Category Archives: Random Musings

Want to Write for Nomadic Matt? Here’s How!

a woman in a yellow sweater writes from her laptop
Updated: 04/22/19 | April 22, 2019

Earlier this year, I announced I was opening this website up to guest posters. For years, I turned away unsolicited guest posts, but, this year, I decided it was time to change that policy as I want to add more voices, opinions, stories, and tips to this site.

I want to bring in people out there who have helpful information and insight I might not have, especially now that I’m traveling a lot less.

So, if you’d like to write for this site, here are our guidelines for submissions:

What Content Do We Want?

First, what kind of submissions are we looking for? We’re interested in the following (and only the following) areas:

  • LGBT content: stories by transgender people, queer couples, and solo gay, lesbian, or bi travelers
  • Africa-related content (bonus points if it’s East or Central Africa and Egypt related)
  • Middle East–related content
  • Central Asia–related content
  • India-related content
  • China-related content
  • Technology- or gear-related content

Your pitches should have a focus on budget-related issues: cheap things what to do, budget accommodation, good companies or apps to use, travel hacks, or ways to save money. We want the kind of service article that will help readers travel cheaper, better, and longer.

Of course, travel stories are great too, so long as they contain a lesson or advice that can be used to help people travel.

Typical posts are 1,000-2,000 words, are super detailed, contain lots of useful links, and have tips and tricks not found elsewhere. I love insider knowledge!

How to Submit a Post

Send an email to matt@nomadicmatt.com with the exact title “New Guest Writer Article Submission”

Include the following:

  • Your travel history
  • Your blog or channel
  • A link to two other guest posts you’ve done
  • Your topic idea(s), with suggested title(s) and description(s) of the article(s)

Here’s an example of a good email:

Hi Matt,

My name is John and I’m writing about submitting a guest post on your site. I’ve been traveling the world for ten years, with a focus on Africa. For the last six months, I’ve been traveling around East Africa as a backpacker and have a lot of resources that can help. My blog is johnsworld.com, and I’ve written some posts on the subject that can be found here and here.

My proposed topic is “How to Visit Tanzania on a Budget,” which will focus on how to get around, eat, and safari without spending a lot or money or doing an expensive tour. The idea here is to show people you can travel the country independently.

Here are links to some of my writing so you can see I can put words together.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John

Simple and to the point. If I like your pitch, I’ll reply. Please DO NOT follow up. While tenacity can often be appreciated, DO NOT follow up. I get too many emails.

Please follow the rules above too. I like people with an attention to details so if you send an email with the wrong subject line or miss any of the other following rules, we’ll delete your pitch!

Finally, please note that if you send me a draft and I find that it will be too much work to edit, I reserve the right to reject it. Additionally, since I am pretty picky, there’s also 99% chance I’ll ask you to make changes to your draft so please expect notes and rewrites.

Oh, and we pay $250 USD per post.

That’s really it.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments.

Matt

The post Want to Write for Nomadic Matt? Here’s How! appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

The Atlas of Happiness: Discovering the World’s Secret to Happiness with Helen Russell

Best selling author Helen Russell posing for a photo
Posted: 4/4/2019 | April 4th, 2019

A few years ago, I read the book The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell. I think it originally came up as a suggested book on Amazon. I can’t fully remember. But, I stuck it in my queue, ordered it, and it sat on my bookshelf until it was time to read it. I couldn’t put it down. It was funny, well written, interesting, and an insightful look into Danish culture. It was one of my favorite books I read that year.

Last year, I somehow convinced Helen to speak at TravelCon and got to meet her in person. Now, she has a new book out called The Atlas of Happiness. It’s about why people in certain places are happier than others. It’s a phenomenal book (you should get it). Today, Helen shares some of what she learned in researching that book!

Here’s a funny thing: if you’ve been online today for more than a fraction of a second, you may have started to get the sense that the world is A Terrible Place. Even the committed traveler with an open mind could be forgiven for thinking that the outlook is pretty bleak.

And if you’ve seen the headlines today or been on social media and you’re feeling low as a result, you’re not alone.

It’s easy to get the idea that the world is becoming more miserable by the minute and that happiness is a luxury in these troubled times.

But over the past six years, I’ve learned that there are people all around the world finding ways to stay happy, every day. And that happiness is something we’re hardwired to seek out – wherever we are.

I started researching happiness in 2013 when I relocated from the UK to Denmark. I’d spent 12 years living and working in London as a journalist, and I had no intention of leaving, until out of the blue one wet Wednesday, my husband came home and told me he’d been offered his dream job…working for Lego in rural Jutland. I was skeptical to start with — I had a good career, a nice flat, great friends, close family — I had a life.

Okay, so my husband and I both worked long hours, we were tired all the time, and never seemed to be able to see each other very much. We regularly had to bribe ourselves to get through the day and we’d both been ill on and off for the past six months.

But that was normal, right?

We thought we were ‘living the dream.’ I was 33 years old and we’d also been trying for a baby for as long as either of us could remember, enduring years of fertility treatment, but we were always so stressed that it never quite happened.

So when my husband was offered a job in Denmark, this ‘other life’ possibility was dangled in front of us — the chance to swap everything we knew for the unknown. Denmark had just been voted the world’s happiest country in the UN’s annual report and I became fascinated by this. How had a tiny country of just 5.5m people managed to pull off the happiest nation on earth title? Was there something in the water? And if we couldn’t get happier in Denmark, where could we get happier?

During our first visit, we noticed that there was something a bit different about the Danes we met. They didn’t look like us, for starters — quite apart from the fact that they were all strapping Vikings towering over my 5’3” frame — they looked more relaxed and healthier. They walked more slowly. They took their time to stop and eat together, or talk, or just…breathe.

And we were impressed.

My Lego Man husband was sold on the idea and begged me to move, promising we’d relocate for my career next time. And I was so worn out by my hectic London life that I found myself agreeing. I quit my job to go freelance and decided I would give it a year, investigating the Danish happiness phenomenon first hand — looking at a different area of living each month to find out what Danes did differently.

From food to family life; work culture to working out; and design to the Danish welfare state — each month I would throw myself into living ‘Danishly’ to see if it made me any happier and if I could change the way I lived as a result. I decided I would interview as many Danes, expats, psychologists, scientists, economists, historians, sociologists, politicians, everyone, in fact, to try to uncover the secrets to living Danishly.

I documented my experiences for two UK newspapers before being asked to write a book: The Year of Living Danishly, Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country.

Since then, I’ve been humbled and moved to hear from readers from across the globe with wide-ranging life perspectives, but the one constant was a need to share the happiness secrets of their own cultures. Some of the themes that sprung out were universal — such as social interactions, exercising out of doors and finding a balance in life — while others were intriguingly unique.

The Atlas of Happiness book cover by Helen RussellSo I set out to research into unique happiness concepts from around the world, interviewing people internationally until The Atlas of Happiness — my new book-baby — was born. It isn’t a compendium of the happiest countries; instead, it’s a look at what’s making people happier in different places. Because if we only look at the countries already coming top of the happiness polls, we miss out on ideas and knowledge from cultures we’re less familiar with.

Nowhere is perfect. Every country has faults. But I wanted to celebrate the best parts of a country’s culture as well as national characteristics at their finest – because that’s what we should all be aiming for.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Did you know, for example, that in Portuguese there’s something called saudade — a feeling of longing, melancholy, and nostalgia for a happiness that once was — or even a happiness you merely hoped for?

And while Brazil may be famous for its carnival spirit, the flipside of this, saudade, is so central to the Brazilian psyche that it’s even been given its own official ‘day’ on the 30th of January every year.

Most of us will have experienced a bittersweet pleasure in moments of melancholy — flicking through old photos, or caring about anyone enough to miss them when they’re gone.

And scientists have found that this temporary sadness — counter-intuitively — makes us happier: providing catharsis; improving our attention to detail; increasing perseverance and promoting generosity. So we should all spend time remembering those we’ve loved and lost — then practice being a little more grateful for the ones still around.

Finland ranked number one in this year’s UN World Happiness report thanks to a great quality of life, free healthcare, and education funded by high taxes.

But there’s also something else the Finns enjoy that’s infinitely more exportable: kalsarikännit — defined as ‘drinking at home in your underwear with no intention of going out’ — a pursuit so popular it even has its own emoji, commissioned by The Finnish Foreign Ministry.

In common with most Scandinavians, Finns aren’t shy about disrobing, and they all have such enviably well-insulated houses that stripping down to their pants is apparently completely okay even when it’s minus 35 degrees outside. What you drink and crucially how much of it you knock back is down to the individual, but it’s a uniquely Finnish form of happiness and mode of relaxation that we can all give a go.

Best selling author Helen Russell working on her laptop

In Greece, they have a concept called meraki that refers to an introspective, precise expression of care, usually applied to a cherished pastime — and it’s keeping Greeks happy despite turbulent times. This is because having a hobby improves our quality of life according to scientists, and challenging ourselves to do something different also creates new neural pathways in our brain. Having a passion that you take pride can be of extra benefit to those who can’t say the same for their primary occupation.

Because meraki can make life worthwhile if your 9-5 is more of a daily grind. Many tasks that need to be taken care of on a day-to-day basis aren’t particularly challenging or inspiring – from filing, to raising purchase orders or even — dare I say it — some of the more gruelling aspects of parenting.

But we can break up the never-ending cycle of mundane work with our own personal challenges — things that we’re passionate about that we can genuinely look forward to doing. Our meraki.

Dolce far niente — or the sweetness of doing nothing — is a much-treasured concept in Italy — often hashtagged on Instagram accompanying pictures of Italians in hammocks. Okay, so Italy hasn’t exactly topped any happiness rankings in recent years, but the cliché of the carefree Italian still exists – and with good reason.

Italians do ‘nothing’ like no other nation and perfecting the art takes style and skill – because there’s more to it than meets the eye. It’s watching the world go by over coffee and a cornetto. It’s laughing at tourists. Or politicians. And crucially it’s about savoring the moment and really enjoying the present. Many of us search for relaxation by traveling to exotic locations, drinking to oblivion, or trying to blot out the noise of modern life.

But Italians let the chaos wash over them. Instead of saving up our ‘fun quota’ for an annual escape, they spread it over the minutes, hours and days throughout the year and ‘enjoy life’ in all its messy reality.

One of the happiest countries in the world, the Norwegians must be doing something right. And quite aside from their enviable Scandi-lifestyles and the safety net of all that oil, Norwegians have a secret ace card up their sleeves: a concept called friluftsliv. This roughly translates as ‘free air life’ and it’s a code of conduct as well as a life goal for most Norwegians – who like to spend time outdoors and get high, as often as possible.

Anyone who’s ever visited the country will know that if you meet a Norwegian out in nature, their objective tends to be the highest mountain nearby – and there’s a saying in Norway that “You must make an effort before you can have pleasure’.

Most Norwegians believe you have to work for things, to earn them with physical endeavors, battling the elements. Only once you’ve climbed a mountain in the rain and cold, can you truly enjoy your dinner. It’s an old fashioned approach to the good life but numerous studies show that using our bodies and getting out into nature as often as possible boosts mental and physical wellbeing.

Best selling author Helen Russell posing in front of a colorful mural

Which is all very well, on paper. But how to apply these principles and all the things I’d learned in real life? Well, I took it slowly — dolce far niente style. I had to learn not to be the archetypal Londoner, working all hours. Instead, I had to try relaxing once in a while.

Radical, I know.

Next, I got on the hobby train. I found my meraki in pottery, in cooking and trying out new recipes, often inspired by the countries I was researching. Some weeks, we ate well. Others, not so much (my husband still hasn’t forgiven me for ‘Russian month’). I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve done a fair amount of underwear-drinking, too.

The Finnish concept of kalsarikännit and I are now firm friends. And because I was working less and being more mindful of living well and looking after myself, it was relatively easy to adopt the Norwegian ethos of friluftsliv.

So now I try to ask myself: what did I do today? What did I climb? Where did I go? But the biggest mind shift was the realization that to be happy, we have to be comfortable being sad sometimes, too. That we’re at our healthiest and happiest when we can reconcile ourselves to all our emotions, good and bad.

The Portuguese saudade was a game changer for me — helping me to come to terms with the life I thought I’d have and find a way to move on, without resentment or bitterness. Because when you let go of these things, something pretty amazing can happen.

By learning from other cultures about happiness, wellbeing and how to stay healthy (and sane), I found a way to be less stressed than I was in my old life. I developed a better understanding of the challenges and subtleties of coming from another culture. My empathy levels went up. I learned to care, more.

Optimism isn’t frivolous: it’s necessary. You’re travelers. You get this. But we need to spread the word, now, more than ever. Because we only have one world, so it would be really great if we didn’t mess it up.

Hellen Russell is a British journalist, speaker, and the author of the international bestseller The Year of Living Danishly. Her most recent book, The Atlas of Happiness, examines the cultural habits and traditions of happiness around the globe. Formerly the editor of marieclaire.co.uk, she now writes for magazines and newspapers around the world, including Stylist, The Times, Grazia, Metro, and The i Newspaper.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

The post The Atlas of Happiness: Discovering the World’s Secret to Happiness with Helen Russell appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

What Does Globalization Really Destroy?

a McDonald's sign in the streets of a tourist area
Posted: 2/25/2019 | February 25th, 2019

While walking down the streets of Medellín, I came across a Dunkin’ Donuts, a donut chain from my hometown of Boston. (It’s the best. Locals are quite attached to Dunkin. Don’t mess with a Massachusetts resident and Dunkin.)

As I looked at the store, a pit formed in my stomach and I got quiet and melancholy.

For days, I had been coming across Starbucks, McDonald’s, KFC, Papa John’s, and now, Dunkin’ Donuts!

Medellín had been overrun by the chains.

Another place ruined by globalization!

Another place where the local character was dying.

Or…was it? (Said in a Morgan Freeman narrator voice.)

Was that Dunkin’ Donuts really a bad thing?

Or that Starbucks I saw earlier? Or all those Papa John’s? (I mean that garlic butter sauce is amazing.)

As I continued down the street, a thought struck me: What had that Dunkin’ Donuts really ruined?

I mean the shops and stalls nearby were still full of life and brimming with customers buying snacks and coffee.

What was really bothering me?

Then it hit me.

I realized that maybe why I got sad was because what Dunkin’ Donuts really had destroyed was not Medellin but what I thought Medellin was.

As travelers, I think we tend to hate “globalization” because we imagine places to be a certain way from books, movies, and our collective cultural consciousness.

We often have this image — based on no firsthand experience — of what a destination should be like and how the people should act. We imagine deserted beaches, or quaint cafés, or rustic old towns, or gritty, worn-down cities because we saw that in a movie or read a book ten years ago. I mean, most Americans still think Colombia is teeming with narcos or that Eastern Europe is still like it was the day after the Iron Curtain fell.

view of skyscrapers in Medellin from the hills

We want the places we visit to fit into the box we mentally created for them. We want our image of them validated.

I mean we in part travel for a sense of adventure and exoticness. To be explorers and find spots devoid of any outside influence.

Globalization stops all that from happening.

Suddenly, we’re walking down the street — and we see a part of home.

Our illusion – the myth we created about the destination we are in – is shattered.

“Well, there’s a Starbucks. The tourists are here. This place is ruined now.”

But is that really a bad thing?

When we imagine how someplace should be — like Thai islands with little huts and empty beaches, or rural villages filled with only local food and pushcart vendors — we seek to freeze the world (and often with an air of leftover colonialism).

We forget that places aren’t Disneyland and it’s not 100 years ago. Things change. Places develop, mature, and move on. The world around us hasn’t stood frozen in time to act like our theme park. (And this doesn’t even touch the tip of the iceberg around the colonialism / Western stereotypes associated with these ideas.)

Would I rather see the world full of mom-and-pop stores and no Dunkin’ Donuts in Medellín?

On the surface, yes.

But if I really think about it, that’s because I want to escape my home, not be reminded of it. It’s because I’d like the world to match the one I see in books and movies. It’s because no one is completely immune to the views I just talked about. I’ve created a castle in the sky that I don’t want to see destroyed.

But part of the art of discovery is having your preconceptions shattered.

For example, most Americans (and maybe even most people in the world) view Colombia as this remote jungle full of coffee, crime, fruit, and narcos roaming the street. It’s gritty and dangerous.

But Colombia is nothing like people think it is. Medellín has one of the best transportation systems I’ve ever seen outside Scandinavia, and Wi-Fi is everywhere. There’s also some incredible Michelin star–worthy gastronomy taking place here. Bogotá has world-class museums. Digital nomads flock there. The roads are stellar. Many young people speak English, they are educated, and they are very informed of world events.

a McDonald's sign in the streets of a tourist area

So, as Colombia sheds its narco past and embraces the world as much as the world embraces it, should we – I – be surprised that the guy riding in a little jeep is playing Taylor Swift, or that burgers and pizzas and gin and tonics are really popular? Should we be surprised that Colombians want a taste of the world too?

We often think of globalization as a one-way street, where the Western chains “invade” other countries. Our conversation in the West is always about how we’re ruining other places.

Yet these places don’t survive on tourist dollars alone. Locals do eat there. Who are we to tell them no?

And I often think about the reverse: when people from other non-Western cultures travel, do they have the same reaction?

Do Colombians travel somewhere and go, “Ugh, a mondongo place here? This place is ruined.”

Do Italians hate the sight of pizza on vacation?

Do the Japanese lament seeing sushi abroad?

I don’t want to see the golden arches next to the Pyramids, but is it so bad that there are some franchises in Egypt? Who are we to say, “Hey, you can’t have that. I want to imagine your country as this Arabian Nights fantasy! Get rid of that pizza place! Where are the guys on camels?”

Whether it’s a chain or just a type of cuisine, I don’t think the mingling of cultures is such a bad.

Globalization is not perfect. And, of course, its benefits aren’t balanced. People have written volumes on this subject. Let’s leave that aside. I’m not here to discuss that. I’m here to ponder globalization and our perceptions of it as travelers.

That Dunkin’ Donuts reminded me that the globalized world that allows me to be in Medellín also allows Colombians to access not only my culture but other cultures as well.

I think we need to stop viewing globalization through the myopic one-way lens of being a Western traveler.

Do we really want places to stay impoverished / secluded / unconnected so we can have an “authentic” experience based on some fantasy we have about a destination? Do we really not want the locals to experience pizza, or burgers, or Scotch, jazz music, or Thai pop, or anything else not local?

I don’t think we should look at globalization as causing a place to be “ruined.” Cultures are always in flux.

The same process that has brought unfamiliar cultures to us has also brought parts of our culture (among others) there.

When you have more cultures interacting with each other, you get to understand that everyone is a human being and shares the same wants and needs.

And I think that is something we should celebrate.

Matt’s note: Before everyone freaks out in the comments, let me be clear: I am not saying globalization is all rainbows and unicorns. There are a lot of problems with multi-national corporations, specifically, when it comes to taxes, labor, and how much money they keep in a country. There are also a lot of environmental and social problems related to outsourcing. Those are important social and economic issues that need to be addressed politically so that everyone can share the benefits of a more globalized world. I don’t deny there are problems. But this post is simply about looking at the issue from a traveler’s perspective.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hotel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and I think will help you too!

The post What Does Globalization Really Destroy? appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

Announcement: Let’s Help Envision Take FLYTE

Former FLYTE students in Guatemala
Posted: 2/14/2019 | February 14th, 2019

As travelers, we constantly meet people from around the world and experience cultures and values different than our own. I think that is why we travelers tend to (generally) be more open-minded. We want to see the differences in the world.

Traveling gives us a broader perspective and understanding of life, the world, the people in it, and, often most importantly, ourselves.

Three years ago I started FLYTE, the Foundation for Learning and Youth Travel Education, because I wanted to bring the beauty of travel to young people who don’t have the opportunity to travel and realize just how much the world has to offer.

Kids who not are only limited by their geography but by their community’s world view.

FLYTE has already sent four groups of students abroad. That’s over 50 kids who have experienced the world outside their bubble. Fifty kids who now have a passport. 50 kids who got to put what they learned in the classroom to good use!

Our returning students always tell us how they have a new sense of appreciation for their community, school, and the possibility out there in the world. They’re inspired to think bigger and do more.

Maribel, who traveled with FLYTE in 2017 to Ecuador, was so motivated by her experiences that she wants to keep volunteering. As she put it, “volunteering abroad was one of the most formative experiences of my life…After Ecuador, I’ve chosen to apply to colleges that allow me to help people wherever and whenever I can.”

Maribel, a former FLYTE student

Our last group of students came from a small, rural community in Victor, Montana. Traveling to Guatemala put immigration in a new perspective for them. Julia shared that her journey “makes me realize why people want to come to the U.S. and how lucky I am.”

Julia, a former FLYTE student

Tija who FLYTE sent to Cuba shared how grateful she was to FLYTE’s donors who gave her the opportunity “to have this amazing experience…to share with my family, classmates, and people in my community.” Likewise, Sam expressed his gratitude for being able to travel, because during his time in Guatemala, he “became closer to with [his] friends and closer with the rest of the world.”

Tija, a former FLYTE student

These journeys have ripple effects beyond just our students. Erica, the teacher who led our first trip, told us that one of the mothers who was initially hesitant to send her son was so moved by how much it positively impacted him that she applied for her own passport and wanted to chaperone the school’s next trip.

Now, as we start the new year, it’s time to announce our next partner school:

Envision Academy located in downtown Oakland, in Northern California:
Envision students from Oakland, California

While the thought of this part of the country may conjure up images of Silicon Valley, lucrative tech start-ups, and all things Google, the reality is that Oakland, particularly the inner city, was hit hard during the crack epidemic and the city still feels the effects of its past to this day. Oakland has been repeatedly named one of the most violent cities in the country and the poverty level is high in this area.

70% of the students that attend Envision Academy receive free or reduced-price lunch, many of them are first-generation immigrants, and will be the first in their family to go to college. We’re so excited to partner with this school because of their commitment to students’ long-term success and how much they prioritize family involvement.

Families are a core part of the school culture and actively participate in their children’s education. Many of these families are often single-parent, matriarchal households, and despite the challenges they face, they are incredibly invested in their children’s success, and work hard to make ends meet. However, opportunities for these students to travel abroad or even back to their native country to visit their family are really limited.

We’re going to change that by sending them to Colombia at the end of June!

Jeremy, the teacher leading this trip, is an inspiring advocate for his students and created a comprehensive curriculum that will make his classroom come alive once the students step off the plane. He is a digital media arts teacher — and through the coursework that will be integrated into the trip, the students will learn how to use photography, film, and art to tell their stories.

Envision students from Oakland, California

These students are bright and promising but coming from a developing community like Oakland is not a point of pride for a lot of them. Oakland’s still bear scars from the violence of drug trade. Students still live in a society where crime, prison and police brutality are constant threats. They see the culture and scars of their community negatively and Jeremy wants to expand their worldview by showing them communities in Colombia that have overcome similar struggles.

As part of their itinerary, they’ll visit the Gold Museum and Bolívar Plaza in Bogotá, then head to Cartagena, where they’ll explore the Spanish Inquisition Museum and learn about Afro-Caribbean street art in Getsemani, then take a tour of Palenque. Another vital part of their trip will be the service component, during which they’ll work with a local nonprofit organization to learn what it’s like to live in these communities.

In his application, Jeremy wrote that at Envision Academy, “[we] want our students to be curious, collaborative, critical thinkers who are inspired agents of change. A cultural analysis is a perfect way to empower them to do so. All of our instruction is around project-based learning with real-world connections. By stepping out of their comfort zones, our students can engage in collaborative inquiry and analysis in order to see their community through a new lens.”

For most of these students, it’s their first time abroad and I think Myani really exemplified why they all want to be a part of this: “I want to be involved in this program because I feel my financial situation holds me back from my dreams. I’ve always wanted to travel the world, since a little girl. But my family’s financial situation has held me back.”

In times like these, where disconnection and fear permeate our culture, I’m incredibly hopeful, because Tija, Julia, Sam, Maribel, Myani, and their classmates are the leaders that will shape our future. They will one day be policymakers and business owners, who, with the compassion, empathy, and perspective that comes from travel, will make decisions that benefit all, not just a select few.

Together, we as a travel community can create these waves of change in our world.

We’d love for you to join this movement and help us impact these kids!

Here are two ways you can take action.

(1) Make a tax-deductible donation.

Our goal is to raise $35,000 to fully fund the costs of the trip (flights, accommodations, transport, passports etc.) for 18 students and four chaperones. After our #GivingTuesday campaign last November, we’re over halfway there!

Every contribution in any amount will make a huge difference. Out of the thousands of donations that have funded our previous trips, the majority of them were under $25. Every dollar helps us get closer to sending these students on a life-changing trip.

Just click here to help make a difference.

(2) Join our team of FLYTE Advocates.

We recently launched this Facebook group of travel influencers and enthusiasts who want to use their platforms to help spread the word about FLYTE.

Our FLYTE students are incredible and inspiring, and this is your chance to inspire the next generation of changemakers by connecting them to the world.

Help us change the world.

– Nomadic Matt

P.S. – Remember your donation is tax deductible if you’re in the states! Here is the donation link again!

The post Announcement: Let’s Help Envision Take FLYTE appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

32 Random Facts About Me

matt kepnes standing in front of some mountains
Updated: 02/13/2019 | February 13th, 2019

A few weeks ago I mentioned that this year I wanted to make the website more personal.

Back in 2011, I wrote this post featuring some personal facts about my life. It was a window into non-travel me. Well, that was a loooooong time ago. Life changes. People change.

So I thought one way to make this website more personal was to resurrect this long forgotten post and share a window into the current non-travel me.

So let’s kick off 2011 2019 with some random facts about me and my life:

1. I hate flying. I love airports, lounges, and elite status, but the act of flying makes me sick. I don’t like heights and any turbulence makes me think the plane is about to crash. I’m not a good flier. (Ironic considering how often I fly!)

2. When I was younger, I was obsessed with Pinky and the Brain. I even had a T-shirt collection. I also had one of those bowl haircuts, but I prefer to forget about that fact.

3. I never traveled independently until I went to Costa Rica at age 23. My travel experiences up until then were a series of road trips with my parents and a drunken weekend in Montréal when I was 19. (I also never went west of the Mississippi until I was 25.)

4. When I was younger, I wanted to be an archaeologist because of Indiana Jones.

5. I got really bad food poisoning when I was in Costa Rica. It was so bad that I had to be hospitalized for three days and put on a morphine drip.

6. I went to college to be a high school history teacher. I’m still technically certified to teach high school history.

7. I am a really good cook. I don’t cook much on the road because I hate how hostel kitchens aren’t fully stocked and everyone crowds them at the same time, but once in a while, I like to cook a massive meal for my fellow travelers.

8. I used to be a vegetarian. After reading Fast Food Nation, I decided to give up meat and was a vegetarian for four years. It wasn’t eating meat I was against, but rather industrial farming and the chemicals/antibiotics in the meat that I didn’t like. I gave up vegetarianism when I started to travel.

9. I think it’s rude to turn down food in other cultures. If you go to a village in Mongolia and you are given food, it’s insulting to refuse. “Sorry, your traditional and heartfelt cooking doesn’t go with my dietary needs.” It’s culturally insensitive. But that’s a rant for another post.

10. I’m a huge fan of soul, Motown, blues, and jazz. It’s way better than any of the pop music out there.

Nomadic Matt with a lemur in Madagascar

11. If I could ever pick what time period I could live in, I’d pick 1920s Prohibition America. I think that would be an exciting time to live in. But maybe I’ve just read The Great Gatsby too much.

12. Speaking of Gatsby, I learned to swing dance so I could throw myself a Gatsby-themed birthday party. I did it for three years in a row. They were epic birthday parties.

12. I am intensely political. After travel, politics is my second love. I live and breathe politics, and it is the only news I keep up with while traveling. I am always ready to discuss and debate the world any time of the day and with anyone, no matter how well I know them.

13. I co-own a hostel in Austin, Texas called HK Austin. You should come stay there!

14. I don’t have a burning desire to visit most Middle Eastern countries. There are parts I want to / have visited (Dubai, Jordan, Israel, Qatar, Oman) but, as a whole, the area is low on my list of places to visit.

15. People always ask will I do this forever? My answer: I don’t know. Forever is a long time. I’d like to travel for the next few years, but who can say what the future holds and where it will take us? For now, I’m enjoying the ride and see no reason to hang up my backpack just yet.

16. I’ve been to over 30 Dave Matthews Band concerts. I’m a super fan.

17. I’m a Japanophile. I love everything about the culture: the food, the history, the etiquette, the landscape, the architecture — all of it. I would eat sushi every day if I could.

18. I’m a workaholic. Maybe because I grew up in New England, I have the Puritan work ethic, and if I don’t have work to do, I think something is wrong and create work for myself. Idle hands are the Devil’s playground!

19. I decided to travel after meeting five backpackers in a shared taxi while on vacation in Thailand. I was so amazed at what they were doing that the next day I decided to quit my job. They were two Australians, a Canadian, and a Belgian couple. They changed the course of my life and have no idea.

20. I’m an unabashed Taylor Swift fan. Not only do I think she’s an incredible businesswoman and marketer, but I also love her cheesy pop songs.

Nomadic Matt standing on stage talking at a conference

21. I’m also a huge fan of Sia. Incredible songstress and writer.

22. I don’t play any sports nor know anything about them. I couldn’t think of anything more boring than going to a sporting event. In fact, I once fell asleep at a hockey match.

23. I don’t drink coffee. It tastes like shit to me. And I don’t want to put added sugar or milk (or soy milk) in my cup of joe. Drinks should be able to stand on their own! Nothing is going to change my opinion on this. I’ve tried for years to acquire a taste for it. It’s just not going to happen.

24. I drink tea. Lots of it. Especially green tea. That’s my drink of choice!

25. My alcoholic drink of choice is an old fashioned. A few years ago, a few friends turned me onto whiskey and I’ve been obsessed since. I judge a bar by the quality of the old fashioneds they serve.

26. One day, I’d like to learn how to garden. I want to grow my own food. I love cooking and think it’s a logical step!

27. I used to be a professional poker player. I funded a lot of my original trip with poker winnings and lived in Amsterdam for a few months playing “professionally” at the casino in the city.

28. I don’t eat sweets. Maybe once a year I’ll have a cookie or brownie but, for the most part, I don’t do desserts or sweets as I don’t like all the sugar.

29. I have a new book coming out in July (you can pre-order it now!). It’s about my ten years on the road. More details next month!

30. When I’m working, I’ll often play one song on repeat over and over again. It helps me focus because it ends up just being white noise. As I write this post, I’ve been listening to Sweet Annie by Zach Brown Band on repeat for the last two hours.

31. I don’t have a favorite color. I have two. Blue and green!

32. In 2019, I want to take up more hobbies. I want to swing dance more, learn French, take some cooking classes, and try to learn how to play the piano. If I do two of those things, I’ll consider it a successful year.

***

There you have it! Some fun facts about me. Now, you’re turn. Tell me about yourself in the comments below.

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Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight
Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and cheap hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

Looking for the best companies to save money with?
Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all the ones I use to save money when I travel – and that will save you time and money too!

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