Blog from Emily S. Photos from Savannah and the Overseas Educators Namaste from Bodhgaya!
Emilia here, writing from the Root Institute! We arrived here yesterday healthy and excited to be studying Buddhism! It’s a different change of pace compared to Varanasi, a city full of bustling cows, water buffalo, rickshaws and people. We stayed in Banaras (the local term for the city) for almost one week, learned some “survival Hindi”… Read More
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba group,
Good news! I spoke with Michelle and Kevin this morning and they let me know that all is well. The hurricane passed far enough east of them that they only experienced rain. No high winds, heavy storms, flooding, or damage that they can tell so far in the city. They said if they hadn’t known it was a hurricane, they would… Read More
After we left the Kokiri Center, which is a communal living space for the Maori people, on the 23rd, we went to a small farm run by a couple named Rick and Liz. One of our group leaders, Lolly, had stayed with Rick and Liz before this trip so it was amazing to see them reunited. At the farm, we learned about permaculture and how they farm according to the… Read More
After an epic (and highly successful!) travel day we arrived on the island of Ometepe, which will be our home for the next two weeks. Sunday morning started early when we met at the bus terminal in Matagalpa and, under the direction of our student travel leader, we purchased tickets to Managua and piled onto the bus, while our packs were secured to the roof of the repurposed yellow school… Read More
Omchapeur from the Karen tribe and us at Chiang Mai! After a beautiful and touching homestay experience, the Fall Seasia group embarked on our first trek and what was to be a truly authentic three days in Thailand. After the ride back to Chiang Mai we decompressed at our new hostel Mojito Garden, which included a complimentary hammock, a Koi pond (where I had my camera lifted off of me… Read More
Sawatdee Kha!,
The last part of the homestays went by relatively quickly. On September 27th, we had the opportunity to teach English at a girls school in Mae Rim! We planned out games and some basic lessons to teach, regarding body parts, places, and numbers. The girls were all high school age, and very polite; an intereting contrast to a typical American high school environment. We broke into four groups… Read More
Hongi group’s second full week was filled with lots adventure (and quite a bit of rain). We started off the week at Whenua Iti headquarters, where we were briefed on the week ahead of us, by our two leaders, Rob and Joe. Our original plan was to hike the full Abel Tasman trail over six days, but a forecast full of rain caused us to change our plans to accommodate… Read More
Blog from Elana O. Photos from the Overseas Educators Last week the Shiva group packed their bags and said their goodbyes to the host families in Jaipur. We headed to the train station and, after many ukelele songs and the death of one flip flop, boarded the train to Udaipur- the Venice of India.
The first day in the lake-filled city included a lovely breakfast and walking tour of the… Read More
Blog from Jada and Matt. Photos from the Overseas Educators Hello friends and family! Reporting from SNEC- Special Needs Education Center- 30 kilometers outside of Kabale. It’s hard to believe we’re almost 3 weeks into our 3 month adventure!
After a fun weekend rafting on the Nile, we bussed to Kampala, and on Monday morning, embarked on a 9 hour bus ride to Kabale. As we prepared for our long… Read More
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba group,
Thank you again for your on-going expressions of concern and willingness to support the group. I understand how challenging this continues to be and we appreciate your support as we navigate how to best support our students and keep them safe as the hurricane approaches. I recently got off the phone with Kevin and Michelle, they said the group is feeling… Read More
Hello from la Escuela de la Montaña,
We’ve had a terrific week! On Sunday morning we moved out of our Xela home stays and caught a public bus that took us to The Mountain School! Immediately, we could tell this was going to be very different from PLQ. The bus dropped us off in the middle of the woods, right in the middle of the mountains we could see from… Read More
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Cuba semester,
We’ve now heard from a few of you as the press coverage about Hurricane Matthew continues to grow and I wanted to specifically address the concern that some of you have shared regarding the evacuations at the Guantanamo Bay Naval base. Guantanamo Bay has evacuated about 700 of the 5,500 people living at the base. Those evacuated were non-essential personnel and… Read More
Dear parents, families, and friends of the Carpe Diem Cuba group,
Thank you to those who have reached out with questions or concerns regarding Hurricane Matthew.
As many of you know, it is moving through the Caribbean and is currently expected to make landfall in Cuba late Monday night. We have been monitoring it’s progress and have been in touch with the group as well as other contacts in Cuba… Read More
This week we took on the challenge of diving head first into our first homestay experience in Matagalpa, Nicaragua and successfully completed a week of Spanish classes at Colibri Escuela de Español. Spanish, sleep, and eat isn´t all we did though, we were priviledged to participate in various activities that gave us the full cultural experience of this incredible town. We had a full week of challenging, fun, and new… Read More
Today was our last full day here in Baños before we leave for the Amazon and the end to an amazing week. We topped off our stay here with white water rafting trip earlier today, everyone had a blast and Harvey even went for a little swim. Yesterday we went on a little trip up to Casa de Arboles, a beautiful park atop one of the many mountains that surround… Read More
From Aiden Blood Greetings from the town of Kabale. I am going to tell you about my experiences in Jinja and Kampala.
We stayed at the Nalubale River Rafting Camp ventured into Jinja for the afternoon. While walking on the street someone offered me a piece of his chicken; I didn’t want to be rude and turn it down so I ate it. After thanking him, I went back to… Read More
Today is our fourth day in Baños. We have all settled into our host families. Me and Katie are staying with Lorena, the administrator of the Spanish school Raices. We have three dogs that are constantly playing with us and looking to be rubbed on their bellies. Tasting all the home-cooked meals is a delicious way to experience the local culture. Our classes are 3-4 hours a day, with a… Read More
