When I was young, home was the little apartment crowded by my parents, my grandparents and I, where the specific arrangement of furnitures, the smell of old books, and unique voices of family members made up the picture of “home” in my younger......Read More
I have walked foreign cities before, but this one feels different. On a family trip to Paris I tried walking slowly, savoring every smell and every street vendor. I tried walking fast and with a purpose, relieved to be going somewhere and to have a......Read More
Often, when we’re far away from our loved ones, we say “Don’t worry, we’re underneath the same moon.” The stars, the moon, they all shine the same no matter how far apart we are, no matter the time difference—or so we say. These are......Read More
Before you start eating dinner with others in China, a few preliminary steps must be taken: all rice bowls should be filled, everyone must be seated, and you should offer the people sitting next to you (and even better, across from you) food before......Read More
If you’ve spent your entire life on the east coast of the United States, it feels pretty surreal to find yourself looking off the top of a mountaintop in South East Asia, with (what seems like) all of Indonesia spread out before you. That......Read More
Today, the Wera Cocha group explored the city of Urubamba. We exercised our limited Spanish in the local market, chatted with locals in the central plaza, and snacked on treats from a cafe. After asking tons of local citizens, we finally made our......Read More
Hola todos! Our group is currently in an internet cafe called Tin@jani near la plaza de pintacha in Urubamba. We´ve explored the market, talked to a ton of locals, eaten some delicious vegan and gluten free food, and taken a great group photo (not......Read More
After splitting up the Civic Semester group into three units, our group (Chiamaka, Claire, Jason, and Waideen) headed off to have a delicious lunch in the growing town of Urubamba, the place we will call home for the next three months. Succeeding......Read More
Here are a few photos from our first week and a half together in Senegal....Read More
Towers are built for sight, to see and be seen. From our tower in Mouït, it sometimes feels as if we can see to the end of the earth. The tide pools and sand crab burrows stretch all the way to the water which then meets the horizon in the very far......Read More
¡Buenos días! Yesterday our morning started bright and early, heading out of Casita Huarán at around 8am. Our lovely friend Jesus drove us to the trail head where we started our journey to Cancha Cancha. The way up took us about three hours, and......Read More
10,500 feet. That’s the rough difference between the elevation of my hometown in Florida compared to the town of Cancha Cancha, a place in Peru that I had the pleasure of visiting recently; after making the three hour trek I, along with the rest......Read More
I have always had a fascination for stars. My dad, the very person who brought me into the early business of watching stars, owns a small telescope that he uses weekly till this day. Living in a compound full of apartments and not many gardens, my......Read More
Buenos días dear families and friends. After almost a week at Casita Huaran, our orientation place where we had days full of reflection and learning, we are about to embark on a new adventure. We are heading to Paru Paru, a beautiful place at 4,000......Read More
Arriving in Indira Gandhi International Airport, we disembarked from our day-long journey into the balmy air of Delhi. The first sight we saw as we stepped out of the airport was a wonderful three letters: KFC. (Fernando immediately wanted to go.)......Read More
