I heard from the group right before they left for their village homestays and volunteer project yesterday! Their first few days in Fiji were a great start as they delved into the culture, had some time to get to know the city of Nadi during a scavenger hunt, and enjoyed time on the beach. Here are a few photos from their time in NZ.… Read More
This last week we have been staying on an organic farm, and I have been reaffirming my hippie lifestyle. The farms name was Pun Pun, and was started by a smiley thai man by the name of Pi Jo. People quickly fell in love with the laid back atmosphere, smiles were flowin and arm pit hair was showin. We gardened , cooked, and had dance parties in mud pits. They… Read More
Agandi!
I am writing to you from an internet cafe in Kigali, Rwanda! Although we were sad to say goodbye to Uganda, we are looking forward to experiencing the culture and learning about Rwanda’s history!
We ended our adventure in Uganda by doing a three day, two night canoe and trek on Lake Bunyonyi. Our trek was led by a superb tour guide named Owen who captured all our hearts.… Read More
Dear Friends and Family back home,
The Carpe Diem Walkabout group has successfully landed in Fiji. We spent the last night in Auckland going out to a nice dinner as a celebration for our final hours in New Zealand. New Zealand will be forever in are humble hearts along with the UNFORGETTABLE memories that we made there. It seems like just yesterday we were all in LAX just meeting each… Read More
Our month in NZ has finally come to an end. We had more incredible moments than this blog could handle, but here are some of our favorites;
1. The breathtaking views of NZ as we made our final decent into Wellington after a long day of travel.
2. Arriving at our hostel in Plimmerton on a nice quiet beach after a long 20 hour day of flying and chaotically running… Read More
A key part of our gap year in New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia is dedicating time to reflect on how we got to where we are today. For this exercise, we all thought back to the hey-day of our childhood. From quirky to serious, read on for bits of wisdom from the Hongi group!
– Invest all of your Christmas money into Apple before iPhones.
– Play more basketball and… Read More
This has been our last week here in Guatemala and it has surely been an eventful one! To kick start this week we endured a rugged 25 mile hike through the thick of the the Guatemalan jungle. We would hike a portion of the distance every day while staying at local villages along the way each night. We faced many daring exploits through the entire expedition such as psuedo-vertical climbs,… Read More
Greetings from the young and adventurous Hongi!! We successfully lived at the Marae for five nights. We stayed in Rapaki and were introduced to the Maori and their humble living area. The opening ceremony was fun, interesting, and made all of us a bit anxious. The important thing was, we were accepted.
Throughout the rest of the week, we got down and dirty (with the wildlife that is). We… Read More
We are now in the city of Varanasi, or as the locals called it Banaras. Just a short walk from the Ganges, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed all this river symbolizes to the Hindustani people. I’ve watched as they pray to her, bathe in her, drift upon her surface, perform rituals in the ghats that line her shores, and sadly, also defecate on and litter the beaches, contaminating the waters to a… Read More
Hello all! Today is our last full day in Guatemala– we’re heading out early tomorrow (like 3am early) to get on a plane for Nicaragua! I know that I speak for the whole group when I say that these weeks in Guatemala have been absolutely amazing. We’ve seen amazing sights, learned things we could never learn anywhere else, and met incredible people. We’ve had our ups and downs like any… Read More
These fantastic photos were just sent in of the NKULA crew working at SNEC (the Special Needs Education Center where we volunteer with Edirisa, UK).
The first is a mural they designed and painted based on Dr. Seuss’s “Oh The Places You’ll Go.” The second is the Nkula crew with many of the students at SNEC. The final photo is of the hill behind the school where our group went… Read More
Hello friends and family!
We hope you’re doing well. We are writing to you from an internet cafe in Kabale, Uganda. We just returned here after five days at SNEC (Special Needs Education Center), which is partnered with Edirisa UK. SNEC is a home for special needs children ranging from primary 2 classes through primary 7. They have students as young as seven, and up to twenty two years old.… Read More
Our third week began by travelling from Anne’s farm to a nearby Maori community center, called the Kotare Trust where we have been living for the week. We were greeted warmly and openly by the generous hearts of the Maori family who help run the Trust. After enjoying a few songs and a traditional dance we were welcomed into a room with an expansive and delicious lunch spread. As we… Read More
We apologize for our delay of this blog post, due to lack of internet access.
We arrived to a farm just outside of the small town of Warkworth, where we were greeted by Anne and members of the Verdonk family. We were also kindly welcomed by a small Maori family living on the farm. As we settled in to our new home for the next week we were all… Read More
Hello readers of the Hongi FANZ blog! Our week at Blue Mountain Adventure Center was exciting but tough for all. We started our week of adventures by spelunking on Monday. We were all surprised by how intense this first activity was. Only a handful of us had ever gone caving before, so I think I can speak for the group when I say that the intensity was a surprise! If… Read More
Q: What was the most challenging part of this week for you?
A: “Rafting. It was stressful getting stuck in the rocks so often and it was cold and wet.”-Ben
Q: What personal challenges did you overcome?
A: “I pushed myself physically more than I thought I could.”-Melissa
Q: How does it feel to have been away from home so long?
A: “I like being away from home and I… Read More
Hello friends and family of the Carpe Diem Hongi group! This last Sunday on the 28th we arrived at the Blue Mountain Adventure Center (BMAC), wet and cold from the morning downpour and exhausted still from the eight hour bus ride into National Park the previous day. It was a surprise to all of us that BMAC resided only 5 kilometers or so from the hostel we had stayed the… Read More
Since the last time I’ve posted we have been at home stays in villages outside Mae Rim and most recently we have finished trekking into the Hill tribes of northern Thailand.
Home stay for me was an incredible experience, although Chiang Mai was great i was ready to get out of the big city. I stayed with the family of a rice farmer by the name of Por Duang. He… Read More
Even though we have only visited four different cities and villages in Northern India, it is already apparent how diverse the landscape, culture, and people can be. We have seen the dry quiet mountains of the arid village of Jhadol. We have seen the temples and camels reflected in the lakes of Udaipur. We have seen the absolute chaos that somehow comes together to create Delhi. And we have seen… Read More
