Written by India & Nepal Students, Mae Reinke and Stephanie Jones
What’s New in Our Journey?
We arrived at the Shikshantar campus after a long travel day from Kathmandu to Udaipur. The campus was full of eco-built structures, colorful murals, and a junglesque ecosystem. After crashing hard, we had an incredibly warm welcome the next morning by our leaders and the family that lives on the campus. Throughout the… Read More
Written by South Pacific Students, Ash and Clivia
What’s New in Our Journey?
After a few wonderful weeks in Australia, we continued our journey by hopping on a plane to New Zealand! We flew from Cairns to Auckland, and then from Auckland to Wellington. We crashed in Wellington for the night, after wandering aimlessly through the streets in search of dinner at midnight. Thankfully, KFC saved us all.
We then… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Pepper Travers and Aidan Stier
What’s New in Our Journey?
Since we last wrote a blog post, we’ve been to Rome! We visited all the major sights: the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. Our hotel was a monastery very close to the Vatican, so just a short walk brought us to St. Peter’s Basilica.
Top Three Highlights of the … Read More
Written by Central America Students, Laurie and RayWhat’s New?
This past week, we had the pleasure of continuing to explore Xela, but through a different lens—homestays! We were paired off with another person in the group and got to build one-on-one relationships while also building community and connection with the host families. Seeing Guatemalan life through the perspective of a local family was an enriching experience. Eating delicious… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Student, Hudsyn Toppenberg
What’s New in Our Journey?
The past week has been full of incredible experiences in unlikely places. The group traveled by train to a quaint campsite called Paladini, nestled beautifully in the region of Garfagnana. It was quite an adjustment for the group to go from a big and bustling city like Florence to a rustic campsite, and it definitely took some… Read More
Written by India & Nepal Students, Sarah Ross and Ioan Asher
What’s New in Our Journey?
Hi everyone!!! Sarah and Iona here, reporting live from a café in Udaipur, India (we’re always on the hunt for a sweet treat).
Last week, after saying goodbye to our friends from Conscious Impact, we departed on a three-hour jeep ride with our guides, Suvash and Sandesh, to the beginning of our trek.… Read More
Written by Central America Students, Summer and NicoWhat’s New?
Hello families! Sorry for the late blog post, the last 3 weeks have been packed with many adventures and laughs! We’re now writing from Lake Atitlan where we’ve been relaxing at the bamboo house and learning about Permaculture! We started off our first week in Xela at a local hostel taking 1:1 Spanish lessons at PLQ. We explored the city… Read More
Written by South Pacific Students, Julia T. (JT) and Julia M.
What’s New in Our Journey?
This week the SoPac group got to explore the Great Barrier Reef and earn our scuba certifications! We spent time building a connection to the water and learning how to navigate the depths safely. We grew physically and mentally, surviving the somewhat intense sea sickness that came with being on a boat multiple… Read More
Written by South Pacific Students, Grace and Gabe
What’s New in Our Journey?
Hello from your friends Gabe and Grace, the current leaders of the week!
It has been a whole week since the last blog, and boy oh boy, are there updates! Starting off the week, we completed our second food shop of the trip, and it was by far our biggest one yet. We purchased seven days’ worth… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Ally and Malcom
What’s New in Our Journey?
Welcome back! We just finished our trek on the Via Francigena, visiting our first two cities, Florence and Siena. The group enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the trek and admired the historic architecture in both cities. Along the way, we had the chance to bake bread, try medieval sword fighting, and visit the world’s best gelato… Read More
Written by India & Nepal Students, Ava Mendler and Stephanie Jones
After our restful and rejuvenating time at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, we embarked on a wild four-hour jeep ride through the winding roads of Nepal and arrived at Conscious Impact (aka camp), our new home for the next eight days.
I (Steph) arrived at camp riding the high of the sick jeep ride. The first thing on the… Read More
Written by South Pacific Students, Caroline and Susannah
What’s New in Our Journey?
Hello, world!! Greetings from your Leaders of the Week, Caroline and Susannah. We’ve had another great week here in the Daintree Rainforest and are excited to share our adventures with you. We started our week at SheOak Ridge and continued our work with our lovely hosts, Claire and Marcus. We took down a wallaby pen, put up… Read More
Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Andy & JBWhat’s New?
The program started in Antigua, Guatemala for orientation. The group quickly found its footing as we explored the town and created a culture amongst everyone. As the first couple of days went by, we explored markets, reviewed the itinerary for the next 10 weeks, and got to know each other more before heading to Comalapa, Guatemala for our… Read More
Written by India & Nepal Students, Nina Shear and MaeWhat’s New?
A Girls’ Trip + Anand
This is our first official blog of our journey to Nepal and India, and we have so much to share. Our adventure began at the San Francisco airport, where we met as a group for the first time. Mae and I had already faced our first airport challenges together, nearly missing our flight… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Hudsyn and Allie
What’s New in Our Journey?
We kicked off our journey at Panta Rei! It’s a beautiful community where we learned useful Italian phrases and how to live more sustainably within our surroundings. Building a community was a new experience for all of us—new people, a new environment. A strong community requires trust, effort, and leadership. We faced challenges, overcame our addiction… Read More
Written by South Pacific Students, Grace and Caroline
What’s New in Our Journey?
After our long flights, we safely arrived in Cairns! Mary and Sushi bravely drove on the opposite side of the road for the first time and got us to our lovely hostel. For lunch, we ventured to our first Australian shopping mall and indulged in some food court delicacies. We spent a good first night at the… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educator, Chelsea Van EckCiao!
After months of preparing for this day, I’m ecstatic to say the group has successfully arrived at our first stop in Italy, Panta Rei!
It’s been an eventful 48 hours as we traversed planes, trains, and buses to arrive at our destination and settle into a new space and community. To paint a picture of what these first few… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Maggie and ChelseaSome interesting tidbits about your leaders:
Maggie calls both Colorado and Scotland home and is passionate about climbing, mountain biking, climate justice, and mental health advocacy.
Chelsea, a Midwest native, has called Korea, D.C., Wisconsin, and Florida home. She enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews, going on nature walks, and learning people’s stories as she travels.
They both… Read More
Written by South Pacific Overseas Educators, Mary and ShushiHello, SoPac Cohort 2024!
We are super excited to journey with you this semester in Australia & New Zealand! 😊
Mary (she/her) and Sushi (she/they) here, your Overseas Educators! Mary is thrilled to be returning to Carpe Diem, as she loves to travel, share her passions for ecology and anthropology, and learn and laugh with students. Sushi is excited for her… Read More
Written by India & Nepal Overseas Educators, Tara and AnandGreetings earthlings!
Here we are in rainy Portland, just returned from a rambunctious scavenger hunt.
Some things that Tara learned about Anand:
He’s very playful and masterful in chess and pickleball ♟️ 🟡
He hails from Pune, India 🇮🇳
He has a deep understanding of leadership and developing a curriculum around it 🌟
Things Anand learned about Tara:
Tara would… Read More
