Flight #AV0483 is on-time and awaits an open runway for takeoff. Nine (eleven in spirit) anticipating explorers sit in his or her own reflection, heart-ache, longing, contentment, excitement, appreciation, sadness, and love… Each, a vessel having once been overwhelmed by fiery rain, slowly floats toward Oceans’ surface to meet a new day.
There was a time when we stood back, observing from Shores’ safe sands, in awe of Oceans’ expressive… Read More
Big virtual hugs to all friends and family of Seasia 2014!! After a three hour magical ceremony last night full of blindfold whisperings of appreciation, candle light and insane amounts of love, the group spent the morning perfecting and recording our very own original song about the trip (lyrics below): Today we celebrated the amazing Miss B’s birthday and sent the students off into the cool Vietnam eve. Everyone is… Read More
Dearest Families, Friends and our Beloved Students,
We are sitting here in Dar es Salaam, lamenting the recent departure of our little Nkula family but also celebrating the completion of a beautiful semester. 3 months, 3 countries, 10 incredible people – what a journey it’s been! We’ve been honored to learn, play, grow, and laugh with each of you. We also want to extend a deep-felt gratitude to family and… Read More
As our students are flying through the hemispheres on their way to their next adventures, we wanted to post this last blog written by Savannah on her final day here in Dar Es Salaam (we had some power outage issues, so she determinedly typed it up on the Carpe iPhone so we could post it later). Check back in later for a final blog from the leaders, and we are … Read More
Hello Parents and followers of Carpe Diem FANZ Walkabout blog, We just received word from Megan and Greg that the students have passed through security and are readying for their journey back home.
This marks the end of this program, but not the end to the growth, friendships, and knowledge gained during these past 3 months. We (including Greg and Megan) wish the best for all participants and hope that… Read More
Hello Parents and followers of Carpe Diem NKULA East Africa blog,
We just received word from Colin and Avy that the students have departed for their journey back home, with some students staying in Europe for personal travels.
This marks the end of this program, but not the end to the growth, friendships, and knowledge gained during these past 3 months. We (including Colin and Avy) wish the best for… Read More
Our asses may be sore and our clothes may smell like five days of sweat and bug spray, but we are alive and well and loving all up on each other for our last day here in South America. To close out the semester, we spent our final week trekking the Salkantay trail through the Andes to visit the Incan treasure, Machu Picchu.
Bright and early Monday morning, our guide… Read More
I have been volunteering at Parque Ambue Ari for the last three months and it has been an unbelievable experience in so many ways. The park is located 6 hours outside Santa Cruz, and sits on a 800 hectares of jungle. I live with no electricity, no hot water, and all the mosquitoes you could ever want, but I love it here. I wake up every morning at 6:45 and… Read More
When I am a grandma sitting on my back stairs drinking horse-bark rootbeer, I’ll think back fondly to this time and all of the wonderful moments shared. Warmest thank you to all those who made it possible especially my family and close friends. To my always supportive mom and pops, that you for teaching me to live life to its fullest. Thank you for instilling in me a love of… Read More
Putting into words how grateful I am for these past three months is a nearly impossible task. There are so many people I would like to thank for my time spent here in Central America.
It seems fitting to start with Jason Sarouhan, my gap year counselor at The Center for Interim Programs. I remember calling you between classes last semester, feeling so lost about what I wanted to do… Read More
Packing the big orange backback I was to live out of for the next three months, I had no idea what was in store for me. I had no idea that the ten people I was about to meet at the airport were soon to become my family, that we would learn so much from each other, that the adventures we were about to embark on would be some of… Read More
Wow! The past three months have gone by in a flash. Four different countries, multiple cities, four plane rides, eleven amazing beautiful faces, and about fivty two gallo pintos later, we have finally reached the end. It is a bitter sweet day here on the stunning island of Roatan, Honduras. I owe so much of this amazing experience to my amazing group. Over the past few months you all have… Read More
This past semester has been nothing short of amazing. Everything from our arrival in Nicaragua where the group began to know one another, to working with the turtles in Costa Rica, exploring and trekking through Guatemala, and scuba in Roatan were every thing I expected and plenty more with a family that has grown so close together. I want to take this time to thank some magnificent people who made… Read More
Carpe Diem Walkabout here reporting for our last blog post ever!
It’s Monday and we are getting ready to leave tomorrow morning at 4 am to catch our first flight home- AH!
But before we get sentimental, let’s tell you about the past week:
Wednesday we flew from Brisbane to Cairns (apparently pronounced “Cannes” by the way) and had a free day to explore the city and the beautiful waterfront.… Read More
This entire trip has been filled with fun and exciting memories that I will forever carry throughout my life and of course, this wouldn’t have been possible if it were not for the people in my life that helped me get here. I would like to take the time to give thanks and show appreciation to everyone who has helped me get to where I am today. For starters, I… Read More
As I have embarked on this journey for the last 3 months, I think about the people who have got me to where I am right now.
I want to thank the Carpe Mundi program director Hansell Bourden, and the whole Carpe headquarters for adding me as part of the Carpe Diem family. I want to personally say thank you to Hansell for being such a huge support.… Read More
When I first was leaving for Carpe, I was kind of numb. I couldn’t comprehend what I was about to do, or the impact it would have on me. Once I got on the trip, it hit me how enormous it would be, but even then, I couldn’t imagine. I’ve made new friendships, seen whole new worlds and ideas, and reforged myself. It’s been such an amazing opportunity to have… Read More
Thank you mom! Your constant support of me is without fail. You push me to push myself, but you’re still always there for me. You make me feel like the luckiest son in the world. If it wasn’t for you I would of never had the strength or courage to embark on this journey. You motivate me and I can’t help but brag to everyone about how freakin sweet of… Read More
Hello everyone! This is Leanna here to inform all you lovely people on our wonderful adventure through the Sapa hill tribes. To start with let me begin with our voyage to Sapa. Instead of taking the usual bus ride to our destination, we were fortunate enough to go on an over night train ride. It consisted of 2 bunk beds, with extremely comfortable mattresses, and beverages presented to us. We… Read More
Before I came on this trip, the world seemed like a pretty huge place. There was so much to see, so much to do, and so much to wrap my head around. My worldview was a patchwork of blank unknowns. Coming on this trip, with its incredibly diverse schedule, seemed like it would help to fill in the white spaces on my map. And seeing and doing the things we… Read More
