Written by Soumya, Southeast Asia Overseas Educator
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi

I’m sitting in the sweltering heat at a cafe along one of Chiang Mai’s quiet streets, noticeably still after all of the Songkran festivities and more recently, the departure of our very own Pon Lue crew. By the time you read this, you will likely be in your own beds in Portland, eyes gazing blankly at the ceiling, wondering if this was all a dream. As we close out this leg of the journey together, let me take us back to the beginning…

Our paths crossed for the first time on a sunny September day in Portland when we were introduced to each other and the infamous Carpe basement for the first time. At orientation, we wondered who our cohort mates were and if we were going to like them – and also what in the world did we get ourselves into?

On a chilly February day, the second mysterious OE, yours truly, finally made an appearance in the basement and the group was complete when we were all united at the PDX airport in our matching shirts, ready to take off. We said goodbye to our families, took in our last breaths in the cold, and prepared ourselves for many hours of travel, language barriers, and steamy temperatures.

We stumbled off that long plane ride in Singapore and realized that no, this wasn’t a prank! We really made it to Southeast Asia. At Changi Airport, we explored the butterfly gardens and were told very gently by two different airport workers that we looked very tired and didn’t we want to try the nice lounge chairs upstairs?

After many hours of transit, we finally landed in Siem Reap! We kicked it off with orientation in the park where did charades of what we thought we’d be doing over the semester, played Marco Polo in the pool, and supported Levi through a serious case of “Ankle Waaaaaat?” and he wrote great food reviews. Covid made a guest appearance; we fell in love with Cho, Rattana and Chum; drank copious amounts of coconut water; marveled at the history and stature of Angkor Wat; savored our breakfast smoothies and loc lac at Helen’s; relaxed for the first time swimming at the thousand-year old reservoir; and got used to being blasted by the sweet dusty Cambodian air as we rattled along in Khmer tuktuks with the beloved Mr. Cobra. We were also honored to visit Cho’s village and meet Cho’s mom, receive a water blessing from a monk, we impressed Cho and Rattana with a freestyle rap at lunch, were struck by the bomb and landmine art at the landmine museum with Bill, met our new overlord Pon Louey, and said a sad goodbye to our friend Nee and Gary the cat.

At PTD, we got really good at “put your hand on your friend shoulder!”, responding to “HELLO TEACHER!”, and had our first dance parties under the streetlights and around the dinner table. We snoozed in the hammocks, ran to be first to shower, had a blast at the Phare circus, contributed a mistaken but very unique mural featuring a gummy worm in space on the wrong shed, and got really into “g-g-g gorilla”. Levi dug into teaching from his own experiences and did a workshop on autism for parents of children with special needs in the community. We spent time learning and laughing with Rith, Visal, Hou, Sopour, Leda, and Sukhub, got frustrated by and ultimately succeeded at the keypad game (shout out to Kailee’s laser focus), took a joyride on the bamboo train & nearly fell off tandem bikes, learned how much Hayhay loves fruit, and marveled at millions of bats exiting the caves at dusk. J defeated covid (woohoo!) and played a lot of bass, Jolly made a music video, we grit our teeth through all of the weddings & prayer music and dogs barking at 4 am, toured the farm and snacked on sour mangos, learned about health care and education in Cambodia with Rith, and dove into the sobering history of the Khmer Rouge at the Well of Shadows.

On the way to the Floating Villages, we met Yusef, who’s a bloody cool guy, spent a full day in the boats waving at kids and witnessing Levi’s epic bionic knee burn, conquered our fear of the water, gaped at the crocodiles, and had many conversations at Osmos over lunch that were punctuated by the sound of motorboats (and our triangle hands while we waited), watching people brush their teeth in water we didn’t dare touch for fear of losing life and limb. We came off of a week of teaching kids and taught more kids, perfected our bump-spike-set with the schoolkids & built a second volleyball court, planted chilis and unearthed layers of trash and learned how much more there is to do to address plastic waste and how to take care of the environment. We were rocked to sleep every night in our boat houses, had the first inaugural boy talk circle (Botox circle), had more or less success learning to weave mats from fragrant water hyacinths, got addicted to morning coffee by our homestay moms, developed a crush on the boat driver, and learned about the Cham people with Yusef.

From there, we visited Tonle Sap, the beating heart of the Mekong River, on the way to Phnom Penh. We spent a somber morning at S21 & Killing Fields – witnessing the portraits of the faces, meeting one of the survivors who saved his brothers. Later we did a scavenger hunt where we got to break free a little bit and flap those wings – some of us did a lap around Olympic Stadium, wooed the sellers at the Russian Market, visited secondhand stores and Khraft, practiced bargaining, and tried Indonesian food. We gave Dulce’s hair the first chop, kind of fulfilled our club dancing dreams at Epic with that laser light show and the apple pen chorus. Kailee had the time of her life and went out with a bang because the very next day she brought the break to breakdancing. We loved on the Tiny Toones kids’ performances and Carol’s freestyle (she claims she blacked out) and were inspired by meeting Short & hearing the story of being formerly incarcerated in the US and sent back to a place they’d never known.

On the way to Vitamin Air, Carol took one for the team standing in the back of the van, we developed a little crush on 1) Sela and also 2)Sela’s curls, were inspired by Thavry’s life story and cute dresses covering her tiny prego belly, were surprised by that tall white guy who was her husband, squealed at our feet getting eaten by tiny fishies swimming at the water hole and gobbled up pomelo on the way home, fought off/gave in to ants in our tents, and stayed up all night stargazing. We savored Salouy’s amazing food, had our heads combed over for lice checks, got bumped along on a tractor ride where Adrian fell off, and frolicked in the amazing swimming hole with more pomelo and watermelon. We learned about how to save a life from Levi’s Narcan passion class, owed Sela lots of TWO DOLLAS, Adrian played a lot of guitar, Soumya stumped everyone at Contact for the first time, we gave Carol the perfect amount of dinnermates as Jesus, hummed along to Sela strumming the guitar, stoked the fire at barbecue night, and laughed at Gypsy getting her shoe getting stuck in the mud. We skipped rocks, were woken up by the melodious ass-shaking beats of City Girls (Kat and J – best student leaders ever), and learned about the importance of protecting the forest.

In Kampot, we slapped our faces with mud and swam in the ocean, celebrated Hayden’s birthday with an Avatar cake, put our skills to the test SUPing on the Kampot River, caught shrimp in bottles and had a mud war. We did Kat’s Roots & shoots on the dock, gave up on the food that left us gassy/bloated/exploding/with diarrhea, or worse. In lieu of watching Netflix, we crafted a story about the monkey storm where Hades made an appearance (thanks Kat). We supported Kailee on crutches amidst all of those planks, celebrated Adrian practicing swimming, jumped off the dock a time or two and used all of our muscles to get out, braved a night with the rat in the room, lost Vale and Gypsy in the mangroves while they went above and beyond collecting seedlings, were inspired by the documentary Current Sea and efforts to protect marine life, and appreciated our host Sal. Ultimately, we said goodbye to Kailee and got ready for Thailand.

Transitioning to Bangkok, we were reunited with Carol at the airport where we may or may not have looked like a group of missionaries. We arrived and had that memorable taxi ride when Hayden started to sing and the driver said “I’m going to turn on the radio”, Lucky J got that sweet jacket at the mall and may have gotten turned down a time or two, we learned fire K-pop choreo from Kat under the trees in Lumphini Park, got our money’s worth of free juice boxes from a very bougie hospital with Levi and Jolly, and watched Carol & Josh reunite at jazz night. We toured the Grand Palace with Josh and were inspired by his story, went on a date or two and explored some amazing markets, got tattoos, soaked up the art at the Bangkok Arts & Cultural Center, and accidentally shipped Pon Louey off to India. At the night market, we shook our heads as Kat bought 12 pairs of socks and freaked out over the baby bunnies, Gypsy basically bought her brothers a brand new wardrobe, we took in the smooth vibes of a blues bar (and went back the next night), rubbed shoulders at the gay club and jaw-droppingly good K-pop dancing, and finally took the train with those luxury sleeper beds, where we broke bread & chocolate & candies.

We always thought Carpe was a cult, but at Gaia Ashram, with three claps we finally became one – and we loved it. We slowed down and expressed our gratitude before each meal, befriended the kitties and chickens, learned how to make a lasagna bed, chopped down banana trees, sweat buckets, marveled at that seed storm and for some of us, our first lightning & thunderstorm. We stumbled downstairs for morning yoga with Pedro, giggled (and impressed ourselves) through partner planking at yoga with Tuk, and ate seconds of every meal of amazing food. We learned about ourselves, each other, and our ecosystem with Om; outsmarted the walking duck; interviewed the local shaman and weaver; chased the dogs incessantly out of the Sala (we see you Windy, Cloudy, Gollum, Ricky and Lucky). Vale taught us how to make delicious arroz de coco, we spent a day making cob-oven pizza together, put our flavoring skills to the test crafting kombucha, got endless Thai teas and delicious brownies made by Toby, let ourselves go in Five Rhythms and Ecstatic Dance, brought the fun to Gaia with our spontaneous dance party when we delayed dinner by 30 minutes, and shared stories, laughter and experiences with our new friends Maren, Toby, Tom, Om, Tuk, Pedro, P’Eeuw, and Luna. We contributed to the village school, slinging mud (and rolling around in it); explored the Nong Khai night market and threw our own dance party in the songthaew back; learned about social enterprises and making our superstar teams and presenting our dreams to each other; and put our hands to the test learning the art of the Thai massage on each other and mistakenly gnawing at a kaffir lime (hint: do not recommend). At open mic night at the campfire we were treated to spoken word, poetry, music, Levi’s song game, and storytime.

After a sad goodbye to Gaia, we arrived into the apocalyptic smog of Chiang Rai and met Flynn, rode bikes to the market and enjoyed a night of AC and nice beds before Thellie and Pi’Akong whisked us to Baan Poo Koh. We made friends with Pink who finally gave us a rice crepe, learned watercolors with Gypsy and the cumbia and caballo dorado with Dulce; celebrated Dulce’s 20th birthday with cake, handmade signs, and lots of love; visited P’Akong’s farm; and flirted with the locals (especially one in particular who called us beautiful). We mixed buckets and buckets of cement, carried rocks on rocks, kept the energy up with our incessant dancing, and savored our ice creams (thank you well-timed ice cream man). We were inspired by P’Akong’s philosophy towards life, learned about issues facing hill tribe communities, celebrated a final night with Carpe-sanctioned traditional rice whiskey and dancing, and made our way to the Lahu homestay where we learned how to weave baskets and bracelets and attempted to keep up with the dancing youth.

Our journey brought us at long last to Chiang Mai for Student-Directed Travel, where we were drenched with water as soon as we stepped foot into the city for Songkran. After taking it one too many times, J came through with water guns for us and we joined the throngs of people celebrating out on the streets, throwing ourselves into the thick of the water wars. We spent a fun day at the water park, teaming up to throw J into the water at the first chance, slipping down the slide endlessly, and braving getting thrown into the air from the pillow bounce. We put our skills to the test making khao soi, pad thai, and mango sticky rice at our cooking class, stuffing ourselves until we were comatose, explored the night markets, got our nails did and noses pierced and met new friends at pools. We learned the art of spoken word poetry with Jolly, closed the semester in a ceremony with the background noise of middle-aged Thai women doing group exercise at the park, and rescued Hayden from anaphylactic distress with a final trip to the hospital (would it be a Pon Lue semester without coming medically full circle?). We closed out the night at the North Gate Jazz Co-op to the sweet sounds of the saxophone and “Purple Rain”.

It feels like just yesterday that I slipped into the basement and met you all, and here we are, already on the other side. As much as I wish we had more time together, I’m endlessly grateful for all of the laughter, dance parties, memories, music, caring, adventures, meals and magic we shared. No semester is the same, but this one stands out to me. It feels special to have led with someone like Carol, who I have endless love and respect for, and to lead and learn from a group of such unique, thoughtful, caring, and creative individuals such as yourselves. Over the course of these eight weeks, our little crew has turned into a loving, albeit at-times dysfunctional family. We may never know how to get anywhere on time, but we sure know how to shake ass and have fun getting there.

When I go home, sometimes I wonder, what is real? Is “real” only at home? Did I leave the real me in Cambodia or Thailand? How do I bridge the me that was with the me that is? I know each of us will walking our own paths as we figure this out, but I also know that whatever happened to us is real, what we did was real, and who we are becoming, now or in the future, is real. I hope each of us will incorporate all that we witnessed and experienced, both in the world and in ourselves, as we step into crafting the stories of our lives as we return home.

As I close, I want to leave you with this poem by David Whyte:

“Above the mountains
the geese turn into
the light again
Painting their
black silhouettes
on an open sky.
Sometimes everything
has to be
inscribed across
the heavens
so you can find
the one line
already written
inside you.

Sometimes it takes
a great sky
to find that
small, bright
and indescribable
wedge of freedom
in your own heart.
Sometimes with
the bones of the black
sticks left when the fire
has gone out
someone has written
something new
in the ashes of your life.

You are not leaving
you are arriving.”

-The Journey

Wherever you are arriving, I hope you carry that wedge of freedom in your heart that you felt here. And know that as you discover and embrace the one line already written inside you, you give others the permission to Pon Lue too.

With love,

Soumya

This semester’s cohort is brought to you by our non-profit partner, Carpe Mundi. Carpe Mundi works to empower low-income college students to embrace their full potential through international learning experiences and mentorship. Learn more here!

The post Concluding the Southeast Asia Semester: A Letter from Soumya appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written by Kat & Lucky, Southeast Asia Semester students
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi

After our brief yet amazing time in Phnom Penh, we began our 3 hour journey. Jammed into one van with our belongings, we met up with our good friend Sela, who speaks great English, and his family. We arrived at VitaminAir!

Upon our arrival, we were greeted with the peace of nature, complimented by the soft sounds of birds playing in the nearby trees. We were able to just submerge ourselves in the beautiful land they have preserved and nurtured over the years. We were also greeted by good friend and chef, Saluy, who prepared some of the best food we’ve had so far! He – and sometimes his fiancé – were quick to provide us the best meals and met all of our dietary restrictions/needs. We were all very grateful to have him as our chef for our time there.

We were spoiled and had a great time trekking through nature (that is much different from home), going for a swim at a nearby waterfall, and ending our days bonding over a bonfire and stargazing. The stars appear in a sky free from the all the pollution produced from cities. We also got to speak with an amazing author and entrepreneur, Thavry Thon, who explained their perspective growing up in Cambodia as a woman, challenging the expectations and norms of her culture. Her story has inspired many people to follow their dreams- no matter the expectations your society or culture tries to impose on you. She is a pillar for female empowerment in Cambodia and around the world.

As our time came to an end at VitaminAir, we savored one last good meal of crepes and said our goodbyes. We set off on another 2-hour drive to Kampot to meet up with our friends, Annie and Sal.

When we got there, we instantly started to miss Saluy’s cooking, but were still happy to be in a new space and finally learning more about the mangroves and the mission for the Mangrove Conservation Project. As we settled into our bungalows, we were given the option to go for a swim at a nearby dock, about a 15-minute boat ride from our accommodation. We had a really good time having mud fights and smearing mud over our faces as the sunset over the ocean.

During our stay, we learned to identify mangrove seedlings and how to determine which ones are ready to be harvested. We also got to spend some time in the city, where we ate food at a noodles and dumpling restaurant. We celebrated the life of our dearest Hayden, and sang happy birthday before we proceeded to share a coconut flavored cake. We didn’t leave any leftovers unfortunately.

After spending a little bit of time roaming the city amongst ourselves, we did some standup paddle-boarding with Annie and Sal. It was a first time for a lot of us, some were even conquering their fears of being in water.  Overall, it just made the experience that much more memorable for all us. As we began to wrap our time in Kampot, we reflected on the impact our stay had on the Mangrove Conservation Project. We were excited to learn that we successfully harvested 492 mangrove seedlings and planted 132 baby mangrove trees in the span of the 3 days we were there!

Our top highlights of the week: 

Being surrounded by nature at VitaminAir and eating really good food

Planing mangrove trees while simultaneously enjoying ourselves – playing and swimming in the ocean!

Stand-up Paddleboarding with Annie & Sal

Growth comes with challenges! 

We planted tons of mangrove trees, which was amazing – but we are especially proud because we were dealing with some hardships during our stay. We had someone who broke their ankle last week, so we had to do our best to be an ally for them while they navigated certain activities with crutches. We also encountered a small outbreak of lice but we handled the situation very well and were able to get rid of it quickly.

We’re off to Thailand! 

We had a really great time here in Cambodia, but we will continue our journey endeavors over in Thailand.

Until next time! Spring 2023 Southeast Asia Semester

This semester’s cohort is brought to you by our non-profit partner, Carpe Mundi. Carpe Mundi works to empower low-income college students to embrace their full potential through international learning experiences and mentorship. Learn more here!

The post Carpe Mundi: Mangrove Conservation & Life at VitaminAir appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written by Dulce & Hayden, Southeast Asia Semester students
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi

We started our week off by boat, traveling to the floating villages. We met our fun tour guide Yusef. Upon arriving, we got to the nonprofit, Osmose, who provided our meals for the entire stay. After a delicious plate of rice, veggies, meat, and fruit we headed to meet our host families.

This village, named Prek Toal, is fully floating on water, and locals make a living off fishing for the most part. We visited during the dry season which meant some land was exposed and walkable.

We taught English for two days at the public school. We all connected and bonded with the students who were very excited to meet us. We also helped plant chilis and build a volleyball court. Life in Prek Toal is a simple life. You look around and will see 8-year-old kids driving boats, groups of people chopping up fish, women weaving, people showering with buckets and families sitting in a circle eating in their living room. During our stay at the floating villages, we spent our free time playing volleyball and hanging out with our host families. To end our final day at the floating village we visited a temple and watched the beautiful sunset as a group.

We then traveled by boat for 2 hours and transferred to a car for another 5. Finally, we arrived to the fast-paced busy capital city of Phnom Penh. There, we got settled in the Salita Hotel and got ready for the next few days. It was refreshing to take a warm shower with no bugs. Our tour guide Yusef took us to the S21 prison and the biggest killing field in the country. We felt the weight of the deaths and tortures that occurred right under our feet as we walked upon the graves.

After this significant experience, we went out in groups of 3-4 to test out navigational skills and independence through a scavenger hunt. Later that night we went to experience the nightlife of Phnom Penh at a club called Epic where we danced our hearts out. The last day, we enjoyed our free time exploring the city and going to Tinytoones, which is an NGO that helps low-income students learn English, music and dancing. After learning more about the school, we took a breakdancing class and had a blast – although Kailee unfortunately broke her ankle. Our stay in the city was full of new adventures, but we are ready to travel to our next destination to get some fresh air.

Our Top Highlights of the Week: 

Playing volleyball

Traveling by boat

Taking a dance class

But transformation always comes with opportunities for growth: What were our main challenges this week? 

At the killing fields and prison, we felt the weight of the deaths and tortures that occurred right under our feet as we walked upon the graves. It was a significant experiences, followed by testing out navigational skills and independence through a scavenger hunt. Some of us had better times than others!

Until next time! Spring 2023 Southeast Asia Semester

This semester’s cohort is brought to you by our non-profit partner, Carpe Mundi. Carpe Mundi works to empower low-income college students to embrace their full potential through international learning experiences and mentorship. Learn more here!

The post Carpe Mundi: Prek Toal, the Floating Village & Homestays! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written by Levi, Southeast Asia Semester student
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi

This last week, we traded our cushy, air-conditioned rooms in Siem Reap for cozy cabin beds with bug nets in (near?) Battambang. We stayed at Pteu Teuk Dong (PTD), a school that is part of a NGO focused on international education access and community development. We were welcomed and introduced to the program by program director, Rith, and teachers Hou and Visal, who spent the afternoon telling us about the organization, orienting us to the school, and planning our class involvement. We spent the week teaching and connecting with students and teachers in kindergarten, primary, and special needs classes and painting a mural near the entrance to the schoolyard, as well as enjoying a tour of the village and PTD’s nearby farm guided by Rith and Hou.

We also had an opportunity to tour and learn about Phare Ponleu Selpak, a NGO school/circus centered around the arts and making sure young creative minds are encouraged to pursue their goals regardless of their financial situation. We returned that evening to see their circus performance about a ghost woman (breathtaking, astounding!). We also had the privilege of touring a nearby temple and killing field, learning about the significance of the Well of Shadows and hearing firsthand memories of the Khmer Rouge from Bout La, a local tuktuk driver who was a very engaging and knowledgeable guide throughout the day. The day began with a little train ride and ended with a visit to a bat cave where we watched countless bats flow into the skies in a mesmerizing formation as the sun set.

The morning of march 10 was an emotional one, as we gave (somewhat tearful) goodbyes, loaded ourselves and our packs into tuktuks, and headed for the boats that would take us to our next home. While I’m excited to move on to our next adventure, I know I’m not the only one thats going to miss everyone at PTD.

Our Top Highlights of the Week: 

Getting to see Jolly fulfill his dream of international music collaboration by partnering with local artists and young performers at Phare to film a music video for his original song “Ponleu.”

Spontaneous dance parties and karaoke, and eating amazing food every day provided by the generous and accommodating kitchen staff at PTD, who we just can’t thank enough

But transformation always comes with opportunities for growth: What were our main challenges this week? 

We faced some challenges in the classroom with a sudden jump into teaching (and a lack of knowledge about lesson planning) and while painting with unfamiliar supplies and some unclear instructions. We overcame these challenges as a group of artists in different specialties and got creative to come up with lesson plans and activities in class. We improvised some of the mural to get it all done on time.

A little gratitude this week: Something I’m very grateful for this week was the opportunity to connect more with the community when I was asked to collaborate with Hou and Sopor (the main teacher for and curator of the Special Needs Education program) to host a presentation and Q & A interview session for local families of children with autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities. While the process of creating and engaging in the presentation was very involved and took up much of my time and energy, there were lots of side conversations with Hou and Sopor that taught me a lot about family, love, community, and perseverance on behalf of those most in need. I’m so grateful to have gotten to connect with so many amazing kids and engage with incredibly dedicated teachers and staff and see how much intention, thought, and love goes into developing and operating the most caring and development-centered SNE program I’ve experienced, at a school that shows how much community care can change and create positive outcomes for so many families. I think we’ve all learned a lot while teaching, painting, and exploring the community.

Until next time! Spring 2023 Southeast Asia Semester

This semester’s cohort is brought to you by our non-profit partner, Carpe Mundi. Carpe Mundi works to empower low-income college students to embrace their full potential through international learning experiences and mentorship. Learn more here!

The post Carpe Mundi: Gratitude & Growth at PTD appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written by Southeast Asia Overseas Educators, Carol & Soumya
In collaboration with our non-profit partner Carpe Mundi

We arrived in Cambodia! We spent a week in Siem Reap getting oriented to our semester, regional culture and language, learning how to stay healthy and safe, and exploring the cultural gem that is Angkor Wat. We spent time with local contact extraordinaire Cho, who guided us through three days exploring historic and contemporary issues regarding landmine removal, the Khmer Rouge, and shared his family’s story and home with us. We also learned from Cho’s team including Rattana and Chum, who shared their knowledge and stories in ways that enriched our experience and prompted us to ask more questions. Unfortunately, this week has also looked like “Ankle Waaaat” (Levi missed out on a few days of programming due to some ankle issues) and successfully managing a COVID case. We’re all doing well now!

Our Top Three Highlights of the Week: 

We visited a 1,000-year-old water reservoir that pre-dates Angkor Wat! It has a temple in the middle, like an island, and is surrounded by trees on all sides. It’s a quiet place during the middle of the week with few tourists and we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon there, swinging in water-side hammocks, eating our fill of sweet coconut treats and barbecue chicken, and splashing around in the refreshing water. We felt rejuvenated by the serenity of the natural space and being able to do things that felt “normal” – things that we might do on a casual weekend afternoon at home.

Students were also mind-blown by the level of craftspersonship and detail that were put into the sacred places that make up the Angkor Wat complex, including the Bayon Temple, featuring elaborate scenes from everyday life (including a pig on a spit and outlining the various invading kingdoms over time, such as the Cham), the faces of Brahma, and the celestial Apsara dancers that symbolize the heavens and keep the world in motion.

A significant learning moment for our group came from our time at the Landmine Museum outside of Siem Reap. There we learned about the impact of the US involvement in Vietnam which impacted Cambodia drastically. Bill, an American who has been living in Cambodia for over 20 years supporting landmine removal efforts, guided us through understanding the events that transpired during the Khmer Rouge, who all the major players were, and how people continue to be impacted today. We left with a deeper understanding and many more questions.

But transformation always comes with opportunities for growth: What were our main challenges this week? 

We were challenged by recognizing our own role as Americans in the decisions made by previous American generations to bomb Cambodia for several years during the war in Vietnam and conceal our involvement. The US’s role in Cambodia was directly tied to the rise of the Khmer Rouge and the subsequent violence that followed. We were struck by our first visit to the Killing Fields at a temple in Siem Reap and the atrocities we bore witness to for a short while and how we reconciled that later when we visited the Jesuit Center where we met Burith, a Nobel Peace Prize-winner for his work in landmine removal and international peace-making efforts with the Anti-personnel Landmine Weapons commitment. One of the most striking things Rith shared with us was his commitment to love and peace despite everything he had survived and how he continued to work everyday to build capacity for other survivors of landmine violence and create a world free of this kind of harm.

What’s coming up this week? 

We’re looking forward to getting out of the city and slowing down a bit in Battambang, where our group will be hosted by the nonprofit school PTD. Siem Reap has been really busy and we’re excited to connect with local students as we teach English and create more regular routines in our group. We are also looking forward to recovering from various health and medical situations!

Until next time! Spring 2023 Southeast Asia Semester

This semester’s cohort is brought to you by our non-profit partner, Carpe Mundi. Carpe Mundi works to empower low-income college students to embrace their full potential through international learning experiences and mentorship. Learn more here!

The post Carpe Mundi Arrives in Cambodia! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Central America Semester: “Gettin’ Giddy for Guate!”

Greetings from Portland! Abby and Matt here, your Central America OE’s reporting from a cute corner cafe in Portland! We are wrapping up our preparations for an awesome upcoming 10 weeks! Today we participated in a Carpe Diem scavenger hunt around Portland, and in the process have continued learning about and getting to know one another – for example, Abby learned that Matt is both left handed and colorblind (poor Matt!) and Matt has learned that Abby minored in Spanish and History in college, and is a tea enthusiast!

We are getting super excited for all of the adventures, growth and learning that is about to happen! Abby is most excited to see Lago Atitlan at sunrise, while Matt is most excited to talk more about Guatemalan history and culture! We hope you all have your own unique highlights that you are looking forward to and preparing to experience

We are also getting super excited (and yes,a little bit nervous!) to meet all of you, our students! Soon we will all be getting to know one another in the land of tortillas, chicken buses and volcanoes! Until then, we hope you are finishing up all final preparations and getting hyped yourselves!

Some last-minute tips for packing:

As with many things in life, less is more! Remember that you will have to carry all of your things, so pack light!

It will occasionally be a bit chillier than you are likely anticipating – we will be staying at some altitude after all! A good sweatshirt or jacket will be greatly appreciated.

Don’t forget a journal! We will be doing all sorts of reflective activities and discussions, and we will be encouraging all of you to put some of your thoughts and feelings down onto paper!

Financial stuff – make sure you have a card you can use at an ATM! Cash is king in many places that we will be going, and exchanging dollars can be complicated. Also remember to notify your bank of when/where you will be abroad so that they don’t block your card.

No sleeping bag is required for this trip! You are welcome to bring one if you want, but we will always have access to either beds or rented sleeping bags.

Aloha Semester: E Komo Mai!

Aloha from your Overseas Educators Forrest and Fiona! We look forward to welcoming you to Maui in the coming week. As you descend into Kahului, watch for Mauna Kea and Haleakala mountains.

We shared a few packing tips at our last meeting, but here are a few more:

Forrest: Bring extra batteries and sun protection.

Fiona: Please do not bring any sunscreen containing oxybenzone and octinoxate. Source mineral based zinc sunscreen. Anything that can be purchased at Walgreen’s and Costco can be topped up throughout the semester. Please consider bringing a small gift representative of your home to share with guests, such as small amounts of maple syrup or pieces of art.

Co-leader trivia – did you know that…?

Forrest: I have been a carnie in two countries.

Fiona: I am teaching myself to spin wool.

What excites us for the coming semester?

Forrest: I am super excited to see whales.

Fiona: I have never been to Maui! I look forward to meeting all our hosts.

That’s all for now. Take care, a hui hou.

Italy & Greece Semester: Ciao at tutti! 

Ariana and Mara here reporting from Portland! We’re very excited to meet you all soon and get started on this epic adventure! We’re looking forward to getting to know each of you better and wanted to share a bit about ourselves beforehand.

Here are some fun facts about us, take a guess which one of your leaders each piece of trivia applies to! Answers at the bottom 🙂

1) Who has Greek heritage?
Ariana
Mara
Both

2) Who grew up competitively Irish dancing?
Ariana
Mara
Both

3) Who has previously led programs in Hawai’i and Europe?
Ariana
Mara
Both

4) Who has a degree in theater?
Ariana
Mara
Both

5) Who seeks out live music at every opportunity she has?
Ariana
Mara
Both

6) Who has a cat named Coconut?
Ariana
Mara
Both

ANSWER KEY: 1) Both; 2) Ariana; 3) Both; 4) Mara; 5) Mara; 6) Ariana

Before we see you in NYC we wanted to share a few tips and tricks to help you get ready.

Remember to save some space in your bag and make use of packing cubes when in doubt!

Leave your favorite items at home and bring multi purpose items that you don’t mind getting a little wear and tear over the course of the semester.

If you haven’t already tried out your hiking boots, take them for a walk before the trip! You’ll be glad to have them a little worn in before our trek.

Finally, ensure you have a spare change of clothes and any prescription medications in your carry on bag just in case of any luggage delays when we arrive in Rome!

We’re excited to see you all and can’t wait to share the wonders of Greek and Italian history, culture, and cuisine with you soon!

Southeast Asia Semester (Carpe Mundi): Shining Light on a Gray Day

Carpe Mundi is coming full circle. Soumya and Carol met in 2019 when Carol started at Carpe Mundi full time and Soumya started as an Americorps Vista for the year. Now, they are leading PDXChange’s Pon Lue Cohort to Cambodia and Thailand. A lot has changed between then and now, but their love for Portland, exploration, equity and inclusion has not.

Here are some hot, cold, and tepid tips that they have learned over the years about travel:
Unless you are particular about your body products you can find what you need there except menstrual supplies
Bring half as much and twice as much money
Pack a pair of clothes in your carry on

Also— even if you’ve know each other for a long time, (the pandemic doubles years so it’s been a while) there’s still more to learn about each other. Here’s some things we learned chatting, laughing, and tripping around Mississippi and Albina.

1. Soumya thinks she might be growing a mullet. (she says she IS growing a mullet.)
2. Soumya possesses an intuitive compass and Carol is envious.
3. A true treat for Soumya is French fries and always kombucha.
4. If Soumya trips in front of a property she is likely to buy it. (According to her mom).

1. Carol’s handwriting is eerily similar to Soumya’s sister.
2. Say the word booger to see Carol laugh so hard she cannot really make a sound. Thanks Alberto from the 4th grade.
3. Carol doesn’t like when people talk over each other. Also you can laugh at? With? Around Carol to make her smile.

We are so excited to hear our students jam out and see how they are inspired by the musical stylings of Thai and Cambodian music. We can’t wait to see them soak up the wonder of ancient civilization, beautiful architecture and also become increasingly aware of what it means to care about the climate issues far away from ‘home.’

Also, did we mention we look forward to laughing heartily?

The post Meet your 2023 Overseas Educators! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Sou so dai, Sabai fam. It’s your fearless knee-slapping leader, and I’m posted up in a back-alley noodle & dumpling shop in Phnom Penh as I write this, surrounded by bamboo walls, whirring fans, and the sound of motorbikes racing by. As I reflect on the last few months, you eleven intrepid, transformed young travelers who departed this morning in a flurry of hugs and oversized bags are hurtling through the sky somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, making your long journey home. By the time you read this, you may already be luxuriating in your own bed, ignoring the mess you left in your room and wondering if this was all a dream. As I sit here nursing my jasmine tea and fending off mosquitoes, I’m reminded of all of the moments that made our dynamic mosaic of a group – the roses, buds, and thorns – from the very beginning.

We began our journey together on a sunny September day in the LAX airport with hugs, dance moves from Trevor, and both nerves and excitement. We buckled in for a long, sixteen-hour plane ride where we watched the same movies, made small talk, and held our pee so we didn’t bother our new groupmates. We touched down in Singapore and explored the butterflies together before buckling in to another flight and finally arriving in lush, steamy Chiang Mai.

We met our trusty van drivers for the first time and chugged along the road to Mae Rim, where Ajahn Petchara and Ajahn Pat Nom and their pups welcomed us with open arms and paws. Over the next few days, we learned how to sing about ‘Changs’ in Thai, rode wobbly bikes into town for the best noodles ever, celebrated Ava’s birthday with things we already loved about her, ate a small mountain of pad thai, sweat our hearts out dancing to our favorite folk Thai number, learned the art of meditation for the first time in Ajahn Pat Nom’s temple, and got drenched in the rain haggling our way through the Chiang Mai markets. We ended our time in Mae Rim with a beautiful night of banana lantern wishes and dancing in traditional silks while the Ajahns blessed us for our journey.

From Mae Rim, we bumped along to Pun Pun (Soumya and Young Trevor made a quick detour to fix his little hand friend) and were greeted by Nada in her favorite spot. In Pun Pun, we began our days practicing yoga with Krit and breathing our way into new positions, fending off spiders, and figuring out how to befriend the cold showers and the dirt in our beds. We let loose in the mud and slapped cob on the walls with Mandy and Jao, and we made fast friends with little barrels of energy Arun, Bong, Bokashi, and Ella, tiring ourselves out racing them around the room. We learned about sustainable menstruation with P’Nang, chomped into some freshly-harvested honeycomb with Jao, accidentally smeared chili into our faces planting seeds with P’Chan, and enjoyed a nice cold bevvie from the Pun Pun Cafe. P’Bee led us into a restorative meditation so relaxing we thought Danica had left the earth, while Sheena taught us how easy it is to make soap and kombucha. We also slowed down here– we started learning how to play the guitar and learned Leora’s a little music angel, we began our round robin of Thai-themed books, we stayed up at night playing Wunda, and we helped Kate cook up a magnificent Mexican feast for the whole community. We left with hugs, an odd but highly infectious Southern accent, and our eyes open to inspiring and different ways of how to live in this world and be happy.

From Pun Pun, our vans slowly climbed into the beautiful foggy, lush green mountain village of Hin Lad Nai. After a memorable lunch of bamboo soup, we met our homestay families for the first time and began realizing how utterly useless our five words of Thai were. We did our best anyways, and with a combination of our notebooks, charades, Google Translate, and Krit, we played with our host siblings, ate serving after serving of some of the best food (and rice) ever, tried our hands at traditional weaving, and developed a unanimous crush on Tho. We learned we were pretty inept at picking tea, a little better at singing Love Me Like You Do with my host brother Atu, and pretty decent at making cups out of bamboo. We listened to life lessons from Krit’s Roots & Shoots, played Boiled Peanuts in a Magic Hat for the first time, ate lunch in a tiny hut in a rice field from veggies plucked from the ground, and did yoga at the top of a mountain after a long day of hiking. In Hin Lad Nai, we learned how to appreciate simple moments of connection with each other and our host families by simply making paper airplanes or drinking a cup of steaming tea together.

After our heartfelt goodbyes to Hin Lad Nai, we made our way to Chiang Dao, where we woke up every day with a view of the great mountain among the clouds, luxuriated in steaming hot springs by the river before breakfast, and played in (and survived) a day at the sticky waterfalls. We stuffed ourselves with Malee’s cooking, made plans for our days in the southern islands, and got reacquainted with the internet. In Chiang Dao, we slapped together an impromptu little gratitude on the guitar, spiced up our bellies with papaya salad, and sparked our love of Fishbowl (Danica met her match in an equally-invested Soumya). We also explored our feelings of discomfort after our hill tribe village visit, asking important questions about voyeurism, ethical tourism, and our values as travelers and guests here.

From Chiang Dao, we descended upon Chiang Mai in full force, ready for massages galore, Kelli’s fluffy carrot slides (actually, I’m not sure I could ever be ready for those), and even more elephant pants. We made connections between the resource extraction in “Avatar” and Hin Lad Nai, walked through the city streets until our feet were sore, and chef-ed it up in cooking class with Shalom. We let loose at open mic night at the jazz club, hooting and hollering for the Joker and leaving after midnight. We scaled a small mountain to visit one of the most beautiful temples we’d seen yet and wondered at the aged, stone walls, and that night we went out dressed to the nines for a riverside dinner. By the end, Chiang Mai was our new favorite city.

After the decadence of city life, we were welcomed at the IWP by P’Ouyporn and Ginger who both grounded and stimulated us with their wise and peaceful presences. Our Pun Pun mansion was a home for us as we had a concert one night, Ava whipping out her harmonica, Kate her flute, Trev on the uke, and Sheldon on guitar. We made art and finally finished the flag (featuring Kelli’s khao soi), marveled at Le the leader, and kept stealing each others’ bikes. Laughs broke through silent lunch, Claire taught us how to whoop ass in kickboxing and we stumped P’Ning when she showed up for our deep relaxation session only to find us all dead asleep. We learned how to recognize our mental clouds, listened deeply to each other, and walked in wonderful silence through the paddy fields at sunset. We left better knowing our role in activism and systems of power and inspired to be more present and compassionate to ourselves and others.

Next we went to the forest monastery – I’m tempted to whip out a Leora-style “pass!”. We joined the cult of white clothes, heard about the barbecue tiger at least three times, fasted by day and gorged on Nutella sandwiches by night, raged at the patriarchy, slept during meditation and chanting, hiked behind the monks barefoot for an hour too many, and experimented with vows of silence. Most of us left resolved never to return but grateful for what we learned from that unique experience in a traditional Buddhist retreat.

An early morning departure took us to Surat Thani where we began our love affair with Thai movies. Then on Trev’s birthday, we tuk tuk-ed, bus-ed, boated, ferried, and trucked our way over to New Heaven Dive School. We celebrated Trev’s birthday overlooking the ocean, got over our fear of fish snorkeling in the water, earned some scrapes making it up to 21 passes in Trev’s volleyball passion class, and dived into our week of scuba. Many of us mermaids fell in love with scuba (and our instructors), some of us panicked and overcame it, and all of us realized that there was actually something deeply peaceful and meditative about diving underwater. Pey even got in touch with her inner sea creature and decided this would be her home in the spring.

We moved on to more days of sun & fun during Student-Directed Travel on Koh Pha Ngan where we met Craig the millionaire, took a tumble or two hiking into town, and whipped out Spot It and Euchre. We kicked butt at Muay Thai (SO much sweat was involved) and fell/cartwheeled/jumped/dived off of our SUP boards one or two (or three.. okay, at least twenty) times. (There may also have been a sunken kayak rescue at one point.) In Surat Thani, we made our plans for Krung Thep and were riveted by OMG! the movie. We slayed at Halloween karaoke, were entranced (and horrified) at the Muay Thai ring, paid our respects to the Emerald Buddha, got a tattoo or two, explored art and a haunted house, ate at an Anthony Bourdain-certified restaurant, had a roaring good time at drag cabaret, and explored ancient Buddhist history and architecture at the Reclining Buddha. Things went a little downhill from there…

We rolled into Siem Reap, but the good times did not. Illness besieged us and some of our comrades posted up with the IV hookup in room 216. Our thoughts & prayers were with them as we wandered through incredible Khmer history at Angkor Wat with our guides Cho and Ratana, met the tree where Angelina Jolie did her thing in “Tomb Raider”, tried to outsmart the audacious monkeys stealing G’s medicine, and were met with the kindness of strangers. We learned about the tragedy of US bombing and landmines in Cambodia, explored our confusion of the different sides in the Khmer Rouge genocide, and were also struck by the generosity and resilience of a people who’d endured so much.

Eventually, we made our way down to Battambang where the children at PTD revived us and brought us back from the brink of implosion and spirals of sickness. We “clapped our hands”, went down by the river one too many times, hokey pokey’ed the heck out of those kids and got oodles of smiles and adoring hugs in return. With the kids, we went shopping for green and red apples (some of our pink-capped sellers struck a mean sale), learned how to express that we’re feeling happy or sad (getting applause and big smiles either way), and learned we may or may not want to be ‘Teacha’ after all. G led the class through an adorable pen-pal initiative with her own elementary school in California. And we were left in awe at the millions of bats exiting the cave into the dusky sky, the incredible acrobatic feats at the one and only Phare Ponleu Selpak circus, and our night of joyful dancing and releasing lanterns with the PTD kids who took us (especially Nella) under their wing at the water festival.

We then braved a long ride into Phnom Penh (a dusty bag of almonds were fought over, screen time was demanded; ice cream appeased a desperate van) and posted up at a party of a hostel. Things sombered up when we witnessed the gravity of the tragedy of S-21 and the Killing Fields and were left contemplating both the capacity for horror and violence and also hope and generosity of the human spirit. We left with a lot of questions about the history of the genocide in Cambodia, the contribution of the US to the war, and what our role as individuals should be today as people all over the globe continue to face violence and repression in different ways. We also found time for play as we enjoyed a raucous dinner out featuring a delirious Ava and at least three desserts for Kate (YGG) and an afternoon of laughter and acrobatics with Trevor literally bouncing off the walls at the trampoline hall.

Our final destination was the sleepy, peaceful riverside of Kampot, where we meandered our way past fishing villages on our SUP boards, narrowly avoided two thunderstorms on the water, grooved along with Annie’s dance moves on the boat, learned Ava is a Mafia boss queen and shouldn’t be messed with, watched Julia Roberts & George Clooney fall in love (again), and tried long red peppercorn for the first time at La Plantation. Noodles & dumps were eaten, mangroves planted and mud fights with naked children had. Our time in Kampot ended with us jumping off the dock hand-in-hand and watching the sun set behind the bend in the river as we listened to Sam share her learnings about alternatives to capitalism and reflections on the semester.

From the ocean, we made our last trip back into Phnom Penh and enjoyed a final lunch together of absolutely scrummy dumplings and noodles. And finally, between the banks of the mighty Mekong River and a high-rise rooftop overlooking the twinkling, bustling city, we closed the chapter on the last ten weeks we’ve lived, learned, and laughed together as an at-times dysfunctional but loving little family.

I know one day I’ll leave my home
Here in the valley and climb up to that field so fair
And when I’m called and counted in
That final tally, I know that I will see you there
Oh my dear friends, I truly love
To hear your voices lifted up in radiant song
Though through the years we all have made
Our separate choices, we’ve ended here where we belong
-The Farthest Field (a Plum Village song)

We’ve all had different paths to this program. Some of us just weren’t ready for what was next, some sought to push themselves, some reached for self-understanding, some just needed something new. Over these last few months, we’ve seen our group bend and not break, meet challenges with grace and positivity, ask and advocate for what they need, hold themselves and each other accountable, practice forgiveness, let our hair down, “boss up”, push ourselves and each other to do better and always make space for each person’s process. We’ve questioned everything that we knew, came to appreciate things taken for granted, reconnected with our loves (books, music, kids, laundry), and established healthy habits that we hope will endure. Most importantly, we built a community of loving, caring, curious individuals ready for whatever came their way and eager to explore themselves and the places and people we met along the way.

It was our hope to build a community that would comfort and push to the edge simultaneously, that would offer each person acceptance and a hand when they needed it, that would provide companionship on shared journeys and support on those more individual challenges, that would invite each person to be awake to the changes they could experience, and that would ultimately send each person off anew — closing the chapter on a grand adventure, but returning home with eyes wide open.

As we close, we think of this poem by Mary Oliver:

“Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
-Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”

Wherever you are, we hope you remember the family of things we created together – it will travel with you wherever you go. Leaving, too, is part of the process of growing and becoming – and I know that each one of us takes home a memory, a habit, a practice, a relationship, a skill, an idea, a question, a love that will endure for a long, long time. Thank you for letting us be part of this journey. It’s been an honor.

With BIG Love and mini hearts,
Soumya

The post It’s Not Goodbye, it’s “Pób Gun Mài” appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Kate and Danica

Coming from Siem Reap, we went into PTD with little to no expectations. Though we arrived with low spirits, this week became one of our best. When we arrived we were greeted by Rith (the director of PTD) and a great home-cooked meal. That day we all settled in and rested to prepare for the next day. Every morning at 7 am we all slowly but surely gathered in the dining hall to eat our peanut butter toast and bananas, sometimes a green tea. Our first official day, we were given a presentation to learn about PTD’s newly-revised mission and goals, which is also where we got to meet Visal and Hou, the two head teachers of the PTD Learning Center, where we would soon be working everyday during our stay. A majority of our stay was there during the end of water season festival, which is a national holiday that the kids get school off from. So we were surprised to learn that for the next 3 days kids would be coming to school to be taught by us despite having that break.

At 1:30, after we all had eaten lunch, we gathered outside the two classrooms. Upon seeing the kids doing their routine English exercises, we were all hit with a wave of nerves. We split ourselves in between two groups working with 1B or 1A which differ by English level. The topic of our first day of class was teaching conversational introductions. I, Danica, got to work with the 1B group and I was shocked to learn how advanced they were in their speaking ability. Prior to this first meeting we were never informed of the students’ levels of English. We were very appreciative of the teachers’ and students’ patience with us. Despite not having the degree or educational background of a teacher, the students were very respectful and genuinely treated us like we were their teachers, including calling us all “teacher”. This day of teaching really lifted our spirits; we couldn’t help but match the students ‘joy and positivity.

By the end of the day when the kids got to present what they learned, we were all so invested in their success to the point where we were mouthing their presentation. We were even told by Visal and Hou that we all looked like proud parents. As parents began to pick up their kids, one by one they would run to us and say goodbye, with a occasional fist bump or high five. Once the kids left, the toll of the day hit us and right after dinner we hit the hay. The next morning we helped with some clearing of bricks and rocks to not only help with rain drainage but to also make the pathway safer for the kids. We also listened to Kate’s bomb playlist while we worked. 1:30 came around quickly and we were back in the classroom at work. The main topic for this day was art… and having fun. Honestly we all just drew for about an hour and half and then occasionally would have break time for the kids to get their energy out. This was actually one of the challenges of this week – coming up with games for them to play. The kids were so energetic and sometimes it was hard to keep up with them. They constantly would need a new game or not even play the games right and just run around. The two games that were very popular with the kids were Rock, Paper, Scissors and the Down By The Banks Hand Game (if you know, you know). We even caught them playing it without us. When the kids were being picked up, Visal began to have of us call the students’ names with a microphone, but eventually he took over; we just could not get their names right. After the kids left, Visal and Hou took us around the village to show us the state of the kids living situations. They explained along the way PTD’s scholarship programs and the way they support the students. Our group was very touched by the way PTD is involved in their students lives, and how much they care about the whole student, not just their education.

The next day we spent about 2 hours crafting our own lesson plans. The group working with the younger kids decided on the topic of feelings and emotions. The other group went with the topic of everyday shopping language. Dan was with this group and said the kids had so much fun being buyers and sellers. Eventually they memorized the script and began bargaining with us. They also loved all the little hats we made for them. You could see they were truly happy to be learning. I, Kate, on the other hand had a more difficult time with the younger kids. Our lesson plan went shorter than expected and as such we had to keep the children entertained. Let me just say, Ava and I were exhausted both physically and mentally. But we learned a lot of new games. That day for us was quite tiring so we gave ourselves a relaxing night.

Our last day with the kids was spent doing an activity that Gabrielle had set up with PTD. The kids would be writing letters to the students at Gabrielle’s elementary school. They were all so excited to be interacting with people from America. Most of the kids didn’t even know what a letter was so we had scripts of what they should write and fill in the blanks to add a personal touch. This activity was very difficult for the kids due to the high English level, however once they had completed their letters, they were incredibly proud of their success. At the end of the day, after we ate dinner, Hou and Sokhoeub (another teacher at PTD) brought us to a Khmer Circus. This was one of the highlights of the trip; it was amazing to see all the different acrobatics they could perform along with the story they told. I, Danica spent some time with Hou’s daughter Lida. She not only expressed her excitement for the circus but also showed me all around the property. We all went back to PTD satisfied about the night. Friday was our last day with PTD and in Battambang, as well as our free day for Rith and Hou to show us around. The highlight of this day was 100 percent the millions of bats we saw exit the cave.

The morning of our departure we had one last meeting with the staff of PTD. They first gifted us traditional Cambodian scarfs and we each received a certificate of appreciation. It was similar to a mini-graduation. Lastly, we expressed our gratitude and said our final goodbyes. PTD was incredibly eye opening to the education systems of Cambodia and we will always cherish the skills learned and connections we were able to make with the children.

The post Our Biggest Smiles appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

SDT. Or as it was accidentally referred to a couple of times, STD. SDT, or student-directed travel, is a time when the group is completely in charge of planning the week. We were given only a budget and a flight that we had to catch, and the rest was on us to plan. We had spent time at the Chiang Dao Youth Camp creating committees to help plan different aspects of the trip. We had transportation (Kate, Peyton, and Trevor), accommodation (Kelli, Claire, and Sam), and activities (Danica, Ava, Leora, Nella, and Gabrielle). Each committee spent a lot of time working in all of the details and we came up with a plan. We would go from Koh Tao to Koh Phangan (a larger island in between Koh Tao and Sarat Thani). We would spend a couple of days on that island and then go to Surat Thani to then catch our flight to Bangkok. We made reservations and bought tickets and soon, all that was left to do was wait. We were shaking in our boots. Not everything went as we planned but let me just say we were never bored this week. Now that I’ve set the stage, let me give you a rundown of the week and some of the group’s favorite memories.

Koh Phangan
We arrived in Koh Phangan ready to rumble. We got to the Bambu Hut where we would be staying and met Craig… who says he has been a
millionaire twice so that was awesome. The millionaire life just wasn’t for him apparently . The hotel overlooked a secluded cove and was so breathtaking. Some spent time going on hikes (which quickly went from 45 min to 3 hours), playing intense card games to EDM music, and getting as many Thai massages as possible before we left the country. Aside from the free time we had, we also did many group activités like clear SUP and kayaks and taking Muay Thai boxing classes. All I’m going to say is you probably don’t want to be put in the Muay Thai ring with ANYONE from our group after that class.

Danica’s Favorite Memory
Ava, our queen, had booked us clear paddle boards and kayaks and led us down a beautiful beach, which was pretty deserted which added to the fun. I put on my mildew-smelling bathing suit and hoped on a board with Ava out to sea. Now getting on these boards was not easy. I fell so many times just getting on the board, but that was the fun of it. Eventually we made it out pretty far and we’re just floating. In the distance G and Pey are falling off their boards left and right. Soumya decides to do a cartwheel off her board (pretty successfully I might add) and Trevor backflips off his. Peyton’s waterproof camera provided some amazingly hysterical photos of us. We eventually got on a kayak and we’re finally able to see the reef below us. It was so cool to see the fish, coral and sea cucumbers (which I initially thought were sleeping fish). After about 2 hours of paddle boarding and kayaking we went back in and left with grinning faces.

Surat Thani
After we left Koh Phangan, we headed to Surat Thani, which is where we would fly to Bangkok. We didn’t spend much time here but we always seem to make the most out of our stays here by heading to the local markets and walking along the scenic rivers. They also have some SPECTACULAR Thai movies…

Sam’s Favorite Memory
On the night of the 28th we settled into Surat Thani with a free night for the group. With few ideas on what to do, some of us decided to go see a movie. We had seen a movie called My Tempo during our previous stay in Surat Thani and it had been a rollercoaster of poor subtitles and bad directing. It’s safe to say our expectations for this movie were low. We were prepared for a chill night and maybe some laughs at the poor quality of the movie at best. Who would have guessed that we would leave the theater shocked to our core. The movie, titled OMG! (oh my girl), turned out to be a genuinely riveting rom com that had us on the edge of our seats the whole time. We were talking at the screen the whole time, and we all felt very bad for the one other person in the theater, who unfortunately we didn’t realize was there until the end. To be real the ending was inconclusive af but nothing’s perfect. Not even OMG! All and all it was a killer night and you should try to stream OMG! wherever you are.

Bangkok
The moment you have all been waiting for… BANGKOK. It’s safe to say that the group was ecstatic for this part of the trip. We had a lot of free time to explore the city during the day but did some pretty amazing group activities like going to watch a real Muay Thai fight and going to karaoke on Halloween. The costumes really were out of this world. The list of costumes included: Abe Lincoln, Abe Lincoln’s mistress, Princess Diana (revenge dress edition), Lady Gaga, Prince, a crazy cat lady, a Thai soccer player, THE Gucci God, a witch, a bunny, Peik Lin, Betty Boop after a night out, and Día de los Muertos. We all had so much time together but we also spent time exploring temples, palaces, and markets. This city is filled with so much character and life that we hadn’t experienced so far. The bustling streets and mouth watering aromas made our time here unforgettable.

Leora’s Favorite Memory
My favorite memory from SDT was going Halloween costume shopping with Kelli and Claire, and seeing the Emerald Buddha at Wat Phra Kaeo/The Grand Palace on our way home. It was a beautiful and spontaneous cultural experience. It was also empowering using public transit such as tuk tuks, the sky train, and a boat taxi throughout our adventure.

Kelli’s Favorite Memory
The highlight of my SDT experience was the empowering feeling of independence, there were multiple instances where I felt this but I’ll recall the main experience where I felt this. On the first day in Bangkok I made it my personal mission to find a good tattoo parlor and get a tat that was meaningful to me. I searched for a while once we arrived at the guesthouse and then found a place that was only a 20 minute walk away. I walked to the parlor and made an appointment. I proceeded to get lunch by myself which was very good and then headed back. My guy was very patient, nice, and did an amazing job. It felt exhilarating to be in a new city and getting a tattoo I’d been thinking all by myself. Honestly, a 10/10 experience, even though the tattoo hurt.

Peyton’s Favorite Memory
One of my favorite moments was the time I spent with Danica and Kate at the Contemporary Art Museum. The main exhibit was called “HUMAN HUMAN HUMAN what a wonderful world”.

The art upon the gallery walls I viewed as polaroids of emotion, the sort of communication that could take volumes of the written word to convey… and even then, not nearly so well. I found that what the art brought could not be weighed or measured. Neither could the transfer of deep emotional intelligence we explored be bought or replicated. Throughout our time at the gallery, Danica, Kate, and I discussed the different representations of political injustice and world issues that was abstractly portrayed. The whole conversation was delightful brain food for me. The art we saw was inspiring and opened up discussions that were academically challenging while still having a fun artistic undertone. The perfect ending to our experience was the small haunted house at the top floor. It was both thrilling to walk through and hilarious to see Danica’s genuine fear at every corner.

Kate’s Favorite Memory
Well, what can I say. Bucket list achieved. Anthony Bourdain has been a staple in my family for quite a while and the joy I felt being able to go to a restaurant that he sat and ate at was unimaginable. Danica had found this little place through Google and Peyton and I were gladly tagging along. We got family style chard chicken, sticky rice, and this amazing bass fish. Best food I’ve had so far on this trip. The employees kept dishing us food and we could not say no. We cleared it all. If anyone ever visits Bangkok you gotta go here!

Ava’s Favorite Memory
I have two words to describe my favorite memory. Drag cabaret. What more can you even say. We hit the town not knowing what to expect. Sam, Kelli, Trev, Claire, and I walked into the Stranger Bar ready to see some cabaret. The DJ was KILLING it and we were tearing up the dance floor. Finally, the lights went dim and the crowd went silent. The drag queens walked onto the second floor stage. The crowd starts ROARING. When I tell you it was insane I’m not lying. The costumes were exquisite and the song choices were immaculate. We unfortunately had to leave early to get back for curfew so we squeezed out of the packed bar. As if the night couldn’t get any better, we walked out to one of the drag queens standing in the street. We ran over and took some pictures and literally skipped to our tuk tuk with the biggest smiles on our faces. Unbeatable night.

Gabrielle’s Favorite Memory
One highlight of my experience in Bangkok was visiting the Wat Phra Chetuphon. Even after the Buddhist Feminist retreat and Theravada Monastery, I discovered more rich history at this Buddhist temple. I learned about King Rama IX’s efforts to restore Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimonmangklaram with 1,250 gold Buddhas, the translation of the Sacred Scripture of Phra Malai (Pali-Thai) to reinforce the unity between Thai Buddhism and Christianity, and the scientific advancement of knowledge about the Thai massage in academic settings. Here, I also took in magnificent Buddhist art. From detailed murals and architecture to eye capturing statues. Most anticipated was the reclining Buddha. The figure has a height of 15 meters and length of 46 meters.

This part of our trip was a great learning opportunity for us. We learned how to make plans for ourselves and that it’s ok if not everything works out. We rolled with the punches and really made the best of our time. SDT was such a whirlwind but the memories made from this week were so amazing and something none of us will ever forget. This was our last week in Thailand and I honestly can’t think of a better way to end our time here. We ate amazing food and saw so many parts of the country and I am truly so grateful for everything we saw and did during our final days here. WE LOVE YOU THAILAND.

The post SDT Awesomeness appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Leora

This week ended on an unfortunate note, due to mostly all of us falling ill. Though, when I could still hang in there, I learned a lot in our initial couple days of arriving in The Kingdom of Cambodia. Particularly, I learned that most of the people I have come across in Cambodia are very kind. On the first day of our travels, we planned to visit the numerous temples, ending with Angkor Wat. I’m just going to be honest, I skipped breakfast that morning, a rarity on this trip. However, daily malaria pills on an empty stomach don’t go hand in hand. While taking our pictures for our tickets at the Angkor Wat ticket office, I saw there was an ice cream freezer and a shelf with some things, hoping it was food, in the corner of the building. I walked to the freezer, touristy “Thailand” hat on head, and started looking at the popsicles and ice creams, debating which dessert to fuel my morning. I asked the seller if she was selling any other food, and she said “No”. I shifted my head back down to my breakfast decision. Then she said, “Food”? And I said “Yes” a little confused. She responded with, “Food – okay”. She started walking, and I followed her past some clothing selling stands expecting to come along some food for sale, though instead I followed her behind one of the clothing selling areas to the back. One of the merchants exclaimed “Hey, ma’am”, concerned by my trespassing. Usually, this is where I would turn around, but for some reason I felt comfortable. The lady guided her hand to a box of bananas, saying I could have some, no pay. A baby was peacefully sleeping next to the box of fruit. I thanked her, taken aback by her generosity, although I ended up paying for a popsicle. In a matter of seconds, a barrier between us, strangers, was broken and I felt like we were friends or family, in a situation I was least accepting to feel that way, the Angkor Wat ticket office. I noticed this was a pattern throughout the next few days, with one of our guides Cho, taking a coconut water stop during the tour of the temples excited for us to meet his mother who sold coconuts, or our other guide, Rattana, trying to save Gabrielle’s emergency asthma medication from a monkey who thought it was food, or the host at Bed and Bedzzz Boutique Hostel helping us in our dorm room when we were sick by bringing fans. Another moment, is when Bill, who gave us the tour of the Landmine Museum, gave all of us his card at the end and told us we can come anytime for an internship, or when we went to the Jesuit Center to meet the Nobel Peace Prize winners for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Sister Denise, over tea and cookies gave us some life advice. The list goes on, but after that one moment at the ticket office as well as through learning about the darkness and hardships Cambodia has gone through and the aftermath, I was keen of noticing the loving kindness that took place around me, and inspired to return it to the world.

Angkor Wat

Beautiful views at Angkor Wat!

Bill leading us through the Landmine Museum. In this photo, he was explaining the U.S. bombing of Cambodia and the aftermath of the war.

Sister Denise leading us through a peace prayer to countries currently experiencing conflict and war

Smiling with Cho, our guide for two days in Siem Reap

Danica loves coco water!

The post The Box of Bananas appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Peyton

Hello everyone! This is Peyton writing to you from the beautiful Island of Koh Tao!

We started off our week here at Koh Tao after a long travel day from Surat Thani. October 21st was a half travel day and coincidentally Trev’s birthday! (Fun fact: this is Trev’s first birthday that consists of traveling on four forms of transportation: a plane, songtaos, a double-decker bus, and a ferry ride). When we reached New Heaven Dive School, we packed our day with food, sun, and the beach. We were provided a fantastic lunch consisting of a fried chicken sandwich (I proceed to have this same chicken sandwich every day for lunch for the rest of our time here. It was that good!) Honestly, all of the food we ate was wonderful and we will forever be grateful to the amazing restaurant staff that catered to us 3 meals a day.

Some of our group members were a tad nervous for our upcoming scuba diving adventures, so we dipped our toes in the water (literally) and snorkeled at a local beach about a ten minute walk from our rooms.

At the beach, the rocks surrounding us had a warm, almost earthen, hue to them. The water was the warmest ocean I’ve ever been in – both refreshing and wonderful. I found that I loved the stillness of the ocean (I had never been to a beach without huge waves before) and even the surprisingly severe saltiness of the water. The buoyancy made us feel weightless as we floated head upward looking at the sky. My favorite thing though, of everything here upon the group’s first experience together in the ocean, was actually something the group brought with us: Trevor’s volleyball passion class.
After learning skills like how to hit and dive for the ball we were able to make it to a group volley of 21 hits!! We spent hours basically throwing ourselves both in the water and at each other in an attempt to keep the ball in the air. The lingering toe scrapes from the group’s epic dives were totally worth it. We ended the night exhausted, but full of laughter, as we celebrated Trev’s big 19 with a nice dinner at a local spot that had a beautiful overlook of the ocean. We even ordered a delicious cake to finish off the perfect night!

The next day was our first full day of scuba and my group (consisting of me (Peyton), Danica, and Ava) was both full of excitement and lingering nervousness. To our relief, we had an amazing instructor, Nacho, who really put us at ease and full of laughter as we dived deep into the water. Nacho lovingly referred to us as his “mermaids,” and his calm attitude and patience really helped our group fly through the safety and training motions so we could spend the reminder of that first jump in the water diving down up to 5 meters! Throughout the dive some of us struggled with buoyancy which was both frustrating and hilarious. Nacho made sure to put the group at ease with his adorable mini claps (picture a subtle golf clap underwater) and his oddly-timed handshakes after completing an exercise.

Day two of SCUBA came with some adjustments in equipment and weights to help with buoyancy and comfort. We upgraded and got to do 2 dives in one day! Every dive is just about 50 minutes depending on how much air the group uses. Dan and Gabrielle were legends with their low air usage, while I tended to take very deep inhales and run out of air quicker. It varies person to person depending on breathing patterns. Also, our air tanks are much heavier then I expected on land, so it was always a great relief to quickly get into the water. A couple of us also learned how to exit the boat backwards in our scuba gear. That was 100% my favorite way to enter the water. It felt so much cooler to fall backwards and evenly submerge in the water compared to stepping forward. Usually between dives we would eat lunch and Nacho would show us what I like to call the “ocean dictionary picture book” showcasing all of the fish, corals, and other sea creatures we would have the potential to see. Nacho tried to teach us the charade-type hand signals to communicate the species of fish underwater, but there ended up being tons of signals to remember so we would end up asking the names of fish and coral we saw after the dive.

Day three of SCUBA was tinged with both adventure and lingering sadness. Almost no one in the group wanted it to be our last dive. Nevertheless, we made sure to soak up everything we saw underwater. At this point, everyone had taken our written open divers certification test that morning, so technically we were certified mermaids. Pretty cool right?

After cleaning our equipment for the last time we got to have an environmental discussion with Kirsty, the head marine conservationist. We learned about the varied work New Heaven Dive School takes part in and asked our questions about the specific areas we got to visit underwater. Many of us were curious about how healthy the areas were that we saw and if there was any major milestones Thailand has taken to becoming more ocean friendly. The group was extremely grateful for Kirsty because she was extremely engaging and knowledgeable about all things marine biology.

After the discussion, I realized that I might have never truly noticed water, had I never dived deep into it. My appreciate for the ocean and what it gives to our earth has vastly grown. I have a new understanding of how activities on land directly correlate to the health of our oceans. As it is, I loved to dive within the salty water and feel the freedom it gives, transparent and blue, soft and strong.

As a group, we got to experience the coral seemingly sitting with eternal patience as the sea creatures carry on their free form flash-dance above and below us. It was humbling to be able to witness just simple everyday lives of the swimming fish. I found it interesting to learn from Nacho that there are many sea animals cautious of scuba divers not only due to our odd shape, but because the exhalation of air from us is foreign to them. No other living thing underwater creates air bubbles, so the massive amount of bubbles coming from our mask must be startling. Sometimes it was disheartening to not see every cool sea animal I could think of, but throughout the dive I tried to take in everything around me in the point of view of a fish. Witnessing the varying health levels of the coral, the fish lovingly paired up with their partners, and even the small dirt/sand particles floating in front of us brought a strong sense of curiosity and wonder during the dive.

Overall, for me, this scuba experience made me feel both small and powerful. I felt small in the grand scheme of our vast world, but powerful in having the ability to learn and explore ways we can keep our oceans healthy and thriving. By diving down up to almost 18 meters (54 feet), our group got just the barest glimpse of the vast unknown of the ocean. By swimming deep down into the water, it created a strong meditative atmosphere where we all could be present in the moment. It brought a sense of inner peace and tranquillity that I will never forget.

The post Koh My God appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Kate & Nella

“Why” is a good word we would use to sum up the 3 days at the Wat Pa Tam Wua forest monastery. The night before our departure to the monastery, we had gone over what our days would look like living as monk. Several concerns were raised due to the new circumstances, which will be explained later. Due to those concerns none of us were too excited for this new retreat.

Out first day there, we get into our dorms and are immediately led to the changing room to get our new white clothing. It wasn’t a vibe at first, but on the last day some of wanted to take these clothes home. After getting dressed, Anne Marie, our guide around the monastery, led us to the prayer hall where we began chanting and meditating. We really jumped right in.

The morning of the next day, we got up bright and early to give rice alms to the monks at 6:30. Then we grabbed our pillows, which we learned were very necessary if you didn’t want to have back pain the rest of the week, to go sit in our spots for morning chanting, sitting meditation and walking meditation. Many people quite liked the walking meditation. Then we had free time for about 30 minutes until we gave alms to the monks again in preparation for lunch. After lunch, we head right in for afternoon meditation which is relatively the same as morning meditation just with an added 15 minutes of laying down – which I am sure we can all say was our favorite form of meditating. A 3-hour rest time followed which most spent either sleeping, journaling, organizing etc. until evening meditation.

By now, as we’ve gone through a night, a day, an afternoon and another night the feelings of confusion are beginning to settle. We had many talks both during the afternoon rest time and before bed about what we don’t understand. Some of these topics would include the patriarchy in Buddhism that until this point we had only seen secondhand; the contradictions in the teachings; and not understanding the why of what we’re practicing. Pretty heavy topics. But though the heaviness would weigh us down a majority of the time there would be some moments that had us appreciate coming to this monastery. For example: there was a specific monk that would love making jokes that half the time would never be audible. A few of our favorites are what we deem “I don’t know” and “ barbecue tiger”. This monk was definitely a king.

Just random moments we would like to highlight. During one of our afternoon walking meditations, which was normally an hour through the garden, instead we went an hour up and around a mountain barefoot. Why we were barefoot, well we don’t know because, to be honest with you, the monks were wearing flip flops. It was a long track through ants, mud, wood, leaves, pointy rocks and soft moss. Normally we’re supposed to be mindful during these walks, but I ,Kate, would just like to say that I was anything but mindful. Instead of thinking about nothing, I was thinking about the rocks that kept jabbing at my feet. It was the least meditative I’d ever been in my life.

Another random moment, which at this point we can call it “how many bugs can Carpe attract” – we found a cockroach in a bag of food that we had brought. And we can say with confidence the rubber cockroach that’s made for jokes looks EXACTLY like a real cockroach, right on for whoever made rubber cockroaches (though the cockroach in the bag was real). Luckily, Sam killed it.

To end, though there were complaints and many many questions, we learned through these 3 days that being a monk maybe is not for us. But not just that, we learned that with being open-minded and having much patience we can come to understand even the hardest of topics.

The post Barbecue Tiger! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Gabrielle

Bags in tow we piled into the songthaews leaving Chiang Mai, the city that will forever have a place in our hearts. Despite the only headrest being a friendly shoulder and the cramped leg space, at some point we all dozed off in military posture. Retrospectively, this was not enough meditation prep for the Buddhist feminist retreat as many of us admitted to catching ourselves as we literally fell into sleep during the meditation.

Whereas post-retreat travel had been go-go-go, here the daily routines were slower-paced. Group nap time was universally embraced, book club became a daily highlight, home-cooked meals were devoured so fast that the staff feared for our digestive health, and morning yoga was reimplemented from our Pun Pun days (fun fact: P’Krit, one of our favorite people from Pun Pun, had taught yoga here prior to our visit). While our bodies were at peace with this slower routine, our minds were ready to hit the floor running. We expressed our interests in learning the historic origins of Buddhism, personalizing what feminism means to us, and how we could use meditation as a tool to create presence. That said, we got so much more out of this experience: unforgettable mentors, identifying our sources of power, and stronger feelings of camaraderie within our group.

We were first asked to share something the group knew nothing about. An impossible task as we all felt like we’d known each other our entire lives. In response, Pi Ouyporn shared a Buddhist sentiment that touched each of our hearts: ‘all thirteen of you knew each other in a past life and that is why you are all on this journey together.’ Overcoming the original hurdle to share an unheard history we took the opportunity to learn about others as well as ourselves. We listened to silly and heart-warming stories as well as listening to people’s pain and sadness. Through this experience we came to understand that ‘deep listening is a radical act. We emptied our mind for our partner and they for us’ creating a space for deep understanding where all voices could be heard. One of the Buddha’s teachings is that we are all connected through suffering. At first, we struggled with the idea that humanity could be connected by something so sad. But after practicing in deep listening we recognized the irreversible bonds that formed as a result of our individual resiliency in sharing our vulnerabilities.

Funnily enough, through an activity where we pretended to be dancing frogs, we identified the causes and effects of power. With the purpose of dismantling systems of oppression and protecting marginalized communities, we pinpointed the social barriers observed in education, the economy, and justice systems. Using our sources of power we were able to address an institution of oppression: CP. CP is a big corporation that owns companies such as 7/11 and Lotus. Their monopoly within the industry is pushing small family businesses in Thailand out of the market. One statement that the owner of CP made was ‘when you control the food, you control the people. ‘ After learning this we made a group decision to proactively shop locally-owned businesses. Though we aren’t dismantling a system of oppression, it felt good to use the power within to fight institutions of injustice. Who knows, maybe the small steps we take today to make the world a better place and could be part of a bigger movement later in our lives.

During one of our sessions, we learned that the definition of feminism is the equality of all genders. One aspect of feminism that stood out to us was looking at feminism from an intersectional viewpoint – meaning looking at all the identities within the feminist community: ability, race, socioeconomic status, etc. This ties back into our discussion of power as we recognized that people with different identities are affected by issues surrounding feminism in different forms. Looking from an intersectional perspective also allowed us to dissect feminism through the lens of a Buddhist. After hearing the historical origins of Buddhism we observed how a patriarchy gradually grew within the religion. Deciphering from current day Buddhist monk practices and Buddhist teachings allowed us to appreciate the knowledge we gained of Buddhism while still giving it constructive critiques based on our knowledge of feminism.

One highlight was our first passion project. Claire instructed us in the art of kickboxing. There were a couple moments where people missed the pillow targets and hit their partners. But by the end, we had mastered the jab, cross, kick, and knee. If we’re ever in a situation we’ll call upon our kickboxing skills.

Given all the musical talent, it should not have come as a surprise that our group celebrated our first-month anniversary of traveling through music. At our enthusiastic request, Kate whipped out her flute for the first time. Never having played the ‘Hanging Tree’ before, she impressively taught herself to play in five minutes tops. Ava who was pleasantly suprised to find her harmonica at the bottom of her bag serenaded us with ‘Piano Man’. With his brand new Thai-bought ukulele, Trevor started to learn to play ‘Hey There Delilah’. And per usual, we all smiled as Leora who has the voice of an angel went through her bedtime routine singing her heart out. On a sidenote, this night also marked the completion of our team flag. Overall, it was a night of laughter, music and celebration.

While music had made its mark on the group, connection through silence had not yet been experienced. Every afternoon we would take part in a silent walking meditation through the rice field with a view of the mountains. The setting sun painted the sky in pinks, oranges and reds. Honestly, the pictures can’t do this experience justice. For my part, sharing those common moments of appreciation for the surrounding nature in silence filled me with love for those I am traveling with. Afterwards, there were comments of how we never want to lose the awe moment we had during our mindful walks. Even though we were a month in, for many of us this was the first time the distance from home felt tangible.

The camaraderie felt here and the knowledge shared will forever be with us and, hopefully, make our skies a little bluer as we head to the Theravada Retreat. As a thank you to Ginger and Ouyporn, our teachers, Ning, our yoga instructor, and cooking staff whose meals never failed, we sang a song:

“I am one with the breeze
Breathing heart beating
Present and free
Even though hard times are right here with me
I am grateful to be…”

The post Word of the Week: Camaraderie appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Claire & Dan

So. Chiang Mai. What a crazy three days. On the first day, we pulled up to our hostel at around 11am, and threw our bags in the storage room so we could go out and explore before our check in time at 2. Our plan was to bathe ourselves in luxury, and that we diddd. Let’s just say Lila Massage got a lot of business that day. Some of us went for two hours or more, some of us may have even gone for another one the next day–we got facials, body scrubs, oil massages, Thai massages, you name it, we probably got it. Some of us walked around, did a little (or maybe even a lot) of shopping, tried some new food and generally just explored the city. Really felt like we were stepping back into urban civilization after a couple weeks of rural living. By 6:30, most of us had made it to our rendezvous spot: the cinema of Maya Mall, Chiang Mai. We say most of us, because if we’re being frank, there were a couple lost in the mayhem of shopping… but we all made it there safe and sound, no harm done. As we were getting ready to go in and watch the world-renowned film, 3D Avatar, we stopped at the snack stand and picked up some popcorn delicacies: disclaimer, if you haven’t tried miso popcorn, go get yourself some miso popcorn. Even though it wasn’t intentional, we found ourselves making connections between the movie and the experience we recently had at Huai Hin Lad Nai Village, where we fully immersed ourselves in connecting with nature. A lot of the themes of colonization, natural resources, and taking advantage of marginalized indigenous people, especially resonated with us, and our recent experiences gave us a new perspective on the issues raised. Even though the activity was as simple as watching a movie together (in the back-row luxury seats), it was still a really awesome experience, and a great start to our Chiang Mai adventure.

Day two, we got up nice and early and pilled into the back of two songthaews, ready for our half-day cooking class. Coincidentally, there happened to be another man staying at our hostel who had also signed up for the class, so we ended up hanging with Shalom for the morning. Before we started cheffing it up, we stopped at the local produce market to learn about where our ingredients were coming from, and Miss Ava did happen to pick up a ‘Joker’ shirt, which foreshadows some events to come… Then we made our way to the cooking school, where we took a tour of their organic farm and then got straight to business. With a whole menu to choose from, we all got to try our hand at cooking different dishes–Khao Soi, Massaman Curry, Tom Som, etc. After a couple hours of cooking and eating our hearts out, we pilled back into the songthaews and headed back to the hostel. It was during this ride back, that I, Claire, was forced to confront a serious issue that I, along with others, have been suffering from in the recent weeks. Our new friend Shalom, who we’d been chatting with though out the class, mentioned that I had a little bit of a Texas twang in my voice. I, however, was raised in Hong Kong, and have in fact never been to the south. This, was my wake up call. We had to stop. (We may or may not be speaking in Southern accents right now.) No one knows how exactly it began, but somehow almost every single one of us has developed a Southern accent while traversing the mountains of Thailand. We are scared. We have a problem. But we just can’t stop.

After filling our bellies to the brim, we all took a bit of a break back at the hostel before heading out for more free time. Some of us continued explorations of Chiang Mai, visiting temples and local historic sites, some of us continued our spa day from the day before, and others walked around and did a little more retail therapy (which will become a problem when we’re all trying to pack.) Kate and I (Danica) went to go get our feet eaten. Yeah, you heard that right. So what happened was we were walking, and I asked her–what have you not gotten to do yet? And she responds with–I wanted to get my feet eaten. And then, we turn to our right to see a full tank of fish calling our name (and feet). I have never seen Kate in such a state of euphoria – it was really something. Some of us may have gotten lost, again. You know, it happens. What’s a girl (or Trevor) to do? At around 6:30, we met up with Sheldon at a little food market by the North Gate, and ate some din din. I, Danica, really wanted to eat some snails–but they were out! Really hit me hard. But, we move on. After getting some good grub, we headed over to the North Gate Jazz Co-op, where we had the time of our lives. It was Lose Yourself Tuesday, and we sureee did. It was open-mic night, so a bunch of people were just going up, playing some sick tunes, singing their hearts out, and we were eating it UP like papaya salad. Eyes watering and everything. At one point, a guy went up and was asking the crowd for three words that he would freestyle about, and sure enough we yelled “The Joker” as loud as possible. Now you may not understand the significance of this moment, so let me tell you–it was earth-shattering. Ava, you see, has an infamous ‘Joker’ impression, which has really influenced the group’s trajectory of late. So, this man takes our suggestion, and coincidentally, the two other words he gets are RICE and MUD, which just about sums up our entire semester. Joker Rice Mud. You heard that right. This was, one of the best songs we have ever had the honor of listening to–honestly you just had to be there. Shit was cray. The music was transcendent, the mocktails were flowing, and we can all agree it was one of our best nights yet. We stayed until past midnight, and by the end we couldn’t help but break out some dance moves, the energy was just radiating off of us.

We passed out that night at around 2am. Crazy stuff.

On our last day in Chiang Mai, we rallied so hard at around 10am (which, sure, isn’t that early, but after the night we had–it felt like the crack of dawn), and headed off on a “short” hike up the Monk Trail to Wat Pha Lat temple. We were sorely missing Nella, Kelli and Sheldon, who spent the day held up in the embassy, trying to figure out their visas. Mini hearts to them, fo riz. The steep uphill was definitely a bit challenging, but nevertheless we persevered, and it was definitely worth it when we reached the temple at the top. We spent some time walking around, appreciating the peaceful waterfall, and admiring the way the temple’s architecture blended in so seamlessly with the nature around us. It was by far one of the most beautiful temples we’ve had the opportunity to see. For lunch, we caught a songthaew up to another temple higher up on the mountain, Wat Doi Suthep, which had a little market area with restaurants and shopping. Because we totally needed another excuse to spend some Baht. By the end of our morning excursion, we were pretty in need of a nap. To be honest, I, Danica, went for another massage. Two hours. Oops. Sometime you gotta do what you gotta do. As for the rest of us, Trev bought a ukelele, Kell got herself some street meat, Sammy G lost a singular stinky shoe (it was in her bag the whole time), and the rest of us straight vibed in our new favorite city. All of us spent a little time getting glammed up in our recently-purchased outfits, and headed to our first “fancy” group dinner at the Riverside Bar and Restaurant. Dinner was delicious and the conversation was great, the only issue of note was that I, Danica, might have reached my spice limit after one too many papaya salads. That’s just Thailand for ya.

Signing off,
Claire and Dan

The post Dan and Claire Take on The Blog appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written by Trevor

Thursday October sixth: Time to set the scene. The fifteen of us tumbled out of the van, slung our backpacks over our shoulders and said a tearful goodbye to Krit and Nada. We were then introduced to our host, Nikom, who took us on a tour of our new home, the Chiang Dao Youth Camp! We got our first looks at the enormous Chiang Dao Mountain on the way in, but the view from the camp was even more incredible. Anyone could spend an afternoon standing in one place and just observing the ocean of green surrounding us. Nikom then informed us that a tree fell through the men’s dormitory which meant I was livin’ with the girls for our short stay. We caught a good glimpse of the avocado tree and the oxen across the river before heading over to the dining hall/kitchen for lunch.

Throughout our stay, our food has been wonderful. Malee, our amazing chef, made enough food for a whole football team every meal! We even got to have spaghetti with bolognese one night paired with delicious puff pastry-type desserts. On our last night, we made individual spicy papaya salads (the spice level varying from Peyton’s and Kate’s one chili to Claire’s whopping 7 chilies!) Danica may have started crying a little bit from all the spice. The group had a blast peeling the garlic and green papaya.

This week, the group has also taken huge advantage of our designated Carpe photo phone. The amount of group selfies and mountain pics taken from the back of a truck is astronomical.

Usually after a 30 minute to an hour truck ride most of us are rocking a blown out 80s hairstyle that we attempt to tame before departing for a temple or hike. For our group, hiking isn’t always about the destination, but about bonding and appreciating the small rocks, leaves, and mushrooms we stumble upon along the way (along with the hysterical laughter when one of us slips in the mud). Throughout our days at the Youth Camp, all of the temples we saw were extremely varied in culture, architecture, and location. Our first temple was actually deep in a cave under a river. With the help of Nikom, we learned about the age of the statues we saw under the cave along with the significance of the different figurines in Buddhist culture.

After our cave exploration, the group was shuttled to a longan fruit and banana tree farm. The group instantly scattered upon arrival, grabbing as many longan as our half empty stomachs desired. (Some filled their bucket hats!) Unfortunately, we couldn’t take any trees with us, but we did ride along a human-sized bunch of bananas!

We then set out for the rare Chiang Dao night market. Nikom said it happens only once a month! The squad split into groups and made their way to the market. This market was similar to the Chiang Mai market, only it was a lot more food oriented. So many desserts! The best part is always when the group meets afterwards. Everyone was smiling and showing off their new clothes or laughing about all the food they tried. We also had a little reality check moment about our poor spending habits… but it’s just so hard when we’ve been in the wilderness for a couple weeks, and everything at the market just looks so good!

The next morning was an early one for Claire, Gabrielle, Leora, Peyton, and I. We visited the nearby hot spring! After a nice 5 or 10 minute walk, we sunk into the scorching tubs. The locals had a good laugh at our reactions to the water temperature and even tried helping us out by opening up the coolest one. I guess you could call it the least hot. We returned to the camp by breakfast and were ready for the day! The rundown for the day was visiting hill tribes and hiking to a nice view point. Nikom pointed out edible fruits and plants throughout the whole day. He would always laugh at the funny faces we made when trying the mostly bitter leaves. After visiting two villages, we stopped and ate our packed lunches at a small school. The delicious meal consisted of sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves, chicken, veggies, and Skittles. That day, we were constantly popping in and out of the trucks. We jumped out at the bottom of a hiking trail that Nikom knew quite well. This is where the Carpe photo phone really shines. The views, fails, and fun were captured by just this one phone. It was awesome. After a solid 25 minutes of hiking, we made it to the unreal viewpoint. The group took a peaceful break and was kept occupied by the beautiful view for quite some time. Eventually, we returned to the trucks and it was time to head back! It was spaghetti night so the group undoubtedly ate their fill. Yum!

The next day, we set off on an hour-long ride(in the back of the truck once again) to a national park, where we explored a giant limestone waterfall, before heading to the hot springs and mineral bath for some relaxation. The climb up the waterfall was a little tricky, but we all made it up and spent a while splashing around and exploring. This was one of the hottest days yet, so the cool, refreshing water was definitely a win. The hot springs, on the other hand, were a scalding wake up call, but a couple of us braved the heat and slowly worked up to submerging ourselves inside the pools of water.

After our little national park adventure, we piled back into the truck and headed off to a Burmese temple, and enjoyed the view from the lookout which was roughly 40km from the Burmese border! The architecture and stained glass was beautiful, and it was really interesting to listen to Nikom’s insights, and compare the style with what we’ve seen of Thai temples so far.

Our last day at the Youth Camp was pretty laid back. We started with a folk temple and cooked our meanest papaya salads in the afternoon. The folk temple was relatively similar to the others we’ve seen aside from the huge sculptures that displayed horrific methods of punishment/purgatory. We packed up again and visited a forest temple. The group was greeted by a table full of groceries for the monks and what seemed like 10,000 steps. Miraculously, the fruit, sugar, and oil made it to the top of the stairs. We dropped it off in the monks’ kitchen and explored the beautiful temple. Soon after, everyone chowed down on a fantastic lunch and the case was closed for the forest temple. It was truly an experience seeing the differences in temples throughout our stay in Chiang Dao. We had a pretty open afternoon up until before dinner. It was salad time! Molly hailed the 13 of us into the kitchen and started throwing different veggies at us that needed to be sliced and diced. The group had a lot of fun preparing the food and even more fun making a bowl for themselves!

The post Green Mountain Majesty appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Ava

Coming into this week, the group had no idea what the expect. We did not know anything besides the fact that we would be staying with families in the Haui Hin Lad Nai village, there were possible tigers in the woods (village members later laughed when we told them how worried we were about them), and most importantly that this was a HUGE honor to stay in this village. With this just information, we pulled into the village full of nerves. Now, writing this on the last night in the village, I am sad to leave the comfort the village has created for us. If I had to put a title on this week, I would call it “The week of firsts”.

Carpe’s First Home Stay at Haui Hin Lad Nai: The Haui Hin Lad Nai (also known as the Pgakenyaw) village is a group of indigenous people living in the mountains of northern Thailand. They have shut their doors to anthropologists who want to study them and have limited the amount of people who are able to enter and really experience life in the village. This was also Carpe’s first time being invited to stay in this village. Going in was a huge deal and it did not disappoint. We were greeted by Lek and Tho, our two guides from the week. They showed us how to do EVERYTHING and they are the definition of boss. We were also joined by P’Krit and P’Nada from Pun Pun who were our interpreters. By the end of the trip they were joining in on singing challenges and inviting group members to watch How to Train Your Dragon.

Our First Time at a Homestay: This was our first and only homestay of the trip and it was the first homestay experience in general for all of us. We were assigned roommates and then were assigned to homes in the village. My roommate was Leora and we were in Alari’s home (who we referred to as Ma throughout the trip) with her husband and two sons Repot and Pie. Since this was my first time at a homestay, I had no idea what to expect. We sat down for dinner and communicated in the few phrases we knew in Thai and the few she knew in English. We have a language book from our first stop (the Ajarns) and we were flipping through that thing like crazy looking for responses and questions. This meant that our relationship was mostly based on smiles and just vibes. We would sit at meals not saying a single word but laughing the whole time. Luckily, Ma spoke Thai but some families spoke the native Pgakenyaw language so verbal communication was not really an option. We all got REALLY good at charades this week to say the least. Despite the language barrier, we spent time playing with the kids, helping Ma cook food, and playing cards (we are still not sure what game we were even playing). We created bonds that were truly special and unique in each household. Even though it was hard to communicate, I really learned the value of kind gestures and how safe and at home you can feel just from a nurturing smile or from getting offered more rice.

My first time weaving: One of the first days we got there, we learned the traditional way to weave. We gathered with the women in the village and they showed us the two-day process of weaving in a just few hours. We all tried the weaving and at one point someone said “I don’t want to go in case I mess it up” and the response from P’Krit was, “Oh don’t worry they used an old one so you can mess it up”. Very humbling. We were captivated watching the elegant motions of the women in the village as they wove. They make bags, scarf, sarongs, shirts, and much of their very own wardrobe. They even make an outfit for their weddings. Leora and I (in broken Thai of course) asked our mom to weave with us after we learned and she gladly helped us and showed us her techniques. It was kind of hard to get the hang of and Ma definitely gave us some laughs when we messed up but I’m so glad I had the opportunity to learn. It really is such a beautiful art.

My first time seeing a rice field on a hillside: On one of our last days we prepared for a hike to the village’s harvesting fields. When I say that majority of the hills here are at a 70° incline I am not exaggerating. The calves were killing. But what this also means is that the decline is just as steep. People were falling left and right. My back was COVERED in mud. When we walked back later that day we could see the marks from when we fell. But every time someone fell, they got up laughing and by the end it was just comical how often we were falling. Lek and Tho were laughing alongside us as they gracefully walked down the steep inclines in Adidas Slides. Another very humbling moment. We got to the rice fields after about two hours and we were in shock by the view. The whole side of this mountain was just all rice fields. We were in awe of how beautiful it was. We had lunches that our homestay families had packed us and talked with village members about their farming and history for hours. They cooked for us, gathering ingredients from the fields right in front of us. I’m not sure what it was about it but it was just so beautiful. We headed back that night with sore legs but full minds and stomachs. I was completely asleep by 8:15 that night (even before my 3 year old homestay brother).

Additional Firsts to mention:
⁃ My first time trying medicinal honey which is harvested from wild bees in the village.
⁃ My first time using a toilet with no flusher (which I will say is scary when you have no idea how to use one).
⁃ My first time seeing a grown women literally pick up a cockroach that was chasing Leora and I… Ma really came to the rescue.
⁃ My first time harvesting and cultivating tea, a practice that has been passed down for generations.
⁃ My first time making a cup out of bamboo.

This week was full of so many more firsts for the groups. These firsts have been passed down from generation to generation in this village and is something that shapes their community and culture. The fact that we were able to learn from such knowledgeable people and to have them share their culture with us is truly an honor. They have opened their homes, hearts, and minds with us and it is an experience that I will never forget.

Dabroo (thank you in Pgakenyaw)

The post The Week of Firsts appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Kelli

“OH SH*T, COME CHECK OUT THIS BUG!!” This was by far the most commonly used phrase upon arriving at the beautiful seed-saving farm known as Pun Pun. To say this week started out challenging would be an understatement, although to be quite fair the “Ajarns,” as we called the wonderful Pat Nom and Petchara from the eco-lodge, spoiled the heck out of us. Upon arriving at the beautiful community of Pun Pun, we were given a rundown of the scheduling and the need-to-know. After the brief welcome and rundown from Sheena (best welcome ever), we were shown to our very cute adobe hand-built home where we would be staying the next week. Everyone took the living situations differently, but all in all we peacefully accepted them and became very fond of them, especially the creepy or cute (depending on who you’d ask) crawlers you’d meet and re-greet every night (the bug nets around our beds were a godsend). Besides the lovely sleeping arrangements we enjoyed every night, each day was filled with fun activities, amazing food, and eye-opening conversations.

On the first full day at Pun Pun, we helped the community build a house for one of the community members, Mandy (one of the most knowledgeable gals I’ve ever met). Mandy explained to us specific details of her house structure and interior design to fit with the natural ecosystem; it was extremely informative and even “sickening” good as we like to say. We learned how to make mud bricks and how to make as well as apply a mud/straw mixture called cob, which was used to make her walls. Other activities we did were gardening with the community members and learning about their seed saving ways. P’Jo (the mastermind of the seed saving community) explained to us how in the past, hundreds of varieties of each fruit and vegetable existed, but now because of greedy, big corporations only a few varieties exist of the food we plant. The companies monopolized the seed industry by placing patents (laws) that state that it is illegal to save their seeds and also made it quite impossible to have the seed they’re selling flourish if you did not buy their particular fertilizer and soil needed to grow their specific seed. P’Jo decided there had to be a better way so he created one. With the community, he began to save seeds and live off of their own fresh, organic plants. They have been saving their seeds ever since.

This different way of life has been challenging to adjust to and yet so life-changing at the same time. The community does not adjust nature to fit their needs (as it is often seen in the US), but instead they adjust their needs to the natural environment. And yet even though this may seem like you’re sacrificing your needs it truly shows you what you really do need and that is what nature has to provide for you and your people. To show our thanks, our wonderful Kate (beautiful soul) devised a Mexican Fiesta night to show the food from her culture. It was an amazing meal from the dinner to dessert (props to Danica for making the most killer vegan arroz con leche). Many – and I mean many – people went back for seconds that night. I especially loved that there was meat in one of the dishes; Pun Pun is amazing at accommodating to our vegetarian folks. However, a good serving of meat for our carnivores was definitely needed (I personally, as a Texan, was fiending for some meat).

The last few days the group has been coming up with our group agreements and discussing the next stay with the Pgakenyaw hill tribe village. We are all so excited to continue on with our journey and see what the hill tribe has to offer. It is especially an honor to stay there because they often deny researchers and people wanting to explore their way of life. We are ecstatic to continue our journey and also keep sharing it with y’all.

Farewell, Pun Pun, thank you for everything!

The post Bug Paradise appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written by Samantha

S̄wạs̄dī kha! Or in English, hey! This is Samantha coming at you from a beautiful Eco Lodge in Mai Rim.

When we all met in the airport there was a tangible air of excitement and anticipation. We savored our last American meals and chatted about the mix of emotions that were shared for our coming journey. Our flights went quite well (aside from some very off plane food) but no matter how smooth a flight, over 24 hours of traveling will take it out of anyone. So we arrived at the Eco Lodge jet lagged and quite stinky (adjusting to the heat hasn’t been easy). I truly couldn’t have asked for a better place to begin this trip. Ajarn Pat Nom and Ajarn Petchara’s home/lodge is one of the most lush and peaceful places I have ever spent time in. The ample greenery and shrubbery in Thailand is one of the first observations I made after landing here and looking around. Everything is so alive. Even driving through the city on the way to the lodge, half-distracted by the conversations I was having with my peers, my eyes were met with so much green, it was shocking. I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise as Thailand is known for its jungles but actually experiencing it is so different from reading “tropical and wet forests” on Google.

Upon arrival we were assigned our rooms and unpacked, which we were all surprised to find fashioned with air conditioning and bidets. We got here around lunch so we spent the rest of the day fighting sleep, having some delicious Pad Thai, and talking. Overall it was a very chill first day.

I cannot say the same for the second. Despite any residual jet lag we might have had, we hit the ground running with a big breakfast and journal prompts to respond to from the OEs, we played a couple games and went over the itinerary, and then Ajarn Pat Nom went over a map of what was around us. He recommended a small restaurant that all the locals go to and we biked there for lunch. When I tell you it was some of, if not the best, food I’ve ever had, it truly doesn’t do it justice. There were tables gripped and noodles slurped for about 10 minutes and then our food was thoroughly devoured. I had a thrilling bowl of beef noodle soup and also tried Khao Soi, a coconut-based curry dish.

Upon our return, we started our Thai language classes. Many confused faces have graced the make-shift outdoor classroom we have made for ourselves. Thai is not an easy language but a challenge has never stopped me so I, along with my fellow groupmates, have been feverishly taking down notes for all five of the hour-long Thai classes we’ve had so far. We’ve been slowly learning all the basics and even practicing them in town. I know how to say: what’s your name, how are you, how do you say, how much is this, and more! Okay that might have been an over exaggeration, in theory I know how to say them, in the moment it’s a different story.

After our language class, we began our traditional Thai dance classes. I thought nothing could humble me more than repeatedly failing at pronouncing a word – turns out, I was wrong and simple coordination is even harder. But just like in the language classes, my groupmates and I buckled down and figured it out. We are learning two dances, one older and slower, and one more modern and folk dance-y. I, like many of my peers, prefer the folk dance and we practiced it for a while even after our first class ended.

I wrapped up the first full day by reflecting on it with Ava and Danica and Danica said, “I have never done so much in one day” and I couldn’t agree more.

Another notable experience we had was the seven hours we spent walking around Chiang Mai. We ate lunch there and then split into groups and ran around completing tasks on our scavenger hunt sheet. Once it was closer to dinner time we met up to check in and then walked around the night markets until 8:30. The night market has been a highlight of the trip so far. I exercised so much self restraint with my wallet, but I did indulge myself in a hand-stitched sunflower dress, a sarong, and a foot massage from some very kind ladies on the street for a killer price. While we were there it started raining, a kind of rain I’ve never experienced before. It was like taking a shower and every step I took water sloshed out of my shoes. Word of advice, don’t wear sneakers in monsoon rain, my shoes currently smell the smelliest I have ever smelt.

I’m writing this while the rest of the group prepares food for our parting ceremony from the Eco Lodge. It feels only right to have a decadent meal with banana leaf lanterns (made earlier by us) and traditional Thai dancing (we spent many hours practicing) to end our time in this beautiful sanctuary. We are all eager to move onto Pun Pun and so excited to see what adventures we have in store.

The post Khap khun ka, Mae Rim! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

The post Safe Arrival! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Dear Southeast Asia Families,

We are excited to share that the group has all met up at LAX.  I know the past few days and weeks have likely been busy for all of you prepping for this moment.  

Now just the journey and the semester of a lifetime remains.  The group is looking forward to getting to know one another and our friends in Thailand and Cambodia are ready to meet them.    We will post another blog when we’ve received word they have arrived safely in Chiang Mai.  Wishing you all a restful night!

The post On Their Way appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Sabai, Sabai

Thailand, the Land of Smiles, and temples, rice paddies, forest villages, and tuk-tuks, pad thai and iced tea, farms and families, and soon a Carpe Diem group called Sabai. And on to Cambodia… big rivers and orange sunsets, markets and circuses, creativity and yearning, and in the jungle a lost ancient city found again.  

Unbelievable. Less than week from now, if all goes according to plan, Sabai will fly to Chiang Mai to begin our semester.

You’re probably growing excited about this journey, you may have some nervous energy about it, and questions. We, your overseas educators Soumya and Sheldon, have some, too.

Like why is it that people can meet as strangers and become family by the simple act of living and traveling together?

What’s the difference between experiential education and the simple act of living with intention and goodwill?

How much beauty and gratitude can one heart hold?  

We’re excited, too, over in Oregon, poring over the itinerary, making plans, practicing self-care, having gratuitous fun. And looking forward to seeing your smiling faces on the fourteenth.

Until then, stay present. When you eat, close your eyes, and taste that food. Visit your family and loved ones and listen, really listen, notice, and savor all the little things unique to them, feel those true feelings. Then let them go. They’ll take this journey with you, through this blog, yes. And also through the lessons and care they’ve already helped you learn over the years. 

The semester is almost here, but we’re not there yet. But if we just take care of this moment, what’s right in front of us, and then the next moment, and the next, minute by minute, day by day. We will be.

Sheldon and Soumya

The post Sabai Sabai appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Natalie & Paff

How quickly things can change, hey?

Three days ago, we all sat around wooden stools at Sandot’s permaculture farm gorging on banana cake and fried noodles. Two days ago, we were singing “Happy Birthday” to Jordan and Daniela during our final dinner in Chiang Mai. Yesterday, we parted ways and gave one last scorpion salute and “Seize the day, baby!” in San Francisco. Today, we are here as your OE’s to express gratitude and appreciation for everyone involved in our Sabai 2020 semester.

To the parents and families of the Carpe community…
Endless thanks and gratitude for your patience, support, and understanding throughout this semester. Whether you sent a virtual E-card every day to your student, aided them in the process of coming to Carpe, or showed appreciation to our office crew during their difficult time in responding to the news of the Coronavirus, we want to send the biggest thank you. This experience wouldn’t be possible without everything you do to support us.

To the staff at HQ in Portland…
What a journey this semester has been. To the late night phone calls, the amount of time and love you put into each program and every student, the community you’ve created over the years, and the support we’ve felt every day in our program, we salute your compassionate efforts to make Carpe Diem to what it is today.

To our local contacts and all those we met in this journey…
To put it simply, this experience wouldn’t be the same without the people we’ve shared connections with over the last month.

Ajarn Petchara and Ajarn Panom helped guide us through an immersive week of Thai culture. Through language classes, Thai dance performances, making Loi Krathongs, discussions of the village’s history, cooking classes, and Buddhism courses, they were able to kick off our journey of cultural engagement. Their caring and smiling personalities shone through every day, making our first homestay experience all the more memorable. With a new perspective and deeper ability to connect with Thai language, we send our gratitude.

P. Manop then guided us for ten days in the village of Ban Apaa, followed by four days of trekking. He not only opened up his own home to us as leaders, he also encouraged our students to engage themselves in every aspect of village life with the quote, “Learning by Doing”. This is a quality that fully emphasizes Carpe’s idea of experiential education and a skill that we all will take with us in the future. With a broadening perspective and deeper understanding of hill tribe culture, we send our gratitude.

We then ventured to Sandot and Chen at the Sahainan Permaculture Project. When the news of Covid-19 came through via emails from headquarters, Sandot and Chen continued to make us feel welcomed and at ease. They showed us support, empathy, and flexibility, which allowed us an easier transition for our group. With a reminder to enjoy the simple things in life and a reminder to remain calm in challenging times, we send our gratitude.

Last, but not least, to all of the host families that fed our bellies with an array of local dishes, learned new card games with our students late into the night, and showered us with gifts of appreciation and tears as we departed, a big part of this gratitude is dedicated to them. For someone to open up their home and allow us to take an intimate journey into their daily routine is incredibly heartwarming. We’ve had a couple of “homes away from home” this past month and send some love to everyone that invited us into their lives with open arms and ‘jai dee’, or big hearts.

And, finally, to our cherished group of 7 ladies…
We’d love to think back to the moment we all met in the airport or at the hostel in Chiang Mai. Before a traveller sets off into an unknown journey, a mix of emotions may rise. Did you feel nervous about meeting the other group members, excited for a specific portion of the program, or maybe it was a mix of emotions without an attachment to a specific idea?
Take those thoughts and then think about how far we’ve all come since that first day. Those beginning conversations turned into the first group jokes, which turned into new friendships and supportive group dynamics. Your work ethic in Ban Apaa was unmatched, carrying bags of cement and sand up steep slopes. Your engagement into the communities was inspiring, during the fast-paced Akha language lessons or when you allowed the local children to use you as their new play toy. Your ability to remain positive and flexible throughout all that we’ve thrown at you is appreciated, whether it was something as simple as altering breakfast plans or understanding with compassion when we couldn’t give you exact answers about the continuation of our program. You’ve all impressed us in so many ways.

From the technical skills you learned on-site the service project to the softer skills of connecting on a deeper level, take all the things you’ve learned from this semester with you in your toolbelt. Moving forward, we face yet another unknown. What will the early return date mean to you? We encourage you to stay safe and continue to listen to what is best, but also encourage you to continue learning from those around you and challenge yourself to new adventures. Maybe the same mix of emotions that you felt on day one of this program will return, but always remember that this next unknown continues to be an opportunity for personal growth.

Once again, we send our endless gratitude and appreciation for making this semester incredibly special. We’ve been honored to be a small part in your life’s journey and can’t wait to see what’s in store next.

Peace and love from your Sabai 2020 OE’s and friends,
Natalie and Paff

The post How Quickly Things Change appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Swatdeekaaaaah,

Greetings from an airport cafe in Taipei, Taiwan. This past week has been a kerfuffle of events. We began the week in Chiang Rai, refueling after a long stay with the Hill Tribes full of games, learning bamboo skills, chickens, and amazing foods. City life was popping. Our hostel was mega bougie. There was a pool table and a real life pool. It hosted our spa nights as well as well as our Shrek movie nights.

Our journey continued on the Sahainan permaculture farm on the most windy road we had ever been on. A couple hours of hairpin turns and many Dramamines later our group lunched on some noodle dishes and arrived ready to get our hands dirty. Sandot and Shen, our hosts, welcomed us with open arms and tasty vegan food. Highlights from the farm included Whitney climbing a banana tree and whacking down banana flowers with machetes (much harder than it looks) and Daniela and Fields learning the art of an inexact banana cake recipe (sparking a debate over the differences between a ‘palmful’ and a ‘handful’ of baking powder). As always our journey included a companion animal. This time it was a white and orange cat named Crispy, after crispy bacon (a common threat to the cat while it died to eat from the communal table). As we were settling into the slow steady pace of farm life, life outside began to go nuts.

While maintaining presence while trying to quickly wrap our head around such giant plan shifts we tried our hand at bamboo house building as well as the subtle science of compost mixing. To top it off Rosalba donated her copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as a group read aloud for entertainment through the day. Late night card games and prank wars were replaced with news briefings and processing sessions as our itinerary shifted daily with the world’s response to COVID 19. Mega shoutout to Carpe headquarters for working round the clock (a hard thing to do with time difference thrown in). When the final decision to return home was called, we hopped in a van and made our way back to Chiang Mai for one final dinner, a stroll to the glorious 7/11, and a last minute trip to the night market where Miku showed off her finely tuned bartering skills.

Using our collective powers of manifestation, we bent time to squeeze a plethora of days into one farewell dinner on the river. Both Jordan and Daniela’s birthdays were celebrated with cake, song, and artistic cards. Between bites of tofu pad Thai and pineapple rice (served in a pineapple) we reminisced and gave gratitude.We thought back to our first week together in Chiang Mai tasting our first of many mango smoothies, a scavenger hunt resulting in Whitney spitting out her smoothie onto Rosalba and Fields, and riding our first songtao.

Our memories brought us back to our Mae Rim homestays with Ajarn Petchara where we sang the notorious elephant song and took part in Thai dancing with the ladies. The village of Ban Apa stood out in our minds as a favorite time on the trip. Whether it was McKenna and Jordan mixing paint for multi colored handprints to decorate the well we worked (shoutout to Jordan for getting Shackle’s paw print on there as well), Nat busting out some mad rad jams on the banjolele or swimming lessons with Rosalba.Our jungle trek was a test of strength and endurance as well as patience and care of step. Our guides brought light to our days with puzzles, jokes, and the iconic ‘learning by doing’. All of this time was made ever better by Shackle, our loyal companion who stuck with our group even after countless attempts of Manop’s to send her home. Our days in the hills came to grand hurrah with a full moon dance where Paff showcased his bird like dance moves. We ended the night with a full moon lit chat reflecting on the beauty of our journey thus far. Back in the city we continued our journey to a crowd favorite, the underwater mermaid style Blue Temple, and later to the pop culture embedded White Temple where we found Keanu Reeves, Harry Potter and Yoda on the walls. From temples to markets to villages, mountains to cities, and farm food to street food, Thailand was pretty rad all around with mega groove tucked around every corner.

Our month in Thailand taught us lessons that we will keep in our tool belts for a lifetime such as the game of Hearts, how to fight a scorpion you meet on the path, the true importance of learning by doing, the art of the squat toilet, and the hygienic joy of the butt gun. Perhaps our most important lesson as well as challenge was flexibility. The ability to fall into the “flexy flexy” lifestyle as we laughed at our mistakes while getting to know a new city, learned to use previously unfamiliar transport, and ate new foods. We learned from our mistakes and took challenges in stride. As our minds were grooving and moving to the Thai rhythm of life we were given the space to dive inward and explore our inner landscape through both self guided and prompted self reflection. Our ultimate test of flexibility came with the decision to return to the states. No matter how much we had planned or how much hard work we had put in to make this semester happen, there are so many things we have no control over, pandemics being number one on that list.

As our time together is rapidly coming to a close we are reminded of the beauty of human connection and the miraculous potential of each day of our lives. Each member of our group brought their unique essence to our journey and together with Rosalba’s humor, Whitney’s drive, McKenna’s quirkiness, Daniela’s curiosity, Paff’s poetry, Miku’s kindness, Jordan’s strength, Nat’s authenticity, and Fields’ funk, we mixed and melded to create a month of Thai magic.
Thank y’all for an amazing Thai adventure.

Kop Khun Kha,
Signing off from the plane,
Fields & Jordan

The post The Final Sawatdeekaaaaaah appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Rosalba

Hola todos! Oops wrong country

This is Rosalba, writing the blog in an A/C hostel room while everyone else is out getting Thai massages. If you think I had to stay behind to write this, you thought wrong. Thai massages are way too painful for me to endure again, so I’m happily typing away!

For the past few days, things have been going all sorts of ways; up, down, sideways, you name it. If you don’t quite understand what I’m saying, don’t worry, I will explain more in detail.

When we finished decorating the well, Ban Apa gave us a farewell party! The whole village was present enjoying the feast and there was plenty of food to go around. Once we finished, we were put in beautiful Akha traditional dresses by our homestay moms and then walked towards the center of the village where a bonfire was waiting for us. We spent some time dancing around the bonfire, or at least trying to keep up with the tempo.

After playing one last round of Hearts at Ban Apa, we started packing for a 4-day trek towards the city. We could only bring a day pack that included only the essentials. Shoutout to Fields and McKenna for packing what they needed with their less than average size backpacks. I still wonder how they did it. Manop, our local guide, who gave us the inspirational quote of “Learning by Doing”, arrived in fashion and ready for the upcoming days. And do you know who else was prepared for our hike?? Shackles and Monroe (the same dogs who accompanied us the entire time we were working)!

Before the trek, I thought it would be challenging, and boy was I right! Well, for me, it was, but it wasn’t just the physical part that I needed to worry about, it was the fallen bamboo leaves that made everyone hesitate to take an extra step. The leaves left a slippery path, often obscuring the uneven ground, which led to some of us taking a minor slide. Fields, Miku, Daniela, Whitney, and I had a moment. Thankfully none of us got hurt, but our pride got the biggest hit. Daniela had the most dramatic yet, a slide in slow motion. All of us were amused yet confused watching it happen, luckily for Daniela, Manop was there to catch her! Jordan, McKenna, and our awesome leaders, Natalia and Paff, were the only ones saved from the slippery bamboo leaves.

After the trekking, we would stop at a village to recharge for the next day. Each stop, we would learn more about the importance of bamboo and how each tribe is run differently. Mckenna and Miku showed off their machete skills, chopping down bamboo stalks. Of course, with the help of our local guides, Jaha, Manop, and Akong. Jordan, Fields, Whitney, and Daniela felt a little under the weather that day, but fortunately, they have received tokens of bamboo items, such as flutes, cups, rings, all made out of bamboo!

As the treks and village stays came to a close, we all had our last goodbyes to our guides and, most importantly, our companion from the beginning, Shackles. We did it by visiting an elephant sanctuary, learning about the ethics of raising elephants for tourism. It was a pleasant and relaxing day before we headed back to the city of Chiang Rai.

That’s the sitch and thanks for tuning in!

The post Mountain Treks & Rest Day appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Daniela

Greetings family and friends

We hope you are all doing well and enjoying life back at home.

This is Daniela reporting to you from a big porch with chickens bocking away and an incredible view of green mountains.

Last week, we had the opportunity to stay in Chiang Rai for a couple of days.

The city was filled with beautiful streets and a vibrant night market with delicious ripe mangos; by the way, mangos everywhere in Thailand are amazing if you didn’t know. In the city, we got to do our laundry with an actual machine, visit the famous cat cafe, and visit Wat Huay Pla Kang and The Blue Temple.

From street lights to forest trees, our team has been in Ban Apaa village for the last week where we had the chance to work on our first service project. We have spent the week helping out the village build a water reservoir. We were all beginners at construction work besides our fabulous overseas leaders, Paff and Natalie, which really pulled the weight in physically tough situations (Thank you!). Despite our lack of experience, our local contact/guide kept encouraging us with the unforgettable words “learning by doing”. This will be engraved in our hearts and minds forever. The local people also taught us how to work properly and efficiently.

The Hill Tribe people are a big population that moved from China nearly a century ago and have been dispersed throughout Southeast Asia including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. We are specifically working with a section of the Hill Tribe people called the Akha. Ban Apa was relocated by the government around 26 years ago. To this day, they continue to struggle with obtaining Thai Citizenship and possible future relocation.

I must say, they have been treating us to delicious and fresh food every day. The fruit wars have been dangerous and toxic back at my homestay where I share a room with Jordan, Whitney, and Rosalba. We have to all agree to start the fruit at the same time to make sure no one gets too much of their fair share. What can I say, the fruit is just that worthwhile. The other homestay with McKenna, Miku and Fields is much more civil than ours and doesn’t experience our chronic issue. But, to balance out the beauty and wonders of ripe fruit, we all hear chickens and dogs every night and morning.

Time to get to the back breaking truth of this week… Each day has been filled with buckets of sweat while carrying actual buckets of sand and rock up quite a steep hill. But despite our shortcomings, we have all worked tremendously hard each day. Miku, McKenna, Jordan, Whitney, Fields, Rosalba: we have pushed our limits and I thank you for looking out for one another and subbing in when one of us were looking exhausted. This week has definitely been the week of perseverance. And it was worth it!! By the end of the week, we carried more than what we could have imagined when we started.

Alongside the hard work and yummy food, there has been time to relax at the nearby waterfall where we hopped and napped on rocks by the water, many games which brought loud laughter, and moments where smiles spread across local children’s faces as Paff and Natalie played with them.

With love,

We will see you in the next blog post

The post City Lights and Forest Trees appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Whitney

Hey friends and family of the hustling and bustling Sabai 2020 group. This is Whitney (Whitneeeeyyy in Thai) coming to you from our first official laundry stop in 2 weeks in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

After an inspiring first week in Chiang Mai for orientation, we packed up our bags from the Sarah Guest House and our lovely Ajarn (teacher) Panom drove us a quick 45ish minutes past Mae Rim to a tiny village named Ban Rai. Right off the bat, we started learning paasaa Thai or Thai language for those who didn’t attend school in Thailand from Ajarn Petchara (I’m thinking most of you). We started out with learning the five tones, which sounded more like a music class than a language class, with us filling the room with “gaaAAA”s versus “GAAaaa”s.

After a lunch of the very popular Pad Thai, we started our dance classes. We soon learned how complex the Thai dances were, everyone starting with the ladies dance, where combining the hand and feet motions was equivalent to patting your head and rubbing your belly at the same time. Paff split off from us eventually, learning the sword dance instead of the fingernail dance (very intellectual names I know, came up with them myself).

As our form of exercise/ transportation, we rode some, you could say, questionable bikes around. No accidents from those but some were lacking some very crucial bike functions. Shout out to Miku and Daniella for making a trek everyday to get to their homestay families, beautiful but you really don’t know hills on a bike until you’ve done this. The homestays, though nerve racking for most of us, was a great experience. We started with antsy smiles as the group dropped us off, but we would meet up the next morning with so many incredible stories. I know for one, Rosalba’s deck of uno cards was plentifully used with her host family. We would also have a little show and tell of the goodie bags our host moms would pack for us on our way to school and share them around, trying to guess what all the interesting looking snacks were. McKenna would always show up with some strange flavored Lays and Jordan got a cat pouch that her mom would refill with candy.

Some other forms of important exercise included off-brand Zumba with the moms, back road bike rides with the red heads plus Rosalba, some impromptu 5-minute ab workouts, Paff leading us in some yoga and meditation, and of course, flexing those finger muscles in endless games of cards. We took a trip to the Huay Teng Tao lake on a crazy hot day where we got some refreshing swimming in, the highlight being Fields’ “beautiful” swan bellyflop.

Wrapping up the week, combining everything we’ve learned in just 5 days, Ajarn Petchara and Ajarn Panom hosted an amazing, traditional Thai ceremony. Earlier in the day, we made decorative boats out of banana tree trunks and leaves to place a candle on and send off in the coi pond (don’t worry, no fish were harmed). We then got dressed up in a whole attire consisting of long skirts, a button up shirt, a red sash-like wrap, yellow flowers in the hair, and of course, the Tivas. After a potluck of classic Thai food and some not-so-favored pig’s blood pudding, us students showed off our minimal Thai that we had learned in a speech thanking our families for an amazing week. We then joined some professional dancers and showed that we could keep up with them (kinda). And after a send off of our banana boats, we ended the night, grateful for the week we had just had.

The post Thai Language & Homestays appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Hello from the land of smiles!

We are excited to be reaching out for the first time together as one and hope this blog entry finds you well. We are wrapping up orientation in Chiang Mai and are about to depart for our initial homestay experience in Mae Rim. The crews (Team Free Boyfriend, Lost Wanderers, and Mango Vibes) just returned from their scavenger hunts filled with stories. Here are a few of the highlights.

Jordan and Daniela…Lost Wanderers
Our first returners, team Lost Wanderers wandered so far they thought they were lost until they took a tuk tuk back from their long journey home and discovered they were a short five minute ride from their starting point. Their long sweep of the city took in a high school campus where they saw a few young ‘uns booting the ball at each other, which may or may not have been a game; selfies with a helpful soul who let them borrow his phone to contact us, and the observation that flowery pants were indeed a popular fashion choice in the cafe they rested in.

Miku and McKenna…Mango Vibes
Miku and McKenna started off their scavenger hunt by coming out on the wrong end of a bargaining session, paying approximately five times the price of what a post card should cost (in other words, about $2.00 extra, so enjoy that beauty of a card Mom and Dad), and thus feel better prepared for future bargaining sessions, perhaps for a pair of those aforementioned flowery thai pants. Their long wander of the city included a head raising visit to Wat Phra Signh, a beautiful Buddhist temple on the other side of the city, and a slew of delicious local snacks highlighted by mango gummies.

Fields, Rosalba and Whitney…Team Free Boyfriend
Crossing the finish the line at the last possible second at a quick trot, Team Free Boyfriend returned full of smiles and laughter. Besides the interest they drummed up on the streets, highlights of their adventure include a long and entangled conversation with multiple people helping them attempt to translate the difference between shampoo and conditioner, artistic snapshots of one another consuming the world and/or each other, and a delicious lunch of pad thai and khao soi.

Moving forward, our group journeys north to experience village life with our host families and Ajarn Petchara, our mighty and wonderful contact through Ban Rai Tin Thai Ngarm Eco Lodge. There we will be sinking our teeth into the Thai language, exploring the natural world, taking our first steps in Thai dance, and, most of all, appreciating the chance to exchange stories and experiences with our first homestays. In between all this, were one to spot a group of backpack laden travelers with cards in hand and squeals of laughter escaping mouths, that would almost most certainly be us, as we continue to strengthen the bonds of our newfound traveling community.

Keep your eyes peeled for another blog post after our weeklong stay in Mae Rim, this time written completely from a student perspective.

For now, happy trails wherever you may be and thank you for supporting us along this journey.

Natalie, Paff, McKenna, Fields, Rosalba, Jordan, Daniela, Miku, and Whitney

The post Hello From The Land Of smiles! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Greetings friends and family

The Sabai group landed safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand on February 14th. The group had a short layover in Hong Kong, and have arrived happy and a bit tired. The group will now make their way to the East side of Chiang Mai city to their orientation accommodation and will meet up with their final group member! After some food and a nap, the group will begin their Orientation. Once complete, the Sabai crew will head to the small village of Mae Rim, where they will get a taste of daily Thai life by staying with local families, studying Thai language, and Thai culture.

Sabai is off to a great start, and may their semester be full of learning!

The post Sabai Has Arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Greetings, Family and Friends of the Carpe Diem Spring 2020 Sabai group,

We are happy to inform you that the Sabai group is united and already beginning to get to know one another at the San Francisco airport.

They have quite a journey ahead of them, with a long overnight flight and a brief Hong Kong layover, however, they seem to be a group that is more than up to the task.

We will post another blog once we have confirmed that the group has landed safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

All the best!

The post Sabai Is Together In San Francisco appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Sawadee-Kap,

In just a little over a week, we’ll be wandering the streets of Chiang Mai, hunting down the best Pad Thai we can find, wondering what additional adventure awaits. On our end, the excitement for this is real. We’ve been training and scavenging (hunts, not food) and having a blast in Portland these last few days in preparation for our semester. We hope you too have been finding the space to do the same while also appreciating the time you have with family and friends. This blog is ground zero for where we will be sharing our adventures throughout the semester with our friends and family, so share this link and start thinking about what things and adventures and people you would like to fill it with. The one thing we know for sure, is they will be special.

If you have any questions, fire us an e-mail, otherwise we will be seeing you all at the San Francisco airport on February 12th. You know the time and place, right? We will be there stoked and ready to go.

See you soon,
Natalie and Paff

The post Let The Adventure Begin appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

A song thaew seats twelve. Well, eight comfortably. Ten if you squeeze. But right now it seats twelve. Right now twelve sets of shoulders hold each other locked in place. Heads jostle on the bumpy road and someone compares them to bobble-head dolls. Some laugh, some grin, some act like they didn’t hear. Maybe they didn’t. The pavement is rough and the tires aren’t new. Song thaew is Thai for “two benches”, as in two benches bolted to a pickup bed with a roof overhead and a bright paint job meant to catch the eyes of the hordes of tourists that pour out of their air-conditioned rooms each time the temperature dips below 90. But this doesn’t concern those people. This concerns travelers.

If we wanted to we could easily turn this into a metaphor for the whole trip. We could say that the song thaew’s sturdy construction represents how solid our group is. We could say that the bumps along the way and how we all flail together is representative of the semester’s challenges and how we faced them as one. And isn’t the casual intimacy of sitting across from someone, knees nearly touching, the perfect visual to represent the way we’ve all become so close in such a short time?

But this experience deserves more than cliche road-as-the-journey metaphor. This experience deserves gratitude.

Gratitude first for the people who supported us along the way. The communities, the families, the guides, the restaurant owners, the tuk-tuk drivers. Our teachers, our mentors, our friends. And not only the main characters of our journey, the Manops and Sandots, but also for the smallest of interactions that made the biggest of differences. For who could forget about the colorfully dressed woman in Ban Apa who would walk by our concrete-crusted bodies peeling rambutan under a high tropical sun just to give us an emphatic thumbs up? Or our chef on Koh Thnout who quickly and joyfully filled the table with home-cooked food while we quickly and joyfully filled our bellies. Or even the senior monk who happened by the meditation hall on the first day of the retreat and (with special attention given to the word “abdomen”) led us on a journey through our own minds.

But as we sit here and watch the waning hours of our journey slip away, we find gratitude for you. Twelve weeks ago, before you even climbed into that first song thaew, you boarded a plane with eleven strangers bound for the other side of the world. You chose something different. You chose novelty, adventure, challenge, wonder, discomfort and growth. Now twelve weeks later, here we are: Awed, humbled and grateful.

We are grateful for Joe’s commitment, all the times he pushed through discomfort, exhaustion and a language barrier to engage with local people, often with wooden tool in hand and a sweat-soaked t-shirt.

For Paulina’s laughter, the way that she can light up a room in a matter of seconds. Whether it’s around a bonfire in a rice field or in front of 100 wide-eyed Vietnamese college students, Paulina never fails to make us smile.

For Bryley’s curiosity. The way that she thoughtfully investigates the world and people around her while also making us laugh through her adept and humorous reflections on those investigations.

For the way a seven hour bus ride could fly by in easy, pleasant conversation with Kylie seated next to you and how Kylie dives in fully to the events she loves and enhances experiences for those around her.

For Madi’s compassion and passion for the well-being of others. And for how she utilizes her detail-focused mind to ensure we are all cared for and thriving.

For German’s humor. No matter what we were doing, we were at all times one German-comment away from gut-busting laughter.

For Sammi’s kindness and they way she brings love to all those around her. No matter if you’re having your best day or your worst, Sammi won’t stop showing you that she cares about you.

For Harrison’s heart and the way he cares. For his willingness to show his love no matter who is watching. Coupled with his determination and work ethic, we all are cared for and know it.

For Claire’s willingness to connect with people. Both within and outside the group, she consistently cultivating meaningful relationships with those around her.

For Audj. With all the passion and determination she brings to everything she does, never forgetting to being the same fervor to caring for the people around her.

For the moments that rendered us speechless.

For the puppies!

For all the memories that still make us explode in laughter simply at the thought of them.

For mango sticky rice and banh mis.

And for all the hard times that made us better.

We often think back to that first song thaew ride, packed to the gills with bags and people and excitement and nervousness and the common mission to experience something new.

Each one of you brought your own light and it has been a pleasure to grow and learn alongside you. We hope that you look at the picture below and smile. Take a moment to acknowledge the person you were three months ago, but don’t dwell on it. Because after all the challenges, elation, absurdity and jaw-dropping moments of the past twelve weeks, we hope that you find gratitude for the person you are now.

We cannot wait to see where the next road takes you.

With love always,

Kate and Lucas

The post Song Thaew Seats Twelve appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

To start off student directed travel, we had to wake up bright and early to catch a sleeper bus to Hoi An. The bus ride took us 13 hours and we arrived at our hostel later that evening. After a group dinner Claire, Audrey, Bryley and Harrison went to the night market where they got gelato.

The next day, we had a free morning to explore the city. Hoi An is known for tailoring so Paulina, Claire and Kylie bought custom dresses and Joe got a custom leather jacket. In the afternoon, the group went to Marble Mountain while Sammi and Madi stayed back to explore the lantern market and work on their presentations. The hostel we stayed at provided family dinner and the group attended. The food was way better than anyone imagined.

The next day, we took a 6 hour train ride and an hour long bus ride to Phong Nha. During the bus ride, we sang Christmas songs and Bryley and Paulina taught us the dreidel song. On the 28th, we took a beautiful boat ride to the Phong Nha cave and the Thien Son cave, which had 500 steps to the top. Harrison thoroughly enjoyed the caves. On the way down Claire, Kylie and Madi saw monkeys.
We headed to the airport to catch our flight to Hanoi. We ended up having ramen at the airport as our Thanksgiving dinner. After a flight and a bus ride, we got to our hostel late that night. The next day we took 2 buses and a boat to our hostel on Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay.

After settling in, Audrey, Sammi and Madi did their final presentations for PSU classes. Later that night, everyone got dressed up for a belated Thanksgiving dinner. At dinner Paulina and Madi planned a gratitude activity, where everyone got in their feels. Everyone went back to the hostel to get a good night’s rest before waking up early the next day for a cruise.

Our first stop on the cruise around Halong Bay was a floating fish farm. With Kate being a fish lover, she had so much fun at this stop. We also had two swimming stops, where everyone jumped in off the boat. We also had an hour and a half kayaking tour through caves. Joe and Harrison destroyed Sammi and Madi by splashing them with their paddles. Lucas’s love of rocks really came through while cruising through the rocky islands. The whole day on the boat Bryley was freezing. (To Bryley’s mom: Bryley would like to formally apologize for making fun of you for being cold all these years. She now understands completely. The world is an icebox.) After the cruise, everyone was pooped and got a quick dinner then stayed in and watched movies.

To start the month of Christmas and Hanukkah off, we left Cat Ba island and headed back to Hanoi. Since there is a lot to do in Hanoi, the rest of the day was a free for all. Claire and Bryley went to the Women’s Museum, while everyone else explored the city and bought souvenirs.

On the last day of student directed travel, we got a mini tour of the city while walking to the Hoa Lo prison. To end our day we attended a water puppet show and had our final group meeting.

We are all so grateful for the connections we have made and everything we have experienced on this trip. We want to say thank you to our families for loving and supporting us and to Kate and Lucas for all of the hard work they have put into this semester.

-Madi

The post Ahoy Hanoi and Goodbye Sabai appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Written By Kylie

Xin chao from Ho Chi Minh City! After Kylie and German’s extra few days in Phnom Phen with visa issues, the group was finally reunited. In the morning we were happily overwhelmed by all the welcoming handshakes and hugs from the Tan Tao University students. They picked us up from our hostel, and as we rode to Tan Tao University we all got to know each other better. The Vietnamese students are a part of a program called CASE, Cultural Academic Student Exchange, which is where the students take a week off of school to interact with international students, practice English, and also to learn about other provinces in Vietnam. Tan Tao is a fairly new university and are unique because all of their classes are taught completely in English and are a non-profit university. We had a tour of the gorgeous campus, learned more about the university, and played some games to break the ice.

That night we had the pleasure of joining the TTU Music Night where many students danced and sang. We also played the game of getting a cookie from your forehead to your mouth without using your hand, which Bryley absolutely dominated. There was a final performance of “Can’t Keep My Eyes Off of You” in which our own Paulina belted out a heartwarming performance. At the end of the night we were able to request songs and we danced for a while to the OE’s favorite Taylor Swift with a sprinkle of “Apple Bottom Jeans” and “Crank That.” That night we slept at the dormitories and got up early the next day to head to Thanh My village to our first homestay all together. We went to a primary school to prepare games for the next day activities. Back at the homestay we were all excited to be staying together and Claire C. quickly taught the TTU students Dutch, the Carpe kid’s favorite card game.

The next day we headed to the pineapple fields and prepared to harvest by wearing knee-high thick socks and rubber gloves to protect us from the pineapple’s prickly leaves. Harvesting the plants includes walking over the moat that surrounds the plants, trekking through, cutting, then tossing them in the water for the boat team to collect which was Claire C., Madi, and Kate. After enjoying about 5 pineapples each we learned how to make our own bamboo fishing poles then set out to catch dinner. Sammi and Kate caught some fish in the pond behind the house, while the rest of us only caught some proper shrubbery. All week we’ve been heavily photographed and a picture of Joe, Harrison, and Lucas surfaced on the TTU facebook and then on to a “handsome boys” Facebook page. We’ve all had fun this week seeing how many likes it’s been getting, which currently is at 6.3K likes. The students thought this was hilarious and were so excited to take pictures with the famous Joe. After the photoshoots we went back to the primary school for the real event. We played games, gave children scholarships who did well on a test and are in difficult financial situations, and the TTU student leader Dien interviewed Harrison, Kylie, Joe, Sammi, and Claire C. on the CASE program and experience so far. That night we watched kid shows on the homestay’s TV and taught the TTU students an American classic, “Apples and Bananas.”

The next morning we left at 5 am to Tan Hoa Thanh village to learn how to weave hats. The women teaching us were masters and could finish one in 10 minutes, which were sold for less than 50 cents. It was an impossible task for us and we just sat in awe of their skill. We then went to our last homestay in My Phong village which is the hometown of An, the TTU teacher. We headed to Nahn Ai disability school which was created in 2003 for children who are deaf or differently abled. We watched their dance performance and we performed the “Macarena” and “Cha Cha Slide” for them. The children received scholarships and after we played games. Joe joined an intense game of soccer with the students. We took a quick trip to our favorite place, the mall, for more snacks and some boba.

The next day we suited up in traditional Vietnamese clothing at a water resort to play group building activities. Harrison thoroughly enjoyed the bridge game, where 2 teams faced off on a rickety bridge and try to knock each other off by swinging back and forth. Paulina made a great effort after finally standing up, but sadly was flung in a spectacular fashion into the water. We also played a game where we were in a pond and had to catch fish with our hands and we could steal them from the other team. Another game included biking on a beam across the river, which Joe and Harrison were the only successful ones from our group even though Bryley, Madi, and Kylie at least attempted. After playing a plethora of games we headed to a coconut candy store. The province we were staying in is famous for their coconuts and Kate bought the group a pack of candy for the students to try. Then we made our way back to the mall for DQ blizzards, pizza, and the arcade where Kylie and Madi played Dance Dance Revolution and Joe won two creepy looking stuffed animals in the claw machine. Before dinner we stopped at a coffee shop for some down time and to try some coffee that wasn’t just the Nescafe packets we’ve grown addicted to, especially Audrey and Sammi. We got some pho at a famous noodle shop and then had Vietnamese lessons from a few of the Tan Tao students. We prepared for the next day where we’d be at My Hoa Primary school to teach them English.

The next morning at the new school we rolled into the normal schedule of scholarships, “Macarena”, “Cha Cha Slide”, and then games. Then we split into groups to classrooms to teach English alongside our Vietnamese friends and played games. After the school we returned to the homestay to learn how to prepare a banana bean sticky rice dessert, which we’ve now made in every country we’ve visited. We also made Xeo cakes which translates to “sizzling cakes” which looked like a large omelette filled with pork, shrimp, jicama, and carrots. Later that night we had an award closing ceremony for all the students and the homestay families. The TTU students presented us with their own awards and some to mention are Harrison as “Sassy Boy”, Madi as “Pest Girl” (which we’re still not sure what that means), and German as “Capricorn and Tall”. We ended the night with some cake and karaoke, where Dien sang his favorite song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem.

The next morning we packed, ate, of course more karaoke, said our goodbyes, and then we headed to Ho Chi Minh City. We’re all so sad to leave the new friends we made this week, but know we are all lucky to have experienced this amazing opportunity with the Tan Tao students. A huge thanks to CASE and Tan Tao University for this unforgettable week. We will miss you all.

The post We’re Transferring to TT University! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

The day we left the island we traveled back to Kratie and on the way stopped at a wild dolphin watching spot. We learned that in Cambodia there are only 92 Irrawaddy dolphins left. Although we didn’t get to see much besides dorsal fins, we were excited to have experienced this. Joe made a friend with a local who gave him a sugar cane juice for free!

The next day we left Kratie for the bustling capitol city of Phnom Penh. We arrived at the hostel and for the first time all ten of us roomed together. That evening, some went to the internet café while others went to the Night Market. Claire G. also cut Harrison’s hair!

The morning of the 7th we all hopped into Tuk-Tuks with the infamous Pouv (Karen’s friend) and rode to the Cambodian Center of Human Rights headquarters (CCHR). The morning was full of presentations about CCHR, the work they do, and the Khmer laws. That afternoon, we traveled with two CCHR representatives (Panha and Hongkong) to S21, a former school that was used as a torture prison during the Khmer Rouge. With heavy hearts we toured the campus guided by an audio tour. Afterwards, the representatives gave us a city tour and explained projects of reconstruction that are being done by many private companies.

On the 8th we went to the Killing Fields. Guided by another audio tour we walked around the area seeing graves, bones, and description boards. It was hard to process the horrors that occurred in what now is a beautiful, nature filled area. In the afternoon we travelled to the Documentation Center of Cambodia and watched a very interesting documentary about Rock and Roll artists and their experience before and during the Pol Pot Regime. By the end of the night Madi, Kylie, Claire G, and Paulina all returned with cool, matching Ray Bans.

The 9th, most of us said goodbye to Cambodia and hello to Vietnam while others… Kylie, Claire G, and Lucas… had to turn around and head back to Phnom Penh for a night because of a couple expired visas. Whoops! Fortunately, they joined us to experience the walking street the next day.

Ho Chi Minh is alive and some, like Sammi, would say that it’s their favorite place we have travelled to so far. To give some perspective of the amount of people in this city from 1950 to 2019 it grew from 120,000 to 1,250,000! The streets are large, the traffic is heavy, and the food is delicious. Bryley, Audrey and Paulina tried Pho for their first time and Claire C tried a typical Vietnamese pancake. Madi and Sammi enjoyed their night on a lit up rooftop overseeing the city. Joe and Harrison explored the surrounding areas and discovered a park with pretty lights. Meanwhile, back in Cambodia, Claire G, Kylie, and Lucas watched Easy A on the bus. Last night, Lucas, Claire and Kylie finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh to reunite with the group!

Today we join up with Tan Tao University for our first week of adventure in Vietnam!

The post An Eye-Opening Experience appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Did you know that the best place to swim is in the Mekong River? We know from personal experience, but this blog post begins five exciting days before. We left Siem Reap in style, in a 12 seater van that should probably only be used for ten people. A very cramped eight hours later, we arrived in Kratie, a peaceful city along the Mekong River. Our group had quite a bit to get ready for, a day that we have been looking forward to all trip, a day so important no one can forget it: HALLOWEEN! For those of you who don’t know, Halloween is Sammi’s favorite day of the year, so it would make sense that she had an amazing idea of how to celebrate it; a switch-a-roo. We put all of our names in a hat and went in a circle and picked them out to see who we would dress up as. On the morning of the 31st we all couldn’t wait to show each other our costumes. The best costumes voted on by the group are as follows: Bryley dressed as Joe, Sammi dressed as me, Kate as Kylie, and Joe as Lucas. Our costumes had to be somewhat subtle because we were meeting with two NGOs that day. The first was an NGO called ADHOC that aims to protect survivors of human trafficking and land conflicts. The second was CRDT, a local organization we would be working with for the next four days. After learning about the organization and meeting our local guides, Phiya and Sohky, we boarded a mini bus to take us to the docks. At the dock we had five boats waiting for us. There were quite a few falls walking down to shore. The most memorable was by our very own Bryley, who realized she was, in fact, still wearing Joe’s jeans. Then as soon as she got up, she fell down again! Whoops! We still had a 30-minute boat ride in the rain to get to our destination, the island of Koh Thnout. Claire C. especially enjoyed the boat ride! When we arrived, we were greeted with open arms by locals and our new host families. After meeting everyone, we were taken to our homes and given time to shower and get ourselves acquainted. We met for dinner and to go over our schedule for the next few days. After a long travel day, everyone was more than happy to go to bed. The next morning, we had Khmer lessons at 7:30 followed by a hearty breakfast. We were finally ready to get to work, which involved installing new water pipes in the village. For the next two days, we worked hard with the locals, who praised Audrey, an outstanding worker, for her dedication. On the third day, we were lucky enough that Phiya and some locals took us to the head of the island to go swimming. We rode on two tractors, which took about two hours. Our ride was very bumpy, and we became experts at dodging branches coming for our heads. At the river, it was quite a “splash zone,” as Lucas would say. Some of us, mainly Joe and Madi, got very into a sand fight among the group and local children. We moved spots to have lunch, and we laid out our towels and relaxed. Sammi and I did not realize how strong the sun was, and now we have red faces and very intense farmer’s tans. Claire G. and Kylie participated in gutting an eel, which the rest of us proceeded to eat. Harrison found a nice spot in the shade and thoroughly enjoyed reading his book, Papillon. On our way back, the tractor with Claire G., Claire C., Bryley, Sammi, and myself hit a tree stump, which was very startling, and now we can say we have been in a tractor crash! We stopped at the spirit forest and learned about the local people. We didn’t have anything planned the rest of the afternoon, so some slept, while others read or journaled. We met a bit earlier to play on of my favorite games, Flashlight Sing! After a very intense game, we were excited to eat dinner. Now, fast forward to this morning, and we walked 30 minutes to get to our final work site. We took out the broken pipe and installed a new one. Although the sun was strong and the work was hard, we all felt very accomplished and grateful to have had this experience. This afternoon after lunch, we made banana coconut pastries, or, in Khmer, “num dong jek.” We all cannot believe that we only have one month left until we return home. We are so grateful for everything we have experienced thus far. We can’t wait for everything ahead of us! Orkun thom thom!

–Paulina
P.S Love you Cheney family!

The post Time On The Mekong appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Suae Sdei from Cambodia! We have now ended our Thailand journey and we start anew in beautiful Cambodia.

After having spent 6 weeks in Thailand, it was a very weird experience going to the airport. We arrived and it was go time. We went through security with no problems except a couple of scissors being taken away. We all got through immigration without any problems. And just like that we were off to Bangkok.

We supposedly had an hour and 15 minutes layover. However, when we got off the plane we had a generous 15 minutes to get to our next flight. Audrey was leading the way as our stampede ran across the Bangkok airport. We made it onto our flight just in the nick of time.

We took off from Bangkok and landed in Siem Reap in what seemed like a couple of minutes. When we arrived, it hit us; we are in a new country. We have to learn a new language and navigate a new culture.

However, this could not hinder our excitement for new experiences. We got our new visas and headed off into Siem Reap. We dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and immediately went out to explore. Kylie, Madi, Sammy, Paulina, and myself stumbled upon the Hard Rock Cafe and had a pretty fun dinner.

That night back at the hostel, we were still energized from that night of fun. So I decided that it would be a good idea to cut Bryley’s hair. I cut about three inches off with dull cuticle scissors. This inspired Audrey to get a haircut as well. Kylie masterfully cut Audreys undercut and put a design in it.

The next day we had an activity for the first half of the day. It was all about what happens to our trash when we throw it away. We made a timeline of trash showing how fast everything decomposes. Fun fact: Styrofoam never decomposes.

We watched a documentary called A Plastic Ocean, that showed us the effect that plastic has had on our oceans and our health. At the end of the day, it was time for us to have our first experience at Angkor Wat. We got there to watch the sunset. However, there was no sunset. It was actually pouring down rain. I’m sure all of us could agree that this did not ruin our experience, but made it even more special. We were all running through the temple soaking wet enjoying the experience. Lucas, Kylie, Madi, and Harrison all thoroughly enjoyed jumping in the puddles that formed on the ground.

The next morning we got up at 4:30 in the morning. I know. But we drove over to Angkor Wat and watched the sun rise. I could try to explain to you how beautiful it was but I can’t do it justice. We spent about an hour taking photos of the sight, which included prom style photos of Audrey and Joe.

We went to three different temple complexes. The first one was the main temple that we all see in the pictures: The temples that have the five towers that represent the sacred mount Meru. The next temple complex consisted of 5 different ruins. It took a lot of work to see all of them. At this complex there were a bunch of monkeys running around. They loved to come try to take your stuff. For example I wrestled with one to keep my backpack.

Our last temple complex had a very cool history, a history that is very recent. The film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was filmed at this temple. It is very popular because of the many trees growing through the temple. Our day at Angkor Wat was nothing less than magical. Our 5 hour nap afterwards was almost equally as magical.

That night everyone went out to try something very intriguing. We all got dead skin eaten off our feet by fish. When a blackout came, that was our cue to leave. For the rest of the night we got dinner and went shopping on pub street. Claire C. bought a plethora of earrings and Audrey bought some t shirts.

The next day we had the morning to get work done on bookings and transportation. Then in the afternoon we went to work with a local NGO called EGBOK. EGBOK stands for Everything is Going to Be OK. They work with disadvantages Cambodians to teach them hospitality and management skills. This enables them to get a job in the hospitality business. 100% of their graduates have gotten a job within a month of leaving the program. We toured the facility seeing what they teach their students. We also got to participate in spring roll making, Kroma folding, and some snack tasting. The snacks consisted of frogs, snakes, crickets, silk worms, beetles, and tarantulas. My personal favorite was the tarantula.

After interacting with the students we had a spectacular dinner at the restaurant that directly supports the program. Overall it was a fantastic experience. After that we headed off to the circus. The circus is another NGO that takes underprivileged individuals and trains them for the circus. We had an amazing time watching it. Today we are off the Kratie to work with some locals. See you next week!

The post Wat Up From Angkor Wat appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Lots of Monk No Chat
(Monk Chat Meditation Retreat)

Hello, everyone! Before we get into the juicy stuff, we’ve got to reflect for a second. This trip is halfway through! How was it six weeks ago that we met at the airport, had those do-we-hug-or-do-we-not-because-we’ve-never-met-but-we’ve-snapchatted-what-do-we-do moments (you know what we’re talking about…) and engaged in awkward small talk about the weight of our backpacks. Look how far we’ve come! Actually, backpack weight is still a frequent topic of conversation (how do they get heavier every time we lift them up??), but now it’s not the only topic of conversation. Anyway, the past six weeks have been a blast, and we have learned so much. We can’t wait for what’s still to come!

After the permaculture farm stay, we headed south to where our journey began; Chiang Mai. This time further from the Old City (but still at a walking distance), we were able to explore a different part of the city. We were ecstatic to be back and even more so when we came to find an affordable and, may I dare say, MUCH needed laundromat. By this point, we had all sweated through the vast majority of our limited wardrobes. We restocked on snacks–a very important and cultural part of our group dynamic–and gazed in awe at the new sights that Chiang Mai has to offer. Sammi, increasingly eager for Halloween to arrive, constantly updates us on how many days there are until the 31st and lights up every time that we see a shop selling anything related to “scary” decorations.

On the first night back, all the girls had a galinner (gal-dinner?) at a Mexican restaurant, where they ate some of the best burritos in Thailand (but maybe not the best for their stomachs). On the topic of food, a five minute walk from the hostel, Bryley and Claire C.stumbled upon a plant-based donut shop. Overwhelmed by the lavish flavors (lemon poppy, raspberry chocolate, strawberry, pb&j, chocolate, cinnamon sugar, glazed…) and the delicacy of such a sweet treat, the news was quickly spread. Everyone, except Joe and Harrison, loved them. Paulina, Sammi, and Kylie all got matching star “gem” piercings, and Joe posted more on his personal blog (check out joehenryphoto.com). Many people went bowling and Kylie is proud to say that she beat the boys. Audrey spent a day walking around the city, and she found two new temples. Claire C. and Bryley treated themselves to a Thai massage at the Lila Spa, a chain that employs female ex-inmates to better their lives after release. It was a dynamic experience. Kylie, Madi, and Paulina also treated themselves to a mani-pedi!

As quickly as we came, so it seemed, we packed up and headed 45 minutes outside of the city for our spiritual meditation retreat at Monk Chat. Harrison had given us some run downs as he used to participate in silent retreats back at home. All were anxious for this silent retreat–we are a rather loud and rambunctious group–but we said our last verbal goodbyes before changing into our simple, white outfits and headed to our first meditation session. As peaceful as meditating may seem, to us, especially in the beginning, it was anything but. From sitting cross-legged to trying to think of nothing for extended periods of time… it was physically and mentally exhausting! Phra (meaning Monk in Thai) Sone would joke and say, “But you are young!” Yeah, we thought so too. ¯\_( ツ )_/¯ Nonetheless, Phra Sone was an excellent teacher who understood our needs for a change in location, position, or sometimes a much needed (bathroom) break. We would either gather in a large meditation hall with AC (yes, AC!) or outside where we could hear the sounds of birds and feel warm, soft breezes. We practiced three forms of meditation: sitting, laying, and walking meditation. Walking meditation goes up to six different steps that are essentially the same but just slower and more precise movements of the leg and foot. We also learned dynamic movement (a cycle of hand positions done while sitting) and other small tricks of the trade for better, more concentrated meditation. Paulina got extremely comfortable during one meditation practice, waking herself up with her snore. To give her the benefit of the doubt, we did wake up every morning at 5AM at the loud clanging of the bell. Before every meal we had to say a written contemplation to reflect on the necessity of food. On the daily, we were able to take a small break from the “silent” part of the retreat and engage in Q+A discussion with our Phra teaching us much more about Buddhism and life as a monk. One rather surprising new fact we learned is that Buddhism is not actually a religion but a way of life. There is no God nor is there an aspect of faith. They value not having “blind faith” which allows for and actually encourages the questioning of any part of Buddhism. In other words, if someone is confused as to why Buddhism is a certain way, they should not accept it, but challenge it.

The last day, the once (mostly kinda almost) silent group found their voices again and headed back to the previous hostel. Back in the city, we are trying to make the most of our last moments in Thailand before we head to Cambodia tomorrow. Bryley and Claire C. walked through the old city and found a local market to dine at while others got some gifts for some loved ones back at home. Since we will be in cities for a longer stretch of time, stay tuned to your cellular devices for any Skype, Facebook, or creepishly random number calls that you may get (however it is that your beloved child chooses to contact you). Sending love back home one last time from Thailand!

The post Lots Of Monk No Chat appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

After two rest days in Chiang Rai, we headed North and took a four-hour bus ride to the small town of Thung Chung in the Nan province of Thailand which is about a forty-minute drive from the Thailand-Laos border. The bus ride left the group feeling quite car sick but the gorgeous, lush, and green mountain views were breathtaking.
This past week we stayed at the Sahainan Organic farm where we met Sandot who runs the farm. He is such an amazing soul. The Sahainan farm is run off of the permaculture perspective which means permanent agriculture. Here’s an example to give you a better picture of what that looks like on the farm: when you use a sink the water drains to water plants. That water was taken directly from rainfall. There is no waste on the farm so what you do not eat for dinner is given to the chickens for food or even better; it gets put in the compost to make EM. EM means effective microorganisms that are in liquid form and are spread on crops that on the farm to help them grow faster and be healthier.

Sandot kept us on our toes with his great sense of humor and contagious laugh. When asked about his future goals for the farm, he humored us with his response of: “to build a bamboo plane and come visit us in America.” With his electrical engineering degree, maybe he was more serious than we thought. He is such a wise man, with such knowledge about sustainability, permaculture, and love for our planet, and we truly learned so much from him.
This past week we got to help Sandot a lot on the farm while learning about sustainability and permaculture. Kylie mastered how to take a 15ft machete and slice a bananna flower from a tree, while Bryley stood below to make a diving catch to get it in the basket. Paulina enjoyed learning how to use the gas-powered tiller to turn up the soil even though it nearly dragged her with it.

Joe was all hands on deck and was helpful wherever was needed. You could find him picking firewood, watering plants, or even lending a hand in the kitchen. I (Audrey) found my love for chopping rice from the rice fields as did Lucas and Kate, but our skin did not love it to say the least. Itchy itchy!
Everything we ate pretty much came from the farm, so we’d go out each day and pick what fruits and veggies we wanted to eat. Fun fact: there are quite a few flowers that you can cook up and eat as we learned this past week. Even the rice we ate came from Sandot’s farm! Such a special experience to be able to eat food that we knew exactly where it came from.

Harrison found his love for watering plants at sunrise on the farms unique water bottle watering system. Our favorite night on the farm was when we got to make homemade pizza for dinner thanks to Kate and her amazing dough making skills (and veggies from Sandot’s farm of course). Bryley and I enjoyed our time being on dinner duty that night and took personal pizza orders from the group. Sandot also loved the pizza, enjoyed us sharing one of our favorite meals with him.

Other tasks that we got to help with on the farm included harvesting rice, planting trees, watering plants, learning about how to make soap from a lufa plant. We also fed and sometimes caught chickens when they escaped, a task left to Claire G as I would refer to her as the chicken whisperer.
We ended our week on the on the farm by celebrating Paulina’s 19th Birthday with a bonfire in the rice field. We cooked coconut sticky rice over the fire, and Kate made a delicious banana cake with fig sauce from figs and bananas grown on the farm.

Claire C and Sami were so kind and made Paulina some coconut cookies as well. We ended the night singing karaoke from a computer in the rice field around the fire. Paulina, Madi, Claire G, and Bryley sang their hearts out to some hits from Mamma Mia, and Sammi, Kate, and I belted out some good ol’ backstreet boys. The rest of the group used their headlamps as stage lights.

We had such a wonderful week on the farm with Sandot, and we miss him already. We left the farm with a lot more knowledge about how to make less of a negative impact on the planet, create less waste, and live a more sustainable lifestyle.

-Audrey

The post Sustainability In Southeast Asia appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Upon our arrival in Ja Ka, we were greeted by the village leader and his family. Everyone was in need of a little R and R. After a group dinner we had a meeting with the leader where Claire C asked many meaningful questions about local culture.

After a long nights rest, we were excited to learn about and participate in traditional Ja Ka farming. We learned about the many uses of bamboo and cooked an entire meal using the very useful plant! We were also taught the proper way to make bamboo spoons! Joe and Sammi killed chickens for our lunch while Claire C, Kate, and Bryley plucked them. It made for a very delicious meal! Later that day we split into three groups to learn how to basket weave, fabric weave, and make bamboo cups. To end our day, we watched to the sunset along a beautiful trail in solitude to reflect on the last four weeks in Thailand. Audrey thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful moments of watching the sun go down.

The next day, at four in the morning, we got up to experience a pig sacrifice which was then served for breakfast. The sacrifice signified the end of the rice harvest season. Once it was time to say goodbye, we began our journey downward to longtail boats to take us to our next destination.

When we arrived at the hotel, we said farewell to Manop, Kasa, and Akong; our local guides turned friends.

Back in the city of Chiang Rai, Kylie and Claire G had their first experience in a tuk-tuk, a traditional and convenient mode of transportation in Thailand. For our last day in Chiang Rai, we were lucky enough to travel to an elephant sanctuary run by locals from the Karen tribe. We got to feed, wash, walk, and observe the elephants in a humane way. Elephants, being such smart animals, can understand Thai when we communicate with them.

We are so excited for our upcoming adventures including the Sahanian farm! Stay tuned!

Madi, Paulina, and Harrison

The post Above The Clouds appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

After an exciting yet exhausting week at our first homestays in Thailand, it was time to say la gon (goodbye in Thai.) We packed our bags, bought some snacks, and our families sent us off to our next adventures.

The leadership team, which consisted of Joe, Bryley, and Claire G., coordinated transportation and bought bus tickets to Chiang Rai. The four-hour long journey, although boring at times, was breathtaking the whole way up.

Once we settled at the hostel, everyone took some much needed rest time to journal, nap, or just play cards. We also enjoyed the short break from squatty potties and the copious amounts of rice. Later that evening, we attended a night market to, of course, eat more delicious Thai food, and shop.

The leadership team had also organized an activity for the next day; to explore the gorgeous, yet morbid, White Temple. We wandered about and around the temple, admiring and taking many photos, until we had some more down time at the hostel.

Once at the hostel, we got word from our OE’s, Kate and Lucas, about a massive mall about a mile away. A mall in Thailand, how could we resist? We got our exercise in for the day walking there, walking around, and walking back from the mall (although Joe, Audrey, and Claire C. were lucky enough to flag down a tuk-tuk.) Everyone stocked up on snacks, toilet paper, and clothes, and engorged themselves on the beloved American food, McDonald’s (aka the Golden Arches). Everyone was over the moon to get to reach out to their families and friends before the start of our next excursion in the Akha village of Ban Apa to work alongside the Mirror Foundation.

On the 25th, we were introduced to Manop, who works with the Mirror Foundation and lives in Ban Apa, where we stayed with homestay families. We had a brief orientation about Akha villages and the project we would be assisting with at the Mirror Foundation Headquarters. The orientation was lead by David (Thellie) Root, who works with the Mirror Foundation, as well as Manop. We then hopped back in the songthaew, and traveled to our homestay village. Here we split up, met our families, and toured the area. We scoped out the spot where we would be working for the next ten days. Our project assigned to us was to widen a frequently used road, in order to make it less dangerous and easier to drive two cars on.

In this Akha village, Ban Apa, the language spoken is the tribal dialect; Akha. A normal scene on the streets of this village may include noisy chickens running about, children playing with the local dogs or sprinting to the icecream man,and maybe a few elders dressed in traditional clothing sewing on the sidelines.

Our days started with a delicious breakfast around 7-8 am, followed by meeting up for a game plan on the project at 9. This was normally either tying foundations, building a cement brick wall, digging, or mixing and pouring concrete. Lunch was served by Manop and his hospitable family at 11:30, then back to work from 1:30 to 3:30. Dinnertime in this village was around 6 pm, which is the perfect mood booster after a much needed shower. Snacktime was also incorporated, since that is a precious time of the day for us. For example, Harrison put 3 padlocks on his snacks.

One night for dinner, Madi and Bryley tried fried bamboo worms, while Joe and Claire G. ate fish eyes. To end our days, a meeting at 7:30 was held at the Community Center. Manop and Kasa (a university student turned close friend of ours) taught us the Akha dialect. The group would also hold short meetings, discussions, and debates here, sometimes followed by aggressive games of Uno. Everyone would then head back home to read and journal before bed, and kill the massive spiders and centipedes for peace of mind at night. Kylie was the designated spider-killer at her homestay.

Highlights from this week would include the ice cream man who came every evening, a trip to a local waterfall (which also included a break from work,) and puppy therapy provided by Claire G., Paulina, and Audrey’s host family. Sammi and Claire C. taught their host brothers a card game, and Madi and Bryley utilized their breaks for reading and relaxation.

As we prepare for the jungle trek, we look back at our time here and appreciate the friends made, the work done, the culture learned, and the laughs had. This group is full of warm-hearted, dedicated individuals, and we can’t wait for what the next couple of months has in store for us.

The post Building Roads Between Cultures appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Sawatdii kha!

After one week of Thai lessons, we can hold a simple conversation, but everything starts with this greeting. Combined with a “wai,” a short bow with your hands in a prayer position, when you are greeting someone older than yourself, “sawatdii kha” (or “sawatdii khrop,” if you identify as male) is the proper “hello” here in Thailand!

What a week we have had! It started last Tuesday, when we split up into one van and one song tao truck (which literally means “two benches” because — you guessed it — there are two benches inside!) to get to Mae Rim, our new home base. We drove to the eco lodge, where we would have our classes, and we immediately began our first Thai lesson with the amazing Ajan Petchara (“ajan” means teacher in Thai). Don’t get us wrong: Thai is difficult. There are five different tones (flat, down, up, rising, and falling), which was highly confusing to us English speakers. However, Ajan Petchara is an amazing teacher, and we had a blast learning how to introduce ourselves, how to say our favorite foods and places, and even how to build questions and sentences complete with subjects, objects, verbs, and classifiers! More importantly, we can now sing a very entertaining song about elephants (“choong”) in Thai.

Next, we began dancing lessons! After we all tried sword dancing, the girls broke off to learn the traditional female dance with Ajan Petchara. Joe, Harrison, and Lucas stayed behind to learn ten moves (of the upward of 300 sword dancing moves there actually are). At the girls’ first lesson, we only learned the foot movements. Essentially, she taught us how to walk in a slow circle and bend our knees to the beat of the music. However, Ajan Petchara quickly ramped up the intensity, and we were soon dancing with huge golden nails (more like talons), desperately attempting to keep up with Ajan’s complicated hand movements while not messing up the foot positions! The dance is pretty slow and meditative, but just you wait until you hear about Thai exercise dance — that’s another story altogether!

Over the course of the week, we also learned a lot about Buddhism from Ajan Panom, who was a monk when he was younger. He taught us about the core tenets of the religion, the role of Buddhism in Thai society, and the Buddha. We were all excited to learn which Buddha position we have based on the day of the week we were born. Ajan Panom also took us to his temple, which is absolutely exquisite and very ornate. Claire G. began an interesting discussion about the extravagance of the temple in a religion so focused on simplicity, and we spent some time considering this idea. We also participated in prayer, which entails chanting (or, in our case, listening to others chant) and meditating while sitting on your knees for an hour and a half. It might sound difficult, but everyone left wanting to go back and experience peaceful meditation again the next night!

Other highlights included a cooking class, in which Kylie, Audrey, and I tried our hand at pad Thai, while Harrison made khao soi and Kate cooked up pad see ew. Joe, as always, served as photographer, and Sammi diligently wrote down the recipes for posterity. We also made green curry, fresh spring rolls, and mango sticky rice before stuffing ourselves with all the delicious dishes! We also visited a local waterfall and enjoyed swimming and playing in the refreshing water. It felt amazing to escape the intense heat here!

The other part of the week was staying at homestays in three villages within Mae Rim! The Claires, Kate, and Lucas stayed in Baan Tung Haa, while Sammi, Madi, Paulina, and I lived in Baan Bpaa Muong, and Audrey, Harrison, Kylie, and Joe lived the farthest away in Baan Mae Nai. We had bikes to get around the village, and we all enjoyed getting to know Thai families, most of whom spoke no English, and eating home-cooked meals. Our families spoiled us with hugs, kisses, and treats. Some of us even got to go with our host moms to Thai exercise classes, which is upbeat zumba combined with traditional Thai hand movements in a square (we did the moves in one direction, and then kept turning around). All of us who went had an absolute blast dancing with the women of the village, even if we kept turning in the wrong direction only to find the women facing us and laughing! Claire C. also attended a running race that her host dad participated in, Harrison went on a mountain walk with his host dad, and Sammi went to her family’s favorite restaurant!

To end our week, we merged our lessons and homestay experiences at a goodbye party with our new families. We began with prayer, and each of us received blessings from our families and from other hosts in the form of white strings tied around our wrists. After that, we had a delicious pot luck dinner, and each of us read a speech that we had written with our new Thai skills. Though our tones were definitely far from perfect, we enjoyed expressing our gratitude to our host families in their language. We also performed our dances in traditional costumes (see photos!) and had a dance party with our host families. Earlier in the day, we had made floating lotuses, known as krathong, out of banana leaves and fresh flowers, so we ended the night by releasing our creations with candles in the pond. This tradition is typically done in November during the Loi Krathong festival, but it was a beautiful way to end a beautiful week.

Now we are in Chiang Rai city for a brief stay before we leave tomorrow to work with the Mirror Foundation in a more rural area of Chiang Rai. We have had a blast so far, and we are so excited for what is to come! Love to all of our families and friends back home! We miss you!

Bryley

The post Sawatdii kha from Mae Rim! appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

These past few days have been a blast! Besides all the activities that we are participating in during orientation, we are seeing markets, eating authentic Thai food, and sweating through every article of clothing that we brought. Thai food, we discovered, is quite spicy, but do not worry, every table consists of more spices if you do so choose. You can rest assured that because of this and the heat, we are staying well hydrated. Tomorrow, we will leave Chiang Mai and go North to live with host families.

Sammi, Harrison, and Claire C.

Hi there, folks!

This is Madi, Claire G., Kylie, and Bryley reporting from Chiang Mai, Thailand! We have been walking around for the last three hours attempting to find an internet cafe, but it turns out it’s two minutes from where we are staying… whoops!

Some highlights of our trip so far have been khao soi, mango sticky rice, and pad thai. Can you tell we like the food? Yesterday we visited the night market in the old city, which was really cool. Vendors were set up down the block, there was music playing, and a ton of people were walking around exploring.

Our group dynamic is neato, and everyone gets along spectacularly! We are laughing a lot. AH HA HA HA

We are both excited and nervous to go to our homestays tomorrow.

Over and out! See you next time on… Paradise.

The post Sabai Scavenger Hunt Check-ins appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

The Sabai group landed safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand on September 13th. The group had a short layover in Hong Kong, and have arrived happy and a bit tired. The group will now make their way to the East side of Chiang Mai city to their orientation accommodation. After some food and a nap, the group will begin their Orientation. Once complete, the Sabai crew will head to the small village of Mae Rim, where they will get a taste of daily Thai life by staying with local families, studying Thai language, and Thai culture.

Sabai is off to a great start, and may their semester be full of learning!

The post Sabai has arrived appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Greetings, Family and Friends of the Carpe Diem Fall 2019 Sabai group

We are happy to inform you that the Sabai group is united and already beginning to get to know one another at the Los Angeles airport.

They have quite a journey ahead of them, with a long overnight flight and a brief Hong Kong layover, however, they seem to be a group that is more than up to the task.

We will post another blog once we have confirmed that the group has landed safely in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

All the best!

The post Sabai is together in LAX airport appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

We are so excited to be writing this introductory blog, less than a week before we will all be meeting up at the airport in Los Angeles to head to the other side of the world. Although the students will be taking on the majority of sharing our experience here, you will be hearing from us periodically too.

So, who are we?!

We are Kate and Lucas, the Carpe Diem’s Overseas Educators who will be helping to navigate the exciting, unfamiliar, and sometimes confusing land that is Southeast Asia. Here in Portland at Carpe Headquarters, we are in intense preparation for all that is to come.

So many things to think about: homestays, temples, tuk-tuks, farming, waterfalls, meditation, and 12 virtual strangers coming together to spend three months traveling and growing in foreign lands.

As we think about all these different experiences we’ll have, and all the different material things to pack in our bags in order to best prepare for those experiences, we are also packing our metaphorical bags, preparing ourselves for the fun, the shock, the challenges and the eye-opening, mind-blowing, and life-changing moments (no expectations…).

The anticipation is just as much a part of a trip as the trip itself, so enjoy those day dreams, those last minute shoelace purchases, and those precious moments with your loved ones.

We can’t wait to share this journey with you, so stay tuned for more to come!

Khaaw hai deern thaang duay khwaam bplaawt phai (I hope you have a safe journey!).

The post Two Days Til Takeoff appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Sabai Spring Spring 2019 has bid farewell to Southeast Asia. We have had such a journey, it is hard to summarize in a short blog post. Over the past three months, we have been privileged to experience three very distinct and different cultures and countries in Southeast Asia spending the most time in Thailand.

In Thailand, we lived with local host families, learned to speak basic Thai, spent 10 days “roughing it” on an organic permaculture farm, worked on a very labor intensive service project (building the foundation for a future school for children of migrant workers from Burma), trekked and stayed in local villages, hung out with and bathed elephants and spent time exploring Bangkok.

In Cambodia, we visited Angkor Wat, learned about the history of the county with a visit to Landmine Museum outside of Siem Reap, spent time with local students, experienced the history of the genocide with a visit to S21 and the Killing Fields and concluded our time there with a yoga/meditation retreat in the south to recharge and reflect before Vietnam.

Vietnam had us exploring Saigon, spending a memorable week in the Mekong River Delta with students from a local university, visiting the CuChi tunnels and the war museum. Many of the students are now Open Water SCUBA certified and excited to use their skills around the globe. The Group also planned a memorable week of travel up to the North concluding in Hanoi with stops in Hoi An (the Old Quarter of the city is a UNESCO Heritage site) and Hue (known for its ancient Citadel/Imperial City and the Perfume River). We spent the final days of the program wandering the many alleys and enclaves Hanoi’s Old Quarter and visiting the breathtaking Halong Bay.

Challenging at times, the group as a whole and as individuals, stepped outside of comfort zones and overcame challenges, met and sometimes exceeded personal and program goals. Us OEs feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to support the students in their individual journeys and create and cultivate a community of gratitude for these past three months. Wishing our students a safe journey home and all the best for whats next. Time to get horizontal!

The post Sabai Final Blog appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

When you think of the word snorkeling what comes in mind? Well here is a brief explanation on what I’ve discovered about snorkeling. Snorkeling is the ability to float under water with a diving mask equipped with a breathing tool. I am not an expert in snorkeling, but being able to get out in the ocean was a shock to me because I am not an expert at swimming and I didn’t want to drown. I am proud that I went out and that I was supported by students in my group and the OE’s to get out of my comfort zone and try it out. I am very happy that I snorkeled because I got to see a lot of fish. For example, when snorkeling I’ve seen a star fish just chilling and mind it’s own business, and I also seen rainbow fish as well. To add on to that, I also saw a trumpet fish, which was a surprise to me because I had no clue they existed in Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, while identifying all of those fish, I felt deeply in love with the ocean and love the fact that I can look at them and not get too close. Additionally, I like that fact that when you snorkel you’re not that close to the bottom of the ocean, but close enough to see the things you want. One thing that stood out to me while snorkeling was being able to work on my breathing skills. I am not that good at holding my breath, but the fact that I was working on it, on my own, helped me to not get water into my diving mask, and tube. Although some water did get in, my instructor taught me how to press down the top ridge of your mask firmly to your forehead while slowly opening the bottom seal and blowing hard through your nose. Then you have to tilt your head back slightly while looking up. I really found that difficult when I did get water in my mask, but by slowly learning and following instructions I was able to make it alive without getting salt in my eyes.

I only went snorkeling twice because it got a little tiring and I wanted to watch the Scuba divers jump into the ocean from the boat. Oh by the way I want to shout out Jackie, Jess, Peter, Eva, and Charlie for being brave and adventurous divers. You guys are really amazing and taught me how to not be afraid of the unknown. To add, they’ve done 2 dives in 1 day which is amazing because the ocean can get hectic.

Well it has been a very nice time Snorkeling, Scuba diving and staying in Nha Trang overall. I’ve enjoyed interacting with the locals and learning how to say certain words with their help. To add, if you love the beach life, and like to go shopping come to Nha Trang. They’ve got a lot of stores that will blow your mind, and places that will have you pick and choose rather if you want to go back to the US. I am so happy that we’ve spent a week in Nha Trang, it has taught me to enjoy every moment that I have in Southeast Asia and to love the fact that others are watching and what you give is what you get. Plus, the food is very good. They know how to throw it down.

Well, Thank you for reading my blog!

[ezcol_1half]

[/ezcol_1half][ezcol_1half_end]

[/ezcol_1half_end]

The post Staying in NhaTrang, Snorkeling appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

A 10 hour by-sleeper-bus journey later and we were in Vietnam, the red banner waving over our small group as we passed through the Cambodia-Vietnam Border. Within only a few minutes it really sank in that we were in a totally different country; the yellow star, hammer and sickle, and a myriad of brightly-colored propaganda posters no doubt boasting the strength of the Vietnamese military and proletariat lined the streets and roundabouts as we travelled by taxi toward the next hostel. The visage of Ho Chi Minh stared back at us as Cari and Brian handed out our Per Diem, and huge emblems of the post-revolutionary state soared above us on blocky, soviet-esque government buildings as we ventured out in search of lunch and an internet café the next morning. We’d only been in this country for about 24-hours and, at least for me, it was unlike anywhere I’d been before.

But our adventures didn’t end those first two nights in the city formerly known as Saigon, as on the 15th we met with some of the students from Tan Tau University, all of whom we were meant to live the next roughly week with. By the days end we’d been introduced to about 30 eight-to-nineteen-year-olds greeting us with open arms and had explored almost every inch of the growing University grounds. While a bit stressful at first with all the new faces, we were eager to meet and live with a new and diverse group of people after almost 2 months with only ourselves.

The Tan Tau group would lead us next to our first Homestay with the family of one of their leaders, An, where we’d further get to know each other and break out of our shells. We’d return to this home for the rest of our trip after spending a full day at another homestay in a farming community specialized around growing pineapples, the harvesting of which easily became one of my favorite activities of the trip (despite the fact that my uncovered knees were left less-than-unscathed in the aftermath).

By this point we’d fallen in love with the new group of students, who were excited to introduce us to the nuances of their culture, religion, and language, at one point sitting us down to teach us basic phrases which we efficiently and meticulously butchered as what experience we had with Thai tones left us completely unprepared for the much more complex ones found in Vietnamese. I remember every time we visited a new temple or pagoda and at least someone from the Tan Tau group would stand excitedly right beside us pointing out the different Chinese or Indian motifs or explaining “who the fat buddha was”. On the fourth day we went to three different islands along the Mekong, the last of which turned out to be home to a pan-theistic religion based around the worship of Coconuts, that the Tan Tau history teacher Mr. Isaac Smith happily explained to be organized around an exclusively coconut diet and (obviously) the possession of five wives.

Each new day brought with it new adventures, new lessons, and new stories as our two groups, Tan Tau and Carpe, became one group by the end. We learned so much so quickly, and before we realized it the trip was over, and members of both our group burst into tears as the OE’s desperately tried to corral us back to the bus to continue the journey back to Ho Chi Minh City. We won’t forget each other, and all of us are counting down the days until we can respond to their Facebook friend requests and resume contact after we’d said goodbye. But not everything was blue, because we all know what’s coming up next: Next stop, Nha Trang!

[ezcol_1half]

The post Tan Tau University Exchange appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Hello again!

For the last 5 days, Sabai Spring 2019 took a break from all the cities we’ve been staying in attend a yoga retreat near the beach town of Kep! We yoga-ed (and much more) with Sarah and her husband, Larry, at the Yoga Barn (yes there was a barn plus two sheep and chickens) as their first ever retreat group. At first our group was divided. Cari and Brian both have a passion for and experience with yoga. Some members of our group liked yoga, but had limited experience. And, the others were hesitant about the exercises and were prepared to participate in but not necessarily fall in love with the sessions. However, through the days of morning yoga (before breakfast *gasp*), chakra dancing, partner exercises, sometimes painful stretches, and singing bowl meditation, we discovered a newfound appreciation for the ancient art. We were all particularly touched by the love and care with which Sarah and Larry guided, taught, and looked after us. We ate like kings and queens and were inspired by Sarah’s yogic beliefs of internal balance and the connection between the mind and physical body. We enjoyed our 5 days at the Yoga Barn so much that we wanted to contribute to Sarah and Larry’s growth by leaving a mark of art at the retreat center. We spent 2 nights (including 1 all-nighter (sorry mom)) painting a chakra lotus with the word “om” inscribed inside on her healing room wall.

Thank you Sarah and Larry for an amazing, restorative, reflective week!

The post Reflection Retreat appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.

Hello!

During the past 2 weeks, Sabai 2019 has been finishing up our travels in Thailand and beginning our adventures in Cambodia!

We began our Cambodian adventure 4 days ago in Siem Reap and finally saw Angkor Wat this morning (at 6 am…). While the temples were breathtaking in the morning sun, one of my favorite experiences so far has been our visit to EGBOK, a nonprofit that trains poor, young Cambodians to work in the booming hospitality industry. The second we stepped on EGBOK’s campus, we were welcomed by 50+ smiling and waving 18-24 year olds. After a tour of the school, we learned how to make lotus flower decorations, were gifted scarves, ate spring rolls that we made, and snacked on bugs and snakes! However, my favorite part of the visit was the free time after dinner. While a pickup volleyball started up, we played traditional Cambodian games with the students. In one game, similar to duck duck goose, players are allowed to hit the person sitting next to them with a soft scarf while chasing them around the circle. We all got creative in defending ourselves and pursuing others, blocking hits, throwing the scarf, and running the wrong way, all while bringing out the dormant playful child inside all of us. I haven’t run with such vigor and laughed with such joy in a very long time. At the end of the game we all cheered and clapped, celebrating the happiness the simple game brought us. Our visit to EGBOK means so much to me because it wasn’t a sight to see or a scene to take pictures of. We had the chance to talk with the students and learn about their lives and families. We caught a brief glimpse of traditional Cambodian life – what is commonly eaten and worn. Despite language and cultural barriers, we made a connection with students our own age, whom have very different lives, through games that bring their own families and friends together. Thank you EGBOK and thank you to the wonderful, welcoming, caring students of EGBOK!

Best,
Jess and Jackie

Here are some pictures from our adventures these past 2 weeks:

[ezcol_1half]

The post Transition From Thailand To Cambodia appeared first on International Gap Year Programs | Carpe Diem Education.