I have been in Sri Lanka for a month now and it has been nothing short of an adventure. When I told people where I was going to be spending the next three months, most of the responses I got went something like this, "Isn't that in Africa?" or, "You know that elephants are really big, right?" I politely responded with a bit of a geography lesson and a… Read More
So it seems I am back abroad, in the heart of Southern India. I am volunteering in Prema Vasam, a home for children both disabled and not. After my twenty hours of plane rides and a scary taxi ride to my hotel (it was nighttime), I finally got to bed. When I got into my room I immediately began sobbing and wondering what was the quickest way to go home.… Read More
Greetings fellow latitudes students and other readers! I am Maddy Karsten from Michigan, and I was a part of the Nkula East Africa fall semester! After much deliberation, I decided to go to Cusco, Peru for my FVP and live and work at the Healing House- a holistic living community that offers yoga and meditation classes all day long. I have been here just over two weeks. To be honest,… Read More
Greetings to my family, friends, fellow gap year goers, and future latitudes students who are stalking blogs to decide where they will eventually end up… To be completely transparent, I have been in Cusco, Peru for five and a half weeks, and I am just now starting to truly enjoy my time here. It is an absolutely beautiful city with a tremendous amount of history and has loads to offer,… Read More
In a few short days I will have officially been in Ollantaytambo for two months. The time has flown by, yet I feel like I’ve done too much to have only been here for that long. Here in the Sacred Valley of Peru, Ollanta is a small pass through town for the millions of tourists that go to Macchu Picchu each year. It is an interesting mixture of rural and… Read More
Hiya!
Rachel here. I've officially been in Tasmania a little over a month and what a month it's been. I am staying at Pindari Herb Farm, a family owned and operated herbal farm and dispensary just outside of Launceston Tas. It is absolutely beautiful here. I wake up each morning and head to the kitchen located in the main house just a minute walk away from my cottage. There I… Read More
Namaste! It is currently 3 AM and I am writing to you from the Mountain View Eco Farm in Begnas, Nepal. My sleep for tonight has been compromised by huge hailstones on a tin roof (courtesy of monsoon season), but it’s okay because I know this storm will make for a clear sky and superb views in the morning. Every few days you can look out past the farm and… Read More
Hello all, Through Carpe Diem is the first time I have been out of the United States, and it has substantially been the fastest I have seen my life go by. In a good way… I now reside in Merida, Mexico, the capital of Yucatan, which is a beautiful Peninsula filled with much history and rich culture. If many of you don't know where Merida is, Google it.. Or it's… Read More
Hola from the sweet city of Cusco! I can't believe that I've already been at the Healing House, a holistic living center, for almost one month. Time really does fly. 5 months ago I was at orientation feeling jittery with anticipation for my group semester and contemplating various options for my FVP. Now, my group semester is over (still kind of in denial) and I'm almost one month into my… Read More
What's up friends and family?! It's so crazy how I've already been here in South Africa for a month. Time has gone by unbelievably fast. This is probably due to how busy I've been down here! I jumped right into work right as I arrived here at C.R.O.W. (Center for Rehabilitation Of Wildlife). I met up with Gus Swanson, the other Carpe student here and we have become good friends:D… Read More
Pun Pun Farm: a center for self reliance, my destination for the Latitudes semester of the journey and my current home. Life here is better than I could have imagined and is everything and more that I have been searching for. To my humble understanding and from my developing place in the community, Pun Pun is a place to grow and learn together through experiences that come from an organic,… Read More
Namaste Nepal! I will have successfully completed my third week in Kathmandu as of tomorrow. I have to admit, this isn't quiet what I expected but I can't be more pleased with my placement here with ELI. I am currently living in a volunteer house with five other volunteers with two others just having left this morning. The first couple of days all of us spent our time on tours… Read More
It's hard to believe its already been a month here at C.R.O.W. in Durban, South Africa. With days spent feeding, rescuing, and releasing animals the time has really flown by. A little background information on C.R.O.W. First, The Center for Rehabilitation of Wildlife's main function is to create an environment in which sick and injured animals can be rehabilitated to the point of release. With everything from warthogs to baboons… Read More
Gooday guys and gals, it's been one month tomorrow since I've been living in Bunbury, Western Australia and so far so good. I love it here Bunbury is a quiet little town bordered on two sides by the magnificent Indian ocean which has crystal clear and warm water the one catch is It's loaded with sharks! While I'm down here I have the pleausre of working at the Dolphin Discovery… Read More
Hola mundo! My first time here in South America and let's just say it was not what I was expecting! I am in Cusco City, Peru and it's cold! So don't think I am here soaking up the rays. I'm high up in the mountains actually 11,200 ft above sea level, just a tad bit higher than Chicago (595 ft)! I've been here almost a month and I am so… Read More
We can’t believe it’s already time for our incredible cohort of 2014 Latitudes Students to take off!
The past two days have been jam packed and we’d love to thank all of our students for being so attentive, helpful, engaged, and hilarious.
We’d also like to thank all of the guest speakers who came to help us out and inspired us along the way. We hosted an alumni panel in… Read More
The Latitudes Team is so thrilled to announce that our Fall Orientation has kicked off!
We are gathered in a beautiful forested retreat center just outside of Portland. With just one flight delay all day long, everyone has safely arrived at the orientation center. We’ve explored the camp, dipped our toes in the river, played some get-to-know-you games, and had a fantastic introduction from Carpe Diem’s Executive Director Drew Edwards.… Read More
Reflecting back on this whole experience I still cannot believe it actually happened. Leaving the country for my first time ever in September I was scared and clueless about the world that stood in front of me. I was however, eager to learn and ready to get out of my little town in Pennsylvania. Now I’m in beautiful Peru making my mark. In February when I arrived in Lima, the… Read More
I’ve now spent 6 weeks here at KSTR bonding with the workers and becoming an important part of the team. I believe I previously mentioned that Sam and Barb are the backbones of the clinic. Well Barb has decided to retire from working at the clinic full time. She’s worked wry hard for quite some time so it’s not much of a shock to any of us. However this means… Read More
…..where even though it’s winter the sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the animals are still very active. For the last month and a half I have been volunteering with Wildlife Act, an organization that monitors key animals on various reserves in the KwaZulu-Natal province. These animals are either endangered, threatened, or are highly vulnerable to poaching. Amongst these animals you have lion, rhino, elephant, leopard, and wild… Read More
