Tag Archives: travel

5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home

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“5 Travel Lessons You Can Use at Home” - as seen on www.fourhourworkweek.com

Rolf Pots:

Last fall I spoke at the excellent DO Lectures, which brings innovative thinkers from around the world for a series of talks in rural Wales (Tim was a speaker in 2008). My talk, which is available in full via the video link above encourages people to make themselves rich in time and to become active in making their travel dreams happen.

The talk itself contains essential advice and inspiration regarding travel — but what struck me on re-watching it was an improvised moment at the beginning of the talk, when I pointed out how “these aren’t really travel-specific challenges — these are things that can apply to life in general. Think of travel as a metaphor for how you live your life at home.”

Indeed, travel has a way of slowing you down, of waking you up, of pulling you up out of your daily routines and seeing life in a new way. This new way of looking at the world need not end when you resume your life at home.

Here are 5 key ways in which the lessons you learn on the road can be used to enrich the life you lead when you return home…

1) Time = Wealth

By far the most important lesson travel teaches you is that your time is all you really own in life. And the more you travel, the more you realize that your most extravagant possessions can’t match the satisfaction you get from finding new experiences, meeting new people, and learning new things about yourself. “Value” is a word we often hear in day-to-day life, but travel has a way of teaching us that value is not pegged to a cash amount, that the best experiences in life can be had for the price of showing up (be it to a festival in Rajasthan, a village in the Italian countryside, or a sunrise ten minutes from your home).

Scientific studies have shown that new experiences (and the memories they produce) are more likely to produce long-term happiness than new things. Since new experiences aren’t exclusive to travel, consider ways to become time-rich at home. Spend less time working on things you don’t enjoy and buying things you don’t need; spend more time embracing the kinds of activities (learning new skills, meeting new people, spending time with friends and family) that make you feel alive and part of the world.

2) Be Where You Are

A great thing about travel is that it forces you into the moment. When you’re celebrating carnival in Rio, riding a horse on the Mongolian steppe, or exploring a souk in Damascus, there’s a giddy thrill in being exactly where you are and allowing things to happen. In an age when electronic communications enable us to be permanently connected to (and distracted by) the virtual world, there’s a narcotic thrill in throwing yourself into a single place, a single moment. Would you want to check your bank-account statement while exploring Machu Picchu in Peru? Are you going to interrupt an experience of the Russian White Nights in St. Petersburg to check your Facebook feed? Of course not — when you travel, you get to embrace the privilege of witnessing life as it happens before your eyes. This attitude need not be confined to travel.

At home, how often do you really need to check your email or your Twitter feed? When you get online, are you there for a reason, or are you simply killing time? For all the pleasures and entertainments of the virtual-electronic world, there is no substitute for real-life conversation and connection, for getting ideas and entertainment from the people and places around you. Even at home, there are sublime rewards to be had for unplugging from online distractions and embracing the world before your eyes.

3) Slow Down

One of the advantages of long-term travel (as opposed to a short vacation) is that it allows you to slow down and let things happen. Freed from tight itineraries, you begin to see the kinds of things (and meet the kinds of people) that most tourists overlook in their haste to tick attractions off a list. A host of multi-million-dollar enterprises have been created to cater to our concept of “leisure,” both at home and on the road — but all too often this definition of leisure is as rushed and rigidly confined as our work life. Which is more emblematic of leisure — a three-hour spa session in an Ubud hotel, or the freedom to wander Bali at will for a month?

All too often, life at home is predicated on an irrational compulsion for speed — we rush to work, we rush through meals, we “multi-task” when we’re hanging out with friends. This might make our lives feel more streamlined in a certain abstracted sense, but it doesn’t make our lives happier or more fulfilling. Unless you learn to pace and savor your daily experiences (even your work-commutes and your noontime meals) you’ll cheating your days out of small moments of leisure, discovery and joy.

4) Keep it Simple

Travel naturally lends itself to simplicity, since it forces you to reduce your day-to-day possessions to a few select items that fit in your suitcase or backpack. Moreover, since it’s difficult to accumulate new things as you travel, you to tend to accumulate new experiences and friendships instead — and these affect your life in ways mere “things” cannot.

At home, abiding by the principles of simplicity can help you live in a more deliberate and time-rich way. How much of what you own really improves the quality of your life? Are you buying new things out of necessity or compulsion? Do the things you own enable you to live more vividly, or do they merely clutter up your life? Again, researchers have determined that new experiences satisfy our higher-order needs in a way that new possessions cannot — that taking a friend to dinner, for example, brings more lasting happiness than spending that money on a new shirt. In this way, investing less in new objects and more in new activities can make your home-life happier. This less materialistic state of mind will also help you save money for your next journey.

5) Don’t Set Limits

Travel has a way revealing that much of what you’ve heard about the world is wrong. Your family or friends will tell you that traveling to Colombia or Lebanon is a death-wish — and then you’ll go to those places and have your mind blown by friendliness, beauty and new ways of looking at human interaction. Even on a day-to-day level, travel enables you to avoid setting limits on what you can and can’t do. On the road, you naturally “play games” with your day: watching, waiting, listening; allowing things to happen. There’s no better opportunity to break old habits, face latent fears, and test out repressed facets of your personality.

That said, there’s no reason why you should confine that sort of freedom to life on the road. The same Fear-Industrial Complex that spooks people out of traveling can discourage you from trying new things or meeting new people in own your hometown. Overcoming your fears and escaping your dull routines can deepen your home-life — and the open-to-anything confidence that accompanies travel can be utilized to test new concepts in a business setting, rejuvenate relationships with friends and family, or simply ask that woman with the nice smile if she wants to go out for coffee. In refusing to set limits for what is possible on a given day, you open yourself up to an entire new world of possibility.

Naturally, this list is just a sampling of how travel can transform your non-travel life. What have I missed? What has travel taught you about how to live life at home?

The Hidden Story Within the Mediterranean Canvas

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Remember when you first saw a famous work of art hanging graciously on the white-washed walls of an ill-remembered museum years ago and didn’t understand what all the hoopla was about?  Have you ever seen a piece in such a manner, then learned more about the artist, the painting itself, and maybe even the romantic story behind it?  If so, its truly amazing how a work of art can develop a whole new meaning once it’s story is told.  The scale of interest suddenly jumps when more is understood of it.

Well just tonight, Oliver Steeds, of Discovery Channel’s new show, “Solving History” demonstrated some of the story behind the amazing fabled islands of the Mediterranean. The premise of the show is all about his quest to piece geological and historical events of the past that tell a deeper, more meaningful story into the stories of cultural past civilizations, historical events and elusive legends.

In this episode, he took us on a whirl-wind tour through many of the islands of the Mediterranean in search of the truth behind the lost city of Atlantis.  Traveling from the steaming crest of Sicily’s Mt. Etna to the shores of Malta, Oliver spoke with geological experts and historians as to the validity of a city such as Atlantis.  The show came to a close with Oliver standing on the volcanic dome at the center of the caldera at Santorini in Greece. Historical and geological evidence had helped him build an entertaining hypothesis that this ancient volcano could have been the downfall of the great Minoan civilization and possibly ground zero for the destruction of Atlantis.

About 15 months ago, I had also been standing on the cliffs of Santorini staring off in sheer amazement of it’s utter beauty and scale.  I have yet to explore the other islands of Malta, Sicily, and Crete but hope to one day.  For now I will have to submerse myself in shows like this one to satisfy my appetite for discovering the hidden stories behind the likes of the “canvas” that is the amazing Mediterranean islands.

Should you feel the same desire to travel to the Mediterranean islands and discover their hidden past, AMNH Expeditions, the American Museum of Natural History’s travel division on New York is offering a special trip that just might satisfy such an appetite.  Learn more about this trip by clicking on the provided link (in red) below, then watch a short video of Oliver Steed’s new show, “Solving History” on the Discovery Channel.

http://www.amnhexpeditions.org/expeditions/show/66


Academic Travel Abroad & Professionals Abroad

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On December 1st, I watched as President Obama announced his intention to send an additional 30,000 US troops into Afghanistan to create a “surge” and hopefully end the war. In November, I watched as President Obama made his first visit to China and to Russia. I watched as our world leaders celebrated the twenty year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and later communism in Eastern Europe. I watched as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton visited the Middle East, seeking peace between Israel and Palestine. All of these events happening over the last 90 days.

Coincidentally, the last 90 days have marked the launching of Professionals Abroad, a new arm of Academic Travel Abroad. The Mission of Professionals Abroad is to provide an avenue for global professional counterparts to share one–on–one, their professional challenges and experiences. Selected teams of professionals, representing their associations will travel to host countries and participate in round table discussions, site visits and social events. All with the goal of learning more about the lives of their counterparts and to gain an understanding of the culture and history of the countries they visit.

Imagine mental health professionals and grief counselors traveling to the epicenter of the earth quake in China, to discuss Disaster Mental Health with the teams of Chinese professionals who are helping the people of this rural area to deal with their devastating loss. Imagine global water environment professionals meeting in Israel to discuss the advances and challenges faced by the Israeli people to ensure clean and abundant water supplies. Imagine a team of professional and academic women representing many of the top institutions in United States, traveling to the Middle East to meet with political and academic women leaders. Further, imagine a team of undergraduate future women leaders traveling along side their mentors, learning and preparing for success in the globalized world. This is Professionals Abroad, and these are just a few of the teams launched for 2010.

As the Director of Professionals Abroad, my vision is to see these teams of professionals gain unparalleled access to their counterparts globally. Through this access, individual citizens can support the missions of our nation’s leaders, as we seek to ensure global peace, and to establish the individual personal relationships necessary to ensure cooperation and lasting professional friendships.

Dawn Davis
Director
Professional Abroad

New Professionals Abroad website coming in January.

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Berlin 40 Years On…

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Photo of the Brandenburg Gate by Thomas Wolfe

Two weeks ago I was in Berlin just a week before the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I couldn’t help but remember my very first trip to Berlin in 1970 when I led a group of American experts, professors and students on a study tour of Urban European Development.

We had traveled from Amsterdam to West Berlin on the overnight train and after two days studying the revival of West Berlin, we crossed into East Berlin.  The Wall had been quickly erected in 1961 and East Berliners could not longer cross into West Berlin while we, as international travelers, could cross only on the S-Bahn (elevated City Railroad) or by car at Checkpoint Charlie.

After touring a revitalized West Berlin we boarded the S-Bahn at the Zoologischer Garten Station and crossed the border into East Berlin.  From the train one could easily see the Wall and the “dead zone” with the East German guard towers.  At Friedrichstrasse Station we got off and passed through East German customs where we were required to exchange 25 West German Deutsche Marks for 25 East German Marks.  Of course the real value was nowhere near one to one but it didn’t matter for there was little one could buy.

We walked from the Friedrichstrasse Station down side streets towards the Brandenburg Gate.  The contrast with West Berlin was striking for the shops were few and their windows had little to offer.  Unter den Linden, once the great ceremonial boulevard of Imperial Berlin, had been rebuilt in a uniform sterile Soviet architectural style.  We did have a look at the famous Museum Island which had housed the impressive Prussian Museums but was bombed out in World War II.  Little did we know that it would be almost another 40 years until the last of the museums would be rebuilt.  So, after walking around a bit longer we scurried back to the S-Bahn and the bright lights of West Berlin.

Over the next 40 years I must have visited Berlin a least a dozen times often for the ITB tourism exhibition.  After the fall of the wall in 1989 it took a while for the momentum of change to grow.  Susan and I recall emerging from the U-Bahn Station at Potsdamer Platz in 1993 to find that the cleared open area “dead zone” by the wall was still there.  But all of this changed quickly and today Potsdamer Platz’s with its dynamic modern skyscrapers is the symbol of the New Berlin.

The newly reopened Neues Museum in Berlin

This recent visit just prior to the 20th anniversary was a striking contrast.  The Neues Museum, the last museum on Museum Island to be rebuilt, had just re-opened after years of reconstruction and we quickly obtained tickets to view its great Egyptian and Roman collections.  Stunningly displayed within the ruins of the old 19th century building was the bust of Nefertiti and other amazing items from the collections.

But the even more amazing was that East Berlin has once again become the true heart of the united Berlin.  While the former West Berlin is still lovely and full of life, the surge of development in the Mitte District in just 20 years has created scores of offices, hotels, restaurant and shops and the once sterile Unter den Linden is again thronged with scores of people night and day.  And the artistic and cultural revival is equally dynamic.  Perhaps Berlin is today Europe’s most exciting capital city.

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At Home in the Grand Tetons

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Barn and snow covered mountains in American west

Ranch in front of Grand Teton peak (center-left)

In August I had the thrill of landing at the airport in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Though I’ve seen the Tetons before, there is still no way to describe the first glimpse – or any glimpse – of that unmistakable range as you approach the valley. The airplane dips quickly and all of a sudden you’re on the ground looking up at those magnificent peaks,  thinking wow, even Ansel Adams could not capture this.

There are no jet ways in Jackson, so you deplane down the steps directly on to the tarmac. As before, I smiled at the sight of airport personnel in their orange vests, unsmiling, vigorously waving passengers on from the bottom of the steps to the terminal. It’s a daily occurrence for them, I bet – rounding up passengers who are so dumbstruck by the scene before their eyes that they stop dead, fumble for cameras, and immediately begin to take pictures, sometimes wandering toward the Tetons as if those mountains will disappear at any second. The peaks can become shrouded by clouds pretty quickly, I know, but I don’t think that the photographers really have that thought. They just could not imagine missing the opportunity to record the gift in front of them and taking it home. I want to tell them, don’t worry….even if you don’t get the picture, you will take the image home.

We loaded luggage into our rental car and headed up he road to nearby Moose, for a couple of night stay at a historic ranch. We drove up and down that road during the three days we were there, so fortunate that clear weather allowed us to see the Tetons every single day. It may be a cliché to say that the mountain faces change constantly – but, I’m convinced that a time release camera would prove that they changed not by the hour, but by the minute, perhaps by the second.

Our minds cleared as we allowed the landscape to soak in, feeling like the crystal clear air and brilliant sky were doing their work on our cluttered brains. No emails, little phone contact, instead fragrant sage flats, the winding Snake River, and those towering peaks, more powerful than all the emails in the world.

People ask me fairly often – what is your favorite place? The world is full of marvels, and I have been so very lucky to see amazing places in my travels. But that question is an easy one for me. I grew up in the Midwest, but, when I’m in the Tetons, I am home.

Janet Varn

Program Manager
Academic Travel Abroad

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An Eye for China

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I’ve been traveling to China for, I’m shocked to admit, nearly 20 years. One of the first pictures I have of me in China was taken from the Bund in Shanghai, with my back to the Huangpu and, across the river, an expanse of rice paddies and run-down one-story buildings. I vaguely remember my friend telling me that the Shanghai government had just announced plans to develop a new economic zone in the area called Pudong. I was barely listening. In the aftermath of Tiananmen, a year and a half earlier, I more interested in politics than economics, and at any rate, on that dreary grey day, in that run-down city, I lacked the imagination to see what Shanghai would become.

I am further shocked to admit that I have been planning tours to China for nearly 16 years. This has enabled me to visit far-flung corners of the country, from Harbin in the far north to the border with Vietnam; from Qingdao on the Yellow Sea to Kashgar and the border with the Kyrgyz Republic. And yet, when people ask me where they should go when they visit China for the first (and quite possibly only) time, I always recommend Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, and, if time and money permit, one other place. That’s perhaps a little out of character, because I love to travel off the beaten path myself. However, some of my own most indelible impressions of China come from some of the “must-sees,” but doing them a little differently from most.

I never tire of going to the Great Wall. Even though I’ve seen it probably a dozen times, I still am blown away every time I trace its twisting path over and between the mountains north of Beijing. I of course avoid the Badaling section, preferring Mutianyu or, better yet, Jinshanling or Simatai, and I leave very early in the morning so I have the place mostly to myself.

These days it’s almost impossible to visit the Forbidden City and not share it with thousands of others, many of whom are wearing identical hats and are following a bullhorn. Fortunately, most of those thousands are only interested in the admittedly extremely impressive halls in the center of the City. I love to wander through the sections off to the sides, exploring the smaller rooms and hidden alleys. I’ve even been fortunate enough, through the amazing connections of my friends and partners at Hubei Overseas Travel Corporation, to visit, on occasion, sections not open to the public, where some of the most exquisite gems are hidden.

In Xi’an, it’s hard not to be overwhelmed by the scale of the terra cotta army of the emperor Qin Shi Huang. These days, anyone can take pictures of the soldiers and horses, and for a fee, anyone can go down to the VIP level for a slightly closer look and slightly better angle. What trumps both, though, is actually getting down into the pits and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a 2200-year-old clay warrior. Again through the my friends at HOTC, I’ve had the opportunity to do that twice, and it remains one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in China.

In Shanghai, I love to visit the Shanghai Museum. In a city that is all about the future, the museum is a beautiful reminder of the thousands of years of exquisite artisanship that are otherwise obscured by the glass and steel and traffic and Maglev. And in the basement, closed off to the public, is a beautiful replica of a tea garden, with mood lighting that can be adjusted to simulate different times of day. It’s a peaceful place, in stark contrast to the hubbub above ground.

What I REALLY like about Shanghai, though, is the change. Shanghai is about growth, the future, transformation, possibility. Whenever I can, I go to the Bund and stand where I stood nearly 20 years ago and gaze over at the unimagined reality of what China has become.

Chris Roper
Program Manager

Academic Travel Abroad

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Group Travel Still Makes the Most Sense

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Even in tough economic times, people are turning to group tours as a reliable way to travel that provides value and peace of mind. Tour operators negotiate group discounts, plan activities with smooth logistics in mind, access unique venues and draw on well-connected contacts in destinations around the globe. With years of experience under their belt, tour operators offer travelers the most value and security for their dollars.

Here are ten pointers from the National Tour Association’s latest newsletter that reinforces why Academic Travel Abroad is proud to be part of this organization of tourism professionals who share our common goals.

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Excerpt from the NTA's "Trip Planner" for August 2009

In the Footsteps of Galileo

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Portrait of Galileo Galilei

Portrait of Galileo Galilei

Did you know it is the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s discovery of the telescope? I am very excited to be escorting this unique trip with Smithsonian Journeys which will take us through the major landmarks where Galileo lived, studied, and wrote his most landmark achievements. Leading us is an expert in communicating the wonderment of science to all types of audiences – popular Harvard scientist, David Aguilar.

Some highlights include Venice’s Murano Glass Factory to learn about the art of glass-making and see where Galileo obtained the very glass used in his telescope lenses. Later we are off to an evening of stargazing in Padua from the place where Galileo first discovered Jupiter’s moons, telling him more of the nature of orbiting planets in our solar system and directly contradicting established beliefs that everything revolved around the Earth. In Florence, we’ll visit where the great astronomer’s theories were first attacked from the pulpit in Santa Maria Novella, the city’s first great basilica and principal Dominican church. And in Arcetri, we’ll enjoy stunning views and glimpse the Villa il Gioello, where the persecuted scientist spent the final years of his life.

Off to a fascinating voyage of discovery and we still have a few spots left – please join us!

October 11-18, 2009, with Smithsonian Journeys

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India: Discovering The Living Arts

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A visit to the studio of R.B. Bhaskeran for talks on Modern Art Movements in India

A visit to the studio of R.B. Bhaskeran for talks on Modern Art Movements in India

India ranks very high on the “life lists” of many travelers, including the group of museum professionals and ATA staff who set out in early June to learn about India’s booming contemporary art scene, which has its roots in a 5,000 year artistic tradition.

India is “exotic” in a way quite unlike any other place on earth. It was a sensory overload, a spiritual experience, and a mystical, bedazzling riot of colors and activity—all at the same time. Braving India’s summer heat, we were rewarded with virtually tourist-free sights and monuments.

Our exhilarating journey to Chennai, Agra and Delhi provided us with an exciting curriculum in the living arts, as well as an introduction to the India’s most important art movements, archeological treasures, and architectural monuments. For eight days, we had the distinct pleasure of discussing art and culture with painters, dancers, musicians and an extraordinary archeologist. We left India hungry for more, knowing we had just scratched the surface of a rich, multi-layered artistic tradition.

There were so many highlights to cherish on this trip!

First, the artists. Kuntal Desai and R B Bhaskeran in Chennai generously opened their homes to us, giving us a very personal look at their work and inspiration. We also visited several artists’ villages, and a state-sponsored artist studio in Delhi.

Then there were the musicians and dancers, who demonstrated the power of oral tradition in India culture, and sang and played beautiful music on traditional instruments.

And of course, we were awe-struck at the Taj Mahal, where we spent two hours examining this most famous example of Mughal architecture. We also spent time at the temples of Mahabalipuram, built between the 7th and 9th century.

To see a slideshow of our tour, click here

To see a few of our trip videos, click here

Academic Travel Abroad’s website

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CET Teams Up with Smithsonian Journeys

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Student group in Beijing

Student group in Beijing

CET is excited to announce a new avenue for high school students looking for unique study abroad opportunities for 2010. CET has now teamed up with Smithsonian Journeys and will offer study programs in Spain, Italy, and China for 2010.

CET Academic Programs is a private study abroad organization based in Washington, DC that has been designing and administering innovative educational programs abroad since 1982. CET is known for their high academic standards, innovative approaches to teaching and careful student management. Their programs integrate students into their overseas communities and lead them to create lasting relationships with their local hosts. Staffed by over 40 full-time employees in the US and abroad, CET currently sends around 1000 US students abroad annually.

Smithsonian Journeys will be offering Smithsonian Studies Abroad programs in Italy, Spain, and China summer programs geared specifically to high school students looking to take advantage of the benefits of studying abroad programs.

Students in Avila, Spain

Students in Avila, Spain

These programs will include;

Rigorous courses of study led by highly qualified teaching staff.

All programs feature a language component, cultural explorations, sightseeing, and weekend excursions.

Student accommodations feature modern facilities, internet service, most meals, and a dedicated full-time residential staff.

More about the programs;

• Florence, Italy –Renaissance Treasures

Florence offers an ideal location for students to study Italy’s rich artistic and cultural legacy. Surrounded by brilliant art and architecture, students will be uniquely immersed in contemporary Tuscan life with many opportunities to practice their language skills.

• Avila, Spain – Life in a Medievil Walled City

Located halfway between Madrid and Salamanca, medieval Avila is recognized as one of Spain’s most distinguished centers of learning. Students will strengthen existing Spanish skills during a comprehensive cultural course at the University of Salamanca.

• Beijing, China – The Heart of Imperial and Modern China

The Beijing program focuses on China’s extraordinary past and present. Students will reside at China’s top-rated Capital Normal University, located just outside of Beijing. Students will study Chinese politics, economics, history, and environmental policies, and gain a foundation in Chinese language.

To learn more, visit www.smithsonianjourneys.org

Also visit CET’s website to learn more here: www.cetacademicprograms.com

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