About Us

Woman Awake was born from the many requests that Carpe Diem Education parents voiced. From both parents although primarily the mothers of Carpe Diem's students there was a uniform wish to get back to the adventurous side of living over the years had fallen in its priority. Over the last decade Carpe Diem International Education has used its expertise in the world of international travel to safely and profoundly work with over one thousand students, doing volunteer service and adventure in every country we travel. Using our experience we've graciously been able to create a new offering, Woman Awake, to meet the needs of adult women who are both looking to rekindle a flame born ages ago, and, perhaps more importantly, rejuvenate the soul with a cohort of amazing women. Currently Carpe Diem Education offers programs to Africa, Asia, Australia & the South Pacific, South America, and Southeast Asia. We hope to offer more Woman Awake programs to these same destinations and more, so stay tuned and we hope you can join us on our next adventure!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions about our programs:
503-285-1800 or through email at info@carpediemeducation.org

Some Things Everyone Should Know About Us

  • We strive to learn from everything - everything can grow and become better.
  • We believe that volunteering is the best way to bridge the cultural divide; that by working side by side with the locals something is exchanged that words simply cannot communicate.
  • We believe in the power of community. At the beginning of every program we will sit down together and get clear about everyone’s individual reasons for joining. As individuals we all must coexist and hopefully foster co-creational relationships.
  • We believe that everybody grows by having their comfort zones pushed in manageable amounts. Our staff will at times push everyone’s comfort zones with assignments and activities that they believe will help each woman grow.
  • We believe in the empowerment of everyone. While traveling we will make efforts to both foster safety, but in the effort of healing will explore beyond the normal boundaries of individual tourism and take every opportunity to heal those within our global community.

 

Biographies

Alex Merrin - Peru Journey Facilitator I am a wild woman possessed by curiosity, a traveler of worlds and places off the beaten track looking to see what lies behind the manicured scenery of life.

During elementary school my favorite part of the day was choosing where to walk on the way home; boring parent's way, or a made-up rabbit trail all zig zaggy through narrows and fences and cluttered alleyways, maybe visiting the rhubarb patch in late Spring. The mature limbs of an apple tree created a bridge to my secret getaway on the roof of the neighbor's garage. Here I could sit camouflaged by the foliage observing what people and animals do when they think no one is looking.

There were many gifted programs, mentors and friends that shed light on the path through the dark lands. I thank Gerry Jones for introducing me to the vast beauty of India and dedication to Vipassana meditation; Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks, of the Hendricks Institute, who saw my potential. After years of apprenticeship I accepted their invitation to co-facilitate and design the Conscious Loving trainings and seminars. I thank Jacquline Mandell for bringing me to my knees with the Ngondro practice of Tibetan Buddhism; the lineage of ancestors who dared to pass on the sacred ceremonies of Sun Dance, Hanbleyce (vision quest) and Inipi (sweat) ceremonies so I too could honor a vision and fulfill my personal destiny; and to Don Rober Acho, my Peruvian teacher, Curandero and Vegetalista, for his adept skill at opening yet another portal for me to walk through.

Elizabeth - Peru Journey Assistant It is with delight and a sense of excitement and honor that I join this Peru adventure as Alex's assistant.

The love of adventuring has been a part of me from the time I was a small child. I remember early on being filled with the awareness of how much there was to see and do, and I just wanted to get on with it. My mother often referred to me as having "ants in my pants". Among the neighborhood children I was always one of the main instigators of contests of physical prowess or risky undertakings laced with just enough danger (or so it seemed at the time) to send all my senses tingling. I was, however, also regularly drawn to the quiet places, especially out in nature. I could spend hours rolling around in a meadow smelling the grass or dangling my feet in a mountain stream. In those places a feeling of peace and belonging came over me, and in retrospect, I see that I was coming home to Spirit and Mother Earth. At such times, I was often teased for being a dreamer. Embarrassed at the time, I now take that as a compliment.

One of the things I intuitively understood from an early age was the importance of courage in the face of fear and the unknown. I knew instinctively that without the courage to move forward even when I felt afraid, I would miss out in a big way on the things I wanted. This earliest of gifts has been a main characteristic of the way I move through life. I have been to wonderful places and have had amazing experiences as a result.

As an adult my adventuring has taken many forms. Nature has continued to call me to Her on a regular basis, especially the mountains, and I have hiked and backpacked through many of them and climbed to the tops of a few. Without fail, as when I was a child, a sense of peace and homecoming marks these outings. Travel to unfamiliar places has been another when hopping a train with a raggedy backpack, a little money and even less common sense was the thing to do. I vividly remember the excitement of waking up in a new place, climbing off the train onto a grimy platform and setting off as if Eden was calling. Because it was. Crossing borders, encountering foreign languages, currencies and customs was simply a way of life in Europe. By the time I was 19 I spoke four languages and was tapping into my courage on a regular basis. Over the years my personal travels have taken me around Europe, to Tunisia, Japan, Mexico, Nepal, and throughout the United States. As a registered nurse I have worked in makeshift medical clinics in rural Vietnam and in Chiapas, Mexico. I have loved and thrived on the sights, sounds, smells and feel of other cultures and other ways. My own ingrained beliefs have been challenged many a time and connecting with others, whose outward ways of life are so different from mine, but who inwardly dream, love, and struggle just as I do, has often been a powerful reminder that the cliché is true. We ARE all in this together.

When one is prone to chasing adventure it is very helpful to have some instinct for navigating through unexpected and challenging situations. Whether immersed in the chaos of the emergency room where I work, encountering an unanticipated obstacle while traveling abroad or into the depths of myself, I have found that rising to the occasion and tapping into my intuitive pathfinding abilities is one of my favorite things to do. So, on that note, I look forward to journeying into this foreign land with you. As a nurse I shall be happy to wield the first aid kit should it become necessary. As a Spanish speaker I will do my best to navigate the language barrier with you. But, most of all, I look forward to exploring some ancient spiritual wisdom with you and to finding a path together through new places, both within and without.

Andrea Vecchione - India Pilgrimage Facilitator. Andrea is an old soul that carries her heart first into every situation. She is a strong woman with more experience than any westerner probably ought to have surrounding India and her energies. After completeing her BS from University of Rhode Island in Environmental Science, and receiving her MA from Mills College in Education, she has traveled from Argentina to Canada, from Africa to Italy, and from Thailand to India where she chooses to spend most of her time abroad.

Over the past five years Andrea has made as many trips to the Indian subcontinent. In all her travels she has resonated most with India for its inherent focus on Hindu Goddesses, mythology, and devotion.

In 2005, she completed an Iyengar Yoga Teacher Training course in Rishikesh. Here she also studied traditonal Vedic mantra chanting with Mataji Sadhvir of Paramath Nikatan. Her love of Hinduism, and Vedanta has inspired her to study Samskrtam in both India and at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she is currently a PhD. candidate in the Asian Comparative Religious Studies program focusing on Hindu Goddessess. In her spare times she studies tabla and North Indian classical vocals in Benares as well at Ali Akbar College of Music in Marin, California where she lives when she is not in Asia.

Laura Amazzone, MA - India Program Coordinator. A devotee, yogini and independent scholar, Laura completed a Master's thesis at the California Institute of Integral Studies on the Goddess Durga and her rituals in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal in 2001. A pilgrim since childhood, Laura has traveled extensively throughout South and Southeast Asia. Over the last 8 years she has led pilgrimages to Nepal and India for both individuals and groups. Laura’s teachings focus on the female-centered Shakta tradition and goddesses in India, Nepal and Southeast Asia and explore mysteries around sacred sexuality, adornment, ritual, mythology and devotion. Laura has been Alice Walker’s Executive Assistant for several years. Laura honors and celebrates the Goddess in all Her forms through writing, jewelry design, travel and teaching. (www.amazzonejewelry.com)


Contact: shaktayogini@yahoo.com

cell: 510-676-3869

Ethan Knight - Founder. Ethan founded Carpe Diem in 2007 after a tenure as Assistant Director with its parent organization, LEAPNow, based in California. He attended a private high school in Portland, then decided to follow the herd to college for what was supposed to be an enlightening four years of college. However, after a disappointing freshman year for what he called a “lack of meaning and substance” Ethan decided to take a leave-of-absence and travel throughout India, Nepal, Tibet and Thailand for a year that has had a lasting impression ever since. Since that day, he has been a fervent advocate for personal and international (inner and outer) exploration. He has been a trip leader in Latin America for two guided programs as well as in India as part of the LEAPYear program. Ethan has been invited to speak at the City of Portland's Tri-County Diversity Conference, has led countless leadership training seminars, and is on the board of trustees for Project Aasha (meaning "Hope" in Hindi). Ethan also graduated from Willamette University in 2001 with a dual degree in English and Philosophy and a minor in Environmental Science. He holds certificates by the ManKind Project and Byron Katie, as well as having been trained in Drs. Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks and Gary Zukov's works.

Amy Berg - Program Director. Amy is the daughter of a wildlife biologist, Amy moved around a lot as a child, but will tell you that she calls New Mexico the place where she grew up. It was there that she first began to appreciate the beauty of indigenous cultures and the natural world. She is most at home in her own skin when outside in the fresh air and taking in the wonder of the world around her. Thus her move to the Pacific Northwest.

Amy comes to Carpe Diem about 12 years after catching the international travel ‘bug’ which forever changed her. She led 2 successive groups to Kenya while a student leader at SMU after creating ‘SMU-RAW’ [Reaching Around the World] which exposed students to a developing country for the first time. After being led around a local village hospital by a small child who had fallen in love with her, she fell in love with Kenya. When she returned to the States, and after 6 months of soul-searching on the northern shores of Lake Superior in Minnesota, she altered her previous goals and became a paramedic specializing in acute care pediatric transport in Dallas, TX. She has since earned her RN and works as an emergency room nurse in Portland. Her favorite clientele are the children. Amy recently finished leading a Carpe Diem group to Fiji, New Zealand and Australia where they had a phenomenal group experience and learned everything there is to know about the Lord of the Rings.

Amy brings a wealth of enthusiasm to Carpe Diem, not to mention everything she does. She has seen and experienced first-hand the value of pushing the limits of one’s comfort zone and is happiest when challenged herself. To that end, she recently spent a month in India. It worked!

In her spare time, Amy is an avid backpacker, sport rock climber, skier, snowboarder, animal lover, Reiki practitioner, and self-proclaimed coffee snob among many other things. Some of her favorite readings include the works of the Dalai Lama, Caroline Myss, Thich Naht Hahn, and Thomas Moore.

Nannette Berg - Program Director. Though some would call it chance, anyone who knows Nannette would call it serendipity. Nannette, AKA Nannerz, came to Carpe Diem after a surprisingly meaningful rendezvous with Craig’s List. Nannerz is an avid motorcyclist and while in search of her next bike, came across Ethan Knight who just happened to be selling that classic BMW that she was looking for. Eight months later, and after a challenging and enlightening trip to India, she’s sharing her enthusiasm for personal challenge and empowerment with her work at Carpe Diem.

Nannerz grew up in Minnesota as a nature child with her best friends: the animals and her cross country skis. Spending so much time on her own, she began reading at age 3 and thus traveled in her minds eye everywhere National Geographic would take her. However, once school started, that Mid Western work ethic and traditional career expectation took over and she followed the herds through school, marriage and even the military, (not necessarily in that order). In her quest for meaning and truth, she ventured to the Pacific NW sought a degree in biblical studies, spent 5 frigid years in Alaska and has returned home to Portland where she has invested the last 13 years as a registered nurse assisting patients through the spectrum of the life span, from a dignified death on the oncology floor, to the fight for life in the emergency room.

In all of her “spare” time, Nannerz dabbles in the ‘arts’: motorcycle riding and repair, quantum physics, and energy work. As a Reiki master, she is constantly contributing to healing and empowering individuals and community. She has an affinity for anything outdoors from backpacking and rock climbing to snowboarding and mountain biking. Though she is most zen while riding her ’95 r1100r BMW, she continues her mindfulness training by enjoying the works of Carolyn Myss, Ken Wilbur, the Dalai Lama and of course Harry Potter. She will one day retreat with Thich Naht Hahn at Plum Village.