Bula From Fiji

Watch out Fiji, because here comes Carpe Diem. After what seemed like the endless days of traveling, we arrived in Nadi during the wee hours of the morning. While the lack of sleep was prevalent on the faces of all the group members, the Fiji sun rising over the mountaintops and the excitement of reaching our destination pushed us through our first day. The next morning Ben and Simone took the group up to the roof of the hostel for a morning yoga session. We decided to try and incorporate yoga in the mornings as much as possible. During our orientation, the group quickly became a close family of travelers; all eagerly participating in anything and everything that came to hand. We also came to appreciate and enjoy the local food which consists of curry spice dishes as well as Indian influenced cuisine. The group had time to make friends with one another as well as the Nadi locals (who were all very friendly, especially to Ben who got the pleasure of sitting next to the affectionate Bill the cab driver). On the third day the group traveled to beautiful Natandola beach to celebrate the end of our Fiji orientation. Next, we are headed off to the village of Togovera for our homestays and we hope to continue what has been an amazing experience for all of us.

Time to WALKABOUT!

It's officially happened, the Walkabout group is walking now, through security, and onto the great beyond towards FIJI!  The group thankfully didn't experience any difficulty in uniting and if that doesn't bode well for a wonderful semester than I don't know what does!

Walkabout is Walkin' About!

Walkabout, the final Carpe Diem group is all together and ready to ship out to the many challenges and adventures that await!  Look for more from the group itself in a couple of days.  Until then, this is Carpe HQ signing off....

Walkabout FANZ Fall 2010!

Dear Walkabout Fall 2010 team: Ross, Hannah, Samira, Stephenie, Michael. R., Eric, Sam, Kellon, Michael C., Tate, and Gabe!

Benny and Simone here welcoming you to your new and exciting blog!  We hope you have all been enjoying the last bits of summer and are ready to extend the sun and fun right into the South Pacific…woot woot.  We are here in Portland at the Carpe Diem headquarters getting all geared up to finally meet you all and to begin our outrageous adventure together.  If you haven’t already heard from us, you should be getting a call from one of us in the next few days to go over some final details before we all head off. 

Definitely let everybody and anybody know the address to this page so we can keep friends, family, and envious folk all up to date on the ins and outs of our exciting jaunts through Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia!  All of you will have a chance to do the writing here and uploading of photos, so start thinking about creative things you may want to add.  Other than that, enjoy your last week(ish) wherever you may be, and we will see you all at the airport soon!!!

“Kia hora te marino, kia whakapapa pounamu te moana,
Kia tere karohirohi i mua i tou huarahi.” 

May calm be spread around you, may the sea glisten like greenstone and the shimmer of summer dance across your path.

-Maori Blessing

Peace.

Simone and Benny

P.S. – To get you all a little more savvy on Maori and New Zealand culture, here is a video of the New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks performing the Maori Haka, a dance traditionally used to intimidate ones opponents.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y