Articles Archive
Travel and the Financial Crisis: What Argentines Have Taught Us About Survival
Here I sit in the patio of a café in Buenos Aires’s small but vibrant Chinatown, dunking a biscotti into a cup of espresso, an indulgence enjoyed underneath the simple pleasure of a tree’s leafy shade. Life is good. The smells of cocina asiatica waft through the air, and the Spainese mix the cooks speak drifts out through the window. It is hot, hot-hot-hot, but the waiter has brought me two glasses of sparkling water and an extra biscotti as a treat to beat the heat. And it’s working.
At my feet lay the shopping bags holding my boyfriend Nick’s Christmas present: spicy curry powder, dried basil, ground paprika, whole wheat flour, chocolate, home-made granola, and micro-brewed beer. So much less than I would like to give him—our careers here as English teachers do not leave us flush with cash.
Why Learning the Local Language is the Most Important Trip Preparation You’ll Ever Do
All trips require preparation.
Some of you reading this are obsessive planners. You buy more guidebooks than you could ever read, cross-checking, highlighting, circling, dog-earing, and list-making about all the places you’ll stay, eat, and sightsee. You scope online forums for travel advice, putting a black mark through the name of the bar that has closed in Caye Caulker since the guidebook was published, or making the decision that you won’t visit the local market after all—it seems too many travelers have been pick-pocketed.
Some of you reading this consider yourselves spontaneous, living for the moment and priding yourself on your ability to figure out your itinerary as you go along. But even if you count yourself in this group, you’ll occasionally need to do some planning: gathering all the paperwork for a visa or buying a ticket to get back home.
But regardless of which group you’re in, I’ll bet you’re missing out on the most important preparation of all: learning the local language.
The Difference Between Tourists and Travellers
What is the difference between a tourist and a traveller?
It’s one of those quintessential questions among travellers (or should I say tourists?), popping up like a stubborn weed on forums and blogs. But is there even a difference, or are tourists and travellers one and the same?
Here’s how 21 travel bloggers see it.
Teaching English in Europe: An Overview
Travelling Europe is expensive, but native English speakers can fund an open-ended world trip through teaching. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL, ESL, EFL or half a dozen other acronyms) is a time-tested way to work and travel or set up as an expat. Although there is high demand for quality English language teaching throughout Europe, you’re more likely to get a job if you’re an EU citizen.
Teaching English in Asia: An Overview
It’s not that hard to become an English teacher overseas, especially in Asia. No place pays better or has a wider availability of work. In Asia, large populations, mandatory English requirements, and an innate desire to learn the language of business, means that those looking for work in Asia will find a buyer’s market. No matter what country you land in, as long as you keep your options open, you will find a job.
13 Tips on Planning Your Solo Road Trip
So you’re at least considering a solo road trip? Good! First, realize it’s not brain surgery. The logistics are simple, subjective, and subject to change – a beautiful thing. And keep in mind, SOLO road trips and road trips have little in common in the way of either experience or preparation.
Now that we’ve covered the touchy-feely side of solo travel, let’s talk about the practicalities, most of which revolve around safety. Until 2007 my solo road trips were taken in a 1994 Mazda MX-6. No 4-wheel drive, no GPS, no OnStar, no AAA membership, and just enough clearance to not be a turtle killer. And I had a fantastic time, no matter what happened, and a lot happened.
Why You Should Go On A Solo Road Trip
In the United States, we’re a nation teetering on social burn-out. The multitude of devices designed to bind us together like links in a chain has made it difficult to go to the bathroom and be alone. Articles on efficiency are prolific: how to cut a minute off some task, make your morning shower more efficient, and speed up this or that. And yet I know more discontented people than ever. When the pundits start messing with your morning shower, who wouldn’t be unhappy? It all begs the point, if being continually connected to a large group of people and having your life maximized for efficiency can’t deliver happiness, what’s missing? Some solo time, my friends.
Voluntourism: Choosing the Right Placement For You
I was conducting a voluntourism workshop not so long ago. Some participants were new to voluntourism and wanted to learn more, some were already semi-veterans of several volunteer tours of duty and wanted to learn how to “do-it-yourself” on a budget. But a couple of participants were rather disgruntled and unhappy former volunteers. They came to complain, though to no one in particular and voice their concerns.
They said they had followed all voluntouring instructions they’d read about to the letter and yet had been totally disappointed with their volunteering experiences. We sat down to chat after the workshop and one thing became immediately apparent. “Nobody told us that before,” they said. “If they had, maybe we would have enjoyed it more,” they said, “and maybe we would have chosen better.”
No, they did not end up with a crooked voluntour operator. Their provider arranged exactly what was promised. So what went wrong? Nothing really. Except for the participants’ initial choice of work.
Support Heifer International Through Passports With Purpose
If you follow the blogs featured here on TravelBlogs, you have probably already heard about Passports With Purpose. Created by Debbie Dubrow of DeliciousBaby, Pam Mandel of Nerd’s Eye View, Michelle Duffy of WanderMom and Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick, Passports With Purpose is a fundraiser designed to raise money for Heifer International, an organization fighting hunger and poverty around the globe.
It’s a great organization, and one great fundraiser. Until the 29th of December, you can buy as many $10 raffle tickets as you want, and you’ll stand a chance to win some excellent prizes (listed here).
The Top 3 Reasons For Couples to Pursue “L’Avventura”
To my husband Adam and me, “l’avventura” is the fine art of picking a place to go and seeing where we end up.
Some people might see this pursuit of adventure as a waste of money, elaborate chore avoidance, or even restless leg syndrome, but it works for us. More specifically, it works for our marriage.
Here’s why:
