International Volunteering

The Hands behind Hands in Nepal

August 1, 2011 by thirdeyemom

Since I got back from Nepal last November, I have been aching to help the Nepalese people. I was awestruck by the beauty of the country, its people and sacred cultures. Yet there is so much poverty and so much need. A few months after my return I learned about a very tiny grassroots NGO called Hands in Nepal created by an intuitive, creative young American man named Danny Chaffin with the support and guidance from his amazing mother Jan Sprague. […]

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Categories: CULTURE, International Volunteering, Nepal, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: CULTURE, Hands in Nepal, International NGOs, Nepal, Travel

Update on Hands in Nepal fundraising efforts

June 3, 2011 by thirdeyemom

Rural village in the Annapurna range taken from my recent trip to Nepal in October-November 2010. (For more photos and stories on my trip to Nepal, please refer to older posts located under “Nepal”). Hello Readers! As some of you are aware, I’ve been actively fundraising over the last two months to try to raise money to help a fabulous grass-roots NGO called HANDS IN NEPAL (www.handsinnepal.org) build a new school in rural Nepal. A recent trip to the Annapurnas […]

Categories: CULTURE, INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFITS, International Volunteering, Nepal, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: CULTURE, Hands in Nepal, Nepal, NGOs

Moroccan cooking 101: How to make tagine

May 3, 2011 by thirdeyemom

Anyone who has ever traveled to Southern Spain, Turkey, North Africa or Middle East knows that the food is quite magical. Food from these regions generally contain an array of fresh spices abound in flavor such as saffron, cumin, ginger, paprika, black pepper, cinnamon, mint and garlic. Mouthwatering fresh fruits such figs, dates, oranges and pomegranates can often be found added to freshly prepared tagines and couscous. Delectable olives, delightful almonds and mouth-burning harissa (a capsicum-pepper sauce which I adore) […]

Categories: CULTURE, INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFITS, International recipes, International Volunteering, Morocco, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: Cooking, Cross-Cultural Solutions, CULTURE, life, Moroccan Food, Morocco, Recipes, Tagine, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY, Volunteering

Dating 101: Rock the Kasbah

April 26, 2011 by thirdeyemom

Once again, I found myself at the city’s beloved landmark of beauty: the Kasbah des Oudaias. A Kasbah is a fortified area that once housed the ruling family, its guards and everything needed for living under attack. Nowadays, Kasbahs are still a beautiful place to live, with its traditional whitewashed and brilliant blue blue painted buildings and stunning, winding alleyways with gorgeous, lush gardens and views of either the landscape or in Oudaias case, the magnificent blue sea. With Khadija […]

Categories: CULTURE, INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFITS, International Volunteering, Morocco, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: CULTURE, Islam, Morocco, Rabat, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY, Women

Leaving Minnesota

April 15, 2011 by thirdeyemom

I woke up early to my six am alarm clock, meaning my son’s calls ” Mama, Mama”‘ in a slow, lumbering and persistent cry. Being woken up at all hours of the night and early morning is still something I have yet to get used to. You would think that after all these years, I would have figured it out and accepted it yet I haven’t. Waking up on your own, when you want to is a luxury that most […]

Categories: International Volunteering, Morocco, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY, Traveling solo • Tags: CULTURE, Morocco, PARENTING & FAMILY, Paris, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY, Volunteering

The Handprints

March 28, 2011 by thirdeyemom

One of the first things I noticed when I walked into the CCS Home Base in Cartago was the handprints. They were everywhere. Coated across every wall in every room (including the bathrooms!) and covering every single empty space, making them hard to miss and hard to resist. Every single volunteer that comes through CCS Cartago’s door is invited to paint their handprint, artwork and a quote on the walls of the inside of the home base before they leave. […]

Categories: Costa Rica, INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFITS, International Volunteering, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: Cartago, Costa Rica, CULTURE, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY

The House of Children

March 27, 2011 by thirdeyemom

Volunteers were not needed Friday morning at the nursing home so instead Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS) arranged another volunteer opportunity for the day. CCS works with a variety of different non-profits in Cartago and places their volunteers on an as-needed basis. When you sign up on a CCS volunteer program, you do not find out exactly what your assignment will be until two to three weeks before departure. You have an idea of what it may entail. Normally CCS volunteers work […]

Categories: Costa Rica, INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFITS, International Volunteering, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: Cartago, children, Costa Rica, CULTURE, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY

A Visit to the Countryside

March 25, 2011 by thirdeyemom

The main reason why I chose Cross-Cultural Solutions (CCS) for my volunteer trip was its unique three-prong approach to volunteer service: Volunteer work, Cultural Exchange and Cultural Learning. I liked the idea that we would not only be doing volunteer work but also focusing on cultural exchange with the locals, residents and staff, and experiencing an assortment of cultural learning activities such as Latin Dance class, Tortilla cooking class, Spanish language classes, Costa Rica history and political class, Cartago city […]

Categories: Costa Rica, International Volunteering, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: Cartago, Costa Rica, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY, Volcano, Volunteering

A Burst of Color and Life

March 22, 2011 by thirdeyemom

I woke up as usual to the song of the birds and wonderful, fragrant smells flowing down the long corridor from the kitchen. It was six o’clock on the nose and time to start day 3 at the nursing home. I was looking forward to it as I truly felt like we’d made a lot of progress in the last two days. Doors were open to friendships and smiles were freely exchanged. I realized that it was a humbling experience […]

Categories: Costa Rica, INTERNATIONAL NON-PROFITS, International Volunteering, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY • Tags: Cartago, Costa Rica, CULTURE, TRAVEL BY COUNTRY, Volunteering

The Circle of Life

March 21, 2011 by thirdeyemom

I woke up Tuesday morning at the crack of dawn, as usual. The pale light was shining through the curtain cracks and the birds were chirping away in beautiful song. It was 6 am, and time to start the day. The breakfast was cooking (I could smell the hot cooked meal along with the freshly roasted java throughout the long corridor, entering my bunk room) and it was time to get up and ready for Day 2 at the nursing […]