Written By Reilly Our last days in Italy were slightly hectic but also meaningful and lots of fun. We arrived in Naples at night after a long bus ride, including an impromptu bus swap an hour in. Having skipped dinner, the group checked in to the hostel then walked to a one of the last open cafes and had very good cafe pizza. The multi-level city gave an ominous first… Read More
Written By Tala & Chloe Since our last blog, we left Rome and made our way to the south of Matera. We spent the last 5 days in a monastery near the town of Altamura with the company B-Link. We got to learn a lot about this region’s Italian culture. Especially because we were joined by 3 local Italian students. We were given a tour of a 5th generation bread… Read More
Written By Phineas and Sage This week we were at Paldini! We picked chestnuts, learned how to build mud/clay houses, and went to a cool medieval town. We met super cool volunteers who were helping us do all the tasks. What were three of the top highlights this week?: The 3 top highlights are defiantly chestnut picking, having no phones, and being in nature. Chestnut picking was calming and super… Read More
Written By Madeline and Ella This week we traveled to Florence and spent our time at the Emerald Palace hostel in the center of Florence. On our first full day we got a tour from our trek guide, Lauren. She showed us around the local churches and taught us about the Medici family and the history of Florence. The group enjoyed our free time with shopping, trying new foods, and… Read More
Written By Eva & Ben Since leaving Centro Panta Rei, we have embarked on a four day trek on the Via Francigena through Tuscany! We got to stay in small towns and the city of Siena. During the trek we had amazing views and beautiful scenery. We got to make bread, see a medieval village, learn about Italian plants, and explore the towns! What were three of the top highlights … Read More
Written by Aidan & Sage We have come a long way in our stay at Centro Panta Rei. We have learned a plethora of sustainable practices that have greatly impacted our perspective on how we as humans use the natural world, as well as participated in culturally significant activities such as noodle making, dough making, and partaking in the entire process of making olive oil. As well as extending our… Read More
Written by OEs Aisha & Malcolm After a looong travel day from our various homes to JFK to Rome to our home for the first week of the program, Centro Panta Rei, we enjoyed our first delicious Italian dinner and collapsed in bed for a good night’s sleep. The next few days we split between our Carpe Diem orientation activities, aimed at bonding our group, establishing expectations, and laying the… Read More
Buongiorno and Kalimera from the Terra Fall 2025 OEs, Aisha and Malcolm! We are passionate travelers, inspired educators and global citizens, excited to embark upon this adventure together with all of you!
Here are a few pro tips before we embark:
Pack layers, and consider comfort!
Keep an open mind, be ready to try new foods!
Learn how to say please, thank you and I’m sorry in the local language.… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Maggie and ChelseaLovely students, what a wild and wonderful 70-day journey we’ve been on. You all have absolutely rocked it every second, and we cannot express how proud and honored we are to have spent the most precious resource we have together: our time. From meeting you at JFK, we traveled from Panta Rei where we bee-kept, bonded for the first… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Izzy, Peter and Malcolm What’s New in Our Journey?
After an amazing week of student-directed travel on Aegina, the group took a train two hours outside of Athens to Akrata. The week was spent at Re-Green, a permaculture community dedicated to the regeneration of Earth. Each day, the group participated in learning activities like garden bed prepping, composting, herbal talks, mushroom talks, and much… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Kyle Chang and Arianna Wilson What’s New in Our Journey?
We have arrived on student-directed travel week! Since our last blog, we met as a group and decided on a location to travel to. Keeping the budget and all members of the group’s interests in mind, we settled on Aegina. Aegina had something for everyone- archaeological sites, hiking, beaches, scuba diving, and a small… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Student, Ally Hudsyn What’s New in Our Journey?
Traveling to the city of Athens was an exciting adventure after exploring the peaceful towns in Crete. From the acropolis to hay markets there was plenty to explore. Walking on ancient ruins everywhere we went is an experience we will never forget. Top Three Highlights of the Week I think the most amazing thing we did this… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Peter, Izzy, and Ester What’s New in Our Journey?
This week, the group was in Matera working with local contacts from Link and B-Link. We started our week in Matera, doing a scavenger hunt to learn about the ancient city, Sassi, and what makes Matera the European Capital of Culture. The next day, the group got to explore Altamura, the City of Bread, visiting… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Pepper Travers and Aidan Stier What’s New in Our Journey?
Since we last wrote a blog post, we’ve been to Rome! We visited all the major sights: the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. Our hotel was a monastery very close to the Vatican, so just a short walk brought us to St. Peter’s Basilica. Top Three Highlights of the … Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Student, Hudsyn Toppenberg What’s New in Our Journey?
The past week has been full of incredible experiences in unlikely places. The group traveled by train to a quaint campsite called Paladini, nestled beautifully in the region of Garfagnana. It was quite an adjustment for the group to go from a big and bustling city like Florence to a rustic campsite, and it definitely took some… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Ally and Malcom What’s New in Our Journey?
Welcome back! We just finished our trek on the Via Francigena, visiting our first two cities, Florence and Siena. The group enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the trek and admired the historic architecture in both cities. Along the way, we had the chance to bake bread, try medieval sword fighting, and visit the world’s best gelato… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Students, Hudsyn and Allie What’s New in Our Journey?
We kicked off our journey at Panta Rei! It’s a beautiful community where we learned useful Italian phrases and how to live more sustainably within our surroundings. Building a community was a new experience for all of us—new people, a new environment. A strong community requires trust, effort, and leadership. We faced challenges, overcame our addiction… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educator, Chelsea Van EckCiao! After months of preparing for this day, I’m ecstatic to say the group has successfully arrived at our first stop in Italy, Panta Rei!
It’s been an eventful 48 hours as we traversed planes, trains, and buses to arrive at our destination and settle into a new space and community. To paint a picture of what these first few… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Maggie and ChelseaSome interesting tidbits about your leaders: Maggie calls both Colorado and Scotland home and is passionate about climbing, mountain biking, climate justice, and mental health advocacy.
Chelsea, a Midwest native, has called Korea, D.C., Wisconsin, and Florida home. She enjoys spending time with her nieces and nephews, going on nature walks, and learning people’s stories as she travels.
They both… Read More
Written by Italy & Greece Overseas Educators, Ariana and Megan Ciao for Now!
It’s hard to believe, but the Terra group is on their last night in Athens! Did we really just do all that we did? Whatever motivated each student to step on that plane on March 5th and fly to a foreign country with complete strangers, we applaud them! It takes courage to do what others aren’t doing-… Read More
