Intro to Volunteer Vacation: Very Unusual Packing Lists

by Adrienne Wilson on

When my team leader sent over an additional list of items needed for our trip I raised an eye-brow. Oh, great! Something to give TSA a little excitement. Paint brushes? Rubber gloves? Safety spectacles? I’m sure they’ll flip out. This also means extra thinking when putting the final touches on packing my luggage – a task I’ll be busy with all weekend long. Am I complaining? Not at all – volunteer vacations are the greatest! While I’m finding a good place to store the paint brushes and gloves I’ll be thinking of my mission: Turning hope into homes.

Building homes with Habitat for Humanity and their Global Village program was one of the most rewarding travel experiences I’ve had to date and I’m sure this new venture into Tajikistan will be equally rewarding. Going into these projects I’m never quite sure what part of the home building process I’ll be lending my hand to, but the paint brushes are cluing me into something. Hmm… Whatever the case may be, I’ll have the opportunity to work side-by-side with Tajik locals, families, and homeowners in a two-week project that will go a long way.

So as I prepare my list (hammer, level, mask…) and prepare to pack, the excitement continues to build. More to come on volunteering while vacationing, Habitat for Humanity International and the intriguing Central Asian land of Tajikistan. Stay tuned.

As of March 2006 HFH had built 106 homes between the two affiliates in Khujand and Dushanbe. In Tajikistan there are several half-built homes which volunteers and families will work together in completing or they will build houses from the foundation to the roof. The average cost of a home in Tajikistan is $4,864 USD.

(Photo: Group shot during Cluj-Napoca, Romania HFHI build in June 2001. I’m the one with my arm towards the sky.)

Barrington Irving to Fly Solo Around the World

by Adrienne Wilson on

Jamaicans.com has a good interview on 22-year old Jamaican-American, Barrington Irving who is set to fly solo around the world on September 1, 2006. While others have flown solo around the planet breaking records and setting them Irving would be the youngest to fly solo if completed. He’d also be the first of African descent to complete the trip. With the permission of the Consulate and Jamaica’s PM Portia Simpson, Irving will begin his flight from Jamaica and head eastbound making stops in the Azores, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Egypt, Dubai, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Japan and Russia.

By flying around the world he hopes to show kids better alternatives that partaking in the streets negative influences. All I’ve got to say is best wishes to you Mister Barrington Irving May your journey be a mind-opening and fruitful one.

Read the full interview at Jamaicans.com.

Car Living

by Erik Olsen on

So you’ve thought about packing it all in and hitting the road. You’ve thought to yourself that, hey, living out of my car wouldn’t be so bad for a while. Well, what about living out of your car for a long, long time? If this is something you aspire to, then head over to carliving.com where you can learn from “Shenan” how she has managed to live out of her pickup truck for, um, about three years now.

So obviously I’m sitting here trying to decide if this is travel or homelessness.

High Tech Himlayas

by Erik Olsen on

If you don’t know the name Xeni Jardin, then you probably don’t spend much time reading blogs…not the best ones anyway. She’s been all over the place in the last few years, penning pieces for Wired, Boing Boing, etc. She’s also got a few gigs on NPR and this one on traveling to the Himalayas is definitely worth a listen.

Entitled Hacking the Himalayas, she takes us on a tour of this high-elevation nation and talks about how technology is changing the culture and way of life there. Filled with history and color and vibrant sound, it is superb, as fine an example of multi-media journalism as I’ve seen in a while (there are lovely photos and print versions as well). I would love to see more pieces like this, stories about the transformative powers of technology around the world in far-off places.

Mead Film Fest: November 8-12, 2006

by Erik Olsen on

It’s a ways off still, but worth putting on your calendar. The Margaret Mead film and video festival will be in New York City this year from November 8-12. It’s the 30th anniversary of the festival, which always offers scientifically-minded travelers a great way to catch films about other cultures. In case you’re unaware who Margaret Mead is, you can check out an online bio site. Most people know Mead from their college anthropology class and her book Coming of Age in Samoa. She remains a very controversial figure, as you can read about at this site, which discusses criticism of her by anthropologist Derek Freeman. And, of course, who can forget that the governor of Florida called her a “dirty old lady” for her views on decriminalizing marijuana.