First Impressions in Tanzania

FEBRUARY 22, 2017 | EAST AFRICA - KIFARU

Here is a collection of some of our first impressions in Tanzania: 

Tanzania is a beautiful country, and the mountains we are near are amazing. It is pretty hot, but not unbearable. The thing that has struck me the most is the infrastructure here. It is much better than I was expecting. The power lines here are all organized, especially when compared to the Philippines. The people here are also much friendlier than New Yorkers, maybe its the sun!

Our first impressions of Tanzania were definitely a culture shock. We encountered an eclectic and vibrant city in Dar es Salaam and a friendly and diverse people in its midst. On the way to Morogoro we had a 5 hour lesson in Tanzanian hip hop. Upon arriving at the foothills of the Uluru mountains we found a quaint hostel called Mama Pierina’s. It is lovely. We like the monkeys and the chipsy maiaii at mchana!

The first thing that I noticed when walking in the streets here at Morogoro is that people are extremely friendly and kind. Everyone will say hi and help you with your Swahili. At the places we have stayed the locals are caring and ever willing to help us find the places we would need to visit or eat. Aside from being nice and friendly people are everywhere. They are walking by the street, on the street, and zooming by (crazily if I might add) on motor bikes and in cars.

And yes as you would expect what people have and their show of wealth is startlingly different, this is all the more reason that their kindness and care is astounding. We have driven by rubble of peoples homes who were simply kicked out in order to build a road. What you have can simply be gone the next day, so I guess it makes since that kindness and care is more important than wealth.

This place is beautiful. The trees, the flowers, the clouds, and the smiling faces. I am yet to get used to all the heat and all the eyes that follow the group of “mzungu” or white people. I fear that I may come to love this place and its people more than I can presently imagine.

Scavenger Hunts in South America

FEBRUARY 20, 2017 | SOUTH AMERICA - INTI

4 teams, 11 tasks, and only 1 winner. Teams set out to discover the coolest, funniest, and strangest aspects of Quito. In just the first hour of our adventure, we tried tamarind and coconut drinks, shot darts at candy, went canoeing, played volleyball with locals, got attacked and took revenge on a little boy with an oversized water gun, enjoyed a fellow explorer´s private concert in the park, took selfies with a security guard, got a personal escort through the city by a traditionally dressed and very friendly family, and even witnessed the changing of the guard at Palacio de Carondelet, where the president of Ecuador lives. We also spoke with lots of locals. One man in particular, who sells natural products and medicines, taught us about how farmers are the heart of this country. He also explained a new government initiative that is helping turn unused land into cacao plantations. More chocolate for everyone! This whole day has been about stepping out of our comfort zones in order to form bonds with the amazing people and culture here. Pretty solid way to set the stage for the rest of our trip!!

First Impressions in Delhi

FEBRUARY 20, 2017 | INDIA - SHANTI

Here is a collection of some of our first impressions in Delhi, India. 

These first few days in Delhi have been insane, but wonderful. From seeing elephants in the street, to people diving down the wrong side of the road, to crowds of people trying to take photos with us, India is everything I thought it would be and more. Namaste to everyone back at home!              

Everywhere you look there is something new and amazing to see. So far it has been totally overwhelming, but in a wonderful way. Often you see things that break your heart but the next you see something beautifully uplifting and it is all just an amazing display of humanity.

Delhi is definitely a city that never sleeps. People are always going somewhere and or doing something. The colors and the smells are all very overwhelmingly beautiful. These first 3 days has been an amazing experience and it’s something that I am looking forward to facing everyday.

Sitting in a small internet cafe on our third day in Delhi, we are feeling energized, overstimulated, and excited for this adventure. So far, India has been crazy. The amount of people swarming around every where is intense but beautiful. The cars, rickshaws, and motorcycles follow no laws on the road. There is constant honking from every auto mobile trying to establish their own individual dominance. Cows, camels, and stray dogs roam around the roads as well as people who sleep in the middle of the road through all the commotion! Our group is staying in a hip, chill, hostel with a nice breakfast every morning and kind hostel staff.

Today the group created an agreement we will carry with us for the next three months which includes the philosophy of respecting each other and our belongings as well as avoiding gossip, being honest, and letting each other know when we might need personal space.

In two days we will be traveling to Jaipur, in Rajasthan, to live with our host families. More updates to come. Love from our group to you all!Aum shanti shanti shanti!!!

Bird Call Alarm Clocks

FEBRUARY 19, 2017 | SOUTH EAST ASIA - SABAI

Who needs alarm clock when you have the Koel bird of Thailand. The 5:30 wake up to it’s screeching might take getting used to but it does allow you to enjoy a full day of Thailand. We enjoyed some free breakfast of Thai Omelet or Noodle soup, got some coffee, and prepared to make our first group agreements. Going around we discussed what each member of our community wanted to get out the of the group and what we felt was needed to keep us tight. Our group has bonded really well in only two days, enough that we can talk about our home lives and even our poop cycles and still feel comfortable around each other. We headed out to a local park called Bauk Haad where we drank milk tea and played some shuttlecock. We discussed the do’s and dont’s of Thai culture and how to assure we made good impressions on our coming home stays. We chilled at the park for a while enjoying the wonderful Thai air and the half-naked yoga practitioners. Heading off we had the opportunity to explore a Thai market where it felt the entirety of Chang Mai had come out to pedal to a massive crowd of foreign tourists. We bought some absolute necessities like frilly pants and wallets, before stopping at a stall to get some soup for dinner. Thai food carts provide some of the best food we’ve ever tried and the massive selection of everything from Pad Thai to Fried bugs meant everyone found something unique to try. We took an open-air taxi back to Mojito Gardens where we closed down for the night. Only two days in Thailand and already it is such an amazing experience.

Meeting the Dalai Lama: Shiva and Shanti

4/25/16-Shanti

Where to begin?! We kicked off our student directed travel by going to the Beatles Ashram in Rishikesh. This is a seven acre abandoned Ashram where the Beatles stayed in the late 60’s and produced most of the “White Album.” The Ashram has become a shrine to the Beatles with incredible graffiti everywhere. We spent our time exploring the overgrown old buildings, discovering new artwork, and all the while singing (at one point maybe screaming) different Beatles songs together. I recommend googling the ashram because it is truly a magical musical place.

After Rishikesh, our travel skills were put to the test when we became in charge of getting from Rishikesh to Manali. (Paulo was in charge of transport and did a fantastic job!) This trip consisted of almost a 14 hour overnight bus ride (YIKES), but we arrived in one piece to green forests and mountain air. In Manali we did hikes to a waterfall and rock climbing. We have arrived in Dharamsala where we celebrated Kenya’s birthday, and will now be working on an organic farm.

4/26/16-Shiva

We got back yesterday from our 4 day trek in the himalayas and it was awesomeee!! we made it up high enough that we reached the snow and those days were the first time i seen it snow in india. i got awesome pics that will probably be up in the next two weeks when i come home. Also i was able to represent the home squad and get some pics with my blazer jersey in the mountains too so when i put that up on "wear in the world" for portland, y'all better vote for me lol. And it was awesome coming back from the trek because we ran into the other india group and saw our friends from portland!!!!!!! tomorrow we make our way to the golden temple so thats the next move. (Travon)

Back to buisness!.. After two very tiring over night train rides we finally arrived to Mcleod Ganj. I can speak for all of us when I say we are LOVING the weather here! After being in the desert for so long, weather cold enough to where you can walk around in sweats and a hoodie has been heaven. We even got some rain[🙂]

We are all doing solo home stays for the first time but we feel more comfortable because our families are able to speak English. After meeting our host mothers we got to pick our internships[🙂]  5 of us are making dream catchers and 2 of us are creating beautiful paintings and I’m super excited to see how they turn out. Later that evening we got to watch a movie about the Dalai Lama to get a bigger perspective of the Tibetan culture and people that live here in India.
I personally take a huge interest on the Tibetan refugees that have had to leave everything behind to come to India. I’m grateful that in our time here we are also getting to help teach some of them English through conversation and get a little bit more perspective of what it’s like for them.All in all, we love our Tibetan families and the space they make for us (and being able to communicate with them.) I’m really going to miss this cool weather and amazing nature. (Blanca)

4/27/16-Shiva

Whoa: So we were about to leave this city Mcleoud Ganj to go to the golden temple this morning but we delayed that for a few hours because we got to actually meet the Dalai Lama and shake his hand and take pictures with him! that was awesome lol!  (Travon)

The Scared Valley of Peru

After a mentally and physically demanding stay in the rural village of Patacancha, the INTI team headed back to Ollantaytambo for the first night of student directed travel. We stayed with the same families as the week before, and re-grouped at 9:00am in the Plaza de Armas to begin our long 3.5 hour journey to Lares.

On the drive we went over the Lares mountain pass, and saw: extensive ruins, llamas, alpacas, a couple of jagged mountains, and one misty, snow covered peak. In the collectivo we reached a max altitude of around 4500m above sea level, before descending into the next valley on a beautiful ribbon of road. After reaching the slightly disappointing town of Lares, we headed to the highly recommended sulfuric hot springs. The trip to Lares came at a perfect time for most as in the last few days heat and rest were scarce. Most of our time at the Lares was spent soaking, some spent more time than others (Will entered the water at 7pm and exited at 4am). After just one night we left at 11am to the small city of Pisac. In Pisac, we were presented with “normal” food options that unluckily cost significantly more than our Per Diem. Thus we utilized the kitchen and started making our own meals. The goal was to save up money before the notoriously expensive Cusco, where, to our dismay, our hostel doesn’t have a kitchen we can use.

The time we had in Pisac was productively spent resting and checking out ruins, as well as some folks going nuts while shopping. Most of the group went up to the ruins, and some others went to the salt ponds/terraces outside Urubamba. Overall the first half of SDT went well and as planned, and we all look forward to Cusco, Machu Picchu, and then home!

Esperanza signing off

Hello for the last time to our friends and family abroad. This week, Nick wraps up our trip with one last podcast, bringing you in closer to our last week on the ground. We can't believe our trip has closed out so fast and we are all looking forward to seeing your faces quite soon!
 

A top el pie de Gigante 

Won't be long now...

Esperanza!

Baking traditional bread with one of the host families in Playa Gigante 

Nancita in all her glory! 

Shiva and Tibetan Refugees

Hi guys! It’s Blanca here! 

After two very tiring over night train rides we finally arrived to Mcleod Ganj. I can speak for all of us when I say we are LOVING the weather here! After being in the desert for so long, weather cold enough to where you can walk around in sweats and a hoodie has been heaven. We even got some rain :). 
We are all doing solo home stays for the first time but we feel more comfortable because our families are able to speak English. After meeting our host mothers we got to pick our internships. :) 5 of us are making dream catchers and 2 of us are creating beautiful paintings and I’m super excited to see how they turn out. Later that evening we got to watch a movie about the Dalai Lama to get a bigger perspective of the Tibetan culture and people that live here in India.

I personally take a huge interest on the Tibetan refugees that have had to leave everything behind to come to India. I’m grateful that in our time here we are also getting to help teach some of them English through conversation and get a little bit more perspective of what it’s like for them.
All in all, we love our Tibetan families and the space they make for us (and being able to communicate with them.) I’m really going to miss this cool weather and amazing nature.
Until next time -Blanca :)

Life on the farm - on a volcanic island in Nicaragua

Hola amigos y familias!

View from the farm 

This is Saya writing my blog draft in a mango tree. After a long week of ups and downs and the longest travel day yet, we arrived at Isla de Ometepe. We are staying at Bona Fide, a farm that focuses on experiential learning on permaculture. We also have afternoon workshops on basket weaving, jam making and chocolating. We are surrounded by nature here with no walls anywhere except for handmade ones made of Palm tree leaves and sliced bamboo used for the compost toilets and huts. Every weekday morning we start farm work from 6:45 to 12, with a one hour break for brekkie. The afternoons are spent relaxing on the farm, learning about permaculture, going for dips in the lake, or going for a smoothie run to the groups favorite local cafe Campestre de Ometepe. The farm has an abundance of trees baring delicious exotic fruits, gardens full of veggies and medicinal herbs, beautiful views of sunsets and more scorpions and spiders than we’d like.

Sunset at Ometepe 

We love it here and wish we could stay longer, but we’re also pumped to be heading to our next destination, Masaya tomorrow for our last week of Spanish classes! Lots of love from the group to our families and friends.

Pictures of our farm life below!

Lounging in the tree house 

Peyton working hard! 

Making baskets 

Hasta pronto,

Saya

Esperanza's 4th podcast - Turtles in the moonlight

Hi again friends and family. We are back with another short installment of our podcast. Betty is here to deliver to you your next dose of what life is like here for the Esperanza cohort.

Though it wasn't on the radar of our podcast, Nancy and Jess had the great opportunity to name a sea turtle that hadn't been logged, and they donned her with the name Esperanza... For oh so many reasons. :)

We hope to get one more out before we head home in - holy cow - like a week!

See you all soon!

Sunset at the turtle project