It’s fitting that the TBEX10 world travel blogger conference occurred in New York City on the same weekend as the NYC Gay Pride march. If you are a blogger and are passionate about it, to reveal this to others has a distinct air of “Coming out.”
When you reveal your big secret for the first time, how will the listener react?
Will they judge you? Will they try to dig up information they [...Read More!]
You know something’s a good activity when you go into it feeling more bitter than a Nuclear Sour Warhead Candy, but leave grinning with happiness… despite your best efforts to stay crabby! Boston’s famous Swan Boats are just such a glorious attraction.
For the past three weeks, I have been teaching English at a lovely ESL school for college-aged and adult newcomers to America. It’s been awesome! Few things are better than [...Read More!]
The horizon is glowing gold.
Why? Because two thrilling travel-themed events are rising up in the near future, and you should know about them!
First, on September 14, 2010, over a dozen cities across the continent will hold an event called “Meet, Plan, Go“: an interactive panel discussion on how to take a career break and follow your dream of traveling!
Want to know who is the Boston coordinator for this event? I am! [...Read More!]
Nicholas Kristof’s fascinating recent New York Times article about unwise budgeting by some of the world’s poorest families, “Moonshine or the Kids,“ reveals a truth that applies to all classes of humans around the world: We’d each have a whole lot more money if we stopped spending piles of it on silly things.
That in mind, let us take a tour of the stupid things I did and didn’t spend money on during my nine [...Read More!]
We need your help!
In exactly two months, an amazing group of Ghanaian students and teachers from Youth Creating Change of Ghana is scheduled to leave their county for the first time. For three weeks this August, these hard-working Ghanaians will study and present in the United Kingdom for the return half of a remarkable educational exchange. That is… if we can raise the funds!
“This Cross-Culture exchange is the best programme I [...Read More!]
“Ms. Marshall!” typed a former student on the Facebook page for this blog, “I am so curious. Did you ever get your money back when someone robbed you for your Travelers Cheques?” Good-hearted young Carol was, of course, referring to my recent article about the shocking discovery, in my first week home from nine months abroad, that my secret stash of American Express Travelers Cheques was mysteriously stolen [...Read More!]
Very long story short, in May of 2010, I stalked the world’s number one travel blogger, Gary Arndt. Happily, instead of getting tossed in jail, I ended up being invited to travel with Gary for a week in Spain, fully funded by the Valencia Ministry of Tourism!
It was fascinating, fun, and full of flippin’ fabulous five-star food.
In yet another stroke of generosity, Gary just changed the guest posting policy for his [...Read More!]
Let’s play a game called “How many ridiculous elements can you find in the 2010 U.S. Census Race form!” Study the photo above and chuckle. I’ll start, and you add on.
1.) There is no box at all for Arab or Middle Eastern.
2.) Where do Cape Verdeans (a Portuguese-creole-speaking island off Africa with a big population in Boston) check?
3.) “Negro”???!!!!
4.) Should European “Spaniard” really be under “Latino/Hispanic”? There are entire college courses [...Read More!]
We interrupt your regularly-scheduled travel blog to bring you an extremely important update on pineapple-eating technology.
“You HAVE to see this,” declared my cousin Eric the moment I entered his Manhattan apartment on my jaunt to New York last week.
“What is it??” I gasped in anticipation, expecting something as miraculous as a pet unicorn, given my cousin’s worshipful tone.
Eric reached into a kitchen drawer and withdrew… a gleaming silver rod with a [...Read More!]