When we made the decision to leave our careers, apartments and relationships in New York City to take the yearlong, 60,000-mile journey around the planet that we chronicle in our book "Lost Girls," we had just two objectives in mind: To take a serious departure from the beaten track we'd been marching along, and to experience as much of the world as our own comfort zones (and $30 a day budget) would allow.
As we crawled eastward from Peru to Brazil, Kenya to India, Thailand to Bali--and beyond--we observed life through our own critical lenses, views no longer shaped by the news media back home, Hollywood or even an optimistic vision of how we'd hoped the world might turn out to be. While at times we encountered social and gender inequities, government corruption and political unrest roiling just underneath an otherwise subdued surface (Bangkok and Nairobi both powder-kegged soon after we left), the individual connections we made with the people along our journey gave us a visceral connection to the hope and optimism that bind us all together. These are just a few snapshots from our time--and real-world education--abroad.
Dayle Haddon: My Trip to Bolivia, Part 2
Divya Gugnani: Have Food, Will Travel: Top 5 New Culinary Destinations
Amb. Marc Ginsberg: Last Plane to Lahore
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But i am curious, justing asking an honest question or two. What kind of assistance did Holly provide to the nurse in picture 8, looks like she is just posing for a pic? How many total hours did the three of you volunteer in Kenya total while there for a month?
Can you give us a ratio of trip hours spent in volunteer work as opposed to sightseeing? Is it more than one to ten?
I'm all for people having a fun extended trip, congrats on your new world self promotion. If any of you all get kids, you can just toss them the book, no need for a photo album.
As for books, I will wait for the one with three unabsorbed NY women who volunteer at an orphanage, any orphanage for a year, and make a difference in some kids life. That would be worth reading. Again, sounds like a blast of a trip
We're currently working to raise $ for the Village Volunteers Butterfly Project, which pays to send young Kenyan women (like the girls that we volunteered with) to nursing school so they can provide aid to their villages long after volunteers and visitors like us have returned home.
In fact, a portion of the proceeds of our book sales go to benefit the Butterfly Project. You can learn more about this worthy organization here:
http://www.villagevolunteers.org/initiatives_butterfly_project.php
@smolensk-lies We hope that you'll dedicate a portion of your time to volunteering! It was a hugely positive experience, for us, and I bet you'd find the same. Good luck!
http://www.lostgirlsworld.com/2007/07/the-lost-girls-rtw-budget-a-look-inside/
http://www.lostgirlsworld.com/2007/07/the-lost-girls-rtw-budget-part-2/
http://www.lostgirlsworld.com/2007/07/the-lost-girls-rtw-budget-part-3/
Actually, an American family still can live cheaper on the picturesque European continent today, we did even when the dollar-to-euro exchange rate was at it's worst! ;)
Best,
Jeanne
http://www.soultravelers3.com/
We have been on an open-ended, non-stop world tour as a family since 2006, so know well the tremendous enrichment one can receive from long term global travel. Thanks so much for also letting people know that traveling the world does not have to be expensive.
We find that we can travel the world and live large on much less than we ever did at home in California. ( only 23 dollars a day per person or total costs of 25K a year for a family of three even in "expensive" Europe). It's time to break the myth that travel is expensive, because it does not have to be. We've been to 4 continents & 32 countries on that tiny budget & living luxuriously. (I'm writing this from a beautiful new 3 bedroom nicely furnished home in southern Spain with stunning Mediterranean views ).
It is also a tremendous way to bond as a family and a fantastic education. Our child is now a very fluent trilingual/tri-literate ( Mandarin, Spanish & English) and speaks many other languages which helps her understand other cultures and will be very useful for 21st century global citizens in our changing world.
I hope your book inspires more people to travel the world!
Warm wishes,
Jeanne Dee
http://www.soultravelers3.com/
We are all working in media again...Holly and Amanda are freelance writers and editors, Jen does marketing for a major TV network. We quit to travel but spent about 18,000 total on the adventure (which required serious budgeting in the 1.5 years leading up to the trip to save!). We were all in a bit of debt when we returned, but got jobs again and paid it off.
Thanks for the comment!
Amanda
In your world only white people travel?
Goodwill2, what a beautiful nickname.