Written by Central America Students, Henry Probolus and Arianna Cochrane This was our last week in Xela! At the start of the week, we left our hostel and moved in with our host families! It has been such an amazing time experiencing the culture and tasting the amazing food inside our families’ houses! We met and became friends with so many people through the school PLQ, and we have improved… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Danny Evans & Cleo Miller This week we’re located in Xela! We are starting one-on-one Spanish classes with the beautiful teachers at PLQ. We attended the many events put on by PLQ including a student soccer game and a trip to the hot springs. We stayed in Casa Siebel and made many trips to the Central Park. We also had a blast at the local… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Ari Cochrane & Jess Solit Greetings from our team’s latest adventure! We ventured to Comalapa to collaborate with Long Way Home (LWH), an organization dedicated to sustainable living and community development. Here’s a glimpse of what we’ve been up to: Learned about sustainable living practices Worked on a retaining wall made out of tires Helped build houses out of cob (dirt, sand, water, pine needles)… Read More

Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Jasmin & Malcolm Hola a nuestras familias y amigos! We’ve had a great few days in Antigua, one of the larger cities here in Guatemala. Our groups flew into Guatemala City and we made our way to Hostel Hopa, our home for the next few days. Our group was finally together when the LAX crew pulled up and joined us for breakfast after a… Read More

Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Jasmin & Malcolm Hola chiques! We hope everyone is getting as excited for the semester as we are! We’re here in Portland, Oregon at Carpe Diem Headquarters reviewing our program itinerary, policies, curriculum, and more to fully prepare for our time together. This being the first time we’ll lead a trip together, we’ve also been getting to know each other and learned some fun… Read More

Written by Central America Overseas Educators Malcolm and Jane Happy end of program to our wonderful students, and to all of their parents and family and friends waiting to greet them at home! This semester simultaneously feels like it flew by, and it feels like we’ve been together and known each other for so much longer than just 10 weeks. We have just enjoyed our last couple days in Costa… Read More

Written by Central America Student, Sophie N.  This was our last full week as a group, we spent it in Drake Bay mostly scuba diving. We met great directors that guided us along the way and met our needs while diving. On Thursday, since we wouldn’t be spending Thanksgiving with our families, we decided to plan a Friendsgiving in which everyone was split into pairs and asked to make a… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Lily & Matilda This last week we rode, climbed and scrambled up the steep Permacultures farm sides of Maztatal Ranch! From herbal tours to chocolate adventures, night walks, and even cooking with our host family, it really feels like we did it all! But that’s so broad, so what did we get yo to? In more specific terms: We started off fighting the brutal sun… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Lily & Anantya We continued our second week in San Juan, a small town on Lake Atitlán. We continued our Spanish classes at Eco Spanish school, and also enjoyed several new events and cultural activities. We ended the month of October with a very personal archaeology tour. On the tour, we were able to meet a very honorable woman from the community. She graciously welcomed… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Matilda & Leila  This week we pushed off the shores of San Marcos and landed ourselves on the opposite side of the lake in a small welcoming town with the name of San Juan. Here, we began our Spanish lessons at a local Eco School where we grow our skills in one on one classes in the mornings followed by alternating days of art classes,… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Ashlyn & Jonah We made it out of Xela! This week, we got to spend at Lake Atitlan learning about permaculture, hiking through the forest and farming. Our Top 3 Highlights of the Week: 🥗 Great fresh food straight from the farm! 💦 A beautiful hike to the a waterfall that we were able to go in. 🏡 Lovely accommodations in the bamboo house. What’s… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Sophie & Anna  This week we got to stay with local families in home stays, while still going to school at PLQ (Proyecto Lingüístico Quetzalteco)! We moved into our new homes on Sunday, and have been living with them for the past week! We’ve been able to enjoy tasty meals, practicing our Spanish with our families and exploring the city of Xela (Quetzaltenago) even more!… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Shloimy G. & Leila B. Since our last update, we’ve traversed the Guatemalan Highlands, and have made it to Xela/Quetzaltenango (in separate transports of course due to our unfortunate little itty bitty Covid outbreak). We’re staying in a hostel right near Parque Central, both the center of town and the center of the recent protests. We learned about the reasons behind these demonstrations during our… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Nate K. and Kora B. Hey everyone, this is Nate and Kora talking and we can’t wait to share our recap from this past week! Upon our arrival in Comalapa on the 24th, we started our adventures with a welcoming introduction from our amazing host, Omar. Having given us a tour of the unique sustainable practices used throughout the community, we gained a greater appreciation… Read More

Written by Central America Overseas Educators, Jane & Malcolm Hola desde Guatemala! We have had a fun whirlwind of a few days since arriving in Guatemala City early the morning of the 22nd. We drove from the airport in Guatemala City to Earthlodge, an eco hotel and wellness center just outside of Antigua. We were immediately struck by the stunning vista of the valley below and the volcanoes dominating the… Read More

Written by Central America Overseas Educator, Abby Our semester has officially come to a close! You all are either back home or continuing your travels in Costa Rica. We said goodbye on Wednesday morning with tears in our eyes. Matt and I tried to set you free at the security gates but you clearly didn’t want to leave us. We have turned into family these past 10 weeks. We had… Read More

Written by Central America Semester Students, Izzy & April For our final week, we got to spend our time on the beautiful peninsula of Osa, in a small area called Drake Bay. We got to experience the once in a lifetime opportunity to get scuba certified. After one day of training in the pool, we went straight to the real thing. We went deep under the sea, getting to swim… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Addie and Dylan  Our first week in Costa Rica!! After leaving our beloved Guatemala behind and heading to the airport, unexpected delays forced us to change flights and pass through El Salvador on our way to Costa Rica! A fun little surprise in more ways than one. We ended up arriving in Costa Rica before our original flight was supposed to take off. The next… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Justin and Léa Student directed travel week, WOO WOO! Justin and Lea reporting to you live! We started off in Antigua, visited the magical Hobbitenango, a Hobbit themed attraction park. We got to practice our archery, axe-throwing, and mini golf skills while embracing the beautiful scenery of Guatemala. After Hobbitenango, we hiked up the Pacaya Volcano with the wonderful company of horses, and got to… Read More

Written by Central America Students, Iris and Menna This week was our second full week in San Juan, with preparations for Semana Santa in full swing! We started our second round of cultural classes, as well. On Thursday, we had a cultural potluck at our school, which meant we spent the entire morning learning to make “chuchitos,” a kind of small tamale. Our host families came in the afternoon to… Read More