Blog

Students in front of cinnabon group photo

Ciao for Now!

Written by Megan That’s all, folks! The Terra group has been back home for almost 2 weeks, adjusting back to the normal pace of daily life. Did we really just do all that we did? Whatever motivated each student to step on that plane on September 15th and fly to a foreign country with complete strangers, we applaud them! It takes courage to do what others aren’t doing- to walk… Read More

A Hui Hou

CODA E Hō Mai ka ‘ike mai luna mai ē O nā mea huna no’eau O nā mele ē E hō mai E hō mai E hō mai ē The E hō mai is a chant to grant us knowledge from above. Hawaii has given us more than we could ever hope to return. The islands have taught us patience, empathy, history, restoration, gratitude, and of course the game of… Read More

WHAT IS THE NEXT?!

Written By OEs Mara & Matt And with our journals full of discoveries, our hearts full of memories, and our clothing full of new smells, we’ve found our ways back home. It’s amazing how quickly time has passed! It feels like we were just meeting each other in the Sonesta hotel and carrying a massive pizza box through security. Rides in the back of pick-up trucks and volcanic eruptions set… Read More

Peloponnese Adventures and Gratitude

Written By Bella After our time at Re-green, we spent this final week directing ourselves around the Peloponnese region of Greece. Our first stop was Olympia, where we leaned about the ancient ruins, artifacts, the Olympics, and the Temple of Zeus followed by a race on the ancient track. We also had the opportunity to check out an amazing honey farm where we learned the process of bee boxes and… Read More

It’s Not Goodbye, it’s “Pób Gun Mài”

Written by Soumya Sou so dai, Sabai fam. It’s your fearless knee-slapping leader, and I’m posted up in a back-alley noodle & dumpling shop in Phnom Penh as I write this, surrounded by bamboo walls, whirring fans, and the sound of motorbikes racing by. As I reflect on the last few months, you eleven intrepid, transformed young travelers who departed this morning in a flurry of hugs and oversized bags… Read More

A Closing Karakia

Written By Ryan and Lauren Our last goodbyes have been said. The murmurs of our laughs and celebrations and banter have faded into the surroundings. And the world has continued to turn even as most of us flew half a world away to return to the strange world of familiar things. The story of our journey together has ended. As we re-enter spaces of individual living and storytelling, we’ll each… Read More

Divin’ and Dolphins

Written By Abby Wow. It seems like just yesterday we were all watching the volcano, Fuego, erupt during dinner at the famous EarthLodge above Antigua, Guatemala. Now we are counting the hours we have left here in Costa Rica, making the most of every moment. After our time at Villas Mastatal was up, we braved the stormy ocean by boat to make our way to Drake Bay. We waded off… Read More

A Strange Family

Written By Ben Throughout the last 2 1/2 months I was thinking of the perfect way to conclude this blog post. Our group has been through the highs of going caving and exploring the Great Barrier Reef, and the lows of sorting trash in the pouring rain and everything in between. Instead of describing the last week of student directed travel, I decided to bring our adventure to a close… Read More

Whenua Iti

Written By Baylor and Jensen The week of the 6th we left the comfort of the Hart farm and headed for the South Island. The ferry ride was 4h and it mostly consisted of sleeping, eating and playing cards. The landscape around was beautiful and nothing we had ever seen before. After getting off the ferry we meet one of our guides, And The week of the 6th we left… Read More

Our Biggest Smiles

Written By Kate and Danica Coming from Siem Reap, we went into PTD with little to no expectations. Though we arrived with low spirits, this week became one of our best. When we arrived we were greeted by Rith (the director of PTD) and a great home-cooked meal. That day we all settled in and rested to prepare for the next day. Every morning at 7 am we all slowly… Read More

SDT Awesomeness

Written by Ava and Sam with the group SDT. Or as it was accidentally referred to a couple of times, STD. SDT, or student-directed travel, is a time when the group is completely in charge of planning the week. We were given only a budget and a flight that we had to catch, and the rest was on us to plan. We had spent time at the Chiang Dao Youth… Read More

The Box of Bananas

Written By Leora This week ended on an unfortunate note, due to mostly all of us falling ill. Though, when I could still hang in there, I learned a lot in our initial couple days of arriving in The Kingdom of Cambodia. Particularly, I learned that most of the people I have come across in Cambodia are very kind. On the first day of our travels, we planned to visit… Read More

Gettin’ Creepy in Crete

Written By Bella & Avery The group continued their time in Agios Ioannis, Crete, with an archeology lesson lead by Carly, in which we visited her lab and saw the process that artifacts are restored and studied. After an educationally stimulating morning, the group learned how to cook a traditional greek feta and jam dessert by our lovely chef, Kristina. As the night went on, in our American nature, the… Read More

“Pura Vida” in Costa Rica

Written By Gabriel, Abby & Lindsey First full week in Costa Rica! We spent the week in the town of Mastatal with a local family on their farm with many interesting characters: their hilarious son Andres, several bats flying overhead every night, and a stinky dog we named Kevin, even though she was a girl. The days consisted of farm work, painting murals, and visiting local businesses. Every morning the… Read More

Living Large in Rio Dulce!

Written By Helen, Ella, & Chance ¡Hola from the jungles of Rio Dulce! Boy, do we need to fill you in. Sit down, grab a snack, and listen to the adventure of a lifetime. Bang! We started off with a bang on Monday morning by competing in a series of group competitions. The group participated in two heated tournaments; ping pong and cannonballs. Mats roared as he devoured his competitors… Read More

Hart Family Farm

Written By Charlie October 31, 2022. A Halloween like none other. I arrived at the Hart family farm exhausted but excited for a change of scenery. An intense couple of days had tired me out, but the beauty of the farm lifted my spirits. Opening the door to our new home, I was greeted by a scene that was best described as a painting. Rolling green hills, grazing sheep and… Read More

Retreat Week

Written By Eden & Cole “The largest journey in life is from the heart to the head.” -Terangimarie This week we let go of some of the things delaying that journey, and did some self reflection to find what fuels it. October 23rd. Spirits were low. More than half our group was sick. Many competed to be the last healthy one standing, some even trying to play it off as… Read More

Trick or Treat, But Mostly Treat!

Written By Will Aloha and happy Halloween!!. The week began with an early morning as the students headed off to Kahalu’u for another lesson with Kona Town Adventures. The waves were a bit tame today, but this allowed most of the students to try and catch waves and ride on their own. Everybody was able to catch their own waves, stand up and consequently fall face first into the beautiful… Read More