Blog
In Otavalo
The group just arrived in Otavalo after staying in Banos for 6 days with homestay families. The stay in Banos was a wonderful experience because we got to enjoy the different aspects of the city. We enjoyed a bike ride throught the countryside and got to zipline across a huge valley with a waterfall. We also got to go fishing and enjoy some fresh trout! The group also participated in… Read More
Learning Swahili in Iringa!
Mambo friends and famiy!
This week we traveled by bus from the hot and sunny Morogoro to the beautiful mountain city of Iringa. There we began our daily language classes at Rivervalley Campsite with our amazing teacher, Kiobiya. In just 5 days and 20 hours we all have a pretty decent working knowledge of Kiswahili and we have all been very excited to try out our new skills. During the… Read More
from Baños
Hi the carpe diem group has had a wonderful time in South America so far. There have been may challenges and exciting adventures. we hiked to the refugio of Cotapaxi, which is over 14,000 feet high. The altitude took a tool on the lungs. Huffing and puffing – finally each and every last one of us made it to the refugio. Then we finished up our orientation retreat and headed… Read More
Jaipur! India Shiva Spring Semester ’13 Kicks Off
Namaste from India!
The air is filled with dust particles, and sun streams in from a half open window. A little old woman with an Indian accent is smiling and informing us on what the next stretch is good for: “Goood (with long o sounds) for lower back, estomach, gooood for ladies. ” It’s only 7 am and already Jaipur is filled from sounds we can hear from the program… Read More
Week 1 Complete! (Cat & Lauren’s Blog)
Bula venaka everyone! After our orientation at Mango Bay Resort, the Walkabout group ventured to Nadala Village, Fiji. Nadala is way up in the Fijian mountains near Mt. Victoria, the highest mountain in Fiji. Our group was split up into pairs to stay with a homestay family. When we first arrived we had “Sevu Sevu” – a ceremony where we were welcomed by the chief and elders of the village.… Read More
Kenya Harlem Shake
Kendall made this little video and it has already received more than 2500 views and a tv station wrote wanting to show the video and donate money to the project. Here is the video:
Living Positive Kenya Harlem Shake… Read More
Gurra Nu from Ghana!
So I’ve been here for a little over two weeks and wow, talk about a culture shock. It’s hard to see, but feels amazing to be able to help out here. I live 4 hours out of Accra, the capital of Ghana, in a village called Atorkor. Don’t bother looking it up on Google Maps because it isn’t there. My little village sits on the coast and I can literally… Read More
Kendall from Kenya
Hey everyone! I am currently in Ngong, Kenya. Ngong is a small working class community, 30 minutes outside of the capital, Nairobi. It’s still hard to believe that I am actually in Africa. Six months ago, I made the extremely tough decision to take a gap year. Like all Carpe Diem students I had mixed emotions. I was super excited, nervous, and had no idea what to really expect. I… Read More
Guate-molly im sweatin´… WOOO
¡¡¡ Ipa !!! Thats ¨hello¨ in k´iche, the indiginous Mayan language. We are just about done with day 2 of our first homestay in Pasac village. The three hour bumpy car ride was well worth it. So far we have had a day and a half of extremely fun, as well as exhausting, activities. These range from checking out the local coffee producer to playing a Gringos vs Guatamalans soccer… Read More
WE´RE GONNA WIIIIN
because that´s just how it is.
Hi mommy and daddy!! love, cc
holler from banos! -austin… Read More
Backpackers take Baños!
Yesterday we arrived in Baños for our week-long stay! The city is beautiful and small with the feel of a small town! This morning we all began our language lessons at the school here in the city. Each class has only one or two people which is excellent for beginners and more advanced students alike. Last night for dinner we all experienced pizza cones… yes, pizza cones.We also tried sweet… Read More
May I Use the Baños
Hello, Josh and Emily are writing this blog post in an internet cafe in the town of Baños. Today, Josh got up at 6:00 AM and ran to the local hotsprings. A waterfall cascades about 50 feet away, and brings in cold water for a shock when you want to go in and out of the hot water. Today we started Spanish classes for the first time. Emily is staying… Read More
Reporting from Rio Muchacho Organic Farm in Ecuador
It is now February 11th and I arrived at the Rio Muchacho Organic Farm on the coast of Ecuador one month ago. I have learned a ton, experienced things I never could have imagined, met incredible people, got soaked through torrential downpours of rain and sweated through the powerful heat of the sun so close to the equator.
Each morning I wake up at 615 AM and help with the… Read More
Hello from Beautiful Baños
Hello from Rhiannon here in Baños! I am in love with this beautiful little town, it may be touristy, but for a good reason! It feels like a little piece of heaven here and I don’t want to think about leaving. Yesterday, Cecelia (my roomie!) and I walked the streets with our friendly host down immediately after meeting him. We got confused about what time it was, and missed meeting… Read More
2/18/13 scavenger hunt in Sigatoka
Our second day in the town of Sigatoka, Emma, Lexi, and I are a group for the scavenger hunt throughout Sigatoka. We walked through the market yesterday to get food for our houses where we delegate cooking/cleaning responsibilities for each meal. We’re only in Sigatoka for one or two more days as we finish orientation, then we head into the local village to meet our homestay family. So far everything… Read More