Written By Mackenzie, Latitudes Year ’22 South Africa So what have you been doing in South Africa? This is a loaded question that I have been asked more and more recently, so here is a blog to depict what my last 2 months at Dreamcatcher have consisted of. So what is Dreamcatcher? A better question is what isn’t Dreamcatcher. Their mission is “…to actively pursue mutually beneficial, responsible tourism, knowledge… Read More
Written By Jane and Elliot Hello and welcome back to your favorite blog. This weeks installment features the thrilling adventures of the most lovable student group living out their self proclaimed travel dreams. That’s right, we planned everything from volcano climbing to relaxing on the Caribbean. Using boats, cars, airplanes, and our own feet, we have truly traveled far and wide this week.
While our student directed travel started in… Read More
Written By Riley Ciao!
This week the group got a healthy mix of suburban, urban, and then rural living, as we moved from the suburbs of Florence, to central Florence, to our current camping spot in Garfagnana.
By last week, each member of our group had gotten the chance to step into the role of group leader and so the group devised a council system to equally split up group… Read More
Written By Gus, Latitudes Year ’22 Thailand Hello, My name is Gus. I have been living in Thailand for just over two months as an intern at CORE sea. We work Wednesday through Sunday, so we have Monday and Tuesday as our weekend. A normal work day starts with a group meeting at 9 a.m. in the classroom. Stefan and Vicky (our bosses) brief us on where we are diving… Read More
Written By Lana & Luke To begin the week, we said goodbye to Pineapple Park Hostel, heading south of Kona. An hour long drive and serene views took us down to Miloli’i, the last fishing village on the island of Hawai’i. We arrived to a barren landscape of jagged lava rocks, all of which formed from Mauna Loa erupting one hundred years ago. The change of scenery was drastic. Dry,… Read More
Written By Nick & Charlotte For this week during our trip we went trekking along the Via Francigena. We started out in the city of Gambassi Terme and finished in the city of Siena while making our way through the country side of Tuscany, staying in Abbeys and Convents along the way. Our journey started off with bread making and a 14km hike to the city of San Gimignano. We… Read More
Written By Omer, Mikayla, & Andrew From more goodbyes to ocean time to bees, this week has been all the buzz!
We began Wednesday farming with our new friends, the interns at the local organic and regenerative farm. We loved having another day getting our hands dirty and connecting with the earth, planting and picking different crops. We then met Jennifer, an incredible woman who singlehandedly created a department of… Read More
Written By Saul & Caroline Student Leaders Saul and Caroline coming at you one last time. This week after our relaxing retreat weekend we took a boat to San Juan where we took Spanish classes in the morning and activities like bee tours, horseback riding, kayaking, and enjoying the beautiful view of the lake on a beach.
More student directed travel fun coming soon
Until next week,
Saul y Caroline… Read More
Written By Luke & Wynn To start off this busy week, we worked with the amazing interns at the local farm to prepare gardening beds for future planting. We weeded, aerated, and flattened the beds using hula hoes, pitchforks, and rakes. After prepping most of the beds, we split into groups of two to plant a wide variety of crops including carrots, lettuce, fennel, tomatoes, and beans. When our day’s… Read More
Written By Emily & Andrew Wednesday the 23rd, our morning started out by leaving our campsite at the refuge with a gorgeous rainbow shining above our heads, good luck before taking on the long, windy road to Hana. During the three hour drive, we stopped at Ke’ane Peninsula to watch the waves crash against the large rocks, sending sea mist into the air before it landed on us. Our next… Read More
Written By Maddie & Matt Maddie and Matt here! We’ve had a jam-packed week with lots of fun and lots of aches. We started off in Pachaj working on reforestation with the Chico Mendes foundation.
After 3 days of physical pain and exertion, we got to rest and relax in beautiful San Marcos! The town is known for its aura of spiritual healing and hippie culture. We learned about metaphysics,… Read More
Written By Michaela, Latitudes Year ’22 Ecuador Bienvenidos!
Un día en la vida a Rio Muchacho
For the last 8 weeks, I have been volunteering at Rio Muchacho- an organic farm and ecolodge located in a small valley north of Canoa, on the west coast of Ecuador. It’s pretty difficult to express how special this place is, if you’ve never had the pleasure to visit. It’s a daily occurrence for… Read More
Written By Jack & Cedar Salutations to our beloved fans! My, what a week it has been! Following a challenging week at Re-Green, we returned to Athens for the afternoon. After dropping our bags off at the AirBnB, the very stinky group scurried over to the trusty laundromat, followed by lunch at our favorite souvlaki place (for the 100th time). The group then went their separate ways- some of the… Read More
Written By Lana & Mikayla As the pink clouds reflect on the shimmering, churning ocean, transforming it into an opalescent purple sea of wonders, we awoke to another week that will transcend beyond our expectations.
IT WAS CRAZZYYYY!!!!!!!!
Truly fulfilling our internal desires to work vigorously, we gave this week our all. With that, we experienced so many beautiful moments, laughed until there were tears in our eyes, and shared… Read More
Written By Erin Buenos Dias Todos! This is Erin writing to you from the lovely city of Xela where the gang has completed a second week studying with some amazing Spanish teachers and partaking in adventurous activities. Let’s look back at some of the highlights! It’s been a great week of Spanish learning and group fun….now onto Pachaj….until next week folks!… Read More
Written By Maya, Latitudes Year ’22 Spain For the past 2 months I have been able to experience the wonderful lifestyle of living on the beautiful Island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. For my Latitudes semester, I chose to do an internship with Biosean, where they focus on whale watching and marine science.
Almost everyday interns were out on the boat helping collect data and guide whale watching… Read More
Written By Ava, Latitudes Year ’22 Nepal After a long and tiring 48 hour travel expedition, I finally was able to step out of the airport and into the busy and highly energetic city of Kathmandu, Nepal. I was swiftly greeted by Sarala, one of Trek to Teach’s organizers and members. From this moment on, my time in Nepal has been filled with some of the most amazing, exciting, fulfilling,… Read More
Written By Jillian & Sam Welcome to Re-Green Permaculture Sanctuary! We will be your tour guides today around this wonderful community. (Feel free to follow along by referencing this map!) As you can see, straight-forward, we have the sanctuary dogs (1). The biggest is Mocha, our gentle giant. The fluffiest is the elderly Lynda, she has the wiggliest butt this land has ever seen. Lastly, is the smaller Ellie, she… Read More
Written By Emma, Latitudes Year ’22 Thailand Hey! My name is Emma Neuman, and I have been living in an ecovillage in Udon Thani, Thailand, for about a month and a half now, and it has arguably been one of, if not the, most incredible and purposeful experiences in my 18 years of life. I was initially very nervous at the prospect of traveling to a country as well as… Read More
Written By Caroline & Jane Buenos Dias Todos!
It’s Caroline and Jane this weeks student leaderz. The city of Xela has offered its new guests a whole world of fun. Spanish classes, hot springs, waterparks, mountain climbing, and a nauseating amount of bussin’ baked goods. Spending five hours a day at a school might sound like a bore, but our time at PLQ has truly been special. We’ve improved our… Read More