Theroux and Iyer: What Makes Travel Meaningful

Taken from http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4914

Few know more about the art of travel than acclaimed writers Paul Theroux and Pico Iyer, who have a combined six decades of experience chronicling their adventures around the world.

In his book The Tao of Travel, Theroux highlights the work of some of his favorite travel writers, including a conversation with Iyer. And 100 Journeys for the Spirit, which Iyer wrote the foreword to, features an essay by Theroux about the Lhasa prefecture in Tibet.

Theroux and Iyer give NPR's Neal Conan a list of things they do to make travel meaningful and how they go about being a traveler rather than a tourist.

1. Pick a destination that raises more questions than answers. "When I travel," Iyer says, "I want to be moved and I want to be transported and I want to be sent back a different person." Visiting places like Ryoanji in Japan, he says, inspires questions that reverberate long after you leave. "There's something in it that is always elusive ... that keeps bringing you back, again and again."

2. Leave the technology at home. "The more the world moves toward movement and acceleration and data, the more something in us cries out for silence and stillness and spaciousness," Iyer says. Iyer has visited monasteries for the past 20 years just to escape his phone and laptop, and he says he has found it liberating and even luxurious.

3. Rely on yourself. Self-sufficiency can be one of the best parts of travel, Theroux says. He says walking, looking for water, and just experiencing the simplicity and primitivism of life can lead you to a destination you end up truly loving.

4. Visit a charismatic place, not a pleasant place. "I would never call Jerusalem beautiful or comfortable or consoling," Iyer says. "But there's something about it that you can't turn away from." Similarly, he says, sitting in a very simple place like a Californian monastery in the midst of a storm takes you back to an essential, almost primal sense of fear or isolation — yet another part of the beauty of the experience.

5. Just go! "I still feel that ours is the only developed country in the world that's not full of travelers," Iyer says. Whenever you take yourself to some magical space abroad, he says, you see people of many nationalities, but few Americans. Take the time and trouble, he advises, to seek out the new places.

Thoughts. Maybe I'm an Asshole.

by Michael Mintz

If you have the choice to walk into a pile of fly infested green mushy cow poop, black sewage water, florescent green effluent water, a puddle of random yet degrading gobs of what seem to be garbage and smells like the sewer, or unknown animal/human feces, which do you pick? That's the daily decision I had to make going to work...

Am I an asshole if a bum comes up to me and asks for money because he is missing an arm but I don't see a man missing an arm but instead a man with two legs and an arm? In Bangladesh it got so bad that beggars would come up to me and I would look at them and realize that the guy before only had one leg with three toes on it, this guy has more than 7 digits combined on his two assorted yet crippled limbs, he is not worth any charity... am I an asshole or is right to play beggar comparisons when looking at people asking for money? So you're missing both your legs but it looks like your hand works... Sorry no money. You're totally blind and deaf? Maybe that's why you sing so bad. You're blind but you look a little fat to me...

I got fired from my job on Tuesday for reporting to an incoming boss that the other guy I worked with got fired on Monday and we were having serious problems. I was going to quit but still.

Wall Street Journal did a fab job capturing how savvy our generation of wanderers is.

Check out the article, "New Generation of Global Jet-Setters."

What Possessed Him to Go Here, Now?

There are stories that pop up every so often of Americans jumping into the thick of things overseas right when they're in the news. They're usually alone. And without an organization supporting their efforts. Remember that guy who wanted to personally kill Osama bin Laden, so he flew over into the mountains of Afghanistan? Like that.

I remember my father being that guy once (he didn't make international news, although I was still riveted). My parents had tickets to visit Argentina early 2001. Just before their trip, the currency broke. Argentina was sliding into full unrest as the nearly developed Latin American country's economy slid ferociously backward over the course of a few weeks. There was a lot of rioting. My father decided this was in fact the best time to visit Buenas Aires, and considered the timing of their trip a great opportunity to witness live action history. What fortune! (My mother stayed home figuring history would be made just as well without her getting tear gassed.)

So another one of these adventurers just popped up. This time it's a UCLA undergrad, just looking to lend a hand to Libyan rebels. Click on the image to read the story in the National:

P.S. The author did a great job of selecting this quote to be the last line of the article: "'Whatever you do, don’t tell my parents,' he pleaded. 'They don’t know I’m here.'"

Meet Taylor Hamilton, Globetrotter

I've had the fun fortune of meeting Taylor Hamilton at my new job. Turns out my new co-worker and budding buddy is also quite the photographer!

Here he discusses his passion for photography:

Click on the image below to see more of his globetrotting photos:

In Defense of Long-Term Travel

Written for International Business Times

by Mark Johanson

Travelers have long suffered a bad rap as bums, stoners, and drifters, lost in the vastness of mother earth's open arms. The hippie trails of the 1960's and 70's only served to further this unfair reputation. Those who left their desk jobs to dip their toes in foreign seas were seen as flighty, unstable, and generally aloof. By jumping off of their surefire career path, they supposedly set themselves up for years of waiting tables and flipping burgers. But those of us who have taken the leap, despite all of the obstacles, know that it just isn't true.

It's not easy to pack up your bags and buy a plane ticket to an unknown land - to leave on a jet plane not knowing when you'll be back again. Long-term travelers are risk-takers, unmoved by the voice of reason. They are rebels, but they are not rebellious. Long-term travel is not a protest against the homeland, but a longing for perspective.

Each country has its own names for it. In New Zealand and Australia they call it an OE (overseas experience). Younger generations in Europe and the Americas call it a gap year while older generations label it a mid-life crisis. Call it what you will, long-term travel is not about running away from home, it's about understanding a global world.

Long-term travel is a passion that is hard to defend. It is irrational by nature. While I have found no good words to support it over the years, what I can say is this:

There is the world that you live in and the world that you dream to live in. Often times, when you start to live the life of your wildest dreams, you find yourself longing for the familiarity and comprehensibility of the life you left behind. As a traveler and a constant dreamer, you find yourself living for the dream, running from the reality, and longing for a connection on either end. Complacency scares you and the end goal eludes you, so you keep on running towards an uncertain future in hopes that, in the process, you will find the answers to questions you never even thought to ask.

Some find contentment in short vacations, bookended by work. Great! I am not arguing that long-term travel is superior to the traditional holiday. On the contrary, I only argue that the act of traveling, however it is done, is an important part of understanding the human condition. To step outside of your comfort zone and look back on your life from an outsider's view offers you the chance to appreciate what you have. Even if the trip is to Disneyland, at least you can look back and say, "I don't have a bunch of fuzzy overstuffed critters marching around my hometown but, at the end of the day, I think I'm okay with that." The realizations need not be grand ideas.

Yet, the longer and farther you travel, the more your traditional values are questioned. I always thought that long-term travel was about absorbing other cultures and ideas - about meeting different people and trying new things. I thought it was about everybody else but me. But no matter how far from home you go, the one thing you're left with is yourself. I may learn heaps about foreign cultures, religions, and ideals, but more than anything else, I learn about myself.

And so, in defense of long-term travel, we are not all bums, stoners and drifters. We are not rebellious. We are not even as confused as we seem. Some of us know exactly what we're doing. Sure, we may be unconventional dreamers, but our dream is a collective one of global understanding. To use the famous J.R.R. Tolkien quote, "Not all those who wander are lost."

Now THAT'S skiing!

Ongoing WhatUpWanderers contributor Eric Misbach just returned from a father/son skiing journey in the Alps. Click here to check out more of these phenomenal photos of their experience!

Chilean Football Dream

Contribution by Ruthie Schulder

I was psyched to go see Chile (team colo colo) vs. Brazil (team santos) in Santiago, Chile! For some reason that many of us still quite can't figure out, soccer is just not a very big sport here in the US. International friends from the UK, Australia etc who have shown me how the rest of the world views the sport: through obsessed and drunken lenses.

Jose Manuel (our tour guide, not to be confused with our other tour guide, also Jose Manuel) went up to each of us individually to emphasize his seriousness, and the message became clear: this was no joke, and soccer fans are insane. He warned us not to wear anything that would resemble the color blue, which is Brazil's color. Our tickets did not have assigned seats so we made our way to open sections that were separated by fences topped with barbed wire. There were policemen at the back of each section, just in case. We were told not to get too close to the fence because 'hooligans' were on the other side of it. The game began and there was a lot of jumping, chanting, and screaming, and singing. Chile took the lead which was apparently a huge deal since they had not beat Brazil in 13 years. The announcer came over the loudspeaker to insist that all Brazil fans stay seated until all Chile fans left the stadium, the unspoken meaning being 'don't get too close to a Chile fan right now lest you regret it.'

The game was stressful and extremely exciting, and the energy in the stadium was palpable. Jose Manuel almost shed tears of joy when Chile was up 3-1, proclaiming "I never thought I'd see this day!" Chile won 3-2 and the crowd went absolutely bonkers. Victory!!!

I only wish I had painted my face...

Up and Down in Kigali Town
Contributed by B. Comber

Kigali is a pleasant African capital. The trip I took for work in February of 2011 was my third in under a year, and I have enjoyed each one. The streets are remarkably clean, kept that way by various cadres of diligently sweeping women. Men in bright pink outfits place brick after brick into the steep embankments that keep the hills from falling onto the carved out streets that switch back and forth across the city. And, a fun fact that should surprise anyone who has ever taken a look around a major African intersection: there is not a stray dog to be found. It is not uncommon to see people jogging, for exercise. It is not a wealthy country or an untroubled city, but it is pleasant.

The Rwando-philes will tell you to forget what you heard, that this is an optimistic society looking to a bright and promising future, rather than a dark and frightening past. Indeed, Kigali is dotted with advertisements for flights to Rome or Cairo, and billboards with bright looking people emphatically enjoying insurance coverage or ATM machines. The foreign and the fashionable cycle through an agreeable selection of bars and restaurants, and proud depictions of the country’s mountain gorillas adorn eatery entryways and the many tour and adventure companies. Of course, my personal favorite indicator of progressive thinking: a loudly advertised eco-friendly public toilet facility on the city’s main square.

The skeptics will counter that the bright and shiny veneer is the product of unrelenting cultural control by the closed circle of political decision-makers. The locus of this control sits clearly with President Paul Kagame, the country’s political focal point since the summer of 1994. Anecdotes filter through international news outlets of the illegality of even uttering ethnic designations, university students who have been expelled for asking controversial questions, and the victor-based political process that has allowed few real electoral choices in over fifteen years.

After a few days in the country and a few cautiously-phrased conversations with Rwandans, it is difficult not to come to the unsatisfying conclusion that everyone is right enough. Rwanda is like an individual who has surprised himself with the vehemence of his outburst, and is now under strict self-imposed social constraints. Those bright pink outfits, worn by men laying bricks on the embankments, indicate past participation in an extraordinary crime. There are no dogs because dogs are carnivores, and during extraordinary times will feed however they can. It is a model of forward movement that no few countries have ever attempted, and if the world has any capacity to learn from the past, no country should ever again have to try. The question of whether the model works for Rwanda will be up to the dictates of time.

Ruminations from Everest Base Camp

Contribution by Christina Sass

On Disappointing Guides

So I guess that brings up the first not so lucky part, our "guide". Krishna was his name and he came at the recommendation of an excellent and very professional guide in Kathmandu; it was his cousin. Well, Krishna was a super nice guy, a 22 year old student in Kathmandu, but we learned on the flight up that he hadn't been up in the hills for 5 years although he was born there. Needless to say, he really did not know much if anything about the traveling route. At our first acclimatization stop, Krishna got very ill and was somewhat dishonest about it. We decided to go on alone and carry our own bags.

On Scary Flights

The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla gave us a sneak preview of the peaks we would walk amongst for the next 2 weeks. The plane was a 16-seater, it looked about ancient. The flights in and out of Lukla are highly inconsistent due to extreme mountain weather that rolls in and out at amazing speeds. (I don't blame them, during the hike we saw no less than 3 helicopter crash sights simply left there because there is no means to clear any of it out.) We landed with a big bump onto the smallest runway I had ever seen.

On Acclimatizing

Crazy fact: if you were to be helicoptered up to Everest Base Camp and let outside with no oxygen, you'd have about 2 minutes before you would pass out or go into coma from lack of oxygen. The process of acclimatizing is serious, extremely serious. About half the people who go above 5000 meters get ill.

On Sherpas

Hiking from one tiny mountain village to another learning the interesting and welcoming culture of the Sherpa people who are so natural at living up in high elevations. Most tourists think that Sherpa is a synonym of "guide" in this region, but it is their religion. However, it is without doubt that these friendly and welcoming mountain people have unmatched abilities in mountaineering and an extreme resilience to cold and altitude. My idea of "rugged mountain man" is totally reformed now as these little but sturdy people could hike hours on end with ease in flip flops and t-shirts.

On a Local Legend

I met Pema Dorje Sherpa as he was guiding a large family from Salt Lake City to climb Island Peak. This guy summitted Everest with 3 different expeditions: Brittish, Norweigian and Korean. What a guy. He was also the coordinator of the base camp portion of the expedition that went very wrong in 1996. (He hasn't been up since ‘88). His friend was one of the people guiding the group actually up on the mountain who was blamed for the catastrophe. He spoke of Everest with such understatement. He got choked up talking about his companions who never came home from the great mountain and in the end, he gave it up after trip #3. He is a legend among local Sherpa people and should be. He knew the overwhelming danger involved and wanted his kids to have nothing to do with it.

On the Views from Everest Base Camp

Everest Base Camp and Kala Pathar (our highest point at 5550 meters or about 18,000 feet) were incredible. The mountains are of course staggeringly beautiful and honesty hard to keep track of when you are up there, there are so many high peaks and the clouds roll in with alarming speed. On the way up, the excitement builds based on what view your next day will afford you. It is a bit sad that at the top, altitude sickness and worry detract from your ability to really relax and just absorb the beauty and grandeur of what you are seeing. But it is indeed something to stand at the foot of the piece of our planet that has fought off the effects of gravity more than any other. The Nepalese consider Everest to be the goddess of the sky, named Sagamartha; being up there, you can see why.

International Travel for Work? YES! Er, Wait...

Contribution by Kate Hoeppel

From the road: Agra, Kabusanji, Taipei

If there was a test to weed out seasoned travelers from those less savvy, I probably wouldn't make the cut. I blame laziness. It takes a lot of time and research to craft a good trip! But I realized a few months ago that I actually do a fair bit of traveling for my job to some interesting places, and while this travel is funded and scheduled by my employer, it is still travel. Below are some stories, tips and ramblings for your enjoyment.

• If some sadistic travel agent books you a seat directly next to your boss for a 10+ hour flight, just walk right up there and explain it to the ticketing agent. They will usually give you an understanding smile and be able to move you. Polite excuses can come later. Warning: this can backfire. You may think you’re lucky being moved to an empty row until three hours into the flight two drunken newlyweds, a crying baby, or some other variety of Balrog sits down next to you spilling various substances. Sometimes I don't even move anymore… better to stick with the devil you know.
• In general, I just say yes to any and all outings suggested by my hosts. Sometimes you score and get to see behind the scenes at an ancient Buddhist temple! Other times you score slightly less and get invited to a wedding of someone you have never met that is two hours away (without traffic).
• If you're going somewhere off the beaten path for only a couple of days, most of which will be spent in meetings or other events, you don't really have the luxury of eating whatever you want. Think about it… the only thing worse than being sick while traveling is being sick while traveling for work. Muster up your inner resolve, repeatedly request bottled water, and feign a fear of multiple foods that frequent the “naughty list.” I should add that usually the people I am meeting with are beyond considerate of our health, and for that I am eternally grateful. However, there's always that one person who just randomly gets you something from a street vendor right outside a garbage dump and he REALLY wants you to try it, oh YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!! You are a vision of graciousness and roll the dice. Just drink some Peptol that night.
• Along the same vein, if you indicate an appreciation for any type of local delicacy, be fully prepared to have vats of it supplied for you throughout the trip. Sounds like heaven I know, but this too can backfire! Being “over served” fancy red wine at dinner may be delightful, but being treated to countless hookah bars at 3am under severe jet lag may not.
• I stopped worrying about losing my luggage some time ago. The honest truth is that even if you carry a full suit with you on your flight, it probably won’t get you comfortably through a three-day conference. At least not with theater-style plenary seating, harrumph. Instead I just say a few words to the God of Forgotten Things and wear something comfy on the plane. If/when I lose my luggage I’m fully planning on just going AWOL. Especially if it’s anywhere with “European Sizes.”
• Lastly, if you fall asleep while talking to someone at dinner, there really is nothing to say. Just apologize and check to see if you drooled. In some cultures, it may even be considered cute!

Organic Farming in Costa Rica

Miranda and Monica, my co-volunteers/friends from the organic farm - Finca la Flor - in Costa Rica share some of their experiences and insights about farm life there. If you are interested in learning how you too can volunteer (or how you could become an owner of your own plot of land for organic farming as part of their upcoming EcoVillage), check out:

http://www.la-flor.org/

http://ecoaldealaflor.blogspot.com/p/informacion-general.html

Miranda (fourth from right) and Monica (second from right) with other volunteers and full-time staff

Rise ‘n shine

A typical day on the farm begins with the breakfast bell at 7:00 am. It's early, but I always lug my ass out of bed to go because the food here is SO tasty.

All of the meals are vegetarian, prepared by two local women who come everyday to cook for the employees, guests, and volunteers on the farm.

So, breakfast: hot coffee, fresh fruit salad with banana and papaya, homemade tortillas or biscuits, homemade goat cheese and goat yogurt, traditional Costa Rican "gallo pinto," and more. Everyone eats a big communal breakfast together, and work begins at 7:30.

Farming

The actual farmwork itself does not require expertise on farming, but it does require physical stamina, and patience. Tasks include shoveling manure and debris for compost piles, cleaning animal waste, harvesting various herbs or vegetables from the garden beds, clearing overgrown fields, and various other odd jobs. There is always a local employee on the farm who supervises these tasks. In my personal experience, the idea of working on an organic farm was great... and the reality of being faced with a giant pile of poop at 8 in the morning in the pouring rain and wind did not match my expectations. If you are looking for an idyllic, relaxing retreat vacation, this is not the place to come. However, there is definitely a certain feeling of satisfaction in finishing such jobs.

The idea of the farm is that nothing here goes to waste. Every job has a purpose, and all of the products on the farm are part of a huge self-recycling process that keep the place moving as one self-sufficient unit. The field you clear one day becomes food for the horses, then their poop becomes the compost that fertilizes the fields where the lettuce for your salad grows. Even more interesting, to me, is that the ecological ideals of the farm are self-sustainable as well. Members of the community often visit the farm, which is also an eco-school. The tourism that the farm generates in this tiny town creates more economic opportunities for families and make eco-friendly choices more sustainable.

If interested in Finca la Flor, please note…

The weekends are no-work. For entertainment on those days, there are buses that run to Cartago or Paraiso, and from there to various other spots. Lankaster Gardens is totally worth going to, especially in good weather.

About the weather, though: be aware that this region of Costa Rica is rather cold and rainy. Do NOT leave your cold weather gear at home. Even in the "dry" season there is often rain.

We all expected to lose weight working hard on the farm. Wrong. The food is so good, and you will be so hungry, like we were, that you'll probably come out even in the end (or possibly heavier). Your biceps will look great, though, from all the heavy lifting.

There is a definite communal feel on the farm. Meal times are a big social part of the day, when everyone who has been scattered around the farm comes to the same place to talk. Volunteers come for just a few days to weeks or months at a time, and coming and going is a big part of the relationships here.

Alcohol and other substances on the farm are prohibited.

Internet and pop culture are largely frowned upon by the farms employees, although you might find kinship with the other guests.

The farm is a good place to practice or learn Spanish. During the work period, or when conversing with any of the farm's local employees, everything is in Spanish. There are also Spanish lessons offered that take up the afternoon period of the day. Classes are one on one and can be tailored to suit all levels of Spanish. The teacher is both very patient and thorough
.

Final log of scariest moments: CenAm edition

Made it back from long Central America trip. To follow up on the last post, a few more interesting things happen that qualify as the scariest experiences of my time in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Per the format above:

Costa Rica

• Centipede bite on toe in the middle of the night during a bathroom trip. He was about 3 inches long, it hurt like hell, and scared the bejeezus out of me.

Nicaragua

• Hands down goes to the arrival of our small beach town hotel late one evening, only to find out that the American-born hotel owner has been held hostage in his (now closed, without electricity) hotel property for the last 3 months over some kind of business-gone-awry while a couple of thuggish, armed guards watching over. That was a scary conversation to have with the owner through the sealed front gate.

Running log of the scariest moments...

Now halfway through my 5-week adventure, I am reflecting on some scary moments...the superlatives which I thought I'd categorize by country (at the risk of frightening my mother in real-time):

Guatemala: two-way tie

• unpredictable, incessant, and mere-feet-away fireworks lit by boys and men throughout the narrow streets of Antigua
• hairpin turns in mountains where the narrow highway was washed away in many parts down endless cliffs during the last atypically wet rainy season

Belize

• the tiny Cessna flight from Ambergris Caye to Belize City...like flying in a mini-van with wings (which may be nothing for others, but with my existing fear of flying, it was a real adrenaline-pumper)

El Salvador

• despite only spending a short night there, this country gets a shout out for its fun earthquake, experienced in the airport 10 minutes after deplaning with the windows shaking and the ceiling wobbling

...to be continued with inclusions, inevitably, from Costa Rica and Nicaragua...

The Pharmacist's Son

Al, my father-in-law, is a world-class pharmacist: attentive to the details and his patients in a way that all of us should be so lucky to have in our pharmacist. Several years back, he won “Pharmacist of the Year” for his 700-pharmacy company. When we went to Mexico as a family, I got stung by a huge jellyfish during a late night swim, whereupon I jumped out of the ocean with tentacle marks seared around my stomach and back. Scott, my husband, jumped out with me and gave me the non-verbal sign of his willingness to administer the “old fashioned” method of handling jelly fish stings; I responded, “No. You’re not going to pee on me.” My father-in-law, more helpfully, was prepared with a full array of Benadryl pills and ointment, and all swelling and stinging was gone within a few minutes. Scott took note of these more dignified healing methods, and became a full-time advocate of travel wellness preparation. Which brings me to our current travel med kit…

Scott now brings a full-sized hospital-ready med kit. Poison ivy? Got a cream for it. Poison sumac? Got a different cream for that one. Okay, I’m exaggerating. But let’s just say that for our 5-month adventure in South America, we did bring something that weighed in the range of 9 lbs. To his credit, we did end up using almost all of it, including the wrap for a sprained ankle, several tubes of hydrocortisone cream for some Amazonian chiggers, iodine from well-earned scrapes, and plenty of cough syrup for a bout of bronchitis.

For my upcoming solo travel to Central America for 5 weeks, I decided to seek the help of the pharmacist’s son, asking that he pare down his recommendations to the bare essentials. Here’s what he picked out:

• Chewable Pepto Tablets – This one is a *great* recommendation from my doctor who has been to just about every country…take two tablets every morning with breakfast, and your stomach will be calm, cool, and collected every day of your trip. This has worked for every person I know who has followed the advice.
• Band Aids (several shapes and sizes)
• Cleansing Wipes
• Gauze Pads
• Anti-diarrheal Pills
• Itch Relief Spray
• Iodine Tincture
• Cotton Swabs
• Ibuprofen
• Antibacterial Hand Wipes

All-in-all, we’re talking 2 lbs of weight. This seems reasonable and responsible. Inevitably I’ll end up using most of it, and will be grateful to have a travel bag stocked by a pharmacist’s son. Feel free to use this list for your own upcoming adventures…

Safe travels!

WanderKate

Warning: these lessons might make you obsessive

A friend sent me a link to these websites this morning, and I think everyone should be in on these "secrets":

http://gizmodo.com/5710654/how-to-fly-35000-miles-visit-4-continents-9-countries-and-15-cities-for-418?skyline=true&s=i

...and, from the master himself:

http://frequentflyermaster.com/

Soggy

Contribution written by fellow blogger Adam Aronson, who publishes Swimming Along the Horizon

(Note: photos in this story are Adam's, but none are particularly related to this story...just interesting shots from Thailand)

Initially, I didn't believe this week would make

me a hermit. However, Thailand's Songkran festival was in full swing. Songkran or Thai New Year is supposed to be a three day affair. This year it fell on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So, add Sunday and Monday to the mix, and you have quite the holiday.

An essential component to this celebration is dousing one another in water. In other words the city turns into a barrage of pickups marauding the streets with all varieties of water. There is clear water, mucky water, smelly water, chilly-cold water, and my least favorite of all, all of it. Have a water war is one thing, but when it's involuntary and one is unable to merely walk down the street without some giggly swarm of people dumping bucket and gun loads of water on you it becomes obnoxious. Multiply that by five days, and you have your explination as to why I spent many many hours holed up in my room. Now, that in itself was not entirely bad, but it wasn't voluntary.

On the plus side so many thousands of people loved it, and I too had a good time. Really tough, I didn't need five days of it. I met some lovely Chiang Mai University students who daily could be found outside the beauty parlor owned by one of the group's mother. Yesterday, the last day of the festival, I headed over to the parlor armed with a bottle of San Som (Thai Whiskey), and we sat around imbibing for a bit before all loading up into a pickup and heading off for the festivities.

It wasn't long before the cab of the truck was gushing water from every bit, and we were soaked to the bone. This was the part I expected, and I had seen where a lot of the water came from before, so I wasn't too surprised that this bit smelled a little. There is a moat surrounding the old part of the city, and you guessed it, that's where a lot of the water comes from by the bucket load! After leaving the moat we went a couple other places including some hotel shopping complex where the streets were bumper to bumper. We parked the car and joined in the celebration.

I witnessed a mob of about thirty chasing perhaps one or two over zealous revelers which was broken up by the police in short order. I even restrained

somebody in a separate incident where about five to ten were pounding brutally on one or two. My involvement was short lived as my friends told me everything was perfectly okay and that I should relax. I told him he was correct, since we weren't getting the ever loving shit kicked out of us, everything was okay. The principal English speaker of the group was probably the drunkest, and he couldn't stop apologizing for five hours. I get a bit fed up with him and in particular being soaking wet without being able to leave. I was ready to reach the hotel about three hours before I actually got there, but c'est la vie. I saw how the party goes around this time, and I assure it is a holiday you couldn't pay me to return to.

All that being said it is beautiful here in Chiang Mai, and now that I can freely walk the streets with only my sweat to drench me I plan on seeing more of the city. I really love moats except when they're encroaching on me!

Exploring a New Business Culture - Brazil

Contribution written by Suzanna Fry Jones

In May 2009 we set off for our first trip to Brazil for our honeymoon. We spent a week in Rio de Janeiro and a week at a wonderful 10-room hotel in a small fishing village called Picinguaba. We loved everything about our Brazilian experience – Brazilians’ happy demeanor, a relaxed sense of time, chopp (draft beer) in mini cups, a diet full of sweets, loads of fresh fruit and delicious meat, music, parties that don’t get going until 2am and so much more. When we returned to Brazil almost a year later with longer-term plans and goals though, we found ourselves wandering through a different side of the Brazilian culture: business.

In February 2010 my husband, Jeff, and I quit our jobs and left the city we love and call home, San Francisco. Eight months earlier we had made the decision to go to Brazil for 6 months for a little adventure – yes, that’s all it took, a decision, made in a two-hour car ride, plus a little money in our savings account. From the start, our journey was intended to be more than a traveling exploration through another country; we had hopes of advancing our careers and leaping into another realm where we weren’t stuck at our desks all day.

So for six months we lived in São Paulo, attempting to navigate a new business culture, often with wary eyes. While we had expected business in Brazil to move at a different pace, we hadn’t expected many of the other factors that lead the country to rank so poorly on the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report (check out this post on our blog, Rooted Journeys, for more). Social and cultural differences are expected and generally easier to accept and adjust to. When it comes to business, we’ve found it more difficult to adapt.

In general, there are a few things I’ve learned from the experience of uprooting a stable business-life in the states for a more adventurous take on the idea of a “career”:

• Never underestimate the value of trusting those around you, especially in business – when you insert yourself into another culture, you’re automatically more vulnerable being a foreigner, and this is certainly the case in Brazil. But also in Brazil, as they have a history that instigates short-term thinking, finding trustable consultants that aren’t out to get a fast dollar is harder than you might think.
• Figuring out your career passion is hard to do from a desk indoors – I never thought we’d spend so much time on farms in the span of a year.
• “America will always be there” – I didn’t realize how many times I’d say this to myself, as it’s quite comforting.

Many days I wake up thinking Brazil is a totally insane place to try to do business. But every day I am thankful that my computer overlooks the Bay of Picinguaba or I run around a farm in the countryside of São Paulo state. Deep down, I truly believe Brazil is a country with immense potential and even greater opportunities. But that doesn’t mean the day-to-day is always easy. Traveling enables personal growth, and in our often career-focused American lifestyle we should remember that learning about other business cultures can also be incredibly beneficial to one’s knowledge, values and practices.

TripIt

Sharing the link to an amazingly helpful travel organization service...http://www.tripit.com/

What TripIt does (in the company's own words):

TripIt turns chaos into order by making it easy for anyone to:

• Organize trip details into one master online itinerary -- even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites
• Automatically include maps, directions and weather in their master itinerary
• Have the option to book restaurants, theater tickets, activities and more right from within the online itinerary
• Safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights, or print an itinerary

What TripIt does (in someone else's words):

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20101101/my-favorite-tool-for-organizing-my-travel-plans.html

International Eating Etiquette Quiz

Fun, short quiz (although background "music" gets tiresome so be prepared to mute computer):

http://www.fekids.com/img/kln/flash/DontGrossOutTheWorld.swf

I got a 7/11...what did you get??