Bula friends and families! We have spent the last week in Rabulu (pronounced "Rambulu") Village living with host families and getting to know everyone in the village. Upon arrival on our first night, we introduced ourselves to everyone and were welcomed into the village with the traditional drinking of kava, a crushed plant saturated in water which produces a tea-like drink. After the drinking of kava, meeting our host families,… Read More
Bula! We safely arrived in Fiji after two very long days and two flights. We were warmly welcomed by a Fijian music trio in the airport before Fijian customs welcomed us a little more harshly (11 of us were detained). Thankfully we all made it out safely and are now chilling at a small villa and waiting out super cyclone pam. What a welcome! We all had an excellent time… Read More
Our group arrived at "Blue Mountain Adventure Center" and the first day we got to canoe across a lake to the island where we camped under a tarp listening to the rain. We learned how not to leave a trace in the outdoors and shared personal stories as the sun went down. The next day we went caving after we canoed back from the island. We all thought it was… Read More
Howdy Y'all,
Hope everyone is doing great back in the States. Here in New Zealand we have been working hard on the Hart Family Farm. So far we have learned all about sustainable farming and how to appreciate where our food comes from. All of the meals that the students have prepared have featured food that came directly from the farm, even the meat! One night we had the opportunity… Read More
Kia Ora! We made it from Christchurch to Rapaki, where we've been staying at the Marae! We started our very first day with the Profity ceremony, where we exchanged songs with the Maori people and had a delicious welcome meal. With no time to waste, we got straight to work! We started off working at a local stream conservation where we sickled and weeded out all the dead plants.… Read More
ng Hello from tomorrow family and friends! We’ve all been loving our time in New Zealand so far! We arrived in Christchurch a bit groggy and confused to have skipped a date on the calendar altogether, but after a good night’s sleep we were excited to get started exploring a new city. It’s certainly an interesting time to be in Christchurch, since the earthquakes in 2011 leveled almost all of… Read More
We just got word from the group that after a long night of travel they finally arrived in Christchurch. Now let the games begin in New Zealand. More updates to come!… Read More
Good evening family and friends, The Hongi group has all arrived safely to LAX and they are about to proceed through security and begin their adventure together. We wish them all the best as they traverse new internal and external landscapes over the next 3 months. Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud awaits! -Drew Edwards, Executive Director … Read More
Hello Hongi Adventurers! Kevin and Angie here signing in from Portland! We've been preparing all kinds of awesomeness for our upcoming adventure in the South Pacific. We hope you're all stoked because we certainly are! We spent today adventuring around Portland, exploring the massive Powell's bookstore, riding the MAX and sampling some local deliciousness. While it's been excellent spending time getting to know each other, we can't wait to be… Read More
To all of our fuh-reeeeends:
Hard to believe it was only a week ago that we were crowding around the Cairns airport, musing over Ben & Gabe’s freakish similarities and passing around the vinegar-soiled-tote-bag for a whiff. The journey home was a long one, but only reiterated how tight knit our community had really become. Through thick and thin, highs and lows, bad airplane food and 4 repeat viewings… Read More
To all the avid readers of the Hongi group blog, I am sad to report that this is the final post. We have spent the past week immersed in the Daintree Rainforest passing the time practicing yoga, meditation, and inner reflection. It’s safe to say that the heaviest thought on everyone’s mind is our impending goodbye. There is the constant chatter of what people’s flight details, what our first meal… Read More
Greetings, friends and family of the Carpe Diem Hongi group! The last two weeks of our adventure were spent in the Daintree rainforest. The first week, we stayed at the Bat House in little cabins cutting vines, stomping grass,and being eaten alive by the millions of biting green ants that inhabit them. Each sweaty, exhausting day was filled with the sound of cutting wood and the more than occasional shriek… Read More
Happy Turkey Day from the Carpe Diem Hongi Group. We have had an amazing experience here in Cairns. The fun started at the airport in Alice Springs and continued all the way through our time here. We were given a taste of Australian paradise the past two days. We took a boat Thursday morning and headed to Fitzroy Island. We arrived and everyone automically was on “relax take it easy… Read More
“I can’t, I have to finish my homework,” is a phrase I never thought I would hear while on this trip. But, this past week we all fell into the old routine of doing homework late at night, in hopes of becoming scuba certified. We started class at Cairns Dive Center (CDC) on Tuesday of this week. We packed our lunches for the 8 hour day ahead of us… Read More
G’Day family and friends of the Carpe Hongi group!
We just arrived back in Alice Springs from an exhausting, yet liberating week in the Australian outback. This week has pushed us in ways we didn’t even know we could be pushed, both emotionally and physically. From a 25 hour train ride all the way to swimming in between million year old rocks.
Our bodies were tired, dripping with sweat and… Read More
G’day family and friends! So far our stay in Australia has been grand. Our first stop was Adelaide where a member of the group was temporarily lost after falling asleep on the bus. But don’t worry, he made good use of by getting to know the city ahead of time. We spent the next two days exploring Adelaide, then we headed off to the Conservation Volunteers of Australia headquarters where… Read More
Hello Family and Friends!
Another successful week has gone by in the Carpe Diem Hongi group!
As we left Fiji it was hard to say goodbye and many tears were shed when saying goodbye to our home stay families. It felt like a second home in Fiji and is experience we will never forget. That being said, we were looking forward to our next stop in Adelaide, Australia. We stayed… Read More
Staying for two weeks in a small Fijian village is no easy task. It’s hot, it’s different, it’s remote.
Despite the elements, living and working in Nananu alongside it’s beautiful people was truly a gift. It was a challenging experience, but a necessary one, and we have walked away more enlightened and self-aware as ever.
Though we have no regrets, here are a few things we decided as a group… Read More
Hello friends and family of Carpe Diem Hongi group. Sad to say it but it’s time to leave the hot weather of Fiji and on to our next adventure, Australia! Nananu village really became our home away from home. Even though it was a sad goodbye to our nau’s and mongu’s (mom and dad in Fijian) and all of our siblings or all of the little kids we became… Read More
Bula bula friends and family of the Carpe Diem Hongi group. This last week in Fiji has been a great one! As we got over our culture shock, we were back making an impact in the village after a much needed family day on Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday we split into two groups. Group one went to the local school to start a painting of the world map that… Read More
