Hindu faith. It is believed to be the favorite city of Lord Shiva (you should be excited about that, Mom). It is also known as Kashi, the City of Light, although when we arrived on the first night of Diwali, this took on a literal context. As Indian… Read More
Hello family and friends of Nkula!
Kasey here! I am blogging from an internet cafe in Iringa, Tanzania! This week I have a special post for you all. I created a poem to give you a glimpse into our experiences this past week. I hope you enjoy it!
Waving goodbye to Rwanda
Kigali, a city that stole our hearts
The kindness of strangers
Smushed daladala rides
Are you sure we… Read More
