Rainbow over Lille Rooftops by Greg Wesson

Once in awhile I notice someone doing a particular task and wonder, “Why are they doing such a thing? Is it for monetary gain, self-fulfillment or something completely different?” These questions kept popping up prior to and following the TBEX ’11 conference held in Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada) this past summer.

For those of you not familiar with TBEX and their conferences – it is the Travel Blog Exchange and their conferences bring travel-related bloggers, writers and media professionals together – explaining how everyone can ‘up their game’.

For those of you not familiar with TBEX and their conferences – it is the Travel Blog Exchange and their conferences bring travel-related bloggers, writers and media professionals together – explaining how everyone can ‘up their game’. There is a wealth of information to be gained during the sessions, but it’s not always everyone’s cup of tea. Now that the 2011 conference is over, it is remembered through scribbled notes on a pad, a multitude of ‘highlight’ blog entries written by attendees, some misplaced photographs or lost cellphone, and the odd drink coaster glued in one’s scrapbook. Oops, forgot to mention all the swag too.

Because of TBEX ’11, those simple questions mentioned above kept seeping in about travel bloggers. I wanted answers. But more than that, I wanted to know the motivation that drives the activity of blogging itself. A person will sit down and write volumes about their experiences to basically share with the whole world. There appears to be no profit earned from such an endeavor yet they continue churning out content day after day or week after week. Travellerspoint is a good example of such behavior with ~34,000 blogs onsite currently – few (if any) authors earn money let alone make a living through this outlet.

In order to explore (as it were) this section of the blogosphere, it’s important to reflect on it’s past. There was a time when blogging was a bright and shiny new outlet where people would voice their personal opinions on any topic that caught their attention. In a proverbial blink of an eye, blogs became ‘tailored’ to fit particular demographics – politics, travel, etc. Eventually someone had an epiphany moment. “We can charge our viewers real money to read our stuff!” With charging came marketing and link exchanges and affiliate programs and a plethora of other incoming-earning opportunities (if you’ve figured out how to tap into them). The ever-growing want to make a blog profitable turned into a snowball rolling down the hill with no end in sight. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing – it’s simply reality.

Unique building by Zindy Noertamtomo

So, with all these monetary avenues presenting themselves, why would someone not jump on the bandwagon? Michael Robert Powell (the candy trail…) stated: “Being an extreme global nomad – since 1988, I feel a need to make sense of my vast travel experience; blogging files my memories and brings order to the clutter in my head.” and “I don’t envisage “the candy trail …” being a commercially-viable blog. My crazy travel stories, raw expression and off-beat travels mean that I’m too far removed from the mainstream (however, my travel photography & art site, rather than my blog, is a possibility).” For another take on it Dave (The Longest Way Home) wrote: “I don’t actually consider it blogging. I write my travel journal about my search for a place to live. It started off as just a personal one then people started to read it. And so it developed. I write about my journey, I don’t churn out made for consumer efforts.” Two pretty good reasons considering the work involved in creating a ‘business’ around a blog.

Then come the respondents who never really intended to start a blog/site. They did have aspirations of becoming ‘writers’ but not ‘bloggers’. As fate would have it – as it so often does – these people either fell into it or were guided down the path to a new horizon.

Then come the respondents who never really intended to start a blog/site. They did have aspirations of becoming ‘writers’ but not ‘bloggers’. As fate would have it – as it so often does – these people either fell into it or were guided down the path to a new horizon. Vicki Hatfield (Come With Me…) fell into blogging by posting on travel forums. She said: “I found that sharing something I love with others who love it just as much was incredibly rewarding. That’s when I started the travel blog. I do it for the simple joy of creativity and the incredible sense of satisfaction that comes from having something I create enjoyed by others. Why don’t I try to make money from it? Because it then becomes a job. A duty. An obligation. It is no longer simply a living, breathing creative thing that I do simply because I love it.” Meg Pier (View from the Pier) was led down the path by her husband. Following four cancer scares within two year’s time, Meg quit the corporate world of investment managment and tried her hand at being a travel writer. She has seen some success writing travel articles for the Boston Globe and through her five self-published photography/quotation books through Amazon and carried by a dozen New England based books stores. But, as she explained “Some of the joy began to be sucked out of my carefully-crafted and heartfelt Love Letters to the destinations that had so moved me. I started to question if my ‘voice’ was one anyone wanted to hear. Meg’s inspiration to begin a blog/site was fueled by: “My husband, God love him, suggested I create a website, a somewhat laughable endeavor for someone as non-technical as me, yet I was desperate to pour out my pent-up creativity and so was open to the idea.” She adds: “I soon realized I had a forum where I could write the way I wanted to write, and not have to fit into anyone’s formula of what constituted travel writing.” Regardless of how they arrived on the scene, these two women embraced the creativity blogging brought into their lives more than any monetary gains. A creative outlet was of greater importance to them.

Carrying on with that ‘writers’ theme, Greg Wesson (Greg Wesson’s Esoteric Globe) commented: “I spent about 2 years in my 20s trying to write a great novel. It was going to be my opus! The “Great Canadian Novel”, about life as a 20-something software engineer in a world overrun with baby-boomers. Everything I produced sucked.” Okay, not everything, but enough that Greg quit writing altogether – until he began traveling. E-mails to friends/family turned into a blog to be shared around the world. He ended with: “I’m not sure that my blog constitutes great literature, but at least I think it entertains a few and keeps the frustrated writer in me satisfied.”

Moosy by Gretchen Wilson-Kalav

When trying to generate income from a blog, certain sacrifices to its integrity tend to take place. They may or may not be intentional but they do happen. Some changes are definitely positive while others do not do justice to the author’s work. Because of the integrity aspects, this slightly different twist comes from Mary Anne Oxendale (A Totally Impractical Guide to Living in Shanghai) who is teaching abroad. She reasons: “[But] I don’t feel comfortable with selling. I have no desire to sell anything. I don’t want to change the tone and content of my writing to make a buck – and my tone tends to be too dry, dark and frank to make good ad copy. Like I’ve said before: teaching pays the bills so I can do what I really love without tainting it with the scramble to make money.” As stated earlier, turning a blog/site into a profitable entity is a business – one which requires time, dedication and ‘selling’ yourself to your readers.

Ultimately, there are scores and scores of travel bloggers who have willingly dedicated themselves to the ‘bloggers business plan’ and have seen rewards – large and small. (There wouldn’t be TBEX conferences if they hadn’t.) But, this article was to take a quick glimpse at the other side of the coin, per se.

Ultimately, there are scores and scores of travel bloggers who have willingly dedicated themselves to the ‘bloggers business plan’ and have seen rewards – large and small. (There wouldn’t be TBEX conferences if they hadn’t.) But, this article was to take a quick glimpse at the other side of the coin, per se. As you have seen, this is a very small group of participants. But, each has given their own individual explanation on why they do not blog for financial compensation. Blogging has become their creative outlet for self-expression and personal satisfaction – nothing more. Well, besides the sharing part with family, friends, followers and subscribers, which is part of the self-satisfaction thing too. It just helps to illustrate that not everything has to come with a price tag. So, in closing, Kris Kalav (The Beerman Chronicles) replied: “Quite honestly, blogging about my travels is a catharsis for me. It allows me to re-live the memories of what I’ve done, where I’ve been and gives my friends and family a chance to be completely bored for 10 minutes.” Sometimes people do things just because they can.

Thank you all for your answers. Once again, it has been a pleasure.

To read all of the participant’s responses in their entirety, please check out the The ‘Art’ of Blogging: A Panel Discussion.

For a synopsis of the TBEX ’11 Conference, please see ‘Taking Your Blog to the Next Level’ written by Kate Kendall of Travellerspoint and The Fetch.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | The ‘Art’ of Blogging: A Commentary | 7 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: Creativity, TBEX11, travel blogging

Country home by UStravel23

Lunch with our landlady was a nice experience. She lives outside the city of Moscow. Its about a 30 minute drive. You have to drive to a place called “Luxury Village”. This was not my first time visiting “luxury village”. I had the unusual experience before Christmas of teaching an Oligarch’s son near where our landlady lives in Luxury Village.

Yulia (Julia) lives in one of the many gated private villages that seem to be common here in and around Moscow. We have gated communities in Britain, but they are few and far between. I would not mind living in one, if I could afford it, they are safer and cleaner than regular housing estates.

Red Caviar courtesy of Author

Yulia, made an excellent lunch of crab salad, red caviar eggs, salmon, meat burgers and mashed potato. This was all washed down with large amounts of red and white wine. I noticed that Yulia liked to make many toasts, maybe that a Russian thing to toast to everything? I like the idea a lot. A toast to welcome us to her home, a toast for the New Year, a toast for good health, a toast to us, a toast to this and a toast to that. I did not take part, as I was the unlucky driver. Her house is big and wooden. She told us that it has been in her late husbands family for years and that the land was spilt up, half was given to one son and the other half was given to another son (her late husband), the brothers did not speak to each other. The house is surrounded by birch forest and very peaceful, and the air is clean and fresh. Fresh, clean air is a luxury when you live in Moscow.

The house she lives in, is her former holiday house or “Dacha”, the flat we live in, is her former city residence.

Or rent supports Yulia and her old sick mother, of course Yulia has no mortgage, (as far as I can assume), so our money must give her a good life style. She is a widow, her husband died a few years ago, he was a famous Russian actor, who’s name I don’t know and could not pronounce anyway. The house she lives in, is her former holiday house or “Dacha”, the flat we live in, is her former city residence. She told me they used to spend the summer at the Dacha and the winter at their city flat, where we now live. Its a modest flat, small and not at all luxurious (despite the rent price) , but its only a 15 minute walk to the Kremlin, so we are paying for the location. It is a hard and large pill to swallow, since I know everyone else that lives in our block of flats, certainly does not pay the rent we pay, (or any rent) so its does make me a bit angry. But rent is rent. We can’t live for free.

I told my wife not to become too friendly with her, as after one year she may decide to increase the rent. We did agree to fix it for two years, but its common in Russia for flat owners to just increase the rent as and when they feel like it. If she does increase it, we will move and she will have to search all over again for a tenant willing to pay her the rent that she demands. However, she is a kind person and we are lucky to have chosen a nice landlady. This is very important when renting in Moscow, choose your landlord/Landlady carefully, you will save problems later.

Editor’s Note: Yulia is a real person. The author has chosen to use a fictitious name for the purposes of privacy.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Lunch with Yulia | One comment |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: cultural experiences, expat life, living abroad, Moscow, Russia

Japanese Tourists by Laura and Sara

Japanese people have mastered the camera pose. Crafted it into a fine art and bequeathed it unto their young in such a fashion that one might even begin to think it genetic, a biological imperative perhaps, an evolutionary tweak that has emerged along with the technology it is bonded to. Because in the mere instant one has to pose correctly for a photograph, the Japanese are already there, two fingers held aloft in a peace sign yelling, “cheezu!” Meanwhile, I’m blinking like a deer in headlights, stunned by the blast of camera flash.

One photographic incident in particular got me thinking. I was at Fuji Q Highland, an Amusement Park that resides at the base of; you’ve guessed it, Mt. Fuji. Inside are three particularly amazing rides: Eejyanaika (translated to, ‘isn’t it good?’ Ok, not everything translates in a cool way), FujiYama and the mind bogglingly fast Dodonpa.

Instinctively, during an experience otherwise dominated by the excitement and fear of the ride she had twisted, smiled and posed for the camera.

I was waiting to ride the incredibly fast Dodonpa with a friend whom, repeatedly terrified by announcements over the tannoy as to just how fast this machine is, responded with yelps of, ‘muri!’ or in English, ‘impossible, I can’t do it, argh!’ Once aboard the ride she continued to yell this phrase except for one brief moment that I realized had been the camera flash, only to continue on with her cries afterwards. Instinctively, during an experience otherwise dominated by the excitement and fear of the ride she had twisted, smiled and posed for the camera. I on the other hand was more concerned that my cheeks not tear from my face due to the g-force.
Photography is everywhere in Japan. From high quality camera phones to the ever-present purikura. Photography is incorporated into life here in a way that goes beyond any other nation. The stereotype of a Japanese travel group abroad, all wielding state of the art cameras, endlessly pointing and snapping photographs is a well earned and thoroughly deserved one. While the teenage love of purikura, essentially photo booths with a variety of special effects that can be applied to your group photos are so popular that they can be found with ease almost everywhere you go.

Crazy Japanese Photo booth! by Emma B

That photography is such a significant part of life here is at times hard to believe, particularly when one considers that the camera industry only began to emerge in Japan in the 1930’s. When of course it was beyond the reach of even the comparatively wealthy.

“In those days, the average starting salary of a graduate of an elite university in Japan who was hired by bank, the best-paying job, was around 70 yen per month. In contrast, the price of the Leica camera was 420 yen.” (Ref: Canon Camera Museum)

Yet, from those early days has sprung an enormous industry fuelled by a love of technology that is visible in all walks of life and among all ages in Japan. At arcades I have seen young people with staggering coordination in pursuit of the high score on a dance machine and a vast number of people with a mind numbing addiction to Pachinko (a low stakes gambling machine with a resemblance to pinball, without any of the skill). While undoubtedly gaming technologies such as these have had and will continue to have such an affect on us, I still believe that the camera and its simple yet beautiful power to capture a moment will continue to be of greater significance. At least until the day that Wii bowling is entered into the Olympics.

However, the truth is, I can’t help but feel that here in Japan is where technology and society meet first. Through computer games, mobile phones, 3D TVs the Japanese people engage with technology faster and with an aplomb that perhaps only South Korea can beat. You can’t help but feel that if technology and biology are going to crash into one another it’ll happen here long before reaching foreign shores.

While visiting home this summer I met a friend of a friend, a Japanese Doctor no less and I took the opportunity to pitch this very theory to him. Essentially I believe that the response to the camera has become so ingrained at a biological level, that just as one can tell the sex of a child from an ultrasound, that one could also tell the child’s ethnicity… well, in one particular case.

Photo courtesy of Max Joseph

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2011. | Mind the Flash | One comment |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: Asia, Cameras, cultural experiences, Japan, living abroad, photography

Che by Zoe Gillett

Everyone knows that five dollars in your pocket in New York has a vastly differing real value compared to if you were in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The value of a dollar varies impressively throughout world economies, and has a powerful effect on entire continents.

The value of a currency is a powerful representation of the inequality and disparities in purchasing power across the world.

The value of a currency is a powerful representation of the inequality and disparities in purchasing power across the world. It not only highlights the abstract notion of money itself through its huge variability in value but also underlines the struggle for developing countries with weak currencies to receive imports essential for development and growth.

One of the most illuminating sectors to look at in terms of economic disparities, is technology. A mobile phone or laptop has the same essential utility, be it to a hot shot banker in the US or to a local business in Latin America in terms of how it can assist and improve productivity. However, due to the economic disparities within the world such luxuries are as of yet only cheaply accessible to those in the western world and hinder development in less advanced economies.

Think about the basic question, what can you buy for five dollars? When posed to people all around the world is an eloquent way of stimulating debate and highlighting how variations in cultures and economies affect the opportunities available to its inhabitants. Five Dollar Comparison has started asking exactly that, by asking the world to send in photos of their five dollar purchases. It has created a great visualisation of these differences.

As expected, the variation of exactly what you can buy for your five dollars is impressive and ranges from seemingly nothing at all, all the way up to full meals, beds for the night or even live animals!

For five dollars you could have 0.2 ml less than a sniff of the $17,000 bottle of the 1990 Cristal Brut champagne from France, one of the most expensive bottles of champagne that money can buy. This is about as close to nothing as it gets, hardly life changing. Whereas in parts of Africa, the five dollar medicine to cure a child infected with a parasite, truly is.

In Uganda, you can sit down and have you hair washed, curled treated and dyed. If that doesn’t seem like a good buy, perhaps purchase a living creature such as a chicken for your five dollars!

On the more expensive end, in Montreal, you can leave your bicycle against a post for two hours for your five dollars, it is strange how the value of even a street post changes so drastically from corner to corner. Or, if you fancy travelling in the centre of London, try jumping into a Taxi and for your five dollars, you can travel a good 10 meters before your meter would run dry.

The cheapest country in the world according to a cost of living survey is Paraguay, where rent will set you back around $150 USD monthly; let’s not even begin to compare that to the average rent in Manhattan, New York. Your five dollars down in Paraguay will even stretch to get you a clean, good hotel for the whole night. In Argentina (rated as the third cheapest country), you can find some of the best prices in the world to send yourself to a Spanish school in Buenos Aires or for your 5 dollars take an take a whole dance class.

The powerful difference in purchasing power of currencies is responsible for population shifts, tourism trends and even the rise and fall of countries and empires.

As a traveller in Latin America, this fact becomes all the more apparent. Through travel you really begin to appreciate these disparities as they are presented to you on a daily basis. It´s a poignant realisation to see the common imports that you consider essential to be way outside of the income of those earning in a weaker currency. You can’t help but feel a strange sense of guilt creep over you as you look back at all that junk you have bought in your life, I am sure it is a common guilt among travellers from more fortunate countries, but I think that it is one that should be realised by all the more fortunate in the world.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | The 5 Dollar Debate | 5 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: activism, Argentina, Around the World, Charity, Five dollars, Monetary comparisons

Moscow – Souvenirs by Sabrina Kammeier

I was met by two large security guards and asked to walk to the house.

I did some teaching at a mega rich Russian family a few weeks ago. A driver collected me and drove me to the house outside Moscow. After some forty minutes we arrived, I got out the Mercedes, was shown to a big metal front gate with security cameras on each side and I was led inside. I was met by two large security guards and asked to walk to the house. I made my way along a red winding brick path that cut through pine and silver birch trees through a silent landscaped garden. As I approached, I was met by a vast house rising out of the ground in between the trees. It was made of glass and wood and looked as if it was growing out of the raw forest ground. I went inside through the glass front doors and waited nervously on the marble steps. I was greeted by a maid who took my coat and gave me some slippers. She showed me to a seating area and I followed her silently across the marble floor to a sunken reception area that had three vast six-seater sofas and a white grand piano. I sat down on the soft royal cushions and waited to meet my young student. He arrived and shook my hand.

Teddy Bears

I was to teach a very confident seven year old boy, we went upstairs to his round play room and he told me he wanted to just read for half an hour and that we would then play. His playroom had more toys in it than a small toyshop. We read, then he led me down a big marble spiral staircase to his indoor football pitch. We played soft football, then ping-pong, then snooker, then darts. After an hour or so of games, he said he wanted to draw, so we went back up to his play room and drew pictures with dot-to-dot.

I felt like one of his many big teddy bears… A silent friend without an opinion.

He asked me if I was hungry, I said yes, (I am always hungry) so he phoned down to the kitchen and a maid quickly came to us with a big tray of freshly made cakes and fresh tea, we ate them in silence, while he drew more pictures. After eating, he coldly announced that he wanted to play Nintendo. So he played Nintendo, while I watched, he did not offer me a go, which annoyed me, I felt like one of his many big teddy bears sitting next to him on the bed, looking ahead without a word or a sound. A silent friend without an opinion.

After two hours, the time was over, I said goodbye and the driver took me back to the city. I was paid very well and it was an experience I will not forget. I enjoyed it. I have spoken about wealth before here in Moscow, Russia, but now I have seen it with my own eyes.

…it was an experience I will not forget.

The young boy I taught (if you can call it teaching) was very confident, in charge and very matter of fact about everything, he was years ahead of a seven year old boy in behavior and personality. I found it a bit disturbing. He had no smile and just seemed to function, perhaps a symptom of his situation. The house was beautiful, big and surrounded by Forest where the air was fresh, sweet and clean. It was good to breath in fresh air outside the city. The work was fun, easy and very well paid. Please can I have more English lessons like this!

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Teaching the Rich in Moscow | 3 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: cultural experiences, education, expat life, Moscow, Russia

Snow, Photo by Hannah Barth

There’s a certain amount of harm we cause ourselves always being grown up and tampering our desires with reality.

At the urging of a couple books and online articles I’ve read in the past months, I finally started a Bucket List, or a list of things I want to do before I die. One of the reasons for starting this list was to re-energize; to remember that feeling of being a kid and wanting with abandon because it’s inspiring. There’s a certain amount of harm we cause ourselves always being grown up and tampering our desires with reality. That’s why most of us travel: to escape the everyday and feel like we’re checking off some of those things on our own Bucket Lists.

In writing out my wants I started listing things like “Gift wrap my own presents” and “Learn how to bake better” and my energy was suddenly doused by feelings of mediocrity. “Climb a mountain” and “Own a house abroad” were things that belong on a bucket list; things to be accomplished. But handicrafts and adult ed suddenly struck me as terribly mundane, and worse, even silly. What kind of a person would I be if I let my aspirations go the way of a Home Economics class and not out somewhere in the Wild Beyond?

Group of Youngsters, Photo by Hannah Barth

I’ve been living abroad for two years now, and fighting the desire to come home – to “settle” – in New England, is something I’ve been doing for a while and am only coming to terms with now. I’ve built my life upon being Hannah the Traveler and have given very little thought to who Hannah the Person is. But the truth is that I want to take a computer programming course and tend my own garden just as much as I want to safari in Africa and learn organic farming in the rain forest.

I think every person is equally formed by the experiences imparted on them as a child and by the experiences they chose themselves as an adult. My childhood took place in rural Maine. Its key players were a mother who loves her quaint little front porch and garden, a father who has no desire to venture past town lines, and an uncle who gave up the city life for a cabin without indoor plumbing in the woods.

…I have a real desire to check “Visit the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Plant” off my list.

These simplicities are as much a part of me as my decision as a teenager to study abroad in South America and my career move into a Turkish folk dance company in my twenties. Although I’m happy where I am now, living and working abroad, I have a real desire to check “Visit the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Plant” off my list.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | #2: Visit The Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Plant | 8 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: Bucket Lists, cultural experiences, Ice Cream, Introspection, living abroad, Settling Down

Gonaives Haiti, Photo by Michael Johnson

It’s been sort of a rough week for my head. It seems as though I’m not only losing my English but simultaneously sucking at Spanish. I guess the English started slipping over time and with such immersion, it’s only a matter of time before the grammar starts to go. According to my dad, my blogs are getting sloppier and sloppier. I now speak no language well.

It’s been sort of a rough week for my head. It seems as though I’m not only losing my English but simultaneously sucking at Spanish.

Canada flag, Photo by Sam Daams

Last week when I spent the afternoon at an estancia with my job, assisting Canadian tourists, I could see how my English was exaggerated and forced. It seemed like I was subconsciously speaking with a slight Spanish accent. But why? I guess because the majority of the time that I hear English (not counting TV), it comes from a second language speaker. So over time, I’ve forgotten what English should actually sound like and naturally correct myself when a mistake is made. Basically, I spend all day in a Spanish speaking environment and either come home and continue in Spanish or don’t speak to anyone else.

This is disconcerting to me because obviously I don’t want to lose my linguistic skills in my own tongue that I spent years developing, but at the same time don’t want to sacrifice my Spanish skills and give it all up. But for now, despite my best efforts, I sound like an idiot in Spanish, which brings us to the second point of tonight’s topic. I guess since Monday I’ve noticed that my Spanish has taken a nose dive this week. I’m not that surprised by it because once every few months my brain just has a meltdown and I can’t talk for about a week. It’s part of the learning process.

The funny thing is I was describing this process to a co-worker on Monday and realized that I couldn’t roll my r’s quickly and the pronunciation was just terrible for my standards.

The funny thing is I was describing this process to a co-worker on Monday and realized that I couldn’t roll my r’s quickly and the pronunciation was just terrible for my standards.

This is how I realized I’ve hit the dry spell. It’s like my mouth has gotten lazy. I’m also having trouble understanding Spanish. This morning when trying to say ‘pero’ (but) I said ‘Perú.’ Maybe reading a book in Spanish is a reason—just overloading my head and causing a reboot. Hopefully by the end of the week or early next week I’ll be back to where I was. Or I need to rest and regroup.

bike ride, Photo by Peacocks

This struggle just reiterates to me that it’s extremely difficult to become truly fluent in another language. I mean 100% to the point that people have no idea you are from a different country. I’ve met these people before, and when they spoke English I couldn’t tell they were from another country with a different language. It takes years and influence as a child, as well as dedication on their part. I don’t know if I will reach that stage in the limited time I’ve had to study and live with Spanish.

I’ve discussed with friends in the past the difficulties we have with developing a second language. We have agreed that sometimes to be excellent in another language you need to sacrifice some of your natural skills. Otherwise, you get too confused. There are times when I purposely make mistakes as a joke, but other times when a mistake in English comes out, I take a step back in shock. “Wow, that just happened.”

For the time being, I need to ride out this stretch of lousy Spanish and keep improving. As for the English, it’s just a matter of time until that bounces back, but before I move home to the States I wonder how much worse it could get. I can’t imagine the embarrassment of showing up for grad school on the first day and saying, ‘Hi, I’m Jon, I have 25 years.’

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Lost Language Department – Up The Stairs | 6 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: cultural experiences, English, Languages, living abroad, South America, Spanish, United States

On The Streets Of Mumbai

There’s a street just around the corner and down the footpath from the Churchgate train station. I couldn’t tell you the address of this place, but I could describe it as bordering one of Mumbai’s several maidens, or grass malls, and housing a line of cheap clothing stalls. It doesn’t much matter the address, as Mumbaikers generally describe locations based on what they’re across from or next to. A result of being a city in two languages, I imagine. And I’m certain the families who live on this street – who’ve lived on this street, up against the surrounding fences and in the nearby gullies for the past 40 years – don’t have any need for an actual address.

It doesn’t much matter the address, as Mumbaikers generally describe locations based on what they’re across from or next to. A result of being a city in two languages, I imagine.

The streets of Bombay smell of warm piss and cooling feces. This isn’t surprising given that over 14 million Indians call the city home. With more people per square kilometer than any other city in the world, Bombay (re-named Mumbai in 2006) is over 14 times more populous than New York City. And Americans wonder why Asians have a different sense of personal space.

It’s impossible to step foot out of a Mumbai house (and often even inside one) without tripping over some form of humanity. There are hapless businessmen dressed in slacks and long-sleeve Oxford shirts, unaware that other parts of the world practice a thing called short sleeves in this kind of heat. There are hordes of schoolchildren: girls with thick, shiny, black plaited hair and boys with varying levels of pre-pubescent acne. There are beggars who wheel themselves on small wooden boards, reminiscent of the yellow plastic scooters I played with as a child in elementary school physical education. There are hawkers – half of them children – who’ve ascertained my need for a coloring book or to have my shoes polished (He ends up polishing my sandal and half of my foot) and are relentless in convincing me of this fact. I search and search but the dogs asleep on the pavement and the rats dead in the gutters outnumber any other white person I see. And I see lots of people.

The Encounter

“How old are you?” I ask in slow English, crouched down on my haunches as if I were an Indian myself. She wobbles her head like Indians do, the whites of her eyes large in the glow of the stall lights. The Indian head wobble can mean any of a thousand things, but in this case it indicates shyness and her lack of understanding. “You”, I articulate again, touching my finger to her tiny chest. Four? Five? I hold up my fingers, clean and white.

My guide translates my question into Hindi and the little girl holds up six fingers. “She says she’s six”, my guide reiterates, “but I think she’s five”, and I wonder if anyone at all knows this little girl’s actual date of birth.

I pull my camera from my backpack and, in the international language of I Don’t Speak Yours, state my request to take the little girl’s photo. With the aid of technology, shyness melts into the heat of the evening, and little hands clamber up my sides, groping for the glow of a screen that has captured her image. Her fingers are dry and grimy and she smells of dust and petrol fumes. Her hair is slightly matted and her teeth gleam white against her dark skin. She continues to play my body like a jungle gym until, at last, she flops down onto a pile of plastic bags and begins unwrapping a tinfoil ball, which, I find, contains the Indian bread, roti. I don’t know the address of where I am in the dark heat of Mumbai, but I know now why I’ve come.

Editors notes:
Hannah Barth is currently in India volunteering for Hamara Footpath. This grassroots organization combines education with playtime activities and is designed around the city’s street children. Their goal: Give a child the tools to reclaim their childhood. (Hannah will be on the move again in the near future.)
All photos are courtesy of the author: Hannah Barth

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Through the Lens: A Snapshot of Mumbai | 14 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: children, cultural experiences, India, Mumbai, volunteer work

Valaparaiso on Horseback

You and your partner are finally taking your dream vacation. The only thing is, by the time you got around to taking that dream vacation it’s no longer just you and your partner; it’s you, your partner and the kids. It’s not the end of the world. Traveling with kids doesn’t have to be drudgery, but it will require some attitude adjustments, some negotiating and a lot of planning and open communication.

You’ll be best off if, from the beginning, you accept the fact that this is not the same trip you would be having if it were just adults. Not better, not worse, just different. Expectations are premeditated disappointments; so adjust those expectations from the start and you’re more likely to enjoy the experience you’re having instead of longing for the one you’re not.

Remember when you were teaching your children about sharing? You had a bag of M&M’s, poured it out on the table and doled it out; one for you, one for me, one for you, one for me.

Remember when you were teaching your children about sharing? You had a bag of M&M’s, poured it out on the table and doled it out; one for you, one for me, one for you, one for me. Well, it’s time for sharing 202, this time with activities and/or sights. Explain to the kids that this is everyone’s vacation, not just theirs; therefore, everyone gets to choose activities they want to do. When it’s time for the adult activities, they don’t have to love them or for that matter, even like them, but they do have to go along with them and do it without complaining. You, of course, in return, will promise to do the same when it comes time for the activities that they want to do.

Getting kids involved in the planning from the beginning will help create “buy in” for the trip that is being created. If you’re not wedded to a particular vacation site, give them a choice of two or three places that are in the running. If they are older, have them review guidebooks to pick out places of interest they would like to visit. If they are younger, check your local library for videos on the location of choice so that they can watch it and get excited about your upcoming trip.

Biking Anyone?

Assign them specific days that they are in charge of planning: what to do, how to get there, where to eat, etc. Most kids will enjoy the authority that you have placed in their hands and you’ll be the beneficiary of their creativity.

When traveling with kids you will want to do more planning than you might have done were it just you and your partner. Kids like to feel secure in their surroundings and the easiest way to offer that security is to feel secure and confident yourself. With advanced planning you can offer that to them. When you arrive in a city with reservations in place and the knowledge of how to get to that accommodation, the kids don’t have to worry about where they are going to be sleeping that night or if they’ll be lost in transit. They will soon come to trust that Mom and Dad “know what they’re doing” and that they need not fear the unknown.

Also keep in mind that while kids appear to be high energy, they burn out more quickly than adults, as they don’t feel the same drive we might have to “see the sights.”

Also keep in mind that while kids appear to be high energy, they burn out more quickly than adults, as they don’t feel the same drive we might have to “see the sights.” They want to move at a slower pace, see less in a given day and have more down time to play and to relax. If they’re really young, time to nap. Don’t fight their pace but instead embrace it! You may discover that traveling is a lot more relaxing and enjoyable when you’re not pushing yourselves to cover as much territory. You won’t see everything the city has to offer but chances are, even if you push yourself, you still won’t.

Flight of the Gibbon

While there are things you surely won’t get to do while traveling with your kids, there might just be some incredible things that, had you not been traveling with your kids, you wouldn’t experience. A horse trek through the dunes in Chile or flying hundreds of feet above the rain forest on zip lines in Thailand would never have been on my list “A” list of activities. But, because of the kids’ interests, those were just a few of our activities on our year long trip around the world and what amazing adventures they turned out to be.

Editor’s Notes: All photos are courtesy of the author: lisa Shusterman. (Yes, lisa spells her first name with a lower case “L”. Honest. Not a repeated typo.)

(Oh, and the “Flight of the Gibbon” photo is a bit blurry because they were ‘in flight’. Have to take lisa’s word on that one.)

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | A Different Type Of Travel – With Kids | 15 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: Creativity, family travel, parenting, Self-discovery, Travel challenges, travel with kids

Chairs for two… Photo by galaktyka

My husband and I made the decision this past October to cancel a trip to Spain and Morocco that I’d spent innumerable hours planning. It was a complicated trip – several legs, transportation utilizing planes, trains and automobiles; 12 days in foreign countries. Since it’s been a brutal winter for many of us and thoughts of summer travel are rampant daydreams, I thought I’d finally sit down and share a few hard-earned tips for you to remember when planning your next trip abroad.

Beware #1:

LIFE THROWS CURVE BALLS

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there is no way, no how, come hell or high water that the trip you’re planning could be canceled.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking there is no way, no how, come hell or high water that the trip you’re planning could be canceled. This trip was to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. One we’d given a lot of thought to, planned in our minds for a couple of years, and even committed the resources for. Travel insurance may cover some things, but it doesn’t cover prudence. By the time the trip came within a month of departure, our job situation had become unexpectedly dicey. Our decision to cancel was one of prudence. We knew we’d lose some money, but we couldn’t lose money we hadn’t yet spent. It’s not always illness or injury or some family crisis that creates a need to cancel.

If you go into the planning of a trip with this in mind, you won’t be unpleasantly surprised when you pull the plug.

Beware #2:

CURRENCY CHANGE-UPS

For this trip, all of the lodging accommodations took the initial charges/downpayments in Euros. The exchange is easy enough to calculate. BUT on the refund end several credited our credit card in British Pound Sterling. In most cases, what I received back when I finally got the transactions converted back to Euros then U.S. dollars was not what it would have been had they refunded the money in the original currency taken – Euros (exchange rates fluctuate daily). Not only that, as if that’s not enough, but it’s extremely confusing when you begin converting the multiple currencies. Make sure you ASK, if a cancellation becomes necessary, in what currency they’ll make the refund. You can’t change the policy, but you’ll at least be informed.

I suggest you use a full size notebook page for every leg of the trip. Organize it any way you want, but make room for this: as you book, find out exactly by what time frame you have to cancel, and should that be necessary, exactly how much you’ll receive back assuming you cancel within that time frame. Not a percentage, not a night’s worth, but the number of dollars/euros/pounds etc. If it’s not to be money, rather vouchers, get all the details of their restrictions for use. Note all this prominently on your planning page, the date, and the person’s name that gave you that information.

Beware #3:

CASH vs. VOUCHERS

I booked several legs of the trip through Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Happy with their customer service and responsiveness, the cancellation process irrevocably damaged my opinion of them. I hesitate to say I won’t use them again. I will say instead that I’ll attempt to avoid them in the future, or for that matter, any other booking agent that attempts the same. Here’s why. I was generally aware of the cancellation policy. In other words, I understood that should I have to cancel my refund would be in vouchers that could only be used towards another Smith property and had to be used within a year. Okay. But here’s what I didn’t know. In order to use the vouchers I received upon the cancellation, a FULL prepayment (as in 100%) of the price would have to be made for the NEW trip. So for instance, come June we decide to use the vouchers for a stay at a Smith property in the U.S. I’m within the year restriction, but guess what? Instead of the requisite down payment to hold my reservation, in order to use my voucher, I have to give them the entirety of the cost of the stay. No dice. Not only will I NOT use the vouchers, but I have to cry foul on this. ALL the lessons I learned were due to my own lack of savvy. This however, is a bad business practice, aka “RIP-OFF”.

Beware #4:

DON’T CALL THEM

Don’t ever call THEM. If they’re not offering to call you to iron out any snafus, they don’t deserve your business.

Don’t ever call THEM. If they’re not offering to call you to iron out any snafus, they don’t deserve your business. My credit card wouldn’t clear with our lodging company in Morocco. I felt guilty about that, as if it was my fault or the thought crossed my mind that maybe they thought I was attempting something I couldn’t afford. Add to that the need to get the particulars nailed down, and you’ve got me picking up the phone and making an international call when they asked me to. It’s embarrassing to admit that. I was very upset at my stupidity when I received the phone bill. And incensed that they asked me to call in the first place. There was nothing wrong with my credit card, they just had problems processing a U.S. card and they admitted mine wasn’t the first.

Beware #5:

INTERNATIONAL WIRE TRANSFERS

No credit card surcharges, no currency exchange issues, a way to put down a reservation hold and know exactly what the financial impact will be. Think again!

A small B&B in Andalusia required a deposit in the amount of $100 Euros and could only accept a wire transfer (with the balance in cash upon our arrival). I had our banker figure the exchange and wire the amount. She even agreed to waive their normal international wire transfer fee of $30 (nice!). We received a confirmation that USD of $149.24 had been debited from our account and $100 Euro sent to the B&B’s bank.

Things came unwound from there. An email comes from the proprietor of the B&B that a deposit of $85 Euro had been received. I emailed her back reminding her she’d requested $100 Euro and that I had in hand confirmation $100 Euro had been wired directly to her bank account. I even got our banker into the fray, but nothing could be done. The proprietor’s bank had charged her an incoming wire fee and she had to pass that on to us, because, well, that’s the way business was done in Spain and she felt terrible that she hadn’t told me that upfront, she assumed I knew, and on and on. She blamed the misunderstanding on her bank in the end. Numerous emails were exchanged. But in the end, we only received credit for the $85 Euro. I was helpless to combat this situation.

When I calculated what the fees were for the wire transfer of $149 USD, the total was $51 ($30 potential fee from our bank and $21 fee from the receiving bank – $15 Euro converted). That’s just a small fee of 34% of the amount wired!! Avoid international wire transfers unless you get all the particulars and fees assessed in writing ahead of time.

Beware #6:

FOREIGN CAR RENTAL

Plan to spend triple the amount you would allocate for a similar amount of time stateside. The collision damage waivers are extremely pricey. But we felt we needed the best level of coverage offered. Even if that could have been reduced with a lower level of coverage, it was difficult deciphering what was covered and what wasn’t.

Since we were to be in the South of Spain for several days, we wanted to rent a car. With plans to take the AVE from Madrid to Cordoba, we wanted to pick up the car at the Cordoba train station. Even with the help of a travel agent, the first attempt at this would have required we load our luggage into a taxi for a short ride to the rental car pick-up. Not so bad on the trip in, but on the trip leaving, that element of unknown time threw up road blocks where scheduling was concerned. Even though the car rental agency showed up as being at the Cordoba train station, when we looked closely at the address, it was off-site. At the time we cancelled the trip, a rental car had still not been locked down.

Forget the fine print. Ask more questions. As in a LOT of questions. Stupid questions. Get names and emails confirming what you were told if you can. If someone wants your business, they shouldn’t mind. And prepare for this: no matter how many questions you ask, how many t’s you cross and i’s dotted, there will be a few unpleasant surprises if you have to cancel.

On a bright note, I loved TripIt (www.tripit.com) for organizing the trip. In one glance it allows you to see the itinerary for every day, addresses, phone numbers, flight or rail numbers, costs, confirmation numbers, level of accommodation you booked, etc. I can’t think of a detail it won’t handle.

© Gretchen for TravelBlogs, 2010. | Lessons From a Cancelled Trip | 13 comments |
Post categories: Articles
Post tags: tips and tricks, travel abroad, trip cancellations, trip preparation