There are so many countries still recovering today from being a part of the Soviet Union machine. Even my time spent living in Prague, a beautiful and fairly modern city, uncovered lingering scars left over from that occupation. And, as anyone who has traveled in that region knows, the farther east you go, the more visible those leftover scars become.
I was wandering around the Matador site today and came across an interesting photo essay by Peace Corps volunteer, Chris Miller, who lives in a rural Ukrainian town. The pictures perfectly show the juxtaposition of the industrial empire aspired to by the Soviet Union and the quiet countryside left all these years after it’s fall.
In what country have you seen similar juxtapositions of old and new; urban and rural. Let us know!
I remember reading The Rugged Altruist by New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks earlier this year and wanted to share. My love of the times and its op-eds is steady and true. Ever since middle school when I prematurely became interested in politics and humanitarian issues, I have been reading the Times and its opinion pieces before I pick up my Vogue and Vanity Fair issues (which I love equally to the Times).
This article really caught my attention, as I consider myself an altruist—as I’m sure many of you do—but not particularly rugged. I also didn’t really know what classified an altruist to be in the “rugged” category or the more civilized one.
So I was looking around one of my favorite travel websites the other day, World Hum. I was first introduced to the website by a contributing writing when he came to speak to my Literary Non-Fiction class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ever since, I have been visiting periodically to see what new stories and advice are posted. It’s always amazing to me that just reading a story about a spice market in Marrakech or a long bus ride in Vietnam can instantly make me want to leave wherever I am sitting and go somewhere. For those of you who have caught the proverbial “travel bug,” you probably know that familiar itch to constantly explore and just GO.
I often liken this feeling to those restless leg syndrome commercials—which I’m sure is an awful condition—where it is all I can do to continue to sit in front of my well-traveled laptop and decide, just for today, to live vicariously through the person writing that all-too-familiar story. But why do we travel? What separates those who constantly feel the need to escape out of their element and those who are content to read about the world in a book or magazine? I don’t know if it is nature or nurture or some other biological phenomena, but visiting sites like World Hum illustrate the fact that I’m not alone in my struggle to fight the “travel bug.”
One of the regular contributors to World Hum asked this very open-ended question last year at the New York Times Travel Conference to see what the professionals had to say:
So, why do you travel? That first leap to go abroad, especially if it is by yourself, is always the hardest. What made you finally make the move to go abroad and what was your experience that first time you got off the plane in a new country? And what was the point that made you realize you were going to be a life-ling traveler?
The Backpack-O-Pet can be found at: http://www.celltei.com/waterdog50lbs.html
So, if you or anyone you know has a dog (or I suppose a very fat cat), you know how hard it is to travel anywhere. Even going across town is hard if you are without a car or in an urban area. So, in the spirit of the Holiday season, I am suggesting this (slightly uncomfortable-looking) backpack to be added for the dog enthusiast on your list. I found it while perusing the great blog Cool Hunting.
The backpack is called the Backpack-O-Pet — which may possible be the worst (but really best) name for a backpack for your dog. I guess it describes the product for itself.
Let us know what you think about this gift for the animal and traveler lover. Have any other travel-worthy gift ideas? Let us know!
So, we all know plastic water bottles are bad for us, bad for the environment and bad for our wallets. And with all the cool and sustainable reusable bottles out there, we really
Picture from www.Good.is
don’t have any excuse not to use them. But, there are those times when we are out and just need a caffeine or H2O pick-me-up. And sometimes while living or traveling abroad, especially in developing communities, bottled water can be a necessity.
So, if you are anything like me, you will buy plastic bottles when needed and then religiously recycle them (always remember to remove the cap!). But, what if you can’t recycle them? Or you forget? With so many articles and information about communities and their overwhelming plastic bottle consumption, I think there is something, especially in developing communities, we can do! Read More »
I have been a fan and follower of the Parisian street artist and photographer JR for years now. And much to my joy (and I must admit, chagrin), his incredible work has finally reached the international stage with a 2011 TED Prize win for his “Inside Out” project. JR and his team started this project — where people from all over the world can send in pictures of themselves and receive back a blown up, black and white version to paste as visual street art wherever they want — after the social and commercial successes of his other projects in the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia and his home city of Paris.
Addressing social injustices, misconceptions and the fact that we are really all the same despite our differences, JR took picture of Jews, Christians and Muslims in Israel and Palestine and pasted them side-by-side in the towns and neighborhoods that see the most social and political tension. This project, called Face2Face, gave JR’s “social art” a lot of attention in the cultural and non-profit circles of the world. Another project — Women are Heroes — saw beautiful portraits of women pasted on trains in Kenya, rooftops in the favelas of Rio and the markets of India; places where women are traditionally marginalized. Women are Heroes was also turned into a film that follows JR and his team through the process of shooting and pasting these evolving art pieces throughout the world — and some of the inspiring women they met along the way. Read More »
The numbers keep piling up in favor of gap years for new high school graduates. Seen as one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities to travel, experience another culture first-hand and even make some money, a gap year also gives students the chance to mull over what they want to major in while gaining that ever-elusive “real world” experience. And you can do all of this instead of spending money your freshman year pursuing a major that will eventually change. InterExchange Working Abroad has many different opportunities for your gap year. Check them out here.
A traditionally European notion that was never really cemented in the American frame of thought, the gap year is starting to become more and more popular as the benefits of international exposure begin to surface in the consciousness of American parents and their college-bound kids. Read More »
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InterExchange offers work and travel and au pair programs in New Zealand
Aotearoa…Middle Earth…New Zealand.
Many countries inspire visions of snow-capped peaks, deep blue lakes and rolling green hills but few countries can claim such diversity of terrain as New Zealand, which has all of these and more. Have you ever wanted to climb on a glacier in the middle of the summer, then take a short drive and kayak in the most pristine waters you’ll ever find? Or maybe you’re seeking the thrill of going to the “adrenaline sports capital of the world”?
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uncovered lingering scars left over from that occupation. And, as anyone who has traveled in that region knows, the farther east you go, the more visible those leftover scars become.
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