I have had a theory for a long time. I have told a few people about it. Some try to look interested. I have tried to explain it in long emails to professors at various universities who refer me to someone else who doesn’t reply. Continue reading →
So well, I have a very small problem. I no longer know whether I have a travel blog or a blog about the world I am seeing. Since I began my serious traveling in August 2014, I have been writing mostly chirpy stories. Travel makes me happy. Although I have seen hardship, I guess I saw it through my own optimistic lens. Continue reading →
Every year, the Berkeley-based non-profit, Ethical Traveler, announces its Top Ten most ethical places to travel in the developing world. This year, the winners include Uruguay, Micronesia, and Mongolia. http://ethicaltraveler.org/ The goal of Ethical Traveler is “to use the economic clout of tourism to protect human rights and the environment.” Its Top Ten countries get high marks for these attributes and it encourages us to visit them for that reason.
Wow, I am down with using travel to protect human rights and the environment. But I am not convinced the best way to do that is to go to the places that have good human rights and environmental records.
When I decided to leave a great job and a wonderful San Francisco apartment last year to travel solo around the world, the first reaction I got from most people was “wow, you are courageous.” I think this was actually a polite way of saying “wow, you are a little crazy.”
All day long Jordanians say “you are welcome” when I haven’t said thank you. At first, I felt kind of bad about not saying thank you quickly enough until I realized that when Jordanians say “you are welcome” they mean you are welcome — welcome to be here and to whatever I am sharing with you.
People in my life have probably not assumed I was going to stop giving advice just because they are technically out of hearing range. And after six weeks, I am starting to feel the need for “sharing” because pretty much no one on the road is going to listen to my opinions, including the woman who gave me a manicure today and filed my nails so they looked like salamander toes.
This is not my hand after the manicure. This is actual salamander toes.
Continue reading →
So…I had my fun with friends in Spain and Hungary. And now it’s just me. Time to make the transition from a tourist to a traveler. A vagabond. A nomad. A homeless person with no friends!
I have had a theory for a long time. I have told a few people about it. Some try to look interested. I have tried to explain it in long emails to professors at various universities who refer me to someone else who doesn’t reply. Continue reading 
All day long Jordanians say “you are welcome” when I haven’t said thank you. At first, I felt kind of bad about not saying thank you quickly enough until I realized that when Jordanians say “you are welcome” they mean you are welcome — welcome to be here and to whatever I am sharing with you.
So…I had my fun with friends in Spain and Hungary. And now it’s just me. Time to make the transition from a tourist to a traveler. A vagabond. A nomad. A homeless person with no friends!
Camino Milagro 