Travel Playlist

It takes me forever to make mix cds.  

I generally try to stay away from doing so, because my process includes looking up about a bajillion new songs (yay for Rhapsody!), listening to them multiple times (trying to pare it down), and then making sure that the mix sounds relatively cohesive.  But this summer I've actually been quite productive in the churning-out-playlists department.  

New calling?  Perhaps.

But, do you know what's better than mix cds?  Online playlists that can have as many songs as you want!

Here's a "Walkabout Mix" I made that includes some classic travel songs, personal favorites, inspirational songs, popular rap artists, obscure indie tunes- you know, the basics of a good playlist.

Link [thanks Dad!]:http://www.rhapsody.com/members/rgv41/playlists/mp.163871970

You should listen to these songs, even if you're not going anywhere. 

Enjoy!

xoxo, Cleome

So You Wanna Take a Gap Year?

Here's a fun, simple way to choose what to do on a gap year, should you decide to take some time off.*

To make the quiz (or any image for that matter) larger, just click on it. <-- just figured that out, no big deal

*Disclaimer: I am in no way a registered, professional gap-yearer (or gap year advisor), so the advice you may receive from this quiz should be taken with a large grain of salt and probably more consultation with various other sources (including, but not limited to: parents, teachers, friends, other internet resources, etc.).


xoxo, Cleome

How I've Been Preparing (Part 1)

Though I don't leave for a while (through less than two months now!), I've already begun my preparations for venturing to Costa Rica.  Such measures include:


-Acquiring a base burn tan.
-Not screaming at every bug I see.  I've heard what we've got here are mini compared to what I'll find in Costa Rica.
-Reading books about traveling.

-Sleeping on a sheet-less mattress (admittedly due to laziness). <-- really annoys my mom, but I say it'll make sleeping in hostels seem like sleeping at home...
-Drowning all my food in hot sauce.  The best one by far is Cholula, by the way.
-Napping to test out which sleeping bag to bring.

I actually fell asleep.  Life gets exhausting.

-Practicing Spanish with any and everyone I come across.  Or at least attempting to.
-Listening to So Good by B.o.b.  He says "Senorita," so I consider it helpful for my language skills.

Now you know a little Spanish, too.


xoxo, Cleome

The Deets: Costa Rica

Pretty much all of my time spent in Costa Rica will involve volunteering.

I chose to volunteer for the first portion of my gap year, because I felt like 
1) I wanted to spend some significant time giving back (but in a really fun way, which is why I decided on a gorgeous location)
2) volunteering in a foreign country is a great way to begin meeting other travelers 
3) you can't aid sea turtle conservation too late into the year, since the turtles aren't physically present at that point, and 
4) by volunteering through a program, I won't be completely left to my own devices just yet (so it'll be a great way to ease into independent traveling).

I'll be volunteering through a program called Institute of Field Research and Expedition (IFRE).

IFRE is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization based in Dallas, Texas, USA. We founded IFRE’s volunteer abroad program in 2005 after realizing the need for safe and affordable volunteer abroad programs. So far, nearly 3000 volunteers have participated in our meaningful volunteer programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

(Source) 

I chose IFRE for a few reasons.  Most importantly, they offered programs that fit my criteria- looked interesting, involved traveling, had a language component (either French or Spanish, since those are the two foreign languages I sort of know), were long term, and didn't cost a fortune to do.  Additionally, when I looked up reviews of different programs, it became apparent that some organizations were pretty sketchy/scam-like.  Luckily, IFRE's reviews sounded legit.  And when I contacted them, they've been very good about prompt communication and personalization of programs.  There of course were tons of other similar options, but I've been happy so far with how accommodating and helpful IFRE has been. 

Here is a closer look at what I'll be doing through IFRE in Costa Rica:
-I'll arrive in the middle of September, and take a boat to Pacuare Beach (on the Northeastern, Caribbean side) to work in sea turtle conservation for about one month.  At the time of my stay, Hawksbill and Green turtles will be the kinds I'll encounter.  

Yeah, Pacuare's the circled area.  

The living situation sounds sort of intense.  It's a pretty remote beach (you have to take a 30 min boat ride to get there, and that only comes twice a week), with sketchy electricity and no running water.  Apparently (hopefully) 10-15 other volunteers will be there at that point, so I'll have potential friends.  We'll be bunking together in rustic cabins with outdoor toilets, yay.  

Besides chatting it up with fellow travelers, volunteers work between four and eight hours each day.  The types of activities I'll be doing include: night patrols on the beach (mainly to keep poachers/predators away?), egg collection, releasing turtles, working in the rescue center, and other manual labor-type stuff that goes along with living on a remote beach.  Oh, and maybe I'll fit some relaxing into that schedule somewhere.  It is a beach after all....

-Then I'll move from saving turtles on the coast to a more centralized, inland location (Atenas, in the Alajuela region) to work in an orphanage for the remaining few months.

I'll be somewhere within that circle.

This time, I'll be living with a Costa Rican host family (!).  I get stuck with to have a few little brothers in my family there, so I probably won't miss my biological sibling too much- just kidding, Ash.  I won't lie, I'm a bit nervous about living with a family that's not my own.  But I'm excited as well; it'll be a great way to throw myself into the culture, language, and (hopefully) make some lasting connections.

Unlike the turtle project, I'll have a good amount of free time for those two months.  I'll be volunteering at the orphanage for only four hours a day, from 8:00-12:00 Monday through Friday.  I guess some time will be taken up by transportation (since the orphanage I'll be volunteering at is actually located in a neighboring village- a 40 min bus ride + a 20 min walk every day).  And I'm hoping to take some Spanish classes.  But otherwise I get the rest of the day to myself... right now I'm hoping I make some good friends that I can hang out with.  Plus I can always read and write and explore the town.

Right.  Now you know roughly as much about the first few months of my walkabout as I do.

xoxo, Cleome

BOOKED (and Bought!)

GUESS WHAT?

I BOOKED MY FLIGHT TO COSTA RICA TODAY.  IT'S OFFICIAL.  THIS TRIP IS REALLY GOING TO HAPPEN.


Wow, that feels really good to say type.  I'm still having some trouble believing that what I've planned out for this upcoming school year is actually going to occur, but booking this flight has certainly made it seem all the more tangible.  And now it feels like the summer is going by way too fast- September will be here before we know it!


I'll be flying out in the middle of September.  My flight leaves from Minnesota really early in the morning- like, 5:30 am early.  After registering for a frequent flyer number (I need to remember to do that!), I'll climb on with my backpack (see below) and sit on a 2.5 hour flight to Atlanta, GA.  I've got less than an hour layover there, so hopefully nothing goes wrong and my first flight isn't delayed... that could make for a very unfortunate situation.  Then I jump onto the second flight to San Jose!  I should be arriving right around lunchtime, and from there the rest of the day is mine.  The next morning I do have to get myself to the volunteer office early, though, because the bi-weekly boat to the project's location (a relatively isolated beach on the northeastern coast of Costa Rica) leaves at 7 am.  I can't miss it.  Apparently two Australian volunteers will also be heading out with me- hopefully I step off the boat having gained a couple of new friends.  That's the dream, anyway.


And yeah, I also bought what will be my new best friend: a backpack!  The brand/style is the Deuter Act  Lite 45+10 SL (meaning it can carry up to 55L of volume).  I chose it because out of the five backpacks I tried on, it felt the best when stuffed with 20 pounds.  And it's made to conform to a women's shape.  And I can (hopefully) stow it as a carry-on.  Plus, it has an adjustable torso length, which is really helpful seeing as my torso length is apparently XS (thanks mom!) and not too many packs come in that size option.  Also, it's not appallingly expensive.

My baby for the next year!

I didn't choose that green color-scheme though.  "Pine/Moss" is only style they've got.


xoxo, Cleome

Affording the Walkabout

I'm really pretty fortunate that I'm able to take a gap year.  


I'm glad that my parents are supportive, that K-Zoo (cute nickname for Kalamazoo College, duh) accepted my deferral, and that programs exist for me to take part in and travel with.


But mostly I'm thankful I had a really rich great-grandpa.  Who decided to give his great-grandkids some money.  He's the real person making this all possible.


Now don't get the wrong idea.  I'm actually not too obsessed with money.  Or that big into shopping/mass consumerism.  And my family is certainly not considered wealthy- we're solidly middle-class.  However, my dad's mom's dad just happened to own a paper mill for a while, and the final effects of that are about to show up.  Once I turn 18 (on Sunday!), I'll be inheriting a little more than $10,000.  To do whatever I want with.  So bomb.


So, obviously, I'll be taking that money and sticking it straight into the "Ensure Cleome has the Money to Buy Food in Europe" fund.  Feel free to donate yourself!  Every little bit helps.


While I'd love to encourage everyone graduating high school (or college, for that matter) to take some time off before heading to college/out on a career path, I know that's just not [monetarily] feasible for a lot of people.  Plus, I realize a large section of the population would see using a large, and free, chunk of change to finance a year of traveling as:
a.) stupid
b.) wasteful
c.) irresponsible
d.) crazy, or
e.) all of the above


And I know college costs an arm and a leg these days.  I'm fully aware of it.  An extra grand (or 10) would definitely come in handy for financing my secondary education.  But I've come to the conclusion that a year of adventure is going to be worth more to me than a slightly easier time paying for college.  Which is certainly a personal decision that other people may not agree with.  Too bad, though, 'cause it's my life.


It's not just the money I'm receiving on my 18th birthday that is going toward my gap year.  I've been working for the last three summers (at a summer camp and the State Fair) with saving up for traveling as my goal.  Plus there's the odd baby- or cat-sitting job over the year to provide a bit of income flow.  Oh, and I did pretty well for myself at my grad party, which reminds me.... 

Along with the generosity of my great-grandpa, tons of other people have contributed to making my gap year possible.  These include family, friends, neighbors, teachers, family friends, and many others.   Not all of the donations have been money.  I'm including support, books, conversations, and good vibes as contributions, also.  So thanks you guys.  I really appreciate it all.


However much I like them, though, well-wishes don't quite pay for plane tickets....


xoxo, Cleome

Travel Background

I like to consider myself adventurous.  Someone who enjoys exploring.  A risk-taker.  A traveler.

But I've only ever truly visited about 10 states (mostly ones along the Mississippi River, with a few coastal ones thrown in for good measure).  Which leaves, like, 40 that I've never really been to.  Also, I've never seen the majority of the United States national monuments.  My sightseeing has never taken me to Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon, Washington D.C., Mount Rushmore, view the Redwood or Sequoia trees, etc.  You get the picture.

A blank map.  Pretty indicative of how much I know about the majority of the states.

And I should probably admit I've never been overseas.  My "countries visited" counter has a grand total of three- the US, Canada, and Mexico.  And I think my Canadian travels consisted of an illegal step over an invisible line in the very northernmost edge of Minnesota....


So why do I call myself a traveler?  Slash why am I embarking on this crazy gap year and expecting to survive?


Because of the story behind these pictures.

The above photos were taken in Mexico circa 2002, when my parents moved our family to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato for 18 months.  I was seven and a half when we left, and nine when we returned (meaning I attended half of second grade and all of third grade in Mexico).


We moved down there to partake in what my parents dubbed our "family sabbatical."  Basically, they were tired of the harried pace of life in the US, wanted an extended period of intense family bonding before the kids got too old, and were looking for an adventure.  My mom wrote a book about the experience called The Family Sabbatical Handbook; The Budget Guide to Living Abroad with Your Children.  <--- shameless plug


Though many people find this hard to believe (ahem), I did become fluent in Spanish after about 6 months into the trip.  I mean, I had to be.  Someone in our family needed to know the language, and it certainly wasn't going to be my parents (though to their credit they tried really hard), or my 2-year-old brother who had just learned English.  My family also settled into a decidedly Mexicano way of life, and became content with simply walking around, reading, people-watching, going to parks, and basically just living in the moment.


Our time spent in Mexico was amazing.  There's simply no other way to describe it.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that still affects me, and I'm so grateful I was able to experience it.  Plus, I attribute my desire for taking a year off and traveling to the sabbatical.  It imparted in me a love of exploring and experiencing new places, cultures, and languages, and fostered independence and self-confidence even at seven years old.  


So that's why I'm optimistic about my chances of survival.  If I can flourish in Mexico as a kid, I can at the very least get by traveling through Latin America and Europe (right?).  


And I'm so excited to see what this next adventure brings! 

xoxo, Cleome