5 destinations to learn new skills in 2016

With 2016 just a few short weeks away, I find my thoughts turning towards the question: what new skills can I learn in this new year?

Confession: I’m an incurable learner. Starting new projects, learning new skills, reading about new subjects or destinations fill my veins with excitement. When the promise of 12 blank months of learning beckon, I can’t resist.

I want to fill each month with a challenge to learn something new. Toss in the possibility … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on 5 destinations to learn new skills in 2016  | December 31, 2015
Category: Adventure Travel, Destinations, Languages and Culture

What’s in a name? On pronouncing difficult country names

Laos

When I traveled through Southeast Asia some years ago, I was amazed by the number of fellow backpackers who ridiculed me whenever I pronounced the “s” in Laos. Apparently, I was supposed to pronounce it “Lao,” just like locals do.

The thing is, those same “s”-dropping travelers never insisted on calling Bangkok by its proper name (“Krung Thep Maha Nakhon”) when they were in Thailand — and when they recalled … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on What’s in a name? On pronouncing difficult country names  | January 3, 2015
Category: Languages and Culture

Reverse culture shock and how to deal with it

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Everyone talks about culture shock. Heaps of books have been written about how to plan for it and websites dedicated to slowly transitioning into a culture where you perhaps don’t speak the language or aren’t used to the food or traditions. You spend months planning your big travels unaware of how completely changed you’ll be upon your return (if you choose to return, of course). … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | January 1, 2015
Category: Languages and Culture

On Baksheesh

Egyptian Train

Photo Credit: walidhassanein via Compfight cc I’m riding a second-class train up the Nile valley when a boy in an official-looking blue jacket beckons me to the other side of the carriage.

“Look,” he whispers, pointing outside. “Beautiful!”

I look out the window to see a red sun streaking the sky with bands … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on On Baksheesh  | October 25, 2014
Category: Hospitality, Languages and Culture, Travel Writing, Vagabonding Styles

The value of time

It’s an increasingly accepted as fact that, as a nation, we have allowed a work culture to develop where taking time off is seen a sign of disloyalty or lack of care, and where extended time off is more of a concept than a reality. It’s also a given that more and more data suggest that the costs of this approach in stress and lack of free time for rest, recreation and family is having … Read more »

Lessons from a tour guide, part I

This week I returned from a month and a half overseas working as a tour guide, helping to lead two different groups on an epic Best-of-Europe grand tour. The experience was a new one for me; after years of exploring the continent’s cobbled backstreets and ancient cities as a solo travel writer, I found myself with the unique opportunity of being a guide for one of America’s most well-respected touring companies.

Read more »

Another adventure, another reason on why travel is my passion

Having just come back from another great trip, I’m reminded again of the richness of Europe and the gifts it keeps on giving to any traveler willing to seek them out. I went to France on assignment for three mid-size, nationally-distributed magazines, and set to work almost immediately. It’s amazing how profoundly engrossing traveling and learning can be, especially when you have the added incentive of a contract for a story that must be delivered. … Read more »

How do you make cross-cultural connections?

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One of the reasons we travel is to reach across cultural boundaries and experience the world from a different perspective. It’s that genuine human interaction between different worlds, within the same space that is the essence of the value of leaving home and “seeing the world.” That connection is the moment that makes all of the uncomfortable moments on the road worthwhile. It’s the window … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | May 28, 2013
Category: Languages and Culture, On The Road

Vagabonding Field Report: Dengue Fever in the indigenous village, the jungles of Ecuador

 

the nomadic family in the jungles of ecuador

 

Cost/day (for a family of five):

Rent in the indigenous village- $3.50/day Food- $15/day (we bought and cooked our own food or picked whatever the land provided) School- kids attended for free, in exchange for us teaching English Hospitalization and medications- free

Strangest thing we’ve seen lately:

Before his wish to die, but well after 40 degree … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (8)  | April 24, 2013
Category: Family Travel, Languages and Culture, South America, Vagabonding Field Reports

Open relationships and long term travel

“But you’re just going to leave!”

Although I hated to admit it, who said that was right. At the time I’d been seasonally migrating as a guide for four years. And had no intention to confine my adventurous spirit in domestic American life, then—if ever. The catch though was he was not American; Swedish born to immigrated Polish parents. And unless we got married, physically being together was a matter of juggling countless visas. I … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Open relationships and long term travel  | November 29, 2012
Category: Female Travelers, General, Languages and Culture, Notes from the collective travel mind, On The Road, Sex and Travel, Simplicity, Travel Health, Vagabonding Advice, Vagabonding Life