APRIL 19, 2019 | SHANTI OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | INDIA- SHANTI

Written By Georgia

The following day we visited the beautiful Golden Temple and volunteered in different areas. Some of us shucked chickpeas, while others helped wash dishes. We continued to volunteer doing various tasks at the temple over the next three days, except for Olivia, who was, unfortunately, feeling under the weather, but is now feeling much better. One night, Kari, Charlotte, and I helped wash dishes with ash. Ash has antibacterial properties and is great for cleaning. We all agreed that our time volunteering was fun and quite meditative.

APRIL 18, 2019 | SALAAM OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | SPAIN & MOROCCO - SALAAM

Written By Clemente

38 hours of travel and 5 travel days later, the Salaam carpe diem group has completed our week long SDT (Student Directed Travel).

Our week started off with a trip to the Sahara, led and organized by our fearless captain Geoff. After a 13 hour bus ride to the Sahara, we arrived to the hostel where it was so late that we were thrown into cars to take us to the tents in the desert. What followed could only be described as one of the most exciting car rides that Geoff, Vanesia, Gina, Kathryn, and myself have ever been on; the ride consisted of high speeds in the black of night (not to worry friends and families, the leaders were watching and made sure the ride was safe as well) with a driver that was bumping Pitbull music at maximum volume. The following morning we woke up greeted by camels which Tori mounted cautiously. Brandis was unlucky enough to get the angry camel that she later named Wanda, and to this day believes that Wanda hated her. We rode camels through the sunrise of the Sahara desert for 2 hours before returning to our hotel.

APRIL 15, 2019 | SABAI OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | SOUTHEAST ASIA- SABAI

Written By Jess

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.

APRIL 9, 2019 | SALAAM OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | SPAIN & MOROCCO - SALAAM

Written By Tori

The first day we were supposed to hike Mt. Boutmezguida to see the nets collect the fog, but it was raining. Instead, we were put into a jeep and small groups were driven up to the mountain to the nets. Gina, Kate, and Eliana were enjoying their time hiking when a hailstorm started. Luckily, the jeep came to save them. The upside of the rain was we were the first group to witness the fog harvesting in action! We all gathered around the nets and asked questions about the project before hiking down the mountain to have lunch. During lunch, Vanesia lead the group in asking questions to the beneficiaries of the fog project to see how having direct water supply has affected their lives. One example was how young girls could stay in school and continue their education because they no longer were needed at home to travel to gather water from the wells.

APRIL 9, 2019 | SHANTI OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | INDIA- SHANTI

Written By Olivia

The following day we each had our own small adventures and plenty of naps, and then we visited the garbage dump of Udaipur. It was shocking to see the mass amounts of human waste as organic matter would sporadically catch fire and the smell of burnt plastic filled the air. It made us all think heavily on our own habits of consumption as we pointed out what waste could have been created by us. Even in the dump there was connected life though, humans living and sorting through trash for metal bits and cloth to sell, and fields of abandoned cows fat off of plastic. We’ve become more aware, and all hope in our separate ways that we may bring that awareness home with us.

APRIL 8, 2019 | SHANTI OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | INDIA- SHANTI

Written By Olivia

We spent the last four days partially at an educational NGO in the desert and partially at beautiful home stays in an Adivasi village about a five minute walk through the sand. My feet were perpetually covered in dust, and then after trying to wash my feet I realized they weren’t actually (that) dirty, only tan from the sun and our outside adventures. Our home stay parents in the village were amazing. None of us could communicate too clearly through our language barriers, but we communicated through laughter and smiles. Amiah, Kari, and Charlotte stayed with the village head (Amiah was ill for the first day, but made it through sheer will-power to stay with her family the next day, and farm with us!). Georgia and Owen stayed with their mom Leelah-bhai, and Zevi and I with Nakkia-bhai and Debbie-lal, though Debbie-lal was out of town working on setting up tents for events. All of our parents were very kind, and welcomed us warmly.

APRIL 5, 2019 | SABAI OVERSEAS EDUCATORS | SOUTHEAST ASIA- SABAI

Written By Jess & Jackie

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!

Photos from the group in Jaipur and at their rural homestays in Jhadol