By Ajenai Hampton
This week was an adventure, to say the least. It feels like we just all got together, and we’re already splitting up to stay in homes with Thai families. It’s only our tenth day in Thailand total, and yet we all feel so connected as a group that it was hard for us to split up (even though we still see each other daily). We’ve started taking… Read More
By Rickey Matherne III
Well, as we head into our second week of travel and adventure with Carpe Diem, let’s recap what happened over the first week.
With brand-new faces and green bellies, we oriented ourselves in Christchurch where we formed bonds and started to get to know one another. Having been a complete success, we then moved to our next location: a 103-year-old school building on the South Island… Read More
By Anna Reed
We embarked on our journey, starting with orientation. The moment we all sat down together, a sense of relief fell over all of us when we realized how amazing each individual in our group is.
Everyone brings something unique to the group in light of our diverse backgrounds.
Jon’s personality radiates positivity and he has been kind enough to share his love for music with the group.… Read More
By Mayana Gibbs
After a few days exploring Delhi, it was finally time to move onto our next adventure in Jaipur! We got on the five-hour train at 6:00 am and arrived in the late afternoon at our homestays. We got to see and explore the Amber palace and got to see elephants, monkeys, and camels!
We then had the opportunity to learn some Hindi, which was very useful and… Read More
By Brian Simpson
Our first major destination this semester is in Las Delicias, a banana farm owned and operated by Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos’s family welcomed us with open arms and warm hearts and took us into their home. They provided us with beds, food, and Spanish lessons for the entire week, which was an amazing experience.
On the first day, Monday, we woke up to the sound of roosters… Read More
By Curtis and Jenny
Friday the 15th was the start of our journey together as a Carpe Diem group. The first three days of orientation were spent getting to know everybody. We shared personal details about our lives to understand everybody’s motivation for coming on this trip. After agreeing on the rules we wanted to abide by and the skills that we all wanted to work on, we made a… Read More
By Ella, May, and Keshav
Hello from an internet cafe in Connaught in New Delhi! Today is our fourth full day in Delhi and we’re doing a scavenger hunt by ourselves throughout the city. So far we’ve taken two rickshaws, been helped by a couple of friendly locals, and tried our first lassis! We’ve experienced many cool things so far in this city.
On our first full day we went… Read More
By Jake, Harrison, and Isabel
Since arriving in Delhi, our group of 10 has already piled into rickshaws plenty of times to get from one place to the next. We’re a fun, loud, and silly group, but we never seem to talk much when riding in rickshaws. Maybe it’s because we have no idea if the driver will take us to the right place, or if we will get there… Read More
By Alec, Garrett, Isadora, and Emma
We have been in India for six days and have seen several beautiful things and have met so many interesting locals. What makes India different than any other country is their bountiful kindness. As we walk the hectic city of Delhi, people come up to us and offer us assistance and tell us their stories.
There are billions of people in this country and … Read More
Our students turned their good agreements into an amazing flag they all learned to machine sew and make, while Eric cooked a local fish stew. Each patch represents an agreement: neon represents radical honesty and the turtle symbolizes jumping outside of your comfort zone.… Read More
By Cate, Jillian, and Jon
So far Nicaragua has been a blast. The traveling day was long but since we got here, we have been having a lot of fun getting to know our fellow group members and going through orientation.
This country is beautiful and we are all so excited to be here. One of the best things that we have done so far was going to a cool… Read More
By Lily, Karolina, Ella, and Nathan
Hello!
Life is good here so far. We have seen lots of cute dogs and monkeys. Our group is getting along quite nicely and right now we are on a scavenger hunt around Entebbe looking for fun things.
Yesterday we went to the Saturday market and walked around. There were so many new smells and colors. We saw a guy sharpening a machete with… Read More
By Yina, Elle, and Finn
On day one, after 22 hours of grueling travel, we finally made it to our hostel close to 1:00 am. Despite being exhausted, we stayed up even later to get to know each other. The hostel’s been really nice, especially the “refreshing” cold showers. Breakfast was better than we expected. Everyone in the group has been awesome and getting along as well as can be… Read More
By Emily and Lia
After over 24 hours of traveling, we arrived safely in Africa!
It’s REALLY hot here—sunny and beautiful every day! The bugs aren’t bad and it cools down quite a bit at night (it gets dark around 7 pm) and the stars are AMAZING!!
So far we’ve had a lot of logistical stuff! We’re enjoying our time here, but are really excited to jump in and start… Read More
By Charlie, Sabrina, and Atticus
Hello from Delhi,
This is the Rainbow Hippy Surprise group typing from Wahid’s office. We have spent the last week traveling around Delhi, visiting the Baha’i Temple, Akshardham Temple, India Gate Hamuyum Tomb, the Red Fort, Jama Mosque, Raj Ghat, Qutab Minar, and Toilet Museum. (Please note: everything typed after “Akshardham Temple” was Amir—we’ve only been to Raj Ghat, Baha’i Temple, and Akshardam Temple so… Read More
By Elsa and Ricky
Hello friends and family!
All 14 of us have arrived safely in Christchurch, New Zealand, where we’ve been for a few days orienting ourselves to the program and each other.
We meet in what is called a “circle.” The name originates from the shape in which we gather. Many of us have been surprised by how quickly we’ve come to feel comfortable with one another.
Without … Read More
