By Caroline Kessler Alas! We made it to Roatan, Honduras for the final week of our trip. A celebration was definitely in order as we reflected on the past three months. To top it all off, we earned our Lifetime SCUBA Certification, allowing us to explore greater depths all around the world.
In many ways, scuba diving embodied our Carpe Diem Adventure. It was something many of us had been… Read More
By Benjamin Lenzi Namaste,
The last blog post is here! It feels not that long ago when we met each other at the San Francisco airport. Many of us in the group have similar feelings that it seems like we have been away for so long but yet so short at the same time.
Last week after a successful student travel we visited Agra to see the Taj Mahal in… Read More
Last Wednesday we left Antigua. After a short two-hour van ride we arrived in the tranquil beach town of El Paredon. Our week in El Paredon was organized by a social enterprise called La Choza Chula. La Choza Chula is helping El Paredon through a recent increase in tourism. They are providing knowledge and help with sustainable ways of education, enterprise, and environmental protection.
We stayed in an awesome hostel… Read More
By Charloe Koloma Namaste to those at home.
This past week was our group’s time for student-directed travel, naturally creating a hectic but exciting time for all of us.
We started off our week in the city of Bikaner to celebrate Thanksgiving with each other and go on a two-day camel trek in the desert. The day before our trek was Thanksgiving so we decided to split off into groups… Read More
By Keshav Krishnan My time as the official “Bilbo Bloggins” started at the Phool Chatti ashram. I enjoy the time I spent there in retrospect, although it was tough for me at (most) times. We had three hours of yoga asanas (the stretching and stuff) a day! We also had some incredible experiences outside of stretches that I couldn’t do. Every day we did a walk into nature, ending near… Read More
Photos from Matt and Michelle, our fabulous Overseas Educators A big thanks to our OEs for even more great photos. The Nkula crew spent a week in homestays in Stonetown, Zanzibar. They spent the days taking classes from local artisans and learning the basics of traditional woodcarving, “Tinga Tinga” painting, making natural herbal remedies and beauty products, and music. They also got to visit Prison Island (known locally as “Changuu”)… Read More
Our latest weekly update covers three separate locations throughout Australia that we’ve visited. The period that this blog covers begins in Chenrezig, the Buddhist retreat that we spent 6 days visiting. Our second to last day was spent in complete silence, a practice that is very common amongst buddhist monks. starting in the morning just after breakfast, we were instructed to say nothing out loud, to others or to yourself,… Read More
By Greg Pipher and Wynn Simmons So we left Fiji and as we got onto the plane we came across something most of us have never seen before. They made us empty our water bottles and all the drinks we bought after going through security! Then we got on the plane and when it was time to get off we did and went off into Brisbane too our hostel at… Read More
Throughout this entire trip, we have met some incredible people – people that we will be lifelong friends with and stay in contact with forever, and people that have taught us so much about different cultures and ourselves. But in Fiji, we became family with an entire village. Back home, you can knock on your neighbor’s door and ask for sugar. Most likely, they would give it to you, and… Read More
Photos from the Overseas Educators Michelle and Matt Our Nkula crew just spent 4 days snorkeling and/or earning their Open Water Dive certificates off of the Indian Ocean in Zanzibar. Enjoy these stellar photos!… Read More
All photos from Mike S. and Ellen M., our fabulous Kifaru Overseas Educators A couple of weeks ago our intrepid Kifaru crew spent 4 days canoeing from island to island, and then trekking some mighty hills, in and around Lake Bunyonyi. Thanks for the great photos Mike and Ellen!… Read More
Photos from Matt S. and Michelle N., the Nkula Overseas Educators! Zanzibar is famous for it’s spices. Our Nkula crew recently got to visit a local spice farm to learn how vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and other tasty spices are grown. Thanks for the photos, Matt and Michelle!… Read More
Hola familias!! Welcome to Part Two of Student Directed Travel!!
We started off part two of the week by leaving the sleepy mountain community of Lares, loading up the van with all of our bags and snacks to prepare to for the long journey to Pisac. Ater a few snack stops at fruit markets and warm lunches of rice and lentils along the way, the car finally rumbled nto the… Read More
by Josh Krauss
Welcome to Part One of Student Directed Travel. I’m your Uncle Josh, and I will be your spiritual guide for today’s blog. Our story begins after leaving Patacancha, when we went back through the windy road to ollantaytambo, where we would grab our bags and munch on alfajores, which is ranking up as the group’s favorite treat. After the two hour bus drive, we reached our destination… Read More
by Jillian and Tori
The day began with the microbus ride straight out of a circus. 16 of us crammed into a bus for 14 for 3 excruciating hours followed by a short boat ride through mountains and volcanoes of lake Atitlan to arrive at the mystical yoga farm. As soon as we stepped off the boat, it became apparent that we were not in Kansas anymore. We were greeted… Read More
Greetings families and friends!
Since the last blog post our group has spent five days volunteering with the organization Kuemar located in the Guanacaste region on the pacific side of Costa Rica. The project is focused on helping the sea turtles that reside within the ocean water lining the beaches of Playa Nombre de Jesus, Playa Real, and Playa Onda. Thursday afternoon we arrived and settled into some of our… Read More
A safari through picturesque bush lands was the only way to end our time on mainland Tanzania. Ruaha National Park is a collection of conversations covering 40,000 square kilometers. It is home to largest game population in Tanzania. It hosts large herds of antelope, kudus, grants gazelles, and ostriches. The wildlife was almost as enchanting as a Planet Earth documentary. It started with the sight of the first giraffe head protruding… Read More
When we were on our way to Fiji, I didn’t know exactly what our stay would be like. Really, the biggest thing I knew about Fiji was that they had tasty bottled water, which is like their standard bottled water here. I knew that it was tropical, and that it had sunny weather and rainforests, but that was about it. I wanted to know what Fiji was really about. What… Read More
A big hello to everyone following the HONGI 2017 squad!
Elliot and Sophie here. We have been beyond busy in the Australian Outback this past week swimming in breathtaking water holes, riding camels, and waking up at 4am to start hiking because the weather got up to 100+ degrees in the afternoons (or 40+ for the Canadians out there). We were welcomed in Alice springs by our incredible tour guide Lindz. Not… Read More
I, along with many of my other peers, am now scuba certified! It was a four day process to get our certifications. One day was spent in the classroom watching videos and taking tests, the second in an enclosed pool to practice the skills that we were learning, and the third and fourth in the Great Barrier Reef! Beginning to learn and practice our skills in the pool was incredible.… Read More
