Five incredible weeks at Foxes’ NGO, and I’m still not sure exactly what label to give the organization where I’m working – besides “NGO”. It’s non-governmental, sure, but it’s a lot of other things, too. And all of them are worth writing about.
What is this place? An orphanage? Yeah, kind of – though we don’t use that term, since it tends to paint a sad, Western, “institutional” picture –… Read More
I hadn’t been to school in quite a while, so I figured that it was about time to head back for a little bit. 😉 And the past two weeks have certainly been one of the best “back to school” intros!
The two schools at which I am both teaching and learning is found amongst the lusciously green, rolling hills of south western Uganda, in the small village of Kitanga.… Read More
Hello world and welcome to another post of the cool side of the blog. your host Valiant Val!
As you know, and actually as you probably don’t know Valencio is currently in the beautiful country of Belize, where the water is warm and the sky is blue as a really… blue sky…. What did you expect.
Any who back to business, Valencio is working hard and doing things right. Not… Read More
Project Bona Fide. Permaculture farm on a volcano, on an island, in a lake, in the heart of the tropics. Imagine one of those early fly over scenes from Jurassic Park and you’ll get the gist of it. As I’m writing this I’m watching the silhouetted volcano fade in front of a sky that’s literally traffic cone orange. The orangeness is just ridiculous. But so is everything about this island,… Read More
Giddy from down unda’!
It’s been six weeks since I arrived in Bunbury, Western Australia, (aka “The Dolphin City”), and I can’t believe how fast the time is passing.
I’ve been lucky to be doing my FVP at the Dolphin Discovery Centre, a volunteer-based organization on the coast of Australia. Because of the warmth and safety of this one small bay, hundreds of wild bottlenose dolphins roam free. It’s the… Read More
My past month in Morocco has been a blast to say the least. Instead of giving a summary of the past four and a half weeks, I have chosen to share the events of this past Friday night.
My homestay brother Taha and I entered his cousin’s house, dressed head to toe in traditional Moroccan regalia, and greeted by the traditional “Salaam Alaikum” which was followed by a handful of… Read More
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
I’m sure you recognize that quote, it’s been used an infinite amount of times for an infinite number of different campaigns. Well, I like it a lot because while choosing a place to spend three months of volunteer work, there’s a question between the lines that asks you “What aspect of the world would you like to… Read More
Sawadeeka from Ko Tao, Thailand, my friends. It is pretty crazy it has already been a month at New Heaven Dive school. Time is flying, yikes, now three months sounds too short. Diving with New Heaven is very rewarding because not only do we get to dive everyday but the work we are doing sets it apart from simply “fun dives” (they are even more fun).
I am apart of… Read More
Temperature is currently 91 degrees Fahrenheit. I’ve just finished your typical day at CROW. I work in the baby bird room with all the little birdies that have been abandoned, injured, misplaced, or just without a home. They are cute little nuggets but needy and must be hand fed once every hour. It’s a big responsibility and not always a happy one. More often then not, the birds don’t always… Read More
Nepal, she called; Me, I answered- and my life has been all the stranger since.
I came into this semester expecting to be nothing more than a farmer with too much time on his hands and a lingering taste of adventure in his mouth. I am now the Indiana Jones of Diamond H.S.S. English Boarding school. I take short leaves from the school to go off on adventures, I trek… Read More
I swear that sometimes I wake up here, next to beautiful Lake Bunyonyi in South Uganda, and for a second I actually believe I’m back home. The Golden State of California carries many of the same characteristics as the paradise I currently reside in. The weather here is never too hot, never too cold. Whenever it starts to feel too hot for my Nordic blood, a simple, gentle breeze comes… Read More
Friends and family: greetings from balmy Phnom Penh! I have been here for about a month now, and though the beginning of my journey was an adjustment (living alone in a city where you don’t know anyone can be a challenge!!), I have since settled in.
Last semester, I was lucky enough to volunteer with a special needs education center in rural Uganda. I regard that week in the mountains… Read More
I remember sitting in class my senior year of high school and knowing that I needed to be out in the world. I would look at these blogs everyday and marvel at the amazing opportunities and experiences Carpe Diem students were having and I knew that I wanted to have the same ones. So, I packed up my backpack and spent my first semester traversing around Southeast Asia. I explored… Read More
Sending you all love from Portland and remembering our Orientation just a month ago. Hard to believe you are all out in the world doing amazing and meaningful work.
Don’t forget your fellow compadres are going through similar feelings as you right now as you navigate through your own heroes journey.… Read More
Truth be told, over the course of my Group Semester I had doubts about my future in volunteering. I struggled with what being a volunteer meant to me, and what kind of imprint I wanted to leave in the minds of others.
I spent last semester in East Africa, specifically Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, and unfortunately, I found myself uncomfortable with my position as a foreigner in Africa. I grew… Read More
I flew in to Cali, Colombia, and was greeted by the 96 degree embrace of the Equatorial city. A taxi took me through the city, past the numerous monuments to revolutionaries and salsa musicians. We ascended a mountain crowned by a colossal statue of Jesus called Cristo Rey and soon arrived to the site of my volunteer placement: Yogendra EcoAshram.
Yogendra is a yoga studio with extensive living accommodations for… Read More
Habari,
I can’t believe it’s been a month since I stepped off the plane into Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. It felt so much different than four months prior when I landed in Delhi, but the anxiety and nerves were still present. After a fairly quick line, I had my second visa stuck into my passport, which would allow me 90 days of tourism in Tanzania. After spending the night in… Read More
Stepping off the plane into South Africa, I did not know what this country had to offer. I walked out of customs to find the other Latitudes student Olivia awaiting me, we would be driving to Marine Dynamics in Gansbaai our home for the next 10 weeks together. It was a 2 hour drive filled with amazing scenery, it was if we were in New Zealand one minute, the Tanzanian… Read More
Hi friends. So while most everyone is out in what seems like the middle of nowhere, I am over here chilling and living the city life in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I am constantly surrounded by beautiful architecture, so many people who are constantly stopping to window shop, and the sound of cars rushing down the streets. Let’s just say that the city life has been a major transition from the… Read More
When most people think of South Africa, a safari on the savannah may come to mind but people often don’t realize that there is another type of safari. Here in Gansbaai, South Africa, where I have now been for the last couple of weeks, there is a safari to be taken on the sea that is just as wondrous and breath taking as the one on land. As on the… Read More
