Hope for Those in Transition

The past few days, I’ve felt very emotional. Wanderlust is wrapped up in this. On one hand, I feel frustrated that the six-month trip Zach and I are hoping to take in a couple of years prevents me from putting down roots. On the other hand, I feel terrified about the thought of acquiring furniture or falling in love with the townhouse. I feel torn in two. This Tolkien quote comes to mind often, and I try to take a deep breath and let things go.

Blog.

10 Photos of Nob Hill, Albuquerque

Albuquerque (of Bugs-Bunny-esque fame) is a memorable city, and not just because of its name. It’s the largest city in the region, but it has no skyline. Instead of attempting to be glassy and modern, it squats low to avoid the desert heat (unlike some city I know, Tucson!). I had the good fortune to spend a day there on my Epic Trip Out West in 2011, and found it to be one of  the most intriguing tourist towns I’ve ever visited. Like the Wyoming desert or the Petrified Forest, it’s lingered in my memory far more than many other places.

Nob Hill is the Route 66 district, a ghost town on the weekday I visited. The photo ops were frequent, and even with my limited skill, I got many shots that fascinate me every time I see them. Here are 10 shots of a bygone era.

The patterns in this place make me feel quiet on the inside… and like
listening to Simon and Garfunkel's "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)."

It's not easy to carry the weight of the world.

My travel buddy, Amanda, insisted that we go check out the abandoned hotels and gas stations.

The place had a sad feel to it.

I don't even know what this quote means, but I think it's probably deep.

This gas station had seen better days.

So had this hotel.

I wonder who was the last person to stay in Room 16?

I love the aesthetic.

I was tempted to steal this owl.

A Tolkien Quote Worth Repeating

I also wrote a blog about it a few years ago. (Click on the photo to view it larger.)

Travel Tip Tuesdays: Five Essential Skills for Volunteer Travel

Last week I posted about Volunteer Travel, a subject I feel passionately about. As I was thinking about my volunteer vacations, I decided it would be helpful to elaborate a bit more on the kind of skills that are useful before you begin. Here are five that will make your volunteer vacation a success.

Skill #1: Self-motivation. Actually, this is essential in any kind of solo or non-guided travel— you have to be able to see your own goals and work toward them. That way, if your boss leaves you alone in a messy kitchen and says, “Make supper for everyone, please,” you can get organized and whip together a supper, rather than needing someone to hold your metaphorical hand.

Most of the time it's really easy to get along with your
fellow volunteers. Bird, Li, Gaby, and Erin, I miss you!

Skill #2: Teamwork. In most volunteer situations, you’ll be working with another person or in a group. Learn how to get along with people, share the work, and have a good time while doing it.

Skill #3: Tolerance. I’ll admit, I hate this word because of the connotation it’s acquired. Some people think “tolerance” means you never, ever tell anyone about your beliefs. In reality, it means speaking up about what you believe, but also being open, honest, and respectful of other opinions. I don’t meet many other conservatives or Christians when I’m on the road, but I’ve had many civil (but intense) conversations about religion, politics, homeschooling, abortion, and everything in between with people who are liberal atheists. You can believe in absolute truth and still graciously listen to other points of view. This is essential when working with other people.

Skill #4: Serenity. Oftentimes, the situation is less than ideal, and when that happens, pick up a cell phone or pull up Skype and rant to a trusted friend back home. Complaining and whining to fellow volunteers doesn’t help the situation. Strive to be positive with your work at all times. When things go wrong or you’re upset, keep your cool.

Skill #5: Initiative. From the time I could walk, my mom has been training me to see what needs to be done. When I’m looking to be helpful, I glance at a kitchen and see the plates that need washing, the dishcloths that need laundering, and the floor that needs sweeping. Then I go do that. People from coast to coast have applauded me for being such a hard worker— when really, all I did was see something that needed to be done, and did it.

With these five skills, you are ready to take on anything that volunteer travel throws at you, from milking goats to running a weed-whacker. And come to think of it, all these skills are pretty helpful in real life, too.

~~~

Have a travel question? Leave a comment and I’ll answer!

A Lesson in Geography

Welcome back, blog followers! The past few days have been a madhouse, due to the kickoff of my winter job with St. Charles Christmas Traditions. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, and every weekend up until Christmas Eve, I disappear for a while and my good friend, Mikko the Scandinavian Christmas Elf, frolics out onto St. Charles’s Main Street to spread Christmas cheer, hand out collector cards, and celebrate traditions from all over the world. She did this for about 25 hours over the weekend, so I had little time for much else.

Since Mikko is Scandinavian, she loves to teach people about her homeland. The only problem is, nobody seems to know where Scandinavia is. Mikko’s solution is to have people guess as she drops more and more obvious hints. In the process of this, Mikko realized that almost everyone is terrible at geography. (“I was never good at history,” one person remarked. “I mean, geometery.” The person paused. “I mean, geography.”)

So, as a public service to the geography-challenged out there, I will give you 10 facts about geography that you might want to know!

One. There are seven continents in the world. Yes, I’m sure.

Two. The continent directly west of Asia is Europe. (Asia is also apparently the only continent that anyone can remember.)

Three. Switzerland and Sweden are two completely different countries.

Four. The question “Where do Danish people come from?”, while tricky, is not correctly answered by “the Netherlands,” “Dutchland,” “Deutschland,” or “Daneland.”

Five. “Dutchland” and “Daneland” are not real countries. They only exist in your head. Also, “Deutschland” is the same thing as Germany.

Six. Antartica is on the bottom of the globe, not the top.

Seven. Europe is a continent, not a country.

Eight. Canada is a country, not a continent.

Nine. The Alps are neither a country nor a continent. They are mountains.

Ten. The five-and-sometimes-six countries of Scandinavia are Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland. 

Gle∂ileg jól, everyone!

~~~

I'd just like to take this opportunity to say…

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Travel Stories: We Are Totally Grown-Ups

In October of 2009, my sister Mary and I were having a grand time running around Seattle, exploring Pike Place Market and occasionally fawning over a life-size cut-out of the President. Our tourism led us to the big splurge trip of the day, the Seattle Aquarium.

After oohing and aahing over moon jellies, observing a Pacific Octopus eating a fish, and learning about the ecosystem of Puget Sound, we found ourselves in an outdoor area with aquariums displaying marine mammals. We walked up to the largest of these, which contained a fur seal as long as I am tall, floating on his side with his flippers folded up on top. A kid, probably five or six, stood next to us and pressed his face against the glass.

As Mary and I contemplated the beauty and size of this incredible creature, its whiskers twitched, it sighed and shuffled, and then it took the “thumb” of its flipper and began scratching its rear end with fervor. Immaturity threatened to make me giggle, but I maintained a straight face in observing normal animal behavior, and Mary did the same.

The kid leaped back from the glass, his eyes wide, his face glowing with delight. “Mom!” he shouted over his shoulder in between an eruption of giggles. “The seal is scratching its butt!”

Mary and I paused, then looked at each other. We both started laughing so hard I thought I was going to cry. You can get old, you can become mature, but there are some kinds of humor you can never outgrow.

My partner in goofy humor. She went back to California and I miss her already…

~~~

Travel Tip Tuesdays: How to Take a Volunteer Vacation

The hostel kitchen in Florida City, where I spent a lot of time.
I later couchsurfed at Amey's house in Nashville.

My idea of “vacation” is largely shaped by the trips my family used to take to see my grandparents. Although the trip there and back consisted of hotel visits, swimming pools, camping and beach walks, a large chunk of it was spent at my grandparents’ house, where we worked our butts off in the garden or in the field. I soon learned the joy of enjoying an icy pink lemonade after spending a couple hours weeding tomato plants. “Hard work” and “vacation” just go together in my head. So when I discovered that I could take a trip and volunteer in exchange for room and board, I was ecstatic.

Two years later, I have traveled the American west and Europe, saving myself literally thousands of dollars by focusing on volunteer situations. Along the way, I’ve gotten the chance to camp in the Olympic rainforest, kayak in the Florida Keys, hike in Zion National Park, spend a day the city of Nürnberg, and have dinner with a local family in a tiny French town— all for free.

The two resources I’ve used for volunteer vacations are Help Exchange and World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, and there are many more resources (do a Google search for “volunteer vacations”). Each of the sites has a helpful tutorial for setting up an account, finding hosts, and planning your trip. Here are some other general tips to get you started.

I learned how to take care of llamas when
WWOOFing in Port Townsend, Washington.

Dream about a destination. The first time I took a volunteer trip, it was because I wanted to spend more time in Washington. Two organic farms with WWOOF helped that dream come true, and I spent a month in the great Northwest for almost free. The same was true of my trip to Colorado and all of the Help Exchange I did in Europe.

Seek out an experience. Since I love hostels so much, one winter I searched for one that accepted volunteers. Help Exchange showed me the way to a hostel in Florida, and I spent a fantastic three weeks making beds, cleaning bathrooms, cooking meals, and avoiding the Midwestern “snowpocalypse” while meeting people from all over the world.

Carefully read the profiles and reviews. Especially in WWOOF, many of the farmers are looking for serious, knowledgable, long-term helpers who can give useful input about permaculture techniques. If you’re a city kid (like me), steer clear of these. Look for profiles that seem more relaxed and don’t have long minimum stays. Also take the time to read people’s reviews, which can help you get a feel for things. 

I tutored Aaron and was adopted as part of the family.
They took me sightseeing all over Utah!

Email or call about five different places to start off. Start several weeks in advance so you give the hosts plenty of time to write back about details. Make a running list of places that look interesting, and then write your top five. When I first began Help Exchange, I wrote exactly one place, and was accepted immediately. In Europe, trying to find someplace last minute, I wrote about 20 people before I finally landed a job. 

Know what to expect. When you write your hosts, be specific and honest in your letters, and ask a lot of questions about hours expected, food situation, lodgings, wi-fi, etc. In WWOOF, here’s a typical situation: you get your own room or camping site and all food in exchange for six to eight hours of work, five to seven days a week. In Help Exchange, this is more typical: your own room, one or two meals a day (with access to a kitchen), in exchange for four hours a day, six to seven days a week. Either of these varies a lot, so be sure to ask.

Look for something close to home. If you don’t have a lot of money or time, do a search for volunteer opportunities close to home. A town two hours away might feel like a different world if you’re milking cows and making homemade cheese!

Be open-minded and flexible. No matter how many reviews you read, a situation just might not be what you expect. Maybe the work is harder than you wanted, your volunteer boss is neurotic, or the expected middle-aged French woman with a quaint homestead turns out to be a young German guy running a hippie farm swarming with goats. Most of the time, it all works out. Make the best of the situation, ask yourself what you can learn from it, and enjoy the ride. However, if you feel uncomfortable or in danger, don’t hesitate. You’re a volunteer, and you have the right to leave at any time.

If you don’t mind getting your hands a little dirty, volunteer vacations are one of the best ways to travel cheaply, learn new skills, make friends, and experience a slice of culture that the tourists miss. The volunteer travel I’ve done has given me some of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences of my life.

My WWOOFing family in Chehalis, Washington, standing in front of the fence we all helped build.
(Ethan, Sara, Carl, Lorna, Z, Eliot, me, Ben, and Becci)

~~~

10 Blogs I Follow

This evening, I planned to hang out with my best friend at my new place and watch movies and stay up late gabbing and being girly. Instead, I had a lovely conversation with her… and then promptly fell ill with some sort of flu/food poisoning thing, which kind of put a damper on the party. So now, I’m resting instead, feeling vaguely miffed that my tummy is being unkind to me.

I began surfing the Internet, starting with the list of blogs that I follow. It occurred to me that other people might want to share in the joy as well, so here are 10 blogs with beautiful, inspiring, and interesting things to say.

My brother Christian doesn't keep a
blog, but holy cow, I wish he did.

My dad runs two blogs, one about painting and one about music. He posts his art, both visual and audio, to be enjoyed and pondered by anyone who wants to listen. 

My brother Eric keeps a blog about the music business, but many of his ideas apply to anyone who is self-employed or is trying to get organized.

Seth Godin has a lot of pithy and controversial things to say about working for yourself, defying the status quo, and taking charge of the future.

If you love words, grammar, language trivia, and pretty much anything to do with writing, check out the fun Write@Home blog.

My Uncle Kerry blogs about everything from elvish translations and family holiday traditions to astronomy, Christianity, and the writings of Karl Barth. 

My friend Adrienne from Insomniac Folklore just started this page to let the world (and me!) know what’s going on in the life of the band these days.

With a little romance and a lot of snarky attitude, The Everywhereist is my favorite travel blog, with stories, restaurant recommendations, and goofiness abounding.

For a blog to calm your mind and please your eyes, try my friend Rachel’s Onward Into Light— I love the aesthetic of the photos and quotes she chooses.

Finally, I like to finish my Internet time with a glance at the mind-blowing National Geographic Photo of the Day. The photos always leave me with a sense of wonder and joy that there are so many different kinds of beauty in the world.

What are your favorite blogs?

~~~

A Photo Illustrating Why I Don't Ever Want to Live in the Desert

I need to look at this photo every time it’s brutally humid in St. Louis, to remind me that, as far as I’m concerned, things could be worse.

~~~

A Hopeful Start, a Silent Finish

The winds from the west

Bring tidings of death

The man known as Freedom

Has drawn his last breath.

Oh, who knows the sky

And who knows the sea

And who knows a place

Where I can be free?

The winds from the east

Above and beneath

Bring tidings of grieving,

The end of a feast.

The mourners cry out 

In one ragged voice,

Oh, who knows a place

Where I can rejoice?

Yesterday, I found this song buried in one of my old novels. I had completely forgotten about it. Despite its melodrama and lack of context, I like it quite a lot— and the same goes for the poor unfinished novel that accompanies it. Do you ever find something you started and wished you had finished it?

~~~

Lady of the Townhouse

Even when traveling the wilds of the
Northwest, I enjoy baking and cleaning.

Keeping a blog has been nearly impossible the past few days, mostly because my new home doesn’t have wifi. Still, I sit at my new townhouse and type these words on my computer, planning to find my way to an Internet connection soon, so I can once again connect with the anonymous outside world.

My last name is different, and my life along with it. Abruptly I find myself to be the lady of the house, and if the fridge is a wreck and the dishes don’t get done, it’s my responsibility. I kiss my husband goodbye when he leaves for work, and go errand-running with him on the days he’s off. It’s been hard to focus on my writing and editing, because I find it difficult to switch gears from Fifties Housewife to Focused Teacher— cooking and sweeping are sweet meditative pastimes, whereas editing often leaves me staring into space thinking of what kitchen supplies we still need to buy. 

The best part about our townhouse, aside from the laughably-70s avocado-colored fridge and stove, is the neighborhood. The townhouses are sandwiched together in groups of six neat little domiciles built in the 40s for the families of munitions factory workers. It’s still a neighborhood of low-income families, with gaggles of small children running around. On weekdays the kids huddle at the bus stop across the street, and the neighborhood is silent until they all return and start shrieking-loud games of tag or war or hide-and-seek that last well after dark. I welcome the outside noise; it makes me feel like part of the neighborhood, and I find it refreshing to see children frolic in the fresh air without paranoid adults hovering over them.

The house is still mostly empty, so this week we’re going to start moving the rest of my stuff. In the meantime, I live out of a suitcase, cook meals, plan room layouts, and try to shake myself out of a dish-washing trance long enough to get my editing work done. My new life awaits. For many years I have been a taker; now it’s time to start being a giver.

~~~