India & Nepal Semester | Carpe Diem Education Gap Year

Traveling with Carpe Diem challenged the ideas I had formed about myself in high school. Never quite excelling in the classroom environment and not knowing how to take advantage of school resources, I thought I was just born a “bad student.” Approaching education from an experiential model made me realize, I just didn’t know myself and my own needs. Carpe Diem’s Educators are so compassionate and supportive and help their students excel in their own ways. The program is immersive and set up in a way that gives you a wide variety of experiences, so everyone can experience a range of challenges and strengths.

Like someone said below, I haven't reviewed my semester on here yet because how can you sum up 3 months of experiences in one post? I will say that not only were our groups leaders incredible, the opportunities we were given were very special and unique. While this program may not work for some students, it was beneficial for me in learning how to travel with a variety of personalities, and how to live in a country to vastly different from my own. I saw a review on here that was incredible negative, and I am saddened that India did not teach that individual as much as it taught me about bringing the best out of an experience, and doing so with compassion and patience. I met many people during my time in India, within my group and outside of, that challenged me to think about my own behavior as a person and as someone who participates in society and what my impact is. Traveling in itself does this, but CDE gave us time to reflect and discuss our own thought processes in ways in which traveling alone would not. CDE gave me the space to become more confident in my own traveling abilities, and open my eyes to the differences in the world around me. I am in college now, and I always tell my friends here that I am a better, calmer, more caring person after my semester with CDE. So, if I could, I would do a semester again just to see the ways in which I could continue to grow.

I chose India because it scared me. Traveling to a place that is so foreign for 3 months, without a phone, with a group of 11 other strangers, seems extremely daunting. However, I knew that taking the leap of faith would make me grow. And to say that it did is an understatement. If you want to learn the tools to live a more fulfilling life, develop a worldview, and be exposed to the inequalities that we are often sheltered from, then Carpe Diem is the program for you. The wisdom and lessons I gained have made me a more compassionate and open-minded individual. The way they organize the trip makes you feel like you are immersing yourself in the culture, rather than just being a tourist. We were lucky enough to learn about meditation and Buddhism from the Dalai Lama in his temple. We practiced our Hindi with vibrant kids living in slums. We ate our way through all of the samosa, thali, and chai shops. None of that would have happened without Carpe Diem's longlasting connections to the communities and people of India. The 11 other people in my group also became the most inspiring community I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We laughed till our stomachs hurt, danced with locals, cried, loved, meditated, and grew together. After 3 years, we still keep in contact because the connections made will truly last a lifetime. I can't recommend this program enough! Take the leap of faith!

India 2020: This program was poorly run, and a waste of time. We are sorry to have chosen it for our daughter, out of all the gap programs available nationwide. We could have, just as easily, chosen a program that was educational, immersive and memorable, but unfortunately, we went with Carpe Diem. To begin, the flight itineraries were unnecessarily long and out of the way, with layovers extending 8 or more hours, and many unnecessary stopovers. The students were made to roam around empty airports; planes weren’t there, nor were gates assigned. Next, sickness in the group was rampant. All the students got scabies, but Carpe Diem didn’t inform parents until five days after. Our daughter was scratched by a cat that the group leader was playing with, and had to be treated with shots for rabies and tetanus (which she already had). The homestay parent in Kochi stole money and electronics from the students. Probably the scariest thing about Carpe Diem is the forced child labor, disguised as sustainability, at several camps. At the project, our daughter was forced to collect human feces for compost. She was forced to dig up invasive tree species, despite her allergies and asthma. All of this before they were allowed to eat breakfast, then after again. Food was sparse. The projects is an artificial forest, grown in a desert, and populated by Europeans and Israelis, not Indians. How is this an immersive Indian camp? It is unsustainable, but the Carpe Diem students were charged with sustaining it. They were sunburned, underfed, exhausted, overheated, and ridiculed for their American way of life. The next project was much the same: forced labor without enough food, in scorching heat. What did they learn at these camps, from their leaders and other campers? That they personally are responsible for climate change; that non-vegetarian eaters are burning up the planet with methane; that global markets are a source of evil and oppression. Was there an opposing narrative offered, to provide critical thinking and objectiveness? Unfortunately, no. Our daughter’s personality is to be positive. She is also a very hard worker, which is how she graduated early from high school in order to do a gap semester. So, she decided to rise above the confusion, scrutiny, and divisiveness of the India Carpe Diem program, and give her best effort, therefore learning strength of character in spite of the silly leaders and the ridiculous itinerary. She learned that many people (non Indian) on this trip who proclaim to be conservationists and live sustainable, peaceful, cooperative lives are in actuality some of the most judgmental, closed minded, uneducated, and downright mean people. This is what Carpe Diem gave her. All the way from the director, to the group leader, to the residents, the message was one of discrimination, haughtiness, fringe behavior, and unearned superiority. Our daughter went all the way to India, and didn’t learn about India. I would recommend choosing a different India gap program. Don’t choose Carpe Diem. Gary Holt Highlands Ranch CO USA

I traveled to India with Carpe Diem Education in the fall of 2011, and what a wonderful experience it was! I appreciated the scope of our travel - we got to see many different cities throughout the country, as we never spent more than a week in one place. The leaders were incredibly street-smart and savvy, and made me feel completely safe in their care. I appreciated the small group dynamic and the intimate friendships that developed between the members of our India cohort. We also had an excellent balance of activities - from trekking in the Himalayas, to attending a week-long retreat at a yoga ashram, to taking Hindi classes and volunteering at an orphanage in Calcutta, I felt as though we really experienced such a range of what the country had to offer, doing whatever felt culturally relevant to our location. I learned so much about being an independent traveler from Carpe Diem, and felt enabled to travel internationally on my own over the next few years. All in all, this was a life-changing opportunity and one that I am still grateful for several years later.

Thank you CDE for teaching me to recognize and appreciate the privileges I have, to be patient and live in the moment, to stay humble, and that one person can truly make a difference. These are lessons that have stayed with me the past two years since my India semester, and will continue to stay with me for the rest of my life.

I have yet to provide a review for my experience with CDE because it feels like one of those things that cannot really be articulated - like when a moment is so sweet that your camera could never really do it justice. Regardless of these limitations, CDE definitely deserves a good one. It's funny because I can so clearly remember looking through the reviews for the India program, and CDE in general on this website before I chose to participate. And here I am now, writing my own. So what was it that I was looking for in the reviews? What did I want to know? Would this actually be as exciting, adventurous and rewarding as it sounds? What happens if the food is too spicy for me to eat? Will I be sleeping for three months on cold ashram floors? Will I become a chai connoisseur? Will I meet a guru? Will I become enlightened? How long will my armpit hair be when I come back? Do only weird people do this sort of program? I won't provide the answers to these questions, because thats the beauty of experiencing this adventure for yourself. But I can promise you, this adventure is more than non-regrettable - it will change your life. *here's some photos that can't quite do these sweet moments justice