Photos!

Due to complications with Flickr, we created a brand spankin´ new account through shutterfly, which allows all of us to sign in under 1 username. Here´s the link, check us out: http://www.samcarpediem2009.shutterfly.com

greetings from otavaloooooo!

This dark saturday eve finds us nestled in between mamma and pappa volcanoes in the ever magnificent Otavalo Ecuador. After two weeks spent working the farm at Rio Muchacho, today we were able to satisfy our insatiable American need to consume, storming one of the largest handicraft markets in South America, scouring the streets for gifts, plauging store owners for their unnescesary knick knacks made of alpaca hair. We now set off with misty eyes as our group seperates for the first time. Half bound for the cloud forest to teach the younglings of ecuador, and half to work on our ever improving spanish vocabulary and grammer at a language school in Otavalo. Soon we shall reunite in a joyous embrace, until then its off deep into the forest for Dan and I. Wish us luck, we miss you all at home.
with love, Dan Will and the rest of the Carpe Diem SAM trip

Bueno

Hi Family! We are having such a great time in Rio Muchacho and want to tell you all about our trip so far! We started out at Saiunanda, a beautiful place just outside of Bahia. Alfredo, the owner, opened our eyes to a new way of living, as we all tried something new and did a singing bowls meditation. Peacocks roomed the land, along with many other birds and animals including iguanas, sloths, horses, parrots, dogs, puppies, cats and much much more. Each meal was delicious, even the sloths tried to sneak into the refrigerator to grab a bite. One of our favorite days was going to the mangroves with Cati. We covered ourselves with mud!! Getting dirty never felt so good. We laughed, were happy, and felt blissful as we connected to the Earth, wildlife and to our new friends. Now at Rio Muchacho, an organic farm, we are eager to get our trip up and rollin! In the day time we experience as much farm work as possible -shoveling poop, making compost, pulling weeds, feeding the animals, and helping in the kitchen. But at night is when we get it poppin! We jam every night -Keegan on the drums, Andy on the guitar, and everyone else joining as they please. Dawn and Dan play shit boots but you better watch out cause Dan will jack you up son! Milo brings a calming wisdom and offers meditation for us all. Maddie likes take small childrens soccer balls and kick them off a cliff (Thanks, Kieran, writes Maddie). Shelby enlightens us with her metal singing skills. Kieran helps keep the bugs away, and is always willing to give a WHOO WHOOOOO! Will is always the person to look at when you need a smile, giving us a lot of insight and laughter. And Jeff has been doing a swell job at providing a monologue that always cheers us up. We have one more week in Rio Muchacho where we will begin our Spanish classes, which we all are super excited for. Hopefully we will vbe able to enter another blog post before we travel to Otavalo for our next adventure!
Bloggers Kieran and Keegan

p.s. we made a flicker account! go to www.flickr.com/samcarpediem2009 to see the pictures

Greetings from Bahia!!!

We´re here!!! After a verrrrrry long day of travel, we have arrived at our orientation location on the coast.

We´ve been released into the city of Bahia de Caraquez by Jeff and Dawn, who (very lovingly) said to us this morning, `Now leave this beautiful hostel we´re staying in, fend for yourselves, and come back for dinner! No, we won´t be helping you. At all.´

So here we (Will and Maddie) are, having just finished a delicious meal of rice and beans and chicken and beef at a restaurant overlooking the Bay. We will spend the rest of the afternoon seeking out transportation options and other hostels as `foreshadowing´for more responsibilities we will be taking on later in the trip. Woo hoo!

Hasta luego, amigos! Sending good vibes your way.......

Maddie and Will

we´re here!

hola amigos! we have made it here to ecuador and are in la ciudad de bahia de caraquez! this is our first stop so we havent seen much of the city, but the hostel we are staying at is mucho bien. there is even a sloth that live in the kitchen. we are on a scavenger hunt and are hoping we find some great things. the new culture is sometinhg we enjoy a lot....but our spanish is not as good as we´d like...hopefully we dont get too lost today! xoxo padres we love you

Nosotros Estamos En Ecuador

Sup guys its Dan and Keegan reporting live from an internet cafe in Bahia, Ecuador!! Being the first ones to post on this blog and to find internet access by ourselves we would to take this time to congradulate ourselves... After a strenuous day of traveling were eager to explore more of this town on foot. Our hostel that we are staying at is luxurious, very peaceful and full of delicious meals. There were many interesting creatures that inhabit our hostel, from terantualas, to sloths! Well, we still have a lot to discover so until next time.. adios.

Let the Journey Begin!

I've just spoken to Dawn and Jeff and the group happy, together and are heading through LAX airport security as I type this blog. With one slightly delayed student everyone arrived without injury and with all bags present - truly, this promises to be a wonderful and affirming semester!

Please stay tuned for regular blogs from our students on a mostly weekly basis.

Yours in spirit,

Ethan

Let It Begin:)

Well Hi Thar:)
This is your future co-leader team, Jeff and Dawn, just checking in with you, sending out warm welcomes. We have been spending many days together now, running around Portland doing last minute errands, talking Heaps about our upcoming adventure and how truly excited we are to meet all of you very very soon, and simply learning about each other. We've been going over our itinerary, finalizing a few things as well. Anyhow.
So this is the first of many Blogs to come, which ya'll will eventually be taking over; it is a way to share with friends, family, and loved ones what we are all up to. You may notice that there are previous entries from the last group who were on this trip...we want to keep these old Blogs as an ongoing way for everyone to access past memories and to see what future groups are up to!
We are sooooo very excited to meet you guys, and to have the opportunity to share such amazing and magical moments with you all.
Yippee Kye Aye,
Jeff and Dawn