Taking a break from orientation and taking in some views from the Blue Mountains.Walking the dingos at the Dingo Den!More views on our hike to a waterfall in the Blue Mountains, Katoomba, New South Wales.Bondi Beach, Sydney.Kathleen and Diana taking in the ocean views.… Read More
By Maddie and Hanya Hello family and friends,
It has been an exceptional week at SNEC (The School for Special Needs Kids here in Uganda). We met all different kids with many different disabilities whether that be mental or physical. Every kid stole our hearts. We loved being able to work with them and helping them with different school subjects such as Math and we even did some Art lessons.… Read More
By Camille and Kaylee Camille and Kaylee here to refresh you on the adventures of the Carpe Diem Maya group. This week we were happy to return to Xela to continue our language classes at the sister school of Escuela de la Montana, PLQ. The group was paired off and put into homestays with some of the lovely locals that lie around town. On a typical day, we wake up… Read More
By Cole Daniels-Heald Another week gone by for the Rayah group and the number of stories to tell has been steadily increasing day by day. After our time at La Semilla, we traveled to a permaculture farm called El Molino del Guadalmesí, where we learned alternative group building exercises and goal visualization, all while questioning whether or not we were being unknowingly assimilated into a cult. We all participated in… Read More
By Coop Sanchez Hello blog viewers! (Hi, Mom.)
What a week we have had! It started with an incredible few days in the outback hiking around Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata-Tjuta while sleeping on the ground under the stars every night. Our guide Joe and the Aboriginal contact Lou taught us so much about their incredible culture and we got to touch 7,000-15,000 year old hand prints in a cave… Read More
By Kobbe Hey family and friends!
After two amazing days in Sydney, the time had finally come for our six-day adventure in the Australian Outback. We arrived in Uluru after a three hour flight and met our GUYde who is a really cool guy named…Guy. He immediately took us into the wilderness and showed us around. Collecting firewood, singing songs around the bonfire, hiking under the Australian sun, stargazing, driving,… Read More
By Paige Marcano-Buchanan As hazy fog drifts over far-off trees, the rising sun dyes the sky a soft purple. We cradle hot mugs of chai in our hand listening to the birds flying overhead. With the strike of a gong, we march to morning meditation. This is a completely different experience from the boom and bustle of Kolkata’s honking horns; now we sit quietly and watch cows graze. Instead of… Read More
By Kaela Horton Hello friends, relatives, and everyone else who is along for the ride. It’s crazy to think that two weeks have gone by since I met the 13 strangers that I’ll be living and traveling with for the next three months. It’s also unbelievable that in that short period of time we’ve become the opposite of strangers and are building relationships and creating memories.
After a week of… Read More
By Kathleen Hi everyone!
Our week started out on our last day at our hostel in Katoomba. Our time in Katoomba was spent doing orientation activities while also going on hikes and exploring our surroundings. After Katoomba, we went a few towns over to Penrith to settle in before starting our volunteer work at a dingo sanctuary the next day. We showed up to the dingo sanctuary the very next… Read More
By Maya Hertz Hello!
We have had a very exciting past week. Last Wednesday, the 19th, we took a railway train from Delhi (where we finished orientation), to Jaipur, the “Pink City,” where we stayed with our first homestay families. Rehka-ji, one of our contacts in Jaipur, was a host to Avery and Sarah and also let us use her home as a classroom for Hindi and Indian history lessons.… Read More
By Overseas Educator Cari PeckEllie B. And Lily stoked to be hanging out with Kori and her two year old baby, Ajabu.Eli trying to make friends with a baby cow.Eve celebrating her 19th bday at Ziwa.Clearing invasive plant species.Visiting the national mosque in Kampala.Rebecca looks out at the view of Kampala from the top of the national mosque. Lily, Meghan, Ellie, and Hanya getting … Read More
Making chocolate at Las Delicias farm.Alex grinding fresh cacao.The Carpe Diem group with our hosts at Las Delicias right before departure—now on to the beach for the day!View from Las Delicias.Addy helping Clean up plastic used for banana production on Las Delicias.Down time at Las Delicias with Alejandro, a Spanish instructor, and Alex and Patrick.We celebrated Ellen’s birthday with a bonfire, singing our favorite … Read More
By Sailor and Daniel Hola!
This Sunday we arrived at the mountain school in Fatima and Nuevo San Jose. Fatima is a community of ex-finca (plantation) workers, who were displaced by the unfair treatment of the finca owners. The people of Fatima lie on 20×20 meter plots of land, in houses composed mainly of cinderblock, wood, and sheet metal. We have been eating three meals a day with our homestay… Read More
By Reid Cohen Hello everyone!
Its Day 12 and so much has happened already! We went through our three days of orientation and started to learn about each other’s likes and dislikes and what everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are so that we are able to be there for one another in the upcoming months.
We are learning about all of the cultures here as well! It’s so much fun to… Read More
