Archive for the 'Travel Advice' Category

What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 5

Published on February 13, 2009 in Expat Advice and Travel Advice. 3 Comments Tags: Advice, Long-Term Travel.

Welcome back!

The two longest trips I’ve taken away from home are my study abroad semester in Sevilla, Spain and my open-ended stay here in Buenos Aires. Some of my best friends came from my time in Sevilla, in fact one of them is coming to visit me and she arrives tomorrow. And no, she is not my girlfriend, but some travel snafus forced her arrival date back to the 14th. So what is the 5th and final thing long-term travel can teach you? How to cultivate amazing friendships.

From sleeping in the airport in Barcelona, to going crazy in Amsterdam, the friends you make while traveling will always share a certain kinship with you. Your experiences on the road will translate into unique stories that only you and your travel buddies are privy to. Davy and I will always remember all the trials and tribulations we went through in Europe biking, and Ben and I will always remember our Italian whirlwind tour.

With services and websites like Skype, Facebook, and CouchSurfing it’s easier than ever to stay in touch with other nomads. Talking with old friends always gets me pumped to travel again, especially if they’re going places I’ve never been before! In my opinion, someone who wants to travel is going to be more open by their very nature. Hostel-hopping peeps are some of the most easygoing people I’ve ever encountered. If you open yourself to other people, you’re bound to make some amazing chums!

You can find the first 4 parts of this post series here:

PS- Check out a traveler dispatch post I contributed over on TravelOjos, good blog to follow if you like Latin America!

What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 4

Published on February 4, 2009 in Expat Advice and Travel Advice. 1 Comment Tags: Advice, Buenos Aires, Long-Term Travel.

After reaching the 5 month anniversary of my arrival in Buenos Aires last week, I sat down and examined some of my experiences down here. A common theme amongst my thoughts was figuring out this weird twilight world that I exist in between being a gringo and a porteño. My cultural awareness after living in another country for this long (outside of the study abroad bubble) has skyrocketed.

Any news I read online about Obama or current events in the US in general is reflected through the lens of Argentines when I hear it on the streets. It’s an odd sort of distortion, but it forces me to analyze the news with a more critical eye after hearing so many different viewpoints. I get to participate in all sorts of Argentine traditions that don’t exist or are very different in the US (asados = barbecues, maté = coffee, etc.).

I’ve also been fortunate to have a window into how people in other countries live through my English teaching. Family here in Argentina is very important. Most of my students were middle-aged professionals with children, and they loved to talk about them. I see adults walking with their elderly parents everyday, and family meals I’ve been invited to can stretch on for hours. It’s refreshing, and something I’m not used to coming from the go go GO culture of the states.

I’m only in the beginning of my travels, but already I can tell I’ll end up as a smorgasbord of different traditions and lifestyles. Few things bring me more joy than learning about distant peoples and traveling to new places, I love to explore. I’m getting giddy right now thinking about the plans I have for the next year…

Travel can seriously broaden your horizons if you’ll let it. I constantly find myself checking my assumptions because of my time here, examining it through the eyes of people outside the microcosm that is the United States. Give travel a chance and you’re sure to have a similar experience!

You can see the earlier posts from this series here:

What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 3

Published on January 24, 2009 in Expat Advice and Travel Advice. 0 Comments Tags: Advice, Long-Term Travel, Travel.

If there’s one major misconception people have about long-term travel, it’s that it must be expensive. That’s simply not the case. There are endless ways to extend your travel dollar on the road, and if you want to keep your adventures going for a long time, it pays to be thrifty.

One of the most expensive elements of any trip is feeding yourself. Restaurants are expensive, and eating out every meal will deplete your travel funds very quickly. By sticking to local markets and restaurants that don’t cater to tourist dollars, you’ll be surprised how much further your money goes. In the picture above Davy and I are munching on some baguette and mystery meat sandwiches, which made up about 90% of our diet on our biking trip. Throw in fruit, and you’ve got 100%. We rarely ate at restaurants or slept in hostels; choosing instead to look for places to pitch our tent. Being frugal allowed us to stay in Europe for much longer than anticipated.

Living in Argentina now I’ve quickly discovered the difference between needs and wants. I have barely any of the creature comforts I took for granted back in the US, but I also quickly learned to do without. Simple living has been the key that has stretched my money down here, and I’ve seen friends leave after only a couple of months because they don’t budget or plan where their money should go.

Living abroad long-term on little money has been challenging, but these thrifty lessons will be invaluable whenever I return home. I’ve come to value experiences over things, and this thriftiness that has allowed me to thrive down here will definitely carry over to my lifestyle in the US.

See parts 1 and 2 of this series here:

What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 2

Published on January 15, 2009 in Expat Advice and Travel Advice. 0 Comments

Ever been stuck in an airport on a trip, raging against the travel gods? We’ve all been there; helpless and frustrated. But after traveling for a while, you start to realize that these types of delays are just a cost of getting to travel, and you come to accept them. There’s no point to fuming over it, it won’t change the situation and will only give you an ulcer.

I’ve been living in Buenos Aires for 5 months now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that punctuality is relative here. Cable repairman tells you 3pm, he shows up at 5pm. Business meeting scheduled for 4pm, you’ll still be sipping coffee at 6pm.

Relax.

Initially this drove me bonkers. But over time I’ve come to let these inconveniences slide off my shoulders and become more relaxed. Raging about it rarely changes the situation. Now if I get stuck in an airport or a bus station I just hunker down with a good book, and watch the guy about to blow a vein in his forehead from yelling at the desk agent in awe.

This patience also ties into my self-sufficiency post. Not only will long-term travel equip you to deal with problems, but it helps you realize how insignificant some problems really are. One of my favorite sayings in Spanish is “tranquilo,” which means “peace” or “relax.” Life here in Argentina is much better when you let the little things go.

What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You?

Published on December 18, 2008 in Expat Advice and Travel Advice. 4 Comments Tags: Travel Lessons Series.

What will you learn about yourself if you take the plunge into the life of an expat or take that two month backpacking trip around Southeast Asia? Long-term travel has many lessons to impart, and I’ve decided to create a series of posts highlighting the top 5 things I’ve learned on my own travels to here, there and everywhere. What is number one you ask?

1. Self-Sufficiency

The number one thing I’ve learned from traveling extensively is how to solve problems on my own. You have no one to rely on but yourself when your support network is 5,000 miles away.

Belgium Bike

Who is that strapping young lad you ask? Well, that’s me in Brussels circa 2004, on my first trip outside the country. I had just graduated from high school, and accompanied by my best friend Davy and his older brother Michael, we set off to bike about Europe for two months. Inevitably, we ran into some problems during our time there.

That bike in the photo is pretty isn’t it? Almost as if it was… brand new? Well, it was. I had to buy a brand new bike in Brussels when my perfectly decent used bike was stolen on the street by hoodlums. And regardless of what my Dad contends, I took all reasonable precautions, but it’s hard to withstand industrial strength lock shears.

So there I was, stuck in Brussels sans bike, with my two companions itching to get back on the road. Did I mention I didn’t speak French? We had to look up, locate, and talk to a bike shop in Brussels that was willing to sell me a new bike, and negotiate features and price all in a language I’d never heard outside of walking by French classes in high school. We got it done — with our fair share of headaches and things lost in translation — but we got it done.

And you know what? I’m glad it happened. When you’re alone in a foreign country and you fix a huge problem like that on your own, you get a newfound sense of worldliness. I was headed off to college when I returned from my trip, and I was very nervous before leaving for Europe. But following the bike theft and myriad other problems that cropped up while there, what could college really throw at me that I couldn’t deal with? I came out of the whole ordeal all the better for it.

If you encounter problems of your own while traveling, embrace them! They’re bound to happen, and dealing with them while outside your comfort zone will only make the problems you encounter back home seem insignificant in comparison. I lost a bike, but I came back to the US ready to handle whatever came my way.

5 Gadget Greats

Published on December 15, 2008 in Expat Advice, Travel and Travel Advice. 1 Comment Tags: Expat, Gadgets, Travel.

There are certain toys that I simply can’t do without when gallivanting about the world. They keep me sane and help me pass the time when I’m not out and about exploring. They’re become especially important to me now that I’ve been living abroad as an expat.

1. Laptop

Easily takes the top spot. I use it for countless tasks. All of my work I do here is done on my laptop. I work from it, set my schedule on it, research and plan trips on it, you name it I probably do it on my laptop. It’s my number one piece of hardware. And with technology allowing for smaller and smaller laptops that have become ultra-portable, I see no reason why they shouldn’t accompany anyone on a long-term trip. Plus with the increasingly common availability of wifi, you can easily stay connected if need be.

2. iPod

I’m a music freak. I can’t help it. I love finding out what the popular groups are in a place I’m staying and throwing them on my iPod. I also use it for Spanish language podcasts to practice advanced vocabulary and grammar tenses. Makes for a more productive trip on mass transportation. Buenos Aires also offers podcast walking tours for free on their tourism website; a great alternative to paying for the guided ones!

3. Digital Camera

My digital camera allows me to shoot photos of dang near everything. I take it with me everywhere. I’ve been in Buenos Aires 4 months and I already have well over 1,000 pictures from the city. Don’t worry, I’m going through them now to add to the photo page on here! I have two 4gb SD cards that I keep with my camera, so I have more than enough space to shoot any trip I’m on. Combine my camera with my laptop and iPod, and have all my photos stored and sorted.

4. Cell Phone

Before I left the states I made an investment in an unlocked quad-band 3G phone. I use the Nokia E51, and it has served me very well thus far. Quad-band means my phone can be used anywhere in the world, so long as I get a local plan and pop in a new SIM card. 3G means it can use the highest speed networks that the best carriers operate on. And since my phone is unlocked it can be used with any carrier, even when / if I return to the US. Pretty snazzy little sucker.

5. Universal Adapter

I bought a set from Brookstone that covers all my bases for power around the world. They have various plugs and adapters that’ll cover any outlet I come across. And it all stores in a snug little case that stores easily (with a map of what to use where on the inner lid!). Definitely worth grabbing if you’ll be hitting multiple countries.

Wrap Up

If you can’t tell, I’m quite the nerd. I love my toys, and very rarely am I completely disconnected. I already know that I’ll be working on joining the ranks of flashpackers soon enough. Backpacking with cool points. What about you guys? Any other gadget suggestions that you just can’t live without on the wide open road?

Could I Bother You For A Cup Of Sugar?

Published on December 11, 2008 in Travel Advice. 1 Comment

Before I started blogging, I heard a lot of talk about how it was truly a “conversational medium.” I didn’t buy it at first, I figured it would be like talking to a wall, but after a few months I’ve come around. I originally started writing for family and friends, and now it has grown from a humble personal blog to encompass my thoughts on travel and living abroad.

I’ve gotten comments from people all over, either offering advice on top of mine or asking for more of it. It’s been a blast building up subscribers and engaging the people that find my writing interesting. I’ve met local people in Buenos Aires through my blogging, and now know a large network of expats all around South America. My blog has also directly influenced the jobs I’m working down here, I never imagined I’d get to work writing travel articles and itineraries. Not bad for something I originally figured I’d update maybe once a week.

For travelers blogs are a great way to keep in touch with friends back home, wherever that may be. People always want to know what I’m up to down here, and I’d love nothing more than to write a lengthy personal email describing my shenanigans, but the fact is I simply don’t have enough time in the day. Enter the blog. Tell all your friends about it, update it when you can, and everyone has a convenient one-stop-shop for Planet You. And you’re free to enjoy your vacation, sojourn, expedition, or whatever it is that caused you to up and travel.

10 Things Expats In BA Should Take Advantage Of

Published on December 8, 2008 in Buenos Aires, Expat Advice and Travel Advice. 7 Comments Tags: Buenos Aires, Expat, Travel Resources.

I wrote this up over the weekend for MiniHostels, but I think it’s great stuff to have for anyone looking to live as an expat in Buenos Aires. Some of these are specific to here, but anyone looking to travel long term can take advantage of resources like Wikitravel or Craigslist. Without further ado, my top 10 expat / Buenos Aires resources:

1. BA Expats

BA Expats is a great resource. It’s a forum run by expats, for expats. You can get all of your questions answered here by people who have been living in Buenos Aires for years. BA Expats was the first site I found when I started doing research on living down here, and I still use it daily to organize meet ups and ask questions that pop up from time to time. There are lots of great people that will be more than happy to help you with your transition.

2. Expat Connection

Expat Connection is similar to BA Expats, but organizes more events and meet ups. They have a calendar where they post things ranging from group trips to medical insurance information sessions. Their forum is not nearly as active as BA Expats. Combine Expat Connection with BA Expats and you’ll be very plugged into what’s happening here in Buenos Aires for foreigners.

3. Craigslist

Craigslist is the best of the best for finding apartments and work in Buenos Aires. Craigslist is constantly updated with room shares and a huge range of apartments fitting any price range, sure to fit the needs of anyone that needs a place to stay. They also usually beat the prices of securing a room from abroad by a fair margin. It’s also the best resource for finding a job in the city. The job board is updated with many jobs daily, and if you pay attention over the course of a week or two you’re sure to find something that suits you. You can also use it to find odds and ends like a bike or cheap electronics. Can you tell I’m a fan?

4. The Guia T

The Guia T is the single most useful tool for getting around the city of Buenos Aires. It can be bought at any newsstand in the Microcentro, for just 5 or 6 pesos. More than worth the price tag. It’s features include an index of every street in greater Buenos Aires corresponding to a numbered grid mapping system, a map of the subway system, and every single bus line that runs within the city. Using the grids, you can look up which buses stop in that area, and by looking up the specific bus line in the index, you can also tell where they go on their route. Once you learn to navigate the Guia T effectively, getting around the city becomes a breeze.

5. The Argentimes

The Argentimes is a bi-weekly newspaper dedicated to the younger crowd of English-speakers in Buenos Aires. It covers topics including culture, economics, politics, the environment, and the social life of Argentines. Written by young people for young people, it’s a great way to plug into Argentine youth culture. And the best part? It’s free! Check their website for their distribution points or just download the .pdf file of each edition.

6. Buenos Aires Herald

The Buenos Aires Herald can fulfill your normal newspaper needs. It covers all sections that you’d expect to find in any major city publication, covering Argentine issues and newsworthy events with quality English writing. Make sure you take advantage of the Sunday edition, which contains articles from the New York Times and an excellent job classifieds section specifically targeted to English speakers. Use it in conjunction with Craigslist to optimize your job search! You can find the Herald at most newsstands in the Microcentro, but try to buy your paper early because they often don’t keep more than 4 or 5 copies stocked.

7. What’s Up Buenos Aires

What’s Up Buenos Aires (WUBA) is a one-stop spot for all sorts of nightlife and cultural events taking place in the city. They cover music, art, theater, restaurants, and bars, plus they offer tours and excursions with their own staff leading. Their articles range from gallery openings, artist interviews, and concert coverage to restaurant ratings, photography, and cultural articles. Run by Americans, the site is a gold mine for those wanting to experience the amazing nightlife Buenos Aires offers.

8. SaltShaker

SaltShaker is a food and restaurant blog run an expat American chef and sommelier. The guy has reviewed an impressive number of restaurants around town, complete with photos of his favorite dishes. He’s also been so kind as to organize them into genre, so to speak (Italian, Asian Fusion, Argentine, etc.). He also does top ten lists for various types of food. If you’re looking for an English language guide to the amazing cuisine Buenos Aires has to offer, you can’t go wrong with SaltShaker.

9. Guia Oleo

Guia Oleo is similar to SaltShaker, but is more comprehensive and organized. A button at the bottom of the page allows you to switch to English. If you’ve ever used Yelp back in the US, Guia Oleo has a very similar feature set (just limited to restaurants). The site allows you to rate your dining experience at restaurants, so you can see reviews from tourists and porteños alike at any restaurant you can think of. They keep a top ten list organized by these ratings, so you can also find the top ten restaurants in the city as chosen by the people.

10. Wikitravel

Anyone that has come to Buenos Aires as an expat probably loves to travel, and will want to see as much of Argentina and South America as possible. I’m a research nerd; I love to study things to death before actually traveling there. Being that I’m obsessed with travel, I tend to map out lots of itineraries based out of Buenos Aires. I use Wikitravel for most of my travel research needs. Anytime I’m taking a trip, it’s the first place I look for information. Wikitravel is a user-generated resource in the vein of Wikipedia, so it’s constantly updated with the newest information available.

Conclusion

If you take advantage of all the sites I listed above, I guarantee that your transition to the life of a porteño will be much easier. Also, if you liked that list, I wrote about some of my favorite general travel resources in this post. ¡Suerte!

My Top 5 Travel Resources

Published on November 8, 2008 in Travel Advice. 1 Comment Tags: Buenos Aires, Travel, Websites, Writing.

Since I do a lot of research by nature, I’m always on the hunt for great resources — especially with travel now that I’m a staff writer for MiniHostels. Here are five of my favorites:

1) Wikitravel

Pure awesome. Think of it as Wikipedia for the traveler. The entire site is built upon the real-time submissions of people, which means it’s constantly updated and never outdated. It’s also policed just like Wikipedia, so bogus information either isn’t there or doesn’t stay up for long. You can find information about any place you want to go here, along with suggested links to other resources. I use it any time I’m looking for information about a travel destination.

2) Thorntree

Easily the best travel forum on the web. Thorntree is Lonely Planet’s massive travel community, populated by knowledgeable and extremely helpful posters for wherever you want to go. There are threads for every country on Earth. If you have a specific question about somewhere, chances are you can find your answer on Thorntree.

3) World Hum

A great site for travel inspiration. It’s a depository of high-quality travel writing, and the amazing stories definitely inspire wanderlust in even the most hearty homebody. You can find blogs based out of anywhere. Very cool site if you’re looking for a personal twist on travel information. Also, Rolf Potts writes a column here, and he’s my hero. So it has that going for it too.

4) CouchSurfing

A worldwide community of people sharing their homes for budget travelers, CouchSurfing also offers a great way to meet people wherever you’re staying. Members host events all over the world, so you’re never far from a beer with some cool people. I’ve been to some of the Buenos Aires events, and they’ve all been fun. Someone who is willing to share their home with strangers is by nature very open and will probably have interesting stories to tell.

5) National Geographic Glimpse

Glimpse is a project that got off the ground only recently, but has exploded in popularity. Glimpse is written by young adults living and traveling abroad, and takes story submissions from anyone willing to write them. They also have a correspondents program that involves paid writing, which I’ve applied to. An interesting site for reading the perspectives of other young expats all over the world.

These are just my five favorites, but what other sites have I missed? Where do you go for all your travel information needs? I’d love to hear about other spots to get my fix!