VOLUNTOURISM

Posted: January 27, 2012 in Charity
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Let’s get real, is this even legal? Combining the powers of travel with volunteer? To be able to see a country and do good at the same time? Vacations are memorable, but volunteering overseas is life changing, and makes a trip so much more than unforgettable.

I’ve dabbled a bit in the realm of voluntourism, but not as much as I would like. Some of my experiences where with International Student Volunteers, where I spent two weeks on an environmental conservation project, and animal care unit before spending an additional two weeks traveling the country. My second experience was with Semester at Sea, where I had orphanage visits, and dabbled in the realm of care-taking and community development. My last and most recent experience was to Guatemala with the Alternative Reading Week program at my university, where we spent a week restoring a school, and spent a day touring nearby attractions such as Lake Atitlan.

SO WHAT’S MY POINT?

I have a couple. The first: is it’s YOUR turn to make a difference and see the world at the same time! If you have one week, one month or one year, there are programs in over hundreds of destinations to make your annual leave one to remember. So why not check out the following:

International Student Volunteers

Cross-Cultural Solutions

International Volunteer HQ

Global Volunteer Network

Projects-Abroad

These are just a few that I hold a high reputation for, however there are thousands of organizations out there and opportunities just dying to take you over seas and show you what the world is really about!

WHATS ON MY MIND

Posted: January 19, 2012 in Miscellaneous
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It’s the third week of school, and stress has already broken into my apartment, found my room, picked the lock and snuggled in bed with me. So before stress starts having meals with me, and over shadowing me on a regular basis, I felt I should update the world on what is going on in my mind.

First, I would like to point out that I feel like a prisoner. My travel some mind won’t stop planning, rearranging, organizing long-term adventures in my head. With one more year of university a head of me, I can’t help but start planning another around the world Post-Graduation trip for next January. So instead of reading about Foucault, which I have a forty minute presentation due Monday, I am researching solo travel, how to get in and out of Burma, and if I can be physically fit enough to trek to Everest base camp (apparently it’s not that hard… just two weeks, and I am also unfit). The only silver lining to the last point is that yours truly has decided to get a gym membership.

Yes, you can pause on that fact, but I am longer dreaming about hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Pichu, but actually trying to be physically fit enough that the dream can happen. To add to this, I found an amazing tour deal through Peru- two for the price of one! I don’t know how else you could wrong.

So yes… I am an almost university graduate who is juggling a mind full of adventures, how I am going to fit in my LSAT Preparation and write the test this summer, combined with scheduling of classes, moving in and out of my lease to find a sublet for fall term, what Law schools and/or masters program interest me and lastly, this amazing, once in a lifetime- or second for me, opportunity to travel around the world again next January.

Of course I have to find a way to fit in a full time job somewhere in midst of that in order to be able to actually afford my post-graduation trip.

On a side note: 64 days until Ultra Music Festival- the next official trip on the list :)

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