Blog

Let The Adventure Begin

Hello! Natalie and Dan here reporting from Portland, Oregon! We just wanted to introduce ourselves and touch base before meeting you all very soon! We have been hard at work preparing for our upcoming time together this semester! From taking specific training courses, to working with the office crew, to meeting all of the other Overseas Educators, we have fully enjoyed the last week here in Portland. Specifically, we have… Read More

Buena Vida Team Maya

Hola Team Maya! This is the first post on the blog we will take turns writing for throughout the semester. The blog is a way to let friends and family know about our adventures, share experiences, opinions, and some photos. This is Rachael and Matt writing from Portland. We are in the midst of training and prepping for our trip. We spent last week camping, doing team building activities with… Read More

Let The Adventure Begin

Hey everyone! We are Sarah and Nathan, and we are so excited to lead this Hongi group in the South Pacific this fall! This trip is bursting with all sorts of adventures and growth opportunities. In anticipation and preparation for the semester, we have spent the last week training with other Carpe Diem Overseas Educators. Before we get to what we have done this week, we want to tell you… Read More

A Shanti September

The first week of each September, all of the Carpe Diem leaders gather in a cozy house-turned-hostel in Portland, Oregon to prepare for the upcoming semester. For leaders, it is a time to meet new staff, reconnect with old friends, better get to know our co-leaders and program directors, and set goals and intentions for the next three months. Throughout our ten-day training, in addition to studying our budgets and… Read More

Ready To Go!

Bags are packed and ready to go… We soon will be heading south to the land of beautiful mountains, fuzzy llamas and donkeys, and mouth watering foods. Together we hope to experience growth, transformation, and lots of laughs over the next few months. Enjoy your final days with friends and family before we embark on this epic adventure! See you soon!… Read More

Should I Take a Gap Year? : 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Transitioning to College

I was a high achiever in high school, I had a 4.0, IB diploma and I got into my first choice school in the Ivy League on the other side of the country. I didn’t think twice and I headed straight there without a doubt in my mind. Once I got there, however, I realized I had no idea what I wanted to major in, I wasn’t sure how to… Read More

Teaching in Guatemala

Written By Sarah, Latitudes ’19 Guatemala I had a really hard time deciding where I wanted to go on my latitudes semester, so much so I almost backed out of it entirely, but I’m so glad I didn’t. For the last two and a half months I have been living in Chimaltenango, Guatemala working with a ministry called One Way Community which offers extra classes after school. We have kids… Read More

The View From Antonio’s

Written By Sheldon & Kate Salaam aleikoum! Y hola, guapos, While you’re out there somewhere flying over the Atlantic in an aluminum tube, we’re back in Malaga at Antonio Banderas’s sipping beverages and gazing at the alpenglow on the Alcazaba. Okay, not quite at Antonio’s, but a couple of buildings over, and we’re gazing at computer screens writing blog posts and presentation evals, but still, I think you’d agree, it’s… Read More

Final Blog

Written By Rebecca & Adam Ahh! The time has come to say our final goodbyes. This has been an amazing journey and it has been so nice to share it with all of you. As leaders, we are grateful for the individuals that you all are and it has been an honor to be a part of this trip of transformation and discovery. We are excited to stay in touch… Read More

Final Week

Written By Ryan Our last week was just like so many others in that it was memorable, adventurous, and exhausting. I’m going to miss being on the constant go, traveling somewhere new and different every few days, but I think everyone is also ready to depart, return home, and slow down. After our retreat at Chenrezig, the group including myself enjoyed our night out in Brisbane watching and later singing… Read More

Sabai Final Blog

Written By Cari & Brian Sabai Spring Spring 2019 has bid farewell to Southeast Asia. We have had such a journey, it is hard to summarize in a short blog post. Over the past three months, we have been privileged to experience three very distinct and different cultures and countries in Southeast Asia spending the most time in Thailand. In Thailand, we lived with local host families, learned to speak… Read More

A Long Weekend In Granada

Written By Kayla Hey everyone! It’s Kayla coming at you! I get to tell ya´ll all about our few short, exciting days in Granada! To start, real quick I wanted to mention our Secret Easter Bunny exchange. We planned a little bit before Easter a secret santa type game where we all drew names and had to make that person an Easter basket and write a nice note to them.… Read More

Yogic Studies In Cambodia

Written By Sophie, Latitudes ’19 Cambodia About three months ago I hopped on a plane for twenty-seven hours and eventually found myself in the tiny coastal community of Kep, Cambodia. Even though I was quite literally as far from New York as I could be, arriving in Kep and arriving at Vagabond Temple felt like I was arriving home. From the beginning, everyone welcomed me with open arms, and I… Read More

Getting Comfortable With The Uncomfortable

Written By Shelby, Latitudes ’19 Belize My first night at Wildtracks in Belize was rough. I called my parents, tears streaming down my face, and begged them to book me a flight home as soon as possible. I was convinced I had made the wrong decision because it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Not to mention, a live mouse and a cockroach were living in the mosquito net… Read More

Nature Reserve Near Cains

Written By Laura G’day, mates! Our adventures this week began with a couple of very long travel days as we made our way from Fiji to Australia. This included a layover in Auckland, New Zealand, which gave us one day where we were in three different countries! We also had the opportunity to spend a night in our most luxurious accommodation yet: The Brisbane Airport. Sleeping in an airport, as… Read More