Arrival in Finca Ixobel

I just received an email from Heather and Adam that the group's officially touched ground at Finca Ixobel, the site of their orientation and also the group's first real solid ground since taking off in SF! In Heather's words the leaders are typing from "the Flinstone's original computer" so don't expect any contact from the students until tomorrow at the earliest :-)

Yours,

Ethan

Let the journey begin!

I just got off the phone with our fearless leaders and everyone has safely arrived into SFO and are with their group! ... that's right, everyone! Despite snow on the East Coast, several frazzled flight rearrangements and one delay, the group is successfully united!

Stay tuned as another blog gets posted from Finca Ixobel during their first stop for orientation.

Yours in spirit,

Ethan Knight

Executive Director

Airport meeting information

Hola otra vez! 5 Days until we meet in SFO...

We will be meeting in front of the TACA airlines counter in the international terminal at 8:30pm on Wednesday, Feb 10th. We know many of you have flights that get you in well before 8:30pm, but just in case you are running late or can't find us, please call 1-877-285-1808. This is a Carpe Diem office number that will be answered all evening the night of our departure, and they will help you find us or let us know where you're at if you're behind schedule.

"True morality consists not in following the well beaten track ,
but in finding the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it."
Mahatma Gandhi

Look forward to meeting you all soon!
Adam and Heather

Hola CAM Spring 2010!

Hola and greetings from Carpe Diem HQ in Portland, OR. We are both very excited for our upcoming adventure - with less than a week to go before we meet in SFO, we have been working hard with final preparations and packing, as we imagine many of you are doing as well.
We will be calling you all in the next few days before we leave, to chat a bit and answer any questions you might have, as well as to pass along some last pieces of information.
Feel free to pass along this link to your friends and family, as we will all be taking turns updating it throughout the semester.
Enjoy your last weekend at home and we look forward to meeting you all muy pronto!
All the best,
Heather and Adam

Hey what's been going on you guys? I know we joked around about still blogging so I was thinking why not?
I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say that it is so weird to be back at home and in this other reality, but life is good. Kaise my brotha I don't know cold it is there but it don't have nothing on argon. I don't remember oregon getting this cold and this early in the season.

I miss you guys; family. I'm reminded by how lucky we are and smart of a decision it was to join carpe diem, by my friends. I love them but a thing has changed here. I miss realness the true, you know what I mean. Erday I think of "yall."

When you refer to me, I am now coach burgdorfer. Make that understood. : )
I hope all is good for everyone and would like to hear from each one of you. I love you guys.

Alex B

Goodbyes, but not forever!!

Our super special adventure comes to a close, as we spend our last day together here in Roatan. Today the group got certified in there open water diving, and Bobby and Karen received there advanced scuba diving certification. As were all spending the day doing some last dives, and writing our goodbye letters to each, our I AM poems or flows, evaluations were all a little sad to be leaving each other this soon. Over the past three months, we have been through challenges, hysterical laughs, and a lot of growth together. We've become one camtastic family. As we write this final blog, Karen, Max, Andy, and Bobby are out kayaking on the Caribbean, enjoying their final sunset together in Central America. Tonight we will have our final dinner out, and go over how much fun we have had traveling through the Americas.
I love you all, each one of you are super special to me.
Keep in touch!!

lots of love,
celia

Scuuuba time!

After getting up at nearly 230am to catch our flights, we are finally here in the island of Roatan. An island only about 40 miles long, and mostly English speaking. A little bit different for us, seeming we have been traveling in central America where the most common language is Spanish. so walking in the grocery store, and speaking Spanish with an English reply is a little different for us. Starting yesterday we met our Diver masters, Tony and Reno and watched a series of videos on the parts to scuba diving. Lucky ducks Karen and Bobby are already certified divers, and are just hanging out doing some review while the rest of us learn new stuff. Today, a more eventful day brought us to a trip out in the water, swimming in the ocean to the buoy, snorkeling seeing the coral reef in the Caribbean for the first time, and later going out for the first dive. Also today Karen and Bobby went out for there first dive 130 ft deep and saw two mantarays, and a huge crab. How neat are the wonders of the underwater world!
Well thats are for now friends and family,

With love,
Celia L.