By Desi Casanova Hola from Baños, Ecuador! The group and I arrived here late last night after a long and tiring 10-hour van ride. Here we will spend a week learning more Spanish and diving deeper into the culture with our homestay families. I won’t give too much away; that’s for our next storyteller! I’m here to tell you all about our beautiful stay at Finco Mono Verde, a permaculture… Read More
By Josh Krauss, Latitudes Peru ’18 Welcome to Lobitos Greetings everyone, I am Joshua Krauss, and I’ll be your spiritual guide to all things food. And our first destination is in the small beach town of Lobitos Peru. Most people come for Lobitos to catch some waves, enjoy the time on the beach or even watching the beautiful sunset on the edge of the horizon. However, deep within the heart… Read More
By Paige Harris Buenos dias from Xela!
We’ve had a very busy week learning Spanish and continuing to immerse ourselves in Guatemalan culture. Prior to our departure from La Escuela de la Montaña, we had the unique opportunity to tour La Florida, a cooperatively owned, self-sustaining permaculture farm. Our guide led us around the plots of land owned by various local families, pointing out bananas, macadamia nuts, cacao, and the… Read More
Semester birthdays.Working on the beach yoga thing.Harvesting wild ginger.Handmade birthday card for Audrey.Jungle walk attire.Bird watching.Roasting coffee beans.Roasting coffee beans.Pounding coffee pre-roasting.Out of the coastal humidity and back into the mountains. Wrapping up a nearly ten hour bus ride full of laughs, movies, and good music. Hola Baños!… Read More
The Crew outside of Te Papa.Getting into mermaid mode before hopping in the Waka-Māori canoe (Abel Tasman).Lunch break snooze while backpacking the Abel Tasman.Exploring Ocean Waves-Motueka.Taking a moment to breathe at the beach.Hiking to a hidden cave during our time with Whenua Iti.Rachel gather seashells down by the seashore.Making markings in the sand.Preparing for the adventure ahead in Christchurch.Taking a break … Read More
By Bella & Rachel Kia Ora!
It’s been a rollercoaster ride since we landed in Christchurch New Zealand. We had our first few days of orientation while exploring the city. After losing a few group members and enduring the cyclone we hiked to an 80 million year old cave, went to the beach and met many awesome locals along the way. We stayed a few days near Nelson at Whenua… Read More
By Emma Clements, Latitudes Uganda Spring ’18 When I first arrived at the airport I had no idea what to expect. Were people going to be mean? Would I get lost? How many marriage proposals would I get? Mosquitos? Weather? Did I pack enough? With all these questions running through my mind, I stepped out of the airplane and into a new beginning to an end. After dealing with all… Read More
By Alex Combs Hello Everybody,
My name is Alex Combs and I am from Washington State. I am currently 18 years old and also a part of Carpe Diem Education’s South American program. This week was full of memorable and extravagant adventures so I hope you are prepared for a decently-sized read.
Over the past week, we have been staying in the coastal region of Ecuador more commonly known to… Read More
By Nitzny This week we stay at our homestays in a village outside of Mae Rim. This was an awesome experience! We really dove into Thai culture.
We got Thai lessons, learned a culture dance, and got to explore the village. We also did our service project which was cleaning a national park to help prevent wildfires. Saying goodbye to our new families was very hard but we are all… Read More
By Hanna McKee ¡Hola Tod@s!
This week kicked off the official start of our three-month journey in Central America! After spending our first few nights in a beautiful hostel in Quetzaltenango (Xela), Guatemala, getting to know each other and the itinerary, we loaded ourselves into a minibus, said goodbye to our brief home-away-from-home, and made the trek to our first destination. The car ride was filled with nervous hearts, a… Read More
By Ellie and Maytal Hi family and friends!
Nkula 2018 wanted to start by introducing ourselves so that you have a better idea of who you will be reading about over the next three months!
Tosca – Known by the Ugandans as Jesca Vancostrum, the professional bird spotter and rhino ranger, represents Europe. She’s passionate about discovering new animals, especially black mambas and cobras.
Kayleigh – A true Portlandian, Kayleigh… Read More
By Scott Penfield, Latitudes Brazil Last week, I posted about a farm that we visited near Belisario, where we witnessed firsthand the destruction of the rainforest in the name of agriculture and mineral extraction. Today, we received a somewhat hopeful update from Robin. He was initially skeptical that a complaint to the police would yield any results, despite the fact that the cutting of the forest was objectively illegal. Earlier… Read More
By Dominique, Ashley, Jeremy, and Nitzny The first week of Southeast Asia is so amazing. Something that I completely adore about the city is the architecture. The vibrant colors just show so much of the countries culture and how they live. Every building that I look at is different and are significant in their own way. The temples are on every corner and being able to see a new temple… Read More
Saludos de Quito! Today marks our final full day in the hostel, until we leave for the coast to stay at Las Delicias Banana Farm. Our journey began with landing in the magnificent city of Quito after several hours of traveling, and we were happy to finally be on the ground. After a quick nap we spent the rest of the day getting to know one another through various group… Read More
Walking through Xela, there are so many different and unique smells. From delicious street food to the dry herbs in the market. But not all of the smells here are ones to be sought out. Walking through the streets, the unfortunate odor of garbage and gasoline is extremely prevalent. Luckily enough the hostel we are staying in is usually filled with the aromas of cleaning fluids and basil. But, if… Read More
The sounds in Xela have been both familiar and foreign to us thus far! We have heard things like cars, food cooking at a street food stand, and people conversing with each other. We have heard some new things, like people speaking in Spanish with one another and new music. Some of our favorites have been children laughing, tacos simmering, music we have shared, and the voices of those in… Read More
We have seen so many amazing sights this week! When we were first flying in, those lucky enough to get window seats were treated to a bird’s eye view of Guatemala city. The sights continued as we piled into a minibus and began the long, winding trip up to Xela. We passed acres upon acres of farmland, most of which were barren for the winter. As the bus navigated perilously… Read More
On the first night we ate some delicious Thai salads with a wonderful peanut butter dressing. However, our favorite meal was today when we ate scrumptious tacos filled with chicken and peppers on tortillas with lentils and guacamole on the side. For a drink today we had some fresh papaya juice the after taste was a little odd. The best drink we had so far was this magnificent lime and… Read More
Greetings, Families and Friends of the Spring 2018 Nkula group: The Nkula group had a night in Dubai, had a successful rendezvous with Tosca, and are now safe and sound in Entebbe, Uganda. They will now start Orientation, getting to know each other, setting intentions, and learning about safe and mindful travel. Nkula: everyone at home wishes you the very best! We hope that your journey is amazing and full of… Read More
