Written By Ava & Ana Hola a todos!
Our new adventures in Xela started with new student leaders, Ava and Ana! After our bittersweet adios with the Long Way Home family, our group unpacked our bags and settled into our new cozy hostel located in downtown Xela. As we began to explore our new home we were quick to discover Xelapan, a marvelous bakery filled with dozens of delicious pastries… Read More
Written By Alesh & Flannery ¡Buenas tardes desde Comalapa! Your student leaders Flannery and Alesh here! It has been another jam-packed week filled with many new and exciting activities. Alongside our daily commutes to the school for work and Spanish classes, we have begun to further explore the area and learn about Guatemalan culture and lifestyle.
We began the week by trekking into town to eat pupusas, churros, and other… Read More
Written By Maya & Eli ¡Hola desde Comalapa, Guatemala! Maya and Eli here. After an exciting four day orientation filled with volcano sightings and nightly lightning shows, the group said farewell to the beautiful town of Antigua. The farewell was followed by a scenic two hour drive through the Guatemalan countryside to get to our new destination, Long Way Home in the colorful city of Comalapa. We were met with… Read More
MAYA group reporting in from Antigua at the end of a busy program orientation! We’ve hit the ground running here in Guatemala. Our days have been full of group games, orientation sessions, and getting to know one another. Our base has been the Purpose Hostel, a beautiful little place with an awesome terrace where we have loved watching nearby Volcan Fuego erupting on a regular basis. It can be a… Read More
The MAYA group has arrived safely in Guatemala! They are heading to Antigua to settle in to their hostel, to have some breakfast, and start their orientation. They’ll post an update here on Monday to let us know how their first few days went. Stay tuned!… Read More
We’re happy to report that the MAYA students have all safely arrived to LAX! They are finally together as a group and are looking forward to starting this adventure together. We’ll post another blog here tomorrow once we hear that they’ve arrived safely in Guatemala. Buen viaje, MAYA group, we look forward to following along on your journey this semester!… Read More
Hola everyone! Soumya and Matt here, your Overseas Educators for this semester’s visit to Central America! We’re here in Portland finishing up some final logistical preparations, but we’re excited to soon be all together in the land of tortillas, toucans, and volcanoes!
As we approach the start of this semester, we are both feeling all the usual emotions: excitement, nervousness, anxiousness, joy, restlessness, just to name a few. We expect… Read More
Written By Rachael & Adam Hola! This is Rachael & Adam your OE’s checking in one last time. What a trip it has been! We have been honored to guide this group through these last two months. We formed a thoughtful, joyful, & capable community together and we are so thankful for each one of our students.
We embarked on this journey at the end of what has been a… Read More
Written By Alma & Maggie Sunday was our first full day at Cirenas. We awoke to the briny ocean breeze and the hilly permaculture campus, littered with tree debris disguised as biomass. Haunted by a clan of walking skeletons, also known as a group of stray dogs, and a friendly cat whose name is still highly contested, scholars do not agree (we are scholars thank you) we had a… Read More
Written By Hank and Macy After a long and rewarding week at Rancho Mastatal, we used our Sunday to regroup. We slept in until brunch at 10 a.m. and had the day to ourselves. In the evening, the group trekked up many hills to the next town to see the beautiful Costa Rican sunset. We watched as the sky grew pink, relaxing on the cliffside and taking many photos. After… Read More
Written By Balkhiis and Cole It was a beautiful, sunny, and humid, yet melancholic day leaving Turrialba last week. We were leaving behind our Spanish teachers and beautiful balcony that allowed us to see perezosos (sloths) during class almost every morning. We were leaving behind Fernando’s amazing cooking and the kitchen that enabled us to cook exquisite meals. Most importantly, we were leaving behind the living room where Zumba sessions… Read More
Written By Suzannah & Matt Hola a tod@s!
Matt y Suzannah here, together in spirit if not in body! It’s been a crazy few days but we hope everyone is home (or in Xela) safe and sound. While our time together in Central America did not end the way we would have hoped, we want to focus on the great experiences we were privileged enough to have during our month… Read More
Written By Liona & Ben We started this week off with a spectacular welcome into the grand city of Xela. We met our host families for this week. We are no longer doing one on one classes however we are definitely getting our Spanish practice in by talking to our host families and our teachers. We have explored many places in Xela and visited many restaurants. While sitting down in… Read More
Written By Ish & Dish Saludos desde la escuela de la montaña! We’re now in the welcoming town of Nuevo San Jose where we’re back to enjoying more rice, beans, and tortillas with local families with whom we’ve been having our daily meals. We’re also back to learning more Spanish in one-on-one classes dividing us up between morning and afternoon batches.
While we were hoping for a bit of a… Read More
Written By Catie & Andie This week we stayed at the wonderful Bambu Guest House in Tzununá. Although we missed our homestay families from last week in San Juan, everyone was very happy to once again be sleeping under the same roof. We have a gorgeous view of Lake Atitlan and the mountain ranges surrounding us. On clear nights, we have even gotten to see El Fuego volcano erupting in… Read More
Written By: Alissa and Rachel Buenos dias from San Juan! Rachel and Alissa here to share with you the adventures of the week! We left Antigua on Monday morning and drove to Lake Atitlan. We got to enjoy a lovely boat ride across the lake to the vibrant town of San Juan. From here, we met up with our welcoming homestay families and went to see our new homes for… Read More
Bathed in sunshine and surrounded by impressive volcanoes, Antigua, Guatemala has served as our introduction to Central America. Laughter, exploring the city, trying new foods, playing games, sharing life stories, and orienting ourselves to our three months in Central America…our first few days in have been jam-packed with activities. Although it’s only been a few days, our group has started to take shape and inside jokes have already started to… Read More
We’re happy to report that the MAYA group has arrived safely in Guatemala! After their overnight flight, they are tired but excited for the semester to come. They’ve checked in to their hostel in Antigua and had their first Guatemalan breakfast. They are going to take some time to rest and recharge now before diving in to the rest of their orientation. Stay tuned as they will start posting updates… Read More
The MAYA group has gathered in LA and are getting ready to head to Guatemala! They are happy to finally be together and looking forward to the journey ahead. Stay tuned, as we’ll post another blog here tomorrow once we’ve heard that they have lande and made it to their orientation site in Antigua.
~Team Carpe… Read More
Hola.
Matt and Suzannah here, hard at work, getting ready for our upcoming semester. We are less than a week away from beginning our journey together. We hope everyone is stoked for: tortillas, volcanos, turtles, camionetas and Spanish.
Enjoy your last few days before departure and we look forward to seeing you soon.
Hasta la pasta.… Read More
