One of my favorite things about teaching writing at the Paris American Academy every summer is the chance to see our students find success in print, onstage, and onscreen in the months and years that follow. A number of Paris writing students from 2006 and 2007 have recently debuted new work in venues around the world. Here are some examples (and unless otherwise noted, they are all students from 2007):

• Andrea Ronkowski's Japan-based travel tale Hustling Nakamura-san appeared in The Smart Set last October.
• Cass McGovern's memoir "Something Special in the Air," which details her experience of flunking out of the American Airlines stewardess school, appears in the Spring 2008 issue of the Massachusetts Review.
• Dulci Pitagora performed a nonfiction monologue at Stage Left Studio in New York last fall, and was recently named managing editor at GO Magazine.
• Subzero, Razvan Marc's travel documentary about Arctic Finland, debuted on Romanian television last fall. A trailer for the DVD version of his show is online here.
• Alexis Apfelbaum has a story appearing in "It's All Relative," an upcoming issue of the Global City Review.
• Perth-based Carmen Jenner, who attended the Paris writing workshop in 2006, has published a number of travel stories in The Australian, including an article about traveling with children in Paris.
• 2006 student Marlene Nichols will be performing her new solo show "Seeing Voices" at New York's Stage Left Studio later this month. Performance dates are Thursday-Friday, May 29th & 30th; then Friday-Saturday June 6th and 7th, at 8pm each night. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. More information available here.
• John Biguenet, who teaches literary fictions at the Paris writing workshop, has had a string of successes for his Pulitzer-nominated play about Hurricane Katrina, Rising Water. The 20th annual Big Easy Entertainment Awards named Rising Water its Best Original Play of 2007, naming Biguenet "Theatre Person of the Year". The play debuted at Southern Repertory Theater and became the playhouse's bestselling show ever. It is scheduled for production in several cities in the United States, and has recently debuted in southern California.

On a final note, I'll note that registration is still open for the July 2008 session of the Paris American Academy writing workshop, and we welcome new applicants! For more information,, check out our official website here.

Although some of Strauss' column is spent shooting down straw man arguments in favor of the organization, as in "The Peace Corps is a Potent Diplomatic Weapon" and "The Peace Corps Recruits Only the Best and the Brightest," he makes a number of serious and important points.

For starters, volunteers aren't sent where their help is needed most.

Like many bureaucracies, the Peace Corps operates predominantly on inertia. The agency sends most volunteers to the same places where volunteers have been sent before, often to do the same thing volunteers were doing 20 and 30 years ago—regardless of whether their mission still makes sense.

Why, Strauss wonders, are we still sending volunteers to Romania and Bulgaria when they're already part of the European Union? Why not concentrate on the poorest of the poor?

Strauss also questions whether the Peace Corps is a true development organization:

The reason the Peace Corps is overlooked as a development organization has a lot to do with the youth and inexperience of the majority of its volunteers. Equally important is its unwillingness to decide if it is a development organization or an organization with a mission “to promote world peace and friendship,” as stipulated by Congress in the Peace Corps Act. It would like to be both, but finds itself falling short on both objectives because it cannot decide which is the more important.

So how to improve the Peace Corps? Recruit less, but recruit better. Less emphasis on we-are-the-world hand-holding, more on economic development in the places that really need it-- and want it. To live up to its founding ideals, Strauss suggests, the Peace Corps

must go out and recruit the best of the best. It must avoid goodwill-generating window dressing and concentrate its resources in a limited number of countries that are truly interested in the development of their people. And it must give up on the risible excuse that in the absence of quantifiable results, good intentions are enough. Only then will it be able to achieve its original objective of significantly altering the lives of millions for the better.

Reactions to Strauss' piece from returned Peace Corps volunteers, both pro and con, can be found here and here.

That the Peace Corps is often inefficient-- sending fluent Spanish speakers to Africa, maintaining small presences in dozens of countries rather than focusing on a select five or ten-- is sort of the nature of the beast. It's a government-funded (that is, taxpayer-funded) organization with little accountability for its failures.

It goes without saying that many volunteers are passionate about their work and do making positive contributions to their host communities, even if they don't always recognize it. A few friends of mine are currently working their tails off in the Philippines, and I admire and applaud them for it. I've always thought, and still do think, that the Peace Corps is a fantastic opportunity to live and work in a less privileged part of the world. But in all too many situations, as Strauss so forcefully argues, the opportunities created for the volunteers, at a total cost of $41,000 per year for each volunteer, are probably greater than the opportunities created by them.

Vagablogging on "development tourism" here.

This is even more important if you're a working vagabond who runs a business at the same time, like my husband and I do. One of the most difficult challenges we've found is deciding whether to book and pay for accommodation in advance or wait until we get there to do it.

The advantage with the first option is that you can (sort of) rest easy, knowing you won't have to go gallivanting around in your first few days trying to find somewhere to stay plus you can often negotiate a hefty discount for booking longer term, in advance; the disadvantages are obvious...can you really get an accurate impression of a place and an area from pictures on the internet?

After several less-than-ideal experiences booking in advance last year, we've now found a solution which seems to work well and covers all bases...

Firstly, draw up a short list of areas and ideally apartments to visit when you arrive - the ideal number is between 3-5; enough choice to get a good idea of what's on offer but not too much that you exhaust yourself looking.

Secondly, book short term accommodation (a hotel or hostel), as close as possible to the areas you plan to visit - or at least centrally-located if they're spread out - for the first 5 days, minimising the cost of short term accommodation but giving yourself enough time to get acclimatised and review your short list upon arrival.

In a worst case scenario, if the options on your short list don't measure up, then you should still have enough time to ask around on the ground and find somewhere that suits you.

The coolest thing about the network is the way it integrates blog articles and advice with the existing community content - so you might read an article about a great cooking school in Thailand, and then get linked to another member's personal blogs about her experience there, or read about nightlife in Buenos Aires and then get a list of Matador members on the ground in BA and ready to meet for a drink.

Six new sites have been added to Matador's existing blog offerings (Brave New Traveler, The Traveler's Notebook). Matador Trips offers detailed destination guides, Matador Study covers study abroad, languages, and other learning opportunities, Matador.org showcases worldwide organizations in need of volunteers, Matador Nights tracks down the globe's best nightlife, Matador Goods reviews the latest gear and travel books, and Matador Pulse - which, full disclosure, I'll be co-editing - collects news and notes from around the Matador network and the world wide web.

The network's just getting started, but it looks to be yet another great, free online resource for travel junkies. Also, for all of us aspiring travel writers, it's a great opportunity to get published, and paid! Check out the "Contributors" page on any of the sites for details.

You don't have to be convinced that it's time to meet the locals.

Unfortunately, making a connection isn't as easy as it sounds. You might start by thinking like a local. That means visiting the ordinary places of daily routines—like the laundromat, the daily market, a sporting event, or a class.

But even then, you'd be hard-pressed to establish the rapport needed for an insider's restaurant recommendation, or to ask the types of questions on your mind.

If you’d rather not leave that up to chance, you might try out Like-a-Local.com. It's an online community, at-the-ready with local advice and wisdom. Browse profiles to find the activity and guide that best suits you—whether you end up spending an afternoon at a local’s favorite hangout, or eating a meal she prepares for you herself. Based in Amsterdam, the group currently offers events (at varying costs) in seven European countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, UK.

Or else, you might try these other networks: ToBeLocal.com, Viamigo.com, or HospitalityClub.org.

Yes, great bank looking out for me, but I wish I'd known. I would have informed the bank and would not have been left with 200 Baht until I could get in touch with them, prove I was me, and get them to unblock my card. Rather inconvenient when you've just arrived in a new country.

Luckily, I've never been robbed, but I use my debit/credit card loosely when I travel: I always throw receipts, or sometimes don't even remember to take them. If something happens to my credit card on the road, I'd be quite stuck.

With that in mind, here are a few informative reads/advice on avoiding credit card scams and blocking issues when you travel:
Travel Rants: Advice on avoiding your credit card getting frozen when you travel
EuroCheapo: Keeping your credit cards secure
The Australian: On retail credit card fraud

I have one to add: as annoying as they are, carry some travelers checks!

The site is simple: a section on popular reader submitted travel-news stories, a blog, and a section called News On Standby, where it looks like the site founder -- a certain Mark -- scouts the Internet and posts a selection of the latest travel articles. Not quite sure why it's called News On Standby though.

I think the idea has merit, sites that aggregate industry news and highlight popular stories are great.

My issue with this website is that I can't figure out what it has to do with travel off the cuff. It promises information on what to do in places when you travel and haven't planned your days, but other than a few sporadic travel-blog postings, there is no such relevant information. Nor is it a social website. How do I meet people? In the comments section?

Why do new websites do this? This guy is probably the first to 1) have a "Digg" type site only for travel 2) offer information dedicated to traveling off the cuff. Why would he launch it without offering the entire point of the site? Maybe I wasn't supposed to stumble on it.

Might you have some suggested stops and venues for me in these places? Are there other parts of the U.S. or Canada that might make a good stop on my book tour? If so, let me know by emailing me directly! (My address is under "contact" in the index bar at left.)

In addition to standard readings from my new book (as well as Vagabonding), I'm also game to do short talks or seminars on travel writing and/or long-term travel -- especially at universities and book festivals. I welcome your suggestions!

Here are the new special deals on multi-stop airline tickets available through BootsnAll - these deals are good through May 31, 2008:

• Los Angeles - Hong Kong - Bangkok - Singapore - Bali (Denpasar) - Los Angeles, $US1199 plus taxes


• New York - Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo - Johannesburg - Dakar - New York, US$2299 plus taxes


• Los Angeles - Lima - Buenos Aires - Sao Paulo - Johannesburg - Dubai - Bangkok - Sydney - Honolulu - Los Angeles, US$3299 plus taxes

If none of the itineraries listed here looks like your dream trip, don't worry - you can always create a customized RTW itinerary of your very own. Happy planning!

I like to think I have an eclectic, worldly taste in music. When my mp3 player is on "shuffle," it's anything goes-- from Swedish indie to Mexican pop to one of my personal favorites, the Islamic Bono (yeah, that's right). But as open-minded as I try to be, I can't help but agree with the quote above. I've simply never come across a song or band from Asia (as in "Far East" Asia) that excites me, perhaps because the the music, like so many of the Asian languages, is simply too foreign for me to even begin to understand or appreciate.

So I implore you, Vagablogging readers: Is Asia really the "continent rhythm forgot"? Are there any bands or songs out there I should seek out to fill this gaping hole in my musical education?

Of course, for more on world music, you should really be reading the good people over at Perceptive Travel.

As with any business, the key to attracting new customers and clients is to build up relationships with prospects in your target market. The added challenge when you're vagabonding at the same time is that you may never meet or even speak to these prospects.

This obviously means you have to find another way to build relationships with people in your target market - which is likely to be online.

The tools you need to do this may vary depending upon the type of business you run but these are the key tools we use to attract clients to our business - a branding and online marketing consultancy:

Blogs - we have 4 blogs each of which we use for different purposes.

LinkedIn - good for developing your professional network and building an expert profile in your specialist areas.

Industry forums - if you have specific target markets for your services or products, taking an active part in online networking forums where your prospects hang out can help build a profile and get your name 'out there' amongst the people you can help.

Twitter - another tool that can be used to connect with people, build up relationships and build your profile amongst a community.

One word of warning though; don't join any of these services and communities and just 'sell, sell, sell', doing nothing but promoting your services or products. That's a surefire way to turn people off and away from you and your business.

Remember that it's all about building up relationships, developing your reputation and giving people a way to get to know, like and trust you...online.

Before you go:

• Obtain an International Driving Permit. Over 150 countries recognize this permit, and they are listed on the AAA IDP application page.The U.S. State Department offers tips on driving overseas, from how to obtain an International Driving Permit (available only through the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliance) to advice on when to contact an embassy abroad.
  
• Learn the rules of the road. Whatever you do, make sure you know enough of the local law (and lingo) to keep from spending your trip in the pokey. If driving in North America, check out these basic tip sheets for Canada and Mexico. If traveling elsewhere, be sure to research local regulations and how they apply to foreigners.
  
• Brush up on international road signs for wherever you are going. Amateur Traveler podcast founder Chris Christensen recounts in one of his podcasts (linked below) a time he was traveling on a European motorway and saw a road sign that seemed to resemble a sawhorse. Only later did he learn that this sign actually represented the beginning of a motorway.
  
• Reserve a smaller car than you drive at home (especially if you live in the United States). Many towns are not equipped for large vehicles, vans, or SUVs. Especially in Europe, narrow roads and tight spaces are the norm- make sure you are driving something that you will be able to maneuver in tight spaces.
  
• Budget wisely. Though gas in the United States is pushing $4.00 a gallon, it can be several dollars higher in Europe. Also remember that some city centers, such as London, charge a fee for entry in order to reduce congestion. Make sure to budget for toll roads and parking as well.
  
• Learn the lay of the land. Have plenty of maps ready and a designated navigator (other than the driver). The driver will likely have more than enough to deal with while maneuvering an unfamiliar vehicle through mazes of streets with scooters and animals darting back and forth and other drivers' various degrees of compliance with the rules of the road.
  
• Know the metric system- at least the basic kilometer conversions. Remember that 100 kilometers per hour is equivalent to 60 miles per hour.
  
• Familiarize yourself with manual transmissions. Automatic transmissions are hard to come by in many parts of the world. During high tourist season, they will be especially hard to find at the last minute. As one of my high school classmates said for her senior quote, "Always know how to drive a stick shift."
  

After you learn the rules, try this search engine for international car rentals.

For some firsthand stories about driving abroad, listen to Chris Christensen's Amateur Traveler Podcast #28: Driving Internationally. This 31 minute podcast is an interesting listen, though the first couple minutes are not just about driving.

Of the six participants in the reality series, only three have been announced: from the US, Canada, and New Zealand. But we’re still waiting to hear who will be representing the remaining Bebo territories: Ireland, the UK, and Australia.

We won’t be waiting too long—they all start their travels on May 21. During their six-month "journey of adventure and discovery," they'll be competing in challenges while trotting around the globe.

And that's where the interactive bit comes in: you can cast your votes every week to influence their trips and their challenges. Exactly how much influence, it's hard to say, since their itinerary is already touted to include: Iceland, South Africa, the Amazon, Russia, Machu Picchu, Vienna, the Himalayas, the Burning Man Festival (Nevada), and a Full Moon Party (Thailand).

Or else, if you've got local knowledge, share it. Or if you’re in their area, meet up with them. Throughout, you can follow their progress through blogs, photos, maps, and videos. All through Bebo, of course.

Bebo is a social networking website of 40 million people—400 of whom sent in video applications to vie for the six spots in the series.

"Ah it's just rain! I'm not going to let a bit of water ruin my trip," I thought, so I went out in the pouring rain in my raincoat, with an umbrella, to explore the city.

The rain was so hard, you could hardly see anything; it was cold and windy, so my fingers didn't take long to get numb and my umbrella didn't last 5 minutes; I was not going to even try to take my map out; there was no one on the road to ask directions. So I walked. And walked. And walked.

After about an hour of walking, absolutely drenched and shivering, hoping to find a little cute cafe, I stopped at what looked like a local cool place, which it was. However, I was the only person in there, and the bar lady didn't speak a word of English. So I sat there. Tried to talk. Ordered a coffee. Read a little. Tried to talk again. Then just felt very alone and lost. I had strayed from the center whilst braving the rain. My map was soggy and the rain showed no signs of stopping. So an hour later, I head out again. I was still wet, but not shivering and felt strong enough to head out again.

Just wanting to find any sign of life, I somehow hit a tourist patch -- and wow, never have I felt so good entering a warm, colorful souvenir shop. So after 3 hours of going in and out of (otherwise dreaded) souvenir shops, I headed away from the crowds to find another cafe. I found a small one with a fireplace! That's where I spent the rest of the afternoon. Dripping wet and alone.

Although those two rainy days weren't horrible, I felt like I lost two days of experiencing Prague. I'm happy that I stepped out both days, but I didn't accomplish much. Nothing story-telling happened; I didn't meet anybody. I went to the Museum of Torture Instruments, and a Synagogue. What else can you do when it rains? I suppose I could have gone to more museums and Synagogues.

What do you do when you decide to travel and get hit by bad weather?

A friend asked me what book I'll be taking for the flight; I've just started reading Jack Keroauc's On The Road (no, I haven't read it before so shoot me), that's what I plan to have in my bag if I haven't finished it before -- which is possible -- I started it yesterday and have been hooked.

Otherwise, I've stopped taking books for trips. I used to buy easy reads just for flights and lazy days; but lately all my trips have been so short and my brain has been overloaded pre-departure, so for the last year or so I've been resorting to Time Magazine, the Economist or even OK! magazine (yes, yikes!) for my in-flight entertainment. I find the short snippets they write easy to read and the variety helps me stay alert for longer periods of time when in the air.

The last few books I read on flights were: Lonely Planet's "Tales From Nowhere", Traveler's Tales "Hyenas Laughed At Me And Now I Know Why" and Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter Of Maladies.

That's it for me: short stories or magazines. What do you read on flights?