After 12 days in the remote village of Nakuku, we took an hour and a half bus ride back to Savusavu. In our first day of scuba, we went to a dive resort. It was super weird being in a resort after trying for the past two months to be travelers not tourists. We split into two groups at the dive resort. The first group was for people that may… Read More
This week we went off the map and then a little further to Qenco, a village quietly nestled in a mountain at 12,000+ feet.
Enduring the rain, wind, and mud, we were rewarded with picturesque mountain views and opportunities to hang out with llamas and 100’s of sheep in the morning and at sunset.
We also spent time working with our host families on various projects to fully engaged in… Read More
After our six week adventure in Guatemala, we were finally able to make it to our first week in Costa Rica. Our first stop in this small Central American country starts in a small city called Turriabla. Smack dot in the middle of Costa Rica, Turrialba offers a whole variety of fun things for the gang to do. For the past few days the group has been obsessed with eating… Read More
This week we were welcomed into new host families in the small town of Ollantaytambo, which is the jumping off point for many treks to Machu Picchu. We partnered up with Awamaki, a local NGO whose purpose it is to aid and empower women in the area through business endeavors and workshops.
In addition to having homestays, this week marked the final week of Spanish classes for our group. We… Read More
Written By Beverly
Oujda was fairly quiet in comparison to Rabat. Our contact Abdo was incredible. He introduced us to many organizations; some were local, others were organizations found in every major Moroccan city. It was so interesting to learn about the statuses, issues, and statistics regarding refugees and immigrants in Morocco from these organizations who took the time to sit with us and explain their missions. On November 1st,… Read More
Written By Joe
The day we left the island we traveled back to Kratie and on the way stopped at a wild dolphin watching spot. We learned that in Cambodia there are only 92 Irrawaddy dolphins left. Although we didn’t get to see much besides dorsal fins, we were excited to have experienced this. Joe made a friend with a local who gave him a sugar cane juice for free!… Read More
For the past ten days, we have been staying in home-stays in a rural Fijian village, Nakuku. This has opened our eyes to new ways of life, community engagement, and cultural immersion. Throughout our time here, we have had time to reflect on our past experiences and dive into a something that might be a little harder compared to life in New Zealand. This was the first time on this… Read More
Deciding to take a gap year is a big decision! Now that you’ve started researching your many gap year options, you’re probably coming up with more questions than answers.
If I had to guess, you’re probably wondering about things like how to get your parents on board, whether or not you want to earn college credit while abroad, how to pay for your gap year, and how to fit… Read More
Written By Pualina
Did you know that the best place to swim is in the Mekong River? We know from personal experience, but this blog post begins five exciting days before. We left Siem Reap in style, in a 12 seater van that should probably only be used for ten people. A very cramped eight hours later, we arrived in Kratie, a peaceful city along the Mekong River. Our group… Read More
Written By Saffron
We said “chao” to Ecuador and proceeded to miss our connecting flight from Lima to Cusco. The six hours of waiting in the Lima airport for the next flight to Cusco made our arrival to the inkan sun city all the more exciting. We have been in this bustling city for four days now. We arrived on halloween night and the streets were teeming with people, music… Read More
Written By Claire G.
Suae Sdei from Cambodia! We have now ended our Thailand journey and we start anew in beautiful Cambodia.
After having spent 6 weeks in Thailand, it was a very weird experience going to the airport. We arrived and it was go time. We went through security with no problems except a couple of scissors being taken away. We all got through immigration without any problems. And… Read More
Written By Grace & Saffron
After a stunning bus ride up and around and through the mountains, we found ourselves in the small town of Pucara at Finca La Fe. Pucara is located on the western slope of the Andes in the Intag/cloudy forest region. This region is known for ecological diversity and being suspended in cloud vapor the majority of time. During out time at Fina La Fe we… Read More
Written By Sydney & Alex
After a 4 day track through the cold, dry Himalayas, a week of yoga and exploring Rishikesh was just what this group needed! It’s easy to understand why this place is regarded a sacred! Lush, green forest stretches from the mountain tops to the shores of the Ganges. The smells of incense fill the town and you can hear the insects wherever you go. Teaming… Read More
Written By Meagan
salam from Rabat!
We’ve been settling into life in Morocco with our host families and learning Darija, the local Arabic dialect. The entire group has fallen in love with our amazing teacher Khalid, who has displayed an impressive level of patience as well as skill and talent as a teacher. He is funny and kind and a fantastic human being. We’ve managed to learn bits and pieces… Read More
Written By Lucia
Hello! Lucia here with what we’ve been doing for the past two weeks. First we spent a week in El Paredon where we worked with La Choza Chula, a sustainable development organization dedicated to improving the community of El Paredon. They funded a school and they provide employment to many people in the community by offering tours around different parts of El Paredon. La Choza Chula gave… Read More
Written By Claire C.
Lots of Monk No Chat
(Monk Chat Meditation Retreat)
Hello, everyone! Before we get into the juicy stuff, we’ve got to reflect for a second. This trip is halfway through! How was it six weeks ago that we met at the airport, had those do-we-hug-or-do-we-not-because-we’ve-never-met-but-we’ve-snapchatted-what-do-we-do moments (you know what we’re talking about…) and engaged in awkward small talk about the weight of our backpacks. Look how… Read More
Written By Rasheed & Lily
Kia Ora! It’s Rasheed and Lily here and we are extremely excited to update everyone on our upcoming adventure. Since our time in Nakuku village, we have been vigorously planning and brainstorming on potential ideas for our week of student directed travel. During student directed travel, us 12 students have come up with an exhilarating itinerary. We have all put in lots of hard work… Read More
Written By Sydney
Welcome back family and friends!
We are happy to say that we are in our Student Directed Travel week, meaning that we students budgeted and planned the whole week. After weeks of planning and excitement building up we were finally able to put our preparation to the test!
Following our week with Whinua Iti we headed off to Nelson to quickly get our groceries for the next… Read More
Good Day from Noah, Lottie, and the rest of Hongi!
It is hard to grasp the fact that our week on the Hart Farm is finally coming to an end… It feels like just yesterday that we rolled up in the “Blue Whale” van a tad soaked from our town time grabbing lunch before meeting our lovely hosts Rachel and Greg Hart. Hongi instantly felt at home and couldn’t contain… Read More
Written By Audrey
After two rest days in Chiang Rai, we headed North and took a four-hour bus ride to the small town of Thung Chung in the Nan province of Thailand which is about a forty-minute drive from the Thailand-Laos border. The bus ride left the group feeling quite car sick but the gorgeous, lush, and green mountain views were breathtaking.
This past week we stayed at the Sahainan… Read More
