I want to address a common question asked of me when people hear what I have planned for my trip: "How did you plan all of this?" Here are the most helpful things I have found. I hope these resources will at least streamline the process for you, and make your more outrageous fantasies seem less outrageous!
My Purpose
To begin, I want to be clear about my objectives for this trip. My main goal, more than anything, was to do things I have never done before, and see as much of the world as possible. Actually, correction. Not just see, but experience. This differentiation is essential to how I will be traveling. I am not, I repeat NOT, the sort of traveler that follows a guidebook, stays in nice hotels and needs to see everything a place has to offer. That's just not me.
When I travel somewhere, I try to really absorb it... the pace of life, the values, the societal nuances (see conversations 400B students! I use that word a lot!). So I would rather stay in one place for a while and try to get to know it, let it sink in. As such, I prefer the untouched to the well traveled, long stays to short ones, and a fluid pace to a fast one. Specifically, I prefer hostels to hotels, not only because they are affordable, but because of the culture that develops in hostels; people meet one another, make friends, and join in the journey. All of this being said, I will travel on a budget. I want to spend as little money as possible, so that I can make my trip as long as possible. I decided to do a mixture of couch crashing, hostels, farm work, and teaching English. Very bare bones, and very fluid. But that is my style, and it may not suit you.
Resources
Given that, I will share with you the online resources that have made all of this possible. I hope that you find them invigorating and inspiring, and that you too might decide to drop everything and runaway to somewhere amazing! At the very least it will hopefully help you understand my journey a little better.
- Keeping in touch: blogspot.com
- Affordable Accomodation: couchsurfing.com
- Volunteering: www.vfp.org
- Farm work: www. helpexchange.net
- Previewing my travels: http://earth.google.com/
Couchsurfing is a network for backpackers like myself who are willing to stay at random people's houses, and likewise are willing to host someone themselves. It is a leap of faith, but I have heard only good stories so far.
Amazingly enough, volunteering is expensive. Not only do you pay your own way to and from, but then there is usually an outrageous fee. Volunteers for Peace (vfp) partners directly with local organizations to plan 2 week work camps around the globe. They also have some longer stays of up to 2 years. While you do cover your own transportation, the cost is only $300, covering room and board, which is unheard of. Honestly I find their website to be a complete mess, and a bitch to navigate (that's non-profit for you), but there is a lot of great stuff on it. One of my friends has done it a few times and has really enjoyed each one. I'll let you know how it goes.
HelpExchange has been one of my favorite resources. It is a site for folks who need help around their home/farm. It began as a network for organic farms. You exchange working a few hours a day for room and board; not too bad as it avoids the whole work visa issue. There is a similar network called wwoof.net, which I contemplated as well.
Lastly, I LOVE google earth. This free software is amazing. Using a combination of topographical renderings, satellite images, and posted photographs, the software conjures up the most amazing rendering of the globe. I have zoomed in to potential travel locations to view exactly the sites that I am going to see there. It's truly phenomenal. I highly recommend it to everyone.
Ok. That's it! Phew!
There's a ton of stuff out there, and I am sure there is a lot of other fantastic stuff. I am by no means an authority on this topic. I just hope that all of this is helpful to you in your own endeavors.
Best of luck!
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