thefutureisred

The Day After Ten Years & Why I Won't Watch Video Coverage of the WTC Attacks

I happened to be in NY for the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It wasn't planned and I didn't take part in any of the memorials. I didn't want to. Just as I never wanted to watch footage of the planes hitting. I just don't see the point.

Ten Years Ago Marked the First Day of the New Normal

I saw it from the top of our building in Brooklyn, directly across the river where I stared in shock at two massive burn marks seared onto the side of the Twin Towers. 

Sandra, our neighbor, emerged from the stairwell as we stood atop that old schoolhouse-turned-condos on Hicks Street, “The second tower just fell,” she said, explaining the cloud of grey-white dust that billowed out from the buildings and toward us. So matter of fact, it seemed, reporting what she heard from radio, just letting us know.

Then it was a quick succession of burning asbestos, sirens, people crying in the streets, singed papers and ash wafting their way from Manhattan to Brooklyn leaving by our feet a charred memo reminding Michael M to file his expense report by the end of the week.  The radio told of six suspicious passengers removed from a flight at JFK. A truck thought to contain explosives was stopped near the George Washington Bridge.

We decided to go indoors as the dust cloud began to envelop us.

Ten Years Later and Things Feel A Bit Too Normal

Here I am in NYC after not living here in almost five years. On and off the subway. Great food. The weather has been perfect. Tonight I'm taking a yoga class taught by friend. But I expected things to somehow be different, an obvious mark in the air that this big disaster happened a decade ago.

Something to mark the day I stopped believing.

This Is What I Can No Longer Trust Or Believe

September 12, 2001, I listened to the radio to hear journalists speaking live from the scene, their media veneer stripped clean. “Oh my god. It’s falling. I can’t believe it. The building is falling.” There was panic, fear and a complete loss of control, something I had never before or since heard from the media.

I searched online looking for something to answer why this had happened. I read back issues of the New York Times, read the histories of Afghanistan on CIA World Factbook, my favorite site for basic information on any country in the world.

But all clicks lead me to realize that nothing can explain it. Nothing can explain with any true sense of satisfaction the level of destruction and pain we saw on the streets. And the news media didn't help at all. 

After those early days, the sheen of a well-oiled media machine glossed over the first response as Terror At the Towers and A City Under Siege filled the airways to introduce repeatedly new reports of the same information. 

Stories told in the first days disappeared. The six passengers on the plane became four then evaporated. I never learned what happened with the truck of explosives at the bridge, but reports of the buildings falling and man-on-the-street first hand accounts proliferated, singing the same song with pre-prepped intros, outros, b-roll yet provided nothing useful.

I felt deceived by a media that seemed to only want to present that which would garner the most eyes and largest number of clicks, and the surreal nature of reaccustoming myself to a constantly changing post-9/11 world left me grasping for something solid and real.

Until finally I decided, solid and real is an illusion. 

Question Everything.

Prior to 9/11, the news was all about shark attacks.  Every other day, it seemed, another child, man or woman had been being mutilated by these beady-eyed creatures.

Surely we could have found a corner of the world with a story worthy of telling. It’s not as if the Taliban popped up in Afghanistan overnight. Qaddafi wasn’t all sunshine and lollipops until a couple weeks ago when he was ousted. Mubarak of Egypt didn’t suddenly turn sour a few months ago. But they weren’t yet looming, a fearful and direct danger to our lives, our children and our futures.

At the time of September 11, I was teaching composition at Stern College for Women.  When classes resumed after the attacks, I revised my curriculum completely. Instead of Langston Hughes and Hemingway, we pored over news articles, examined them and tried to answer the questions people asked.

Case In Point: Bush Officials Try To Calm Fears Of Anthrax

This article acts as if it's going to calm our fears about anthrax. Instead, it introduces Tom Ridge as the Bush administration’s new domestic security chief. His appointment, suggests the article, is meant to directly address concerns of terrorist threat in the United States as well as streamline methods of addressing those threats.

Mr Ridge describes his new role as such:

I may need some statutory authority down the line if I'm going to rearrange some of the responsibilities and give cleaner lines of responsibility to the agencies," he said.

Mr. Ridge said, for example, that he would not be the official to decide whether the military should shoot down a commercial airliner that behaved suspiciously. "My role, if there is time, would be more as an adviser," he said.

But, asked in the morning if he was "the boss here or are you a coordinator," Mr. Ridge replied, "The coordinator, it's like the conductor of an orchestra. The music doesn't start playing until he taps the baton.

Even after three separate descriptions of Ridge's new role, I still don't know what he's intended to do. I also wonder what exactly is this statutory authority he seeks down the line.

And then I look forward to now, post development of the Department of Homeland Security and wonder if those authorities are the ones that allow the department to wiretap, intercept mail and monitor our e-mails, blog writings, phone calls. Was this Mr. Ridge softening our desire for personal privacy in the hope that opening our lives to the government would protect us from anthrax and whatever else might arise.

Fear Is A Fantastic Motivator

As I told my students in the weeks after 9/11, if a piece of news tweaks the fear strings in your body, take a step back, analyze it and pull it apart.

That is not to say fear is useless. It protects us. Humans are more suggestible and more likely to listen to direction without question when under the influence of fear.

That is a fabulous thing when you’re caught in a flaming movie theater and someone tells you to remain calm, don’t run in directions and follow the aisle to the brightly lit EXIT sign.

It is dangerous and destructive, though, when the fear stimulus is prolonged and has no directed goal. Then, fear leads to random and useless action, often rife with violence and ultimately the mind and body breaks down into disorder.

I don't want to make my choices based on fear. Instead of allowing that belly twinge of emotion to guide my choices, I looked at my life and said "What am I waiting for?"

So many things I'd always wanted but never did because of fear, obligation, not wanting to do the wrong thing. Without fear, I am able to put aside the you-shoulds and what-ifs.

And, for what it's worth, it's easier to give up fear when you live through an event like 9/11. Because that's when I saw without a doubt that staying in one place is no more secure than moving. 

Last Week I Finally Saw the Airplane Footage

I chose not to watch the moment the planes hit because what good does watching a past event that cannot be changed. It's a spectator sport, and I prefer to live by my actions and my own memories.

It happened by mistake when I passed by a TV showing Tenth Anniversary coverage, and I was surprised at my response.

My chest tightened, breathing quickened. I went directly back to my apartment that no longer exists in a life that only lives in photos and memory. I was there again in all that pain and unknowing and indecision. 

Again, I felt the fear vividly. I re-experienced the wild look in the eyes of people around me, when they weren’t filled with tears, and then recognized the same wildness in my own face in the mirror. I thought I'd moved past these feelings, and I suppose I had. The image of the plen hitting brought me back.

For days, I closed my eyes to see those few seconds of footage repeating in my head on loop, watching helplessly as the flight speeds up in those last moments, as if the pilot relished the thought of all the damage he’d cause. Or was that my imagination?

The mind is powerful. It is up to us how we choose to use that power.

And Yet I Do Not Say No To Media

I often criticize the media for being self-interested and false. At the same time, I remain acutely aware that I am clearly part of the media. Am I being hypocritical? I certainly know I'm not immune to representing facts in a light that might misrepresent them or including mainly parts of stories that I know my readers will find most interesting.

Aldous Huxley says in Brave New World Revisited that all media is propaganda. It is impossible to present any experience in its entirety or as an absolute truth. The best we can do is write what we believe to be accurate with the goal of improving what exists in the world around us.

I try to keep Huxley's words as my guideline. I may not present absolute truth, but I do write what I believe to be true, given my own slants and prejudices. I try to think for myself. I make my best decisions with whatever information I have at the moment.

That is the best any of us can do.

This First Day Of the Second Decade After

I don't know what I expected to see on the streets of New York this week. Something palpable to mark the horror I saw? Sitting on the subway yesterday, with the credible threat of a new attack looming, a voice came over the loudspeaker reminding us to report any suspicious packages or people. I felt more vulnerable surrounded by so many people, because, were something to happen, it would be harder to escape.

I'd forgotten the anthrax threats, tucked away in my mind images of two massive plumes of smoke pouring upward where the Twin Towers used to be. I realized I no longer notice the proliferation of police, blockades and metal detectors. They, too, have become normal, and I accept them as helpful.

I Have Chosen To Forget

My most vivid memory of September 11, 2001 is watching a flock of pigeons flying their rounds from my side of the river to the other, circling the smoke as if it wasn’t there.

It was a beautiful day, much like today. The sky rings clear azure, not a cloud, and the sun shines brightly. It's the kind of day when moms take their babies to the park to play and people sit outside chatting with their neighbors over a coffee.

How can the sun shine when the world is falling apart? But then, here we are, ten years later.

Photo courtesy of David Barrie's Flickrstream.

 

Why Did We Choose To Live In Salta?

There are many reasons, we chose to settle in Salta for a while. But really, the answer comes down to one thing.

Lately, this question seems to be popping up a lot. Friends, family, people I've met through this blog and even from Saltenos, surprised and happy to meet an American family who seems to love this place almost as much as they do.

We didn't leave New York City just to travel. We left on an open ended journey to find a new place to call home. Along the way, yes, the proverbial travel bug bit, making it very difficult to decide on just one place to settle.

So why, then, Salta?

The weather here is lovely. Never too hot. Never too cold. Salta is a city, big enough to find everything you could possibly want or need. Ok, maybe not maple syrup, but that's a small price to pay to live in such a lovely place. Still, it's small enough not to feel overwhelmed and overcrowded.

There's a well working system of buses. Wifi cafes and local internet make it easy to stay connected to the world outside of Salta, and it has an international airport making it easily accessible from anywhere in South America. As I explore more, I find unique places and people who show me a different way to view the world.

But really, it's the people here that make me want to stay.

People here use a particular figure of speech in response to a Thank You that sums it all up for me. You don't say You're welcome as is the case in English. It's not the French Je vous en prie. And not even the de nada you hear in other Spanish speaking places.

Here, they say Aye, por nada and always said with such warmth and meaning that you truly feel that you are indeed welcome, that whatever has been done for you comes from the heart with no strings and from a a complete and utter generosity of spirit.

When Noah was sick last year, our neighbor, who I barely knew, helped us find medical care. When we needed a place to stay but the apartment we wanted to rent wouldn't be ready for another week, Monica (again) took us into her home for that week while our new landlord, another person we'd just met, stored our stuff and drove us around town making it easy for us to make the transition to our new place.

I feel this open friendliness everywhere I go. From the person behind the counter at the one McDonald's in town to an accidental bumping of arms when walking through the busy Peatonal Alberdi -- one of many pedestrian shopping areas -- in the center of town.

At first, I didn't trust it at all. Fifteen years in New York -- home of the "Hey! Great to see you. I'll give you a call and we'll get together" then you don't get the call, taught me to that words don't mean what they seem.

Salta is helping me unlearn all that. It's a slow process, but I find I am more relaxed, more comfortable with people, less worried about how these social interactions will affect Lila.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that the cost of living in Salta is less money and of better quality than just about any other place I've been. There's lots to do and a great school for Lila. All the fruit and vegetables in the market here -- the fabulous mercado municipal on calle Urquiza -- has been locally grown. The wine region here is incredible. Travel just a half an hour by bus, and you'll find some of the most beautiful country I've ever experienced.

Nothing in life is perfect. I'm aware of that, and as easily as I list the positives, I could supply you with a list of negatives as well. Maybe another time. For now, I'll be a bit more Salteño in that respect and not worry so much about what I don't have and what isn't.

Photos by Morrissey and Juan M

What's In the Traveler's Handbag?

I've never been the neat handbag type.

Business cards, old receipts, things Lila hands to me, things I want to keep but don't know what to do with them, they all eventually end up at the bottom or in the numerous pockets of my bag. Some things are useful. Others, junk. And some are mementos, things I don't really need, but can't bring myself to throw away. Yet.

Before every major trip, though, I clean and organize. I like to think of it as a testament to the need to move on.

This time, my bag --  which triples as handbag, computer bag and carry on -- has been through a lot. It began with us in Salta beginning of July. We made our way through Cordoba, Neuquen and skiing San Martin de los Andes. Then Atlanta, Burning Man, where my bag arrived to find itself smack in the middle of a dust storm, and finally two overnight drives from Atlanta to NYC and back.

What did I find?

Zipties

These little things are endlessly useful for Burning Man. From attaching tarp to poles for a shade structure, to securing your tent, connecting a cup handle to utility belt, bondage classes and excellent for tying, securing or binding just about anything. Very handy.

Now that I'm no longer at Burning Man, I still use them in dozens of situations. Bracelets for Lila, collars for her stuffed kitty -- which honestly, is so tight, it seems to border on bondage as well. Quick suitcase fixes, holding computer cables and so much more.

Half Eaten String Cheese, Still In Wrapper

I'm not proud. I guess it ended up here somewhere between Harrisburg and Roanoke, but this isn't the first time I've found food remains festering here.

Balloons

I carry these just about everywhere, always. Not so much for Burning Man, because I figured a burst balloon will likely end up in pieces all over the playa, but as a toy. Blow one up and Lila is occupied for hours. They're also great when playing with a group of kids, because their floaty, bouncy ways ensure that all children playing have a chance at the ball.

Bike Cover In Ziplock

Another prop from Burning Man. I got mine at Black Rock Bicycles, where we rented our bikes. The owner's wife makes them. Mine is purple on top with a many colored tie-dyed edge. It's still filthy from dust storms, and there's an inch of playa dust at the bottom of the bag which oddly makes me wax nostalgic. How quickly a girl forgets how corrosive such dust can be.

Two Pairs Of Underwear.

One Lila's. One mine. Both clean. Because you never know when you'll need them.

Yes, those are my Top Five. Three of which, I'll continue to keep in my bag. Can you guess which ones?

The others, I'm sure, will somehow find their way back, along with incense, a bike lock, jeweled heart and butterfly stickers, candles, ski lift ticket, a few rocks, seeds, leaves from various trees and a pack of two inch nails.

I go through this every time we pack.  It's the constant winnowing of what is important enough to carry along, what must be thrown out and what must be left behind. This process is enormous, overwhelming the first time you do it. Over time, though, it gets easier, and eventually, you find you just won't feel right unless you've lightened your load. After all, do you really want to carry a sleeping bag cover and hammer along for the ride?

This time, I'll admit, has been much harder than in the past. I don't want to leave Atlanta, although I do want to return to our adventure in Salta. Here, we have family, contacts, connections. There, we have a new project, a summer of camping in some of the most beautiful terrain on the planet, and plenty I have yet to uncover.

Photo courtesy of Valerie Renee's Flickrstream

Everything I Learned About Packing, I Learned From Grandma Ruth

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Grandma Ruth, the consummate world traveler, could never stay put. She jumped a bus to Chicago to join the communist revolution when was was still a teen, went back to nursing school in her forties and never hesitated to hop in the car to drive twenty hours across country just because. Even in her last years, when everyone, her kids, grand kids, doctors, everyone warned her not to fly, she ignored us all so she could see New Zealand.

She was just that kind of woman.

I learned a lot from her. How to pass the wind in mahjohg. How to make potato latkes – ahh latkes -- and home made pickles. How to get a good deal on just about anything. And of course, I learned how to pack a suitcase.

That I never listened to her is another thing. I tried my own way for years, but now, on the eve of yet another pack up and move (more on that soon), I’m finally taking her advice.

Pack Early and Often

We always knew Grandma and Grandpa were going on vacation because their suitcase stood already packed near the door of their bedroom for about two weeks before the departure date.

They laid everything out, arranged it just so. Made choices, took out what they didn’t need, and then, they were done. If at the end, they thought of something extra, there was space left to pack it, and always enough room for the gifts they inevitably brought back.

I am the opposite. You'll find me panicking in the early morning hours before our bus or flight is to leave, and my bags are too often close to bursting. I doubt I'll ever be the type to be ready weeks or even days before I go, but I have made a concerted effort to begin at least a couple days earlier than usual.

Know the Difference Between What You Want and What You Need

How many late nights have I spent surrounded by piles of things wondering how the hell I was ever going to get everything to fit? That’s when eventually it dawns on me. Choices must be made.

Need is relatively different for everyone, but most must-have lists will include passport, electronic or paper ticket, money, toothbrush and paste, underwear. Pants and shoes for walking and hiking. Soap. This ensures the basics of of staying clean and comfortable. Then, you think weather. Do you need a bathing suit or a coat and gloves?. Are you working or blogging? Then you may need a camera or computer.

I also include tea tree oil because its antifungal, antibacterial and anti-louse. I cannot tell you how many times this has been useful. Lavender, too, can come in very handy for the same things.

Beyond that, you’re getting into wants. Nothing wrong with wanting as long as you're willing to lug it.

Here is a small collection of packing advice gathered from other travel bloggers:

• Uncornered Market lists all the clothing and everything they need to travel the world, from Thailand and Malaysia to Central America.
• Or Nomadic Matt's ideas for the electronics you bring along on your trip
  
• Soultravelers3 offers tips for being a traveling fashionista.
• And finally, a universal packing list from Travellious that includes the ever lovely handy packing calculator.

Ziplock Bags Are Your Best Friend

There’s something magical about a Ziploc. Somehow you can fit more into the same suitcase when each individual item has been placed in one. While the laws of physics seem to defy this, it is undeniably true. And if something spills, the rest of your stuff is protected.

While Grandma and Grandpa put everything that would fit in a Ziploc in a Ziploc, I use them for those things I want to keep together. This little photo here to the right shows a week-and-a-half supply of both mine and Lila’s underwear, all clothing for running in warm to cool weather, both our bathing suits and Lila’s socks. It also keeps them in easy reach of the top of the suitcase.

I’ve also used those vacuum pack bags, the ones like giant Ziplocs that you can just roll the air out, close and go. One caveat: Use too many and your pack becomes surprisingly heavy.

You Can Buy What You Need When You Get There

Clothing, extra underwear, a warm sweater are very possibly cheap and easier to find after you arrive at your destination. For instance, why not buy a handmade llama sweater and gloves when visiting the Andes. It’s soft comfortable and designed specifically to keep people warm in that part of the world. Bathing suits on the Cote d’Azur? Mine was 10 euros. 

You Can’t Buy Everything You Need When You Get There

Noah has a size 14 foot. You cannot find shoes in his size anywhere in France, Italy, Panama or Costa Rica. We have yet to find them in Argentina. Noah’s shoes are enormous, but we make room for whatever he may need because they are not easily replaceable.

Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Charles had a list of medications they needed to take daily. While prescriptions are often cheaper in other countries, I personally wouldn't risk not finding what I need when I need it.

Ok, so this contradicts my previous Grandma Ruth lesson. The key is to do a bit of research before you go. My best advice for this sort of research is to talk to other travelers. Again, Trip Advisor, Couchsurfing, your basic Google search. There's also Travel Blog Exchange -- creation of Kim Mance of GoGalavanting and Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby -- where you can find links to and advice from hundreds of travel bloggers.

You Don’t Need As Many Pairs of Pants As You Think

We all teased Grandma Ruth because she was happy to wear the same clothing day after day. Laugh as you will, I think her mindset was always that of someone who wanted to be free to move around. She never wanted extra baggage.

It’s a choice, take those three pairs of jeans and two shorts. Pack two sweaters for fashion, and all the nail polish colors you want. I know, each item is small, doesn’t seem like a big deal, but somehow they add up quickly.

If you leave behind what you don’t really need, you’ll find quite a bit of freedom to move in return. And yes, feel free to take that as a metaphor for life as well. Because travel is about exploring the world outside your daily life, experiencing the new and expanding your world to include other people, countries and places.

What, then, becomes important to bring along in your bags?

Photo courtesy of David Master's Flickrstream

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Writer, Photographer and Traveler Andy Hayes Interviews The Future Is Red

Welcome to those of you finding your way here through Andy Hayes' Sharing Experiences Travel website. While you're here, you can subscribe to my feed or have subscribe to my e-mail list to have new posts e-mailed directly to you.

To all my current readers, I recently met Andy Hayes through Twitter. I believe I posted something about my frustration with the reams -- although I'm not sure such a metaphor applies anymore -- of e-mail in my Outlook. He offered advice.

 As we chatted further, it seems we have more even more in common. Andy is a seasoned traveler, writer, photographer and is just about to launch his full time services as a traveler writer and adviser for websites, blogs and travel companies.

I'm a particular fan of his photography section which includes an aerial view of Herald Square in NYC. How did you take that one, Andy? A helicopter over Manhattan island?

Now there are many people out there who are doing similar things to Andy, but here's why he sticks out to me. First, he's an unbelievably decent guy. Not saying the others aren't, I am, however, saying that his attitude and character, his willingness to help stand out above the rest. I also love that his blog is called Sharing Experiences. Andy's business isn't just about offering services for money, it's about community building. Along with links to his previous customers, you'll find interviews, links and other information for travel blogs and worldwide internet resources. You can also submit your own blogs and articles to his Travel Blog Carnival, an aggregation of the top travel articles on the web.

So when Andy asked if he could interview me for his website, I jumped at the chance. There, we chat about how Noah, Lila and I decided to leave Brooklyn and what destination was most inspirational. Hint: The picture above, courtesy of PictFactory, comes from there.

Want to read the rest? Here you go: Andy Hayes' full interview with The Future Is Red.

How To Pay For Two Years Of Travel -- Part II

Picking up from last Friday´s How to Pay For Two Years of Travel -- Part I.

When you have no choice but to pay for the night!

Sometimes, you´ll find yourself stuck and will have to pay by the night. There are always cheap options for this as well.

I have not yet visited a continent where you cannot find a hostel, although if you arrive too late in the day or during a particularly busy time -- such as Carnival in Central or South America -- you´ll be forced to turn to either camping out or a more expensive choice.

In France, Italy, Holland and just about every where else we stayed in Europe, we found we could trust in the quality of the places recommended by tourist offices, even if the prices seemed too good to be true. The owners are also willing to negotiate their prices if they have an empty room and someone in tourist information will do the negotiation for you. That's how we ended up at both La Beliere in Moustiers Sainte-Marie and La Matabone of Lourges. They were both new and thus empty at the height of tourist season. Both, I will add, were a bit out of the main tourist drag.

Wherever you are, don't be afraid to negotiate even if you're not fluent in the language. If nothing else, the negotiation gives you practice.

There's also the Etap chain - the cheapest of the Accor group of hotels found all over Europe. Cheap stay per night, includes breakfast, not luxury, but not bad at all, and you can usually get a room at the very last minute. Etap saved us from sleeping on the street more than one night.

Seek out advice from every possible place!

I consider this perhaps the most important thing you need to do. Start right now!

When we first decided to travel, we noticed that everyone and his mother had advice for us. We also found that many friends, family and even strangers had offers of places to stay, contacts in certain cities, and endless local insider information. It can be overwhelming and at times even unwanted.

Listen anyway. 

Someone might mention a job or place to stay for free. Having contacts can also help you immeasurably if you show up somewhere looking for work. As an example: When we first discussed traveling to Buenos Aires -- approximately nine months before we finally arrived in Argentina -- Noah contacted an old professor of his from City College who we knew had contacts in South America. He ultimately connected us to the place we´re now staying and working in Salta. It was a slow process, but now that we´re here, we have community in Salta who has helped us immeasurably.

I keep a Word -- or whatever text editor you use -- file on my desktop where I type down any and all information people give me. I make sure to include the name of the country or city along with whatever information I´ve been given. I don´t worry too much about order or neatness. When I want to find something, I simply do a search in the file for the country or place name.

Talk to other travelers. In most places, there is a circuit. Wherever you are, there will be a stream of people coming from all directions and destinations. You ask them all about how busy things are, how cheap, what’s the best way to get around, good places to stay, then plan your next step accordingly.Otherwise, I would never have known that the guy selling chicken sandwiches out of a trailer on the main street in Bocas serves one of the best chicken sandwiches I've ever had (always get the Jumbo with piquante and cheese.) Or that when everyone thought Bocas had been destroyed by earthquakes and flooding, I was able to let a friend of mine who leads GAP tours know that Bocas was indeed fine and open for business.

Again, Couchsurfing is a wonderful source of this sort of travel tips. As are TripAdvisor, Matador Travel, Twitter and Yahoo Groups (although with Yahoo, the personal profiles are more limited, so you don't have as much on which to judge the person giving advice).  On all, you can contact people directly or post in a larger group.

Get a job!

Teach English or another language you know.  Check out Nomadic Matt’s five part series on how to make money by teaching.

Make and sell jewelry or other crafts.

Are you a musician, a dancer, a performer of any kind? Do you want to be? While perhaps this is a bad idea in places like Atlanta or New York, where street performing and vending are discouraged, there are plenty places in this world who not only tolerate but encourage busking.

Performers and vendors in San Telmo´s Sunday Feria

Or you can apply for writing grants or art grants. You can start your own website. Sell your travel photography. Write for travel sites. Wait tables. Garden.Teach yoga or another skill of yours.

Brave New Traveler -- a section of Matador -- recently featured an article on 25 Ways To Earn Money When You're Broke On The Road with even more ideas.

Some last minute advice! It's all about your attitude!

You will be amazed at how open and giving people can be. Friends, family and perfect strangers have freely given advice, clothing, contacts, a place to stay or a meal. I, myself, try to be as giving. When we have a place of our own, we open our home, our table and our things for others.

My openness, however, has boundaries. There are always those who will take advantage, so you have to read, research and know what how much your willing to pay or give before agreeing to anything. That said, people have overwhelmingly helpful. We have had only one less than stellar experience, and that only involved the loss of some snorkel equipment and a towel.

Also remember that no one owes you anything, no matter what they promise. Don't bother getting yourself all worked up when someone offers help then doesn't deliver.  Instead, be patient, focus on those people who do come through and then move on.

I suppose that´s exactly what I mean when I say we´re traveling one day at a time. Each day brings new surprises, enchantments and yes, even disappointments. You take them as they come. It´s character building, and that, I believe is the very crux of traveling.

How To Pay For Two Years Of Travel -- Part I

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I'm asked this question often. Are we independently wealthy? Do we work along the way? Do we stay with other people?

The answer to all three questions is yes.

First, we gave up or sold just about everything we had before leaving the United States. Apartment, furniture, appliances, all of it. We only kept what we needed or what was most important to us -- art, books, music and all Lila's baby stuff.

Then we put aside a certain amount of money and said we'd travel until it was gone. It's enough as long as we make careful choices. We work along the way, sometimes exchanging work for a place to stay. We have home shared, couchsurfed and learned to travel cheaply.

It is not as expensive to travel as you may think!

Long term travel is not like a vacation. You have let go of everything at home and thus don't have to worry about rent, school payments, gas, electricity, water, and all the other payments that keep you tied to a needing a certain level of income per month. 

We have two bills we pay per month. One is a phone bill which goes automatically on our credit card. The other is our credit card bill. We pay them both online and with the exception of our months in Europe, our monthly credit card expenses rarely exceed one thousand dollars. Then add to that rent and travel expenses such as buses, airline tickets, car rental and gas.

There's a lot to be had for free or at least very cheap!

Food: Local markets are the best. You'll find the best food for the best prices. 

Don't discount street food. Along the way, we've had crepes, empanadas, johnny cakes, tamales, bunuelas, cupcakes, the best chicken sandwiches on earth, fruit, vegetables, and so much else bought for pocket change. Often, this food is home made or made on the spot, and the people making it are usually local so they know the best places to buy bread, cheese, fish and vegetables.

Lodging: One word: Couchsurfing. We've couchsurfed for approximately half of our two years traveling. Sometimes, the three of us squeezed onto a small couch in someone's living room. Sometimes, we've had an apartment all to yourselves. If this is something you plan to do, create your Couchsurfing profile immediately and start meeting people. The more people you know, the more connections and references you have, the more people will feel comfortable opening their homes to you.

There are other options as well. WWOOFing, for example. Where you work in exchange for food and a place to stay. There are WWOOF options all over the world. Some are best for singles, but many are even better for families with children. Imagine staying on a small farm in the Andes with a family with three children. You'll tend the garden, learn to keep beehives and improve your spanish while living with a host family.

In addition, you can check out Home Exchange, Hospitality Club, idealist.org and Voluntourism. These are just a meager beginning of the options out there, but they are a good place to begin your research.

Entertainment: We've never found a place that was too expensive to find something cheap and unique to do. Even Iceland, home of the 40 dollar hamburger -- at the time of our visit, anyway -- had many very affordable options. Gullfoss waterfall, Geysir hot spring area and Þingvellir National Park are all free entry. The thermal baths to be found in every city and village of Iceland are also very affordable, even if you plan on renting a towel or bathing suit.

The best, though, in Iceland was happening into Halgrim's Church in Reykjavik in time to hear the gorgeous Klais organ tuned and played in our own private concert.

In Provence, we found endless candy and perfume factories you could tour for free or almost nothing. The Florian Candy Factory in Nice gives free tastings in their gift shop after your tour.

We've found most of these things while just exploring places on foot.  The feria at the Mercado Municipal on San Martin in Salta, for example. Or get on a local bus and ride around until you see something you want to explore.

Paying for a night's sleep is much more expensive than paying for a month of sleep!

We stayed in Provence at Domaine de la Begude for three weeks at a much reduced rate in the height of tourist season. We also rented by the month in Buffalo, Atlanta, Buenos Aires and Bocas del Toro. All far cheaper than had we rented by the day. In Buenos Aires, for example, you can find apartment rentals for 500-800/month as opposed to the at least 75 dollars a night you would pay at a hotel.

You also have a kitchen, which means you save even more because you cook for yourself. You also have the benefit of exploring the food offerings of local panaderias, boucheries y mercatos where you'll learn more about language, culture and people than you will at the nearest tourist trap.

Coming next week!

When I began writing this article, I intended for it to be only one entry, but it turned out to be far longer than I expected.

See How To Pay For Two Years of Travel, part II in which I discuss:

• Where to stay when you have no choice but to pay for the night.
• How to find work along the way.
• How to find the most current travel information for anywhere in the world,
• And some basic travel advice.

Also, some upcoming topics:

• What To Keep In Mind When Traveling With A Child
  
• Women Traveling Solo
• What To Do In Case of Emergency

In the meantime, feel free to email with any questions or leave your comments on the page. As always, subscribe to my feed to be informed when new posts go up.

So then, until next week....

In Answer To Your Question... Coming this Friday!

I had no idea AOL would be running their article about us on their main page, so you can imagine my surprise and delight to suddenly see my daily hits skyrocket.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your emails, twitters and comments. Some are old friends. Others new to my blog. But each one of you offered insights and asked questions that got me thinking.

In response, I'd like to share the information and ideas presented to me by many as well as answer some of the recurring questions I've received. How to travel with a child? Some Couchsurfing tips? How to develop community and resources in the places you visit?

I'm currently in Cafayate for the weekend and don't have access to my computer or any of my online resources. As soon as I return, I will begin responding in a weekly blog entry touching on the logistics of leaving it all behind to travel.

Look for the first one this coming Friday. My first topic: How exactly do you pay for all this travel?

In the meantime, please keep your questions and comments coming. I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. Let me know if there's a particular topic you think I should address or if you have a tip or idea you believe should be included by adding a comment to the site, sending a message through Twitter or emailing me directly.