Written By: Alissa and Rachel Buenos dias from San Juan! Rachel and Alissa here to share with you the adventures of the week! We left Antigua on Monday morning and drove to Lake Atitlan. We got to enjoy a lovely boat ride across the lake to the vibrant town of San Juan. From here, we met up with our welcoming homestay families and went to see our new homes for… Read More
Is this you? You’re thinking about taking a gap year after high school or in college, so you start googling gap year ideas to find the best gap year programs, and what to do during your gap year to see what your options are.
Maybe you also take a look at the gap year travel programs on GoAbroad.com or GoOverseas.com, read program reviews, and talk with friends who’ve gone… Read More
Wow!
What a jam-packed first week it’s been.
After close to 40 hours of travel, we woke up early our first day and we were warmly welcomed by our host, Celia, to a delicious Kerala breakfast. We were lucky to start our days off like this, and every morning Celia would cook a new Kerala specialty for us. By the way, they cook with lots of coconuts in Kerala-as Kerala… Read More
This is Nathan and Rachael, the Hongi group OE’s, saying hello and updating you on what we’ve been up to. 5 days ago we met each other in LAX where we shared snacks and some cute, awkward introductions. We boarded our 13 hour flight, traveled a whole day forward in time and landed in Auckland on Valentine’s day!
Getting in our rental vehicles we made our way down the long… Read More
Hello from the land of smiles!
We are excited to be reaching out for the first time together as one and hope this blog entry finds you well. We are wrapping up orientation in Chiang Mai and are about to depart for our initial homestay experience in Mae Rim. The crews (Team Free Boyfriend, Lost Wanderers, and Mango Vibes) just returned from their scavenger hunts filled with stories. Here are… Read More
Bathed in sunshine and surrounded by impressive volcanoes, Antigua, Guatemala has served as our introduction to Central America. Laughter, exploring the city, trying new foods, playing games, sharing life stories, and orienting ourselves to our three months in Central America…our first few days in have been jam-packed with activities. Although it’s only been a few days, our group has started to take shape and inside jokes have already started to… Read More
Dear Friends and Family of the Shanti group:
We have received word that the group has landed in Kochi, India. The group had a long flight over, and will now go to their guesthouse and get some much-needed sleep. They will start orientation tomorrow, and begin getting to know each other and the amazing land and culture of India. We wish them well in their upcoming journey!
All the best,… Read More
Greetings friends and family
The Sabai group landed safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand on February 14th. The group had a short layover in Hong Kong, and have arrived happy and a bit tired. The group will now make their way to the East side of Chiang Mai city to their orientation accommodation and will meet up with their final group member! After some food and a nap, the group will… Read More
Dear Friends and Family of the Hongi Crew:
We have received word that the group has landed safely in Auckland. The Overseas Educators report that it was a smooth flight and that all are well, if not a bit tired. The group will now pick up their rental vans, and make the short trip to Raglan where they will begin their orientation. We wish them all well in their journey… Read More
We’re happy to report that the MAYA group has arrived safely in Guatemala! After their overnight flight, they are tired but excited for the semester to come. They’ve checked in to their hostel in Antigua and had their first Guatemalan breakfast. They are going to take some time to rest and recharge now before diving in to the rest of their orientation. Stay tuned as they will start posting updates… Read More
Greetings, Family and Friends of the Carpe Diem Spring 2020 Sabai group,
We are happy to inform you that the Sabai group is united and already beginning to get to know one another at the San Francisco airport.
They have quite a journey ahead of them, with a long overnight flight and a brief Hong Kong layover, however, they seem to be a group that is more than up to… Read More
Dear Shanti Friends and Family:
We wanted to update you and let you know that the entire Shanti group has safely arrived at SFO airport. The group will go through security and then dive into a few introduction and orientation activities led by their Overseas Educators, Rebecca and Adam. The group will then embark on their long flight across the Pacific Ocean, en route to Kochi, India!
We will provide… Read More
The MAYA group has gathered in LA and are getting ready to head to Guatemala! They are happy to finally be together and looking forward to the journey ahead. Stay tuned, as we’ll post another blog here tomorrow once we’ve heard that they have lande and made it to their orientation site in Antigua.
~Team Carpe… Read More
Dear Hongi Friends and Family:
We wanted to update you and let you know that the Hongi group has safely arrived at LAX. The group will go through security and then dive into a few introduction and orientation activities led by their Overseas Educators, Rachael and Nathan. The group will then embark on their long flight over the Pacific Ocean, en route to Auckland, New Zealand!
We will provide an… Read More
Sawadee-Kap,
In just a little over a week, we’ll be wandering the streets of Chiang Mai, hunting down the best Pad Thai we can find, wondering what additional adventure awaits. On our end, the excitement for this is real. We’ve been training and scavenging (hunts, not food) and having a blast in Portland these last few days in preparation for our semester. We hope you too have been finding the… Read More
Hello, Shanti parents and students!
This is Rebecca and Adam, Carpe Diem’s Spring 2020 India Overseas Educators!
We write you from Carpe Diem staff training in sunny (for the most part) Portland, Oregon. We find ourselves working to put the finishing touches on our upcoming adventure together, getting to know each other better, as well as relaxing, recharging, and doing some much-needed yoga!
With just one short week until take… Read More
This is Rachael and Nathan your OE’s. This is the blog we will be taking turns writing on throughout our semester. It is a platform to share our experiences, challenges, joys, and some photos with friends and family.
We are currently hanging out (haha) with the other OE teams in Portland enjoying a semi sunny day wandering around, getting to know each other, and preparing for our upcoming adventure.
We… Read More
Hola.
Matt and Suzannah here, hard at work, getting ready for our upcoming semester. We are less than a week away from beginning our journey together. We hope everyone is stoked for: tortillas, volcanos, turtles, camionetas and Spanish.
Enjoy your last few days before departure and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Hasta la pasta.… Read More
Training is a wrap! Safe travels to all the Latitudes Year students as they head off to volunteer with organizations working in wildlife & marine conservation, environmental justice, community development, human rights protection, sustainable tourism and many more.
The group of 28 students will be spread across placements in Thailand (3), Indonesia (2), Sri Lanka (1), Cambodia (1), New Zealand (2), South Africa (5), Namibia (1), Kenya (1), Argentina (2),… Read More
Greetings Latitudes families and friends!
We wanted to report that our cohort of 27 Latitudes students have arrived to Portland safely and have made their way to Camp Angelos. We have spent our first evening getting to know one another, looking back at everyone’s group semester, as well as beginning to look ahead and set goals for the upcoming semester. Not to mention a delicious dinner and fire to sit… Read More
