Follow the Journey

By Bradley Sabbar and Jimmy Toole After five days at Cirenas, we said goodbye to our gracious hosts and embarked on a two-hour trek up the beach to arrive at our next homestays. The route was treacherous, with many obstacles such as rivers and jagged rocks. Alas, we finally arrived at the homestay pick-up point. The group then split up into four separate homestays. All of the boys (minus Jake)… Read More

By Ellie and PJ Photos courtest of Anna Parker Greetings. This is your latest correspondence from ya girl Ellie and PJ, aka El Jefe. Our week began this past Sunday with a summit up the nearby volcano Maderas. While it is the shorter volcano on Ometepe Island, the hike proved to be no easy feat. Katie and Anna were both not feeling too great health-wise, so, unfortunately, by the time… Read More

By Maggie Otal and Jillian Doyle (the NoVa girls) Photos courtesy of Anna Parker Our week began with a ferry ride to the island of Ometepe. The boat ride didn’t seem too long but by the look of the sunburns and chaco’s tan lines you would think we sat in the sun for hours. When we made it to the island, all 15 of us decided to have lunch at… Read More

By Dillan Crovo On Wednesday, we finished up the bathroom construction in the morning. After lunch, I took a short, but much needed, nap. The group broke roughly in half; some chose to make soup, either driven by an enthusiastic appreciation for the culinary arts and how it pertains to soups and broths or perhaps more likely deterred by the looming storm clouds and the promise of rain. Others—spurred on… Read More

By Jon Frey We arrived at the cooperative in Peñas Blancas on Sunday, unpacked, and immediately dove into meetings, and then painting murals. Our new member, Jake, joined us during the meeting of the community and he was instantly part of the family. These murals, once finished, were to go to families in the community to signify that those families are open to house tourists in homestays. At the “art… Read More

By Tori Graffius So far we’ve been here for a week and I can already tell that this adventure is going to be the best adventure of our lives! We have an amazing group of 12 students and two instructors and I’m excited to see where these next three months takes us! Every day has been very eventful, with group bonding activities, Spanish classes, tons of walking, and delicious food… Read More

By Anna Reed We embarked on our journey, starting with orientation. The moment we all sat down together, a sense of relief fell over all of us when we realized how amazing each individual in our group is. Everyone brings something unique to the group in light of our diverse backgrounds. Jon’s personality radiates positivity and he has been kind enough to share his love for music with the group.… Read More

By Cate, Jillian, and Jon So far Nicaragua has been a blast. The traveling day was long but since we got here, we have been having a lot of fun getting to know our fellow group members and going through orientation. This country is beautiful and we are all so excited to be here. One of the best things that we have done so far was going to a cool… Read More

Hey there! We are currently exploring the absolutley beautiful city of Matagalpa. Everytime I look up at the lush, green mountains surrounding the city, I feel like im in some sort of movie. Everyone in the group is so unique and awesome in there own way and we already have an awesome community. Doug and Anya are super chill and are great leaders. This next week will be home stays,… Read More

Hi friends and family, The group is currently in Matagalpa Nicuragua and we are loving it. We start our first homestay tomorrow and spanish classes. Some of us know more spanish than others, but none of us are persect. So we are very excited to be diving into the language and getting to be able to communicate with the local people. We are so lucky to have this group! Everyone… Read More

It is Anna, Jimmy, and PJ from the Quetzal Central America group. Currently we are in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. As part of this orientation scavenger hunt we are tasked with sending you a couple sentences about our time so far in Nicaragua to spice up your day and give it a litte livelihood. So far we have been getting to know each other in the group with various group activities. Some… Read More

We received word that the QUETZAL group has arrived safely in Matagalpa. They are settling into their hostel and getting ready to head to lunch. They are very excited to have arrived and to be beginning their journey. In the coming days, the students will be posting updates here, sharing how their orientation is going. We look forward to reading about the this adventure from their perspective.… Read More

The QUETZAL students have all arrived safely to LAX and are together as a group for the first time! They are checked in for their flight to Nicaragua and are getting ready to head through security. They are already enjoying getting to know one another and are looking forward to the journey ahead. We wish them safe and easy travels tonight and will post another blog here once we receive… Read More

Hola Team Quetzal Students, Families and Friends!! It has been wonderful getting to chat with all of you over the past few weeks, our excitement for the upcoming semester is through the roof! From our brief conversations, it seems we have a really strong group, with all of you ready to bring your own passions and strengths to our new community. We are in the midst of staff training in… Read More

From the heat of Masaya to the depths of the deep ocean in Roatan, you captured our hearts. As we sit in the quietness of no students, we are thinking of each of you as you are about to unite with your families and begin new life journeys. The last three months were adventurous, challenging and tons of fun. Thank you for bringing your open minds and open hearts and… Read More

We were welcomed by clear blue water and beautiful beaches here in Roatan earlier this week. Everyone had a blast breathing underwater in the form of either snorkeling or scuba diving, and most of the group got to finish the week with a certification and some fun dives. The mood has been bittersweet as we have been preparing for our separation from each other and our return to the “real… Read More

We said goodbye to our new friends at the Mystical Yoga Farm climbed onto a small boat and begun our Student Directed Travel time in Guatemala. Getting across Lake Atitlan was and adventure through some huge waves and, to say the least, our butts are pretty sore from boat ride. Student Directed Travel took us to Antigua, a beautiful colonial town. A few of the fun activities we took part… Read More

Last weekend, we exchanged the normal contents of our packs for tents, sleeping bags, and lots of food before embarking on a strenuous (to say the least) 2 day trek through the highlands of Guatemala. On the first day, we were greeted with rain, fog, and even a downpour of hail. We didn’t let the chilly first night ruin our attitudes though, and we enjoyed a fun second day of… Read More

Sun, rain, hail, sore feet and legs, hot springs=a great adventure!… Read More