¡Hola Amigos y Familia!
We are currently sitting in the deserted, gringo-opperated internet cafe here in Xela, listening to the daily thunderstorm overhead. This past week has been adventurous, thought-provoking, stomach-inflating, and generally a positive experience for all!
Coming from Pasac (population 1200), the city life in Xela has been a welcomed change. When we`re not spending all of our Quetzales on overpriced hipster cafe food (and by that we… Read More
Hello all,
I am posting from an internet cafe near Pucara. Sorry this will be a really short post but I want all to know that there is no internet in Pucara, so we most likely wont update until Monday when we leave Pucara. However, that is the begining of group directed travel which, depending on what we decide to do, may or may not allow for internet access! Updates… Read More
This shot was taken by Jenny on Grant’s camera during home-based care visits to the sick and vulnerable. During our time visiting each home we encountered sadness, joy, hope, and inspiration mixed in clouds of empathy as we say in Kiswahili “Pole”
Our group has had it’s fair share of health struggles here lately, but all in a matter of perspective after these home based care visits as the majority… Read More
Hello friends and family- Katie here! This morning, our group had to say goodbye to all of our friends that we made in Mufindi.
Before arriving at Igoda Childrens Village (Orphanage+), our group talked about the “single story”. The idea of a “single story” is that it is the stereotypical view or idea of something. So, our single story for an orphanage was that it would be a sad place,… Read More
We’ve just returned from a sticker factory, where we alll designed MAYA 2013 logos to represent our group. As we sat “ohhing” and “ahhing” over the designs and wondering which ones would turn out the best, we were reflecting on each student and thought you all might like a little update on who exactly is forming this wonderful little group. So without further ado, here are Jessica and Brent’s updates… Read More
Greetings from Kampala! Lilly here!
This past week has been incredible. We went white water rafting on the Nile River last Monday and we all had a blast. We went on class 3 and 4 rapids. Nobody fell out and the raft did not tip over. We spent the night at Nile River Camp, which was very much like a resort. We got up early the next morning and took… Read More
Namaste from Bodh Gaya!
It’s been too long since our last post… So sorry friends.
Since the last posts, we’ve been in Jaipur and Varanasi – two very different {amazing} experiences.
A quick list of highlights:
In Jaipur
First of all, our contacts Rekha-ji and Rishi-ji were wonderful teachers and hosts. They truly made every day chock full of Jaipur’s finest. From Hindi lessons to yoga and ancient architecture, our… Read More
Namaste everybody!
This week has been full of surprises and fun activities. We attended the teachings of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, adventured to an amazing waterfall in Bagsu, and we drank boatloads of chai (as usual). We have all been learning Hindi, and apprenticing in trades such as Tibetan Massage, Tibetan cooking, and jewelery making. We had the opportunity to watch a documentary that explained the Chinese occupation… Read More
Greetings from Thailand! We are now back in Chiang Mai, after a fun two weeks with our home stay families. This past week we continued to practice our Thai language skills, rao puut passaa Thai dii maak. Which mean we speak Thai very well. Apart from our lessons, and spending more time with our families getting to know them better. Our teacher ajhan Petchara gave us a mini cooking class,… Read More
Hello friends, families, and loved-ones,
This week we have been living in the beautiful city of Baños! The city is surrounded by mountains and a semi-active volcano. PLEASE NOTE: semi-active means that you cannot go all the way to the top because the volcano can spit out small amounts of lava at times but it is not a threat to us nor does this happen often. That said, some people… Read More
Long days of plastering where off set with plenty of laughs, experiments in food, and learning. Every day we build off the past, both figuratively and literally. Two weeks ago we came in fresh faced and new. Now we’re covered in plaster, and significantly less new.
Ever try a Kool-Aid pickle? Not many of us here have. Experimenting with food is a wonderful way to journey outside ones comfort zone.… Read More
Hola from Baños!
Last week we stayed at a plaintain farm (finca) on the coast of Ecuador. The finca is owned by Juan Carlos, a very nice man with a great personality, and his family. Our mornings were spent learning Spanish from the entire family, split into various groups to study at various places (mostly outside!) at the farm. In the afternoons we did various activities, including visiting a beautiful… Read More
Hello friends and family of the fabulous maya group, since we last updated the blog we have had many adventures. Thursday we explored the beautiful Ixtacapa river, which is about an hours hike from Pasac. After our swim we flew kites that our wonderful guides made for us. We were surprised when they let the kites go, and learned that this is a Mayan tradition symbolizing the release of a… Read More
Bula bula everyone!
We’ve been in Fiji for a little over a week and we are loving it! During the first four days we stayed in pure paradise. The Mango Bay Resort was the perfect place for orientation and to get to know everyone. We left the resort and was a little nervous, but definitely excited about our home stay families. We were very humbled when we saw the homes… Read More
Bula Bula from Rowasa village! Day 10 here in Fiji and we are loving every minute of it. Our group project is coming along great! We have finished on walkway already and are in the process of completing our second. Everyone in the village is super excited and impressed on how fast we completed the first walkway. Not only are we having a great time with everyone in the village,… Read More
Jambo everyone back home! Fred here with the weekly update (: The past week has been an incredible learning experience interacting with everyone at the Kalungami Primary School outside of Jinja Town. We worked very closely with Soft Power Education, a British organization with several programs ranging from school constructions to school refurbishment programs. We worked on the school refurbishment program and helped to paint an entire school building inside… Read More
Hola,
Anna Rodis here, your Bilbo Bloggins for this week.
SFO –>Nicaragua
We knew we were in Nicaragua when our plane landed and water vapor spewed out of the ceiling vents. Stepping off the plane, we felt the hot stickiness in the air outside. Josh, the redhead, Spanish-speaking Texan, greeted us at the airport and took us to our temporary home—Casa Nica in Masaya. We all piled into a van… Read More
Here we are, already one week into our stay on Hopi land, and already it seems we have been here for a lot longer. Since arriving here a week ago we have been getting are hands dirty, or rather muddy, working on a natural building project at the Hopi Tutskwa permaculture. Lilian and Jacobo, the founders and caretakers of this project, are building a new house on their land and… Read More
Mambo friends and family!
After a busy three days in the city of Morogoro, we traveled into the Southern Highlands to the River Valley campsite. As our bus drove through Nikumi National Park, we had our first glimpses of African wildlife, including elephants, giraffes, monkeys, and zebras. As the bus ride continued, we wove our way through beautiful mountains until we reached our campsite.
This past week, we spent our… Read More
