Written By Latrell, Latitudes ’19 South Africa For the past month and a half Josh and I have been immersed into the South African culture. Our Journey began in Johannesburg by exploring many of the museums and learning about the rich history of this storied country. We visited Constitution Hill, where Nelson Mandela and many of the main people who tore down the apartheid system were arrested. If I had… Read More
Written By Leighton, Latitudes ’19 Peru Hello parents, fellow students, prospective students, and whoever else may have stumbled upon this blog! For the past five weeks, I have been living in the small tourist town of Ollantaytambo, Peru. I’m working for an NGO in town that partners with women in local indigenous villages to empower them and connect them to the world market.
On a typical work day, I walk… Read More
Written By Duncan, Latitudes ’19 Thailand Adjustment is an understatement when it comes to my life here. Coming from the city of Charlotte, NC and diving right into farming in rural Thailand, I had to deal with the culture-shock and the solitude, all while maintaining a strong work ethic. I’m not gonna lie, it took some time for me to get settled, but once I finally found my place here… Read More
Written By Katie, Latitudes ’19 Thailand When I first arrived on Koh Tao I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The water was a beautiful light blue, I couldn’t believe I would be spending the next 3 months here. For the first week I got my diving courses done, going to a max of 30 meters and looking at the giant old war ship they have, and even getting to… Read More
Written By Jacob, Latitudes ’19 Guatemala Hola and buenos dias amigos! Jacob here checking in from El Paredon, Escuintla, Guatemala. For my latitudes semester I’m working with an amazing NGO (an org that doesn’t make any money itself but reinvests all its profits into the community) called La Choza Chula or “The cool hut.” In the past 5 years the organization has built a library, computer lab, organic garden, and… Read More
Written By Sailor, Latitudes ’19 Thailand A life on Koh Tao, where do I start.
Well to start off my journey I will take you to week one, arriving on the small little island of Koh Tao the name meaning ‘Turtle Island’, and living up to its name this island seemed magical from my very first steps on it. The very first week Katie, Rachel and I settled into the… Read More
Written By Rachel, Latitudes ’19 Thailand Upon arrival to the island of Koh Tao I was absolutely exhausted. It took about two days to get here, and by the time I got settled in at the New Heaven dorms I laid down and slept for a solid fourteen hours. When I woke, I couldn’t believe this was where I would be for the next two months. The island is so… Read More
Greetings Latitudes families and friends,
We have had an exciting couple of weeks with our 2019 Carpe Diem Latitudes cohort! Last week, all 27 students came out to Camp Angelos in the Portland, OR area to participate in a 3 day orientation. It served as a refresher for a lot of the topics our students covered during their group semesters in the fall, while also going over situations and scenarios… Read More
By Hadley Olivia, Latitudes ’18 Uganda When I found out that I would be spending three months in southern Uganda teaching at a special needs school, I was equal parts excited and terrified. I had the opportunity to visit my placement during my East Africa group semester, so I had a vague idea of what I was getting myself into… but in the end, I truly had no idea what… Read More
By Finn, Latitudes ’18 Bolivia I’ve spent the past three months in the middle of the Amazon working with—and walking—Bolivia’s rescued wildlife and jungle cats. Only seven hours from the closest big city, Parque Ambue Ari is found in the depths of the wild. Given its remoteness, the park comes with all the fine amenities you’d expect: little to no electricity or cell service, the coldest showers you’ll ever take,… Read More
At 1:30 am Rachana shook me awake. In the dark, my head still thick with sleep, I assumed it was one of my roommates waking me for my 6 am dolphin survey. This was not the case, I quickly realized, checking my watch and recognizing the culprit responsible for disturbing my sleep.
“Come on! I have something to show you!”
Now, I am not a person who likes to be… Read More
By Ella Gambell, Latitudes Australia I’m not going to lie, the first couple weeks of this semester were pretty tough for me. At Latitudes orientation right before I came here, I heard about all of the amazing things all of the other Carpe kids are doing and I wondered if I could be doing something better or more adventurous than working on a farm. I would be weeding in the… Read More
I’ve thought about leaving many times; some days I was excited to move on and other days I dreaded the day I would have to say goodbye. And now that time where I have to say goodbye and move on is not in the far-off future anymore – tomorrow I must say goodbye. And, now that the time to leave is finally here I find it hard to accept the… Read More
By Eli Karsh-Lombardo, Latitudes Ecuador ’18 The days start at 6:30 AM with the crazy urge to pee after the three-Nalgene-a-day-from-sweat kicks in. Real alarm clock is when the family of seven Spiderman and 200 square monkeys decide to jump play and fight on the thin loud metal roof of the volunteer house. After that, depending on the schedule of the day, we either head straight to the bodega for… Read More
By Renee Noordzij It’s always hot here. And when it isn’t hot, it’s downpouring. So I’m either sweaty or soaked with rain. It’s just a little bit different than the snow of my hometown near Boston. There’s bugs. Everywhere. On the walls, the floors, in the shower, in my bed. My legs are covered in bug bites. My main source of nutrition is rice. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner I… Read More
By Chandler Christopher During my time with the Batwa, I received the opportunity to interview four of the members who spoke English. In Batwa communities, it’s very rare that people are educated and know English. So, this was a very big, uncommon opportunity to verbally communicate in the same language with these people. The Batwa are the indigenous people of Uganda, the native people of this beautiful country. Their ancestors… Read More
By Daisy Osowski The rainy season is upon us. Dirt paths have turned to slip and slides and hauling water from our water tank 30 feet away has turned into an adventure. Just the other day while I was hauling a 40-pound jerrycan up to my house I made it to the top of the hill and slid all the way back down it.
The rainy season isn’t all bad… Read More
By Maggie Otal Been in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala for a few weeks now and it is just as beautiful as I remember. I love the atmosphere and all the friendly faces. Every person you walk past says “Buenos Dias” or “buenos tardes” even if they have no idea who you are. Some of my favorite parts of being in Xela (short for Quetzaltenango) is seeing the panaderias (bakeries) on every corner… Read More
By Kyla Moede I never would’ve imagined myself to have gained a deep obsession with five baby howler monkeys in such a simple, tiny town in Belize called Sarteneja.
It’s amazing how life always seems to work itself out. My initial inclination was drawing me to Australia, Thailand, Bali or Costa Rica, and I was somewhat disappointed in my choice of location, but now, I’ve realized that there is no… Read More
By Josh Krauss, Latitudes Peru ’18 Welcome to Lobitos Greetings everyone, I am Joshua Krauss, and I’ll be your spiritual guide to all things food. And our first destination is in the small beach town of Lobitos Peru. Most people come for Lobitos to catch some waves, enjoy the time on the beach or even watching the beautiful sunset on the edge of the horizon. However, deep within the heart… Read More
