GuluWalk: Organization Awareness

GuluWalk is a humanitarian effort devoted to supporting and saving the thousands of abandoned children of northern Uganda.

An initiative founded by two Canadians, Adrian Bradbury & Kieran Hayward, GuluWalk strives to raise voices and awareness about the horrific acts of violence and destruction that have remained prevalent in northern Uganda for more than 20 years. The effort highlights the plight of the Acholi children. This group of young and innocent children has been forced to trek to town centers in the middle of the night to avoid being beaten, battered, raped, abducted and killed. By the Lord's Resistance Army.. an inhumane mission spear-headed by Joseph Kony.

Despite all morality, Kony and his rebels have been stealing children between the ages of 3 - 17 to staff his gruesome army. Forced to kill or be killed, the youth of Uganda has been trained to murder mothers, fathers, and siblings with no remorse. Devoid of emotions, ethics, and morals, Kony's army has been destroying civil life in northern Uganda since 1987. With the hope of escaping titles of soldiers or sex slaves, tens of thousands of children called "night commuters" walk up to 12 miles each night to seek safety & solace from Kony's crew.

What child deserves to live like this? What child deserves to live with such ghastly memories? How do these children find hope for the future?

In its short 3+ years in existence, GuluWalk has evolved into a worldwide movement for peace. With a dream of eradicating what has come to be known as "the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis" and "one of the biggest scandals of our generation", GuluWalk has raised over $1 million for the children of northern Uganda.

Get involved with GuluWalk to find out more about how you can help this team achieve its goals & complete its mission.

NEST: A Bird's Eye View with Rebecca Kousky

Another small tribute to NEST. Executive Director and founder of NEST, Rebecca Kousky, was recently interviewed on KSDK - St. Louis. She gives a brief background of NEST's mission and how the organization works. Rebecca also plugs a local event in St. Louis, although I believe the event actually occurred yesterday. In any case, view the video below to learn more about our unique social mission.



If you're having trouble viewing the video, please visit the following link:

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=158713&catid=14

Look Me in the Eye: Interpreting Body Language

In an effort to heighten awareness of cultural knowledge, we're going to try a new feature here: highlighting the meaning of a particular piece of body language, interaction, or symbol across cultures. We figure that it won't hurt to take breaks from travel stories to infuse an educational, cultural tip or news from abroad into the mix.

As young children, American & European offspring are taught to look people in the eye. It's a command often heard when parents, teachers, or other authority figures suspect children of lying. Because it's the sheer nature of a child to engage in occasional mischief, you can bet that this is one piece of body language that kids work to perfectly master. As a young adult, this same segment of people is taught to look people in the eye in order to exude interest, truth, and honesty. Whether it be a casual chat with an acquaintance, a job interview, or a heated discussion with a significant other, maintaining eye contact demonstrates you're attentively & intensely listening to the words of your conversational partner. In many situations, it also helps to prove that you're not a proverbial freak.

However, while eye contact reflects a common act of courtesy in some cultures, it suggests quite the opposite for others. In Asian & African cultures, avoidance of direct eye contact is interpreted as a sign of respect & esteem.

I think I prefer the latter interpretation. The next time that I walk down a street in Boston, I'm simply going to assume that everyone is worshipping me as the Queen.

Siesta is the Best(uh)?

Upon my first arrival in Madrid, Spain, I was swiftly introduced to one of the most magical ideas ever conceived for the working individual, and the most annoying holdups for a traveling traveler: SIESTA. Siesta occurs daily most everywhere in Spain with shops and businesses closing from 2pm - 5pm, and bars and restaurants closing from 4 - 8pm. It is an opportunity for employees to go home for lunch, spend time with family, and overall just take a break from "the grind".  In my experience, it seems like pretty much everyone participates in siesta, leading most establishments to be shutdown between those hours. Which lead us, dear traveler, to a conundrum: whatever does a revved up U.S. tourist do during those 3 hours?

My friends (Ali and Erin) and I dropped into Madrid mid-afternoon, dropped our bags off at our youth hostel (Hostal Casto which was cheap, great location, and felt safe - but don't expect the Ritz! The most recent review is ABOUT RIGHT), and quickly went to work finding a place for a quick bite to eat before hitting up our first tourist destination. The restaurant we found had "succulent" duck and an attentive waitstaff - they were surprisingly happy to continually fuel us with bottles of wine. A little tipsy from lunch, we trolled over to take a tour of the Museo Nacional Del Prado - I'm a dope and totally thought it was called the Prada for most of the day. Inebriation aside, I highly recommend this museum. It houses beautiful pieces of art from well-known Spanish masters such as Goya and El Greco.

Following the Prado we scooted over to the Botanical Gardens, which were nice, but something I would recommend skipping if you visit in mid to late fall. Thus begins our introduction to...drumroll...SIESTA. A mere 15 minutes into our walk around the grounds we were kicked out because it was closing for the afternoon. Not quite ready to call it a day, we started to meander the streets of Madrid in search of something to amuse our little minds...or at least a bar or cafe to prevent the onset of a hangover. Closed door after closed door, we found what must have been the only open bar in Madrid - not surprisingly, we were also the only patrons in this lonely bar. With the exception of the bartender, and the late arrival of Ethan, a friend of Erin's who was studying aboard in Madrid.

Weathering siesta in our new favorite bar in Spain (plus a couple of hours), we were all ready for some dinner. It's reasonable to expect dinner around 7pm, right? WRONG-O! Workers will (actually) go back to work after siesta, which causes the work day to end much later. So, people won't eat dinner until 8 - 9pm. Beware - while I found it extremely fun to bop around Madrid getting my makeup done at some random department store, making late night pit stops for cheap and yummy chicken & fries, and do a little sightseeing:

(ha - nothing like taking pics in front of a monument - Casa de la Panaderia - in the dark, shortly after the chicken & fries).

This isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. Some good alternatives are to simply take advantage of the downtime (write some postcards, rest/freshen up for the long night ahead), take a long walk, OR FIND A BAR TO BOND WITH FRIENDS OVER SHARED SHENANIGANS. 

Awareness Abroad: Knowledge of Your Cultural Surroundings

All too often do we hear tragic tales of incidents that occur to unsuspecting tourists while abroad. I'm going to go out on a limb here, type a bold statement, and say that many of these treacherous acts can likely be avoided when the necessary precautions have been taken before traveling to an unknown place. Of course, while the specifics of these critical steps indeed vary from location to location, the constant lies in doing your homework.

In a time where uncertainty and terror plague our world, it is absolutely vital that we're familiar with the culture, tradition, language, history, religion, economics, and politics of each destination we plan to visit. Being an expert in all of these elements is not a prerequisite for traveling, but keeping an open and educated mind is undoubtedly crucial. In my personal opinion, there is no greater insult to a group of people than ignorance and disrespect.

Sure, we all enjoy the softer side of traveling.. the romanticism, sightseeing, socializing, fancy hotels, room service, local cuisine.. however, in order to experience something real, it is imperative to immerse oneself within the respective culture. Living like a native defines true travel.

To make light of the concept of cultural differences, it doesn't take a genius to know that you wouldn't wear the attire you'd sport in a New York night club in the midst of more conservative Middle Eastern countries. Communication is key. Understanding interactions and how they can be misconstrued between various cultures is also a factor to take into consideration. For example, in the US, a firm handshake is often interpreted as a sign of masculinity whereas in Africa, a limp handshake signifies the appropriate way to complete this action.

In our day & age, there truly isn't any excuse for lack of preparation when it comes to trip planning. With so many valuable resources available from travel guides to books to internet articles and much more, cultural information is easily accessible in today's society. Some of the more popular references include:

• National Geographic: Travel & Cultures section.
  
• Wikitravel: Valuable resource, broken down by country & city.
  
• Frommers: Community & Forums sections.
  
• Lonely Planet: Thorn Tree Travel Forum.
  

If you know of other credible resources, please share in the comments below - the more aware & educated we all are, the safer we'll all be.

Running a Marathon + Sightseeing = Not a Vacation

Don't try to fool yourself. I did. It is extremely difficult to take a weekend trip where the main focus is work or some other commitment (whether it is athletic or family), and turn it into a sightseeing vacation.

Last fall I headed down to Washington, D.C for Halloween weekend to run in the Marine Corp Marathon. I had gone through months and months of training. I was ready to go. And, looking at the course map (and considering my "amazing" level of fitness), I was ready to take this 26.2 mile run whilst enjoying some of the major monuments in the D.C. area: the Pentagon, the Watergate, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capital, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian museums, the Jefferson Memorial, and actually crossing the finish line at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Silly, naive Molly. While it was surreal running past all of these national monuments, I was way more focused on trying to make my legs move another step and not passing out by the side of the road.

(The Iwo Jima monument never looked so good with thousands of sweaty runners, and orange security fencing).

While it wasn't totally unexpected that I didn't fully enjoy my marathon sightseeing experience, I thought for sure I would be ready to go the following day before my friend and I had to get our flight back home. As I hobbled around the Reflecting Pool, past the Vietnam Memorial, and then through the Aerospace Museum (I touched a moon rock - I'm basically an astronaut now), I knew that my D.C. vacation experience just wasn't meant to be. While it was a beautiful day, and the monuments were impressive, I was so exhausted from the race the previous day, I really couldn't enjoy half of what I was seeing.

I have made a bunch of similar attempts while on work trips, and have run into very similar issues. I always seem too busy with work commitments and obligations, that the sites I do see seem tainted, and while not completely ruined, at the very least seem less charming or enjoyable.

Yes, it may seem that I am advocating not even bothering to try to turn this type of trip into a "leisure" vacation (ewww, I don't like calling it that), I'm don't mean that exactly. It is more meant to be a cautionary message: don't raise expectations when going on trips where you have larger obligations (such as work - the most cursed obligation of them all).  I feel that even when you are squeezing some fun into the trip, those obligations will generally act as a cloud over most of what you do...I'm still hoping to prove myself wrong on this point.

JHillDesign: A Calendar with a Cause

Jennifer Hill of JHillDesign has combined her involvement with the Alzheimer's Association and her passion for design to create a Block Island calendar print, a special print that will always be the month of November in her calendar. November is recognized as National Alzheimer's Awareness Month. A portion of the proceeds from this print will go directly to the Alzheimer's Association. The design was inspired by her father who lost the battle to Alzheimer's 3 years ago.

Author of the blog Places I Have Never Been, Jennifer's writing & designs are inspired by her imaginary vacations to far off places. She's a truly talented artist with unique visions and a strong heart. As a preview to her 2009 calendar, here are the patterns that you can expect:

• January: Easter Eggs in Kiev, Ukraine
  
• February: Bridges of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  
• March: Gorse in Galway, Ireland
  
• April: Rainbow Trout in Sun Valley, Idaho
  
• May: Chateau Gardens in Loire Valley, France
  
• June: Silver in Zacatecas, Mexico
  
• July: Tart Cherries in Traverse City, Michigan
  
• August: Hops in Portland, Oregon
  
• September: Cowboy Boots & Music in Austin, Texas
  
• October: Black and White Clocks in Chester, England
  
• November: Birding in Block Island, Rhode Island
  
• December: Zeppole Festival in Positano, Italy
  

Each month's pattern features pieces of information about the particular place including its language, its distance, and the inspiration for the design.

Allow Jennifer's 2009 Wall Calendar to help you imagine your dream vacation.