EnRoute's Gap Year Blog

EnRoute Site Visit: Morocco

2012-02-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

People who know me and know my philosophy will tell you that the heart of my work at EnRoute is encouraging international volunteer work. While there are many worthwhile gap year pursuits, getting to experience another culture while volunteering adds a special element. Volunteering uniquely allows you to invest your time in a community other than your own and get to experience things in a way a traveler never would be able to. If you give your heart and time to your volunteer work, you will get back ten fold in experience, new friends and a sense of pride in what you've contributed.

I am always on the hunt for new volunteer programs. For me to consider recommending them to my students, they have to be sustainable, safe and strike a balance between making a volunteer feel comfortable and valued while at the same time employing their skills for the benefit of the community in which he or she is working.

I recently traveled to Morocco and was able to visit a volunteer site in Asni, in the foothills of the majestic Atlas Mountains.

Dar Asni, a boarding house for Berber girls seeking high school education

The project site supports Education for All (EFA), an organization dedicated to education women in Morocco. Many rural communities lack access to a secondary (high) school nearby, and families are often too poor to pay for their children, especially daughters, to board away from home in a town with a secondary school. EFA scouts out and sponsors young women that show potential and drive, and board them for free in a safe, clean girls house and sponsors their secondary school education.

Latifa (left) and I speaking about Dar Asni

Latifa, the house mother, showed me around the beautiful facilities. Volunteers that work at Dar Asni help tutor the girls in English and French, teach crafts or other skills and provide a strong female presence in the house. The common area of the house had a bulletin board with information and pictures about previous volunteers - they all looked very well loved by the students!

Library of Dar Asni

Volunteer quarters - private bath, clean and simple!

View of the High Atlas Mountains from the roof of Dar Asni - all those trees in the foreground are apple trees!

Please contact EnRoute for more information about our partner organization who organizes the placement for this volunteer site!

Itchy Feet

2012-01-30T11:18:00.000-08:00

I thought when I returned from my ten-month long, round-the-world trip last spring my itchy feet would have been scratched for a while. No such luck! I wasn't home for a month before I started daydreaming again about traveling. I guess it will always be in my blood. It does help to constantly be advising EnRoute students who are embarking on great adventures of their own. That helps keep the travel bug at bay!

Luckily for my wanderlust, I'm headed off to Morocco next week. In my mind, Morocco is a place that excites all the senses - from the vibrantly colorful souks to the smell of tagine wafting from cafes to the unfamiliar sounds of a sintir or traditional flute coming from street performers. I'll be sure to write a full report upon my return!

In the meantime, I wanted to share some other places that are on the top of my Travel Wish List. Some EnRoute students will be visiting these places this spring!

Tigers Nest, or Takshang Monastery, in Bhutan (bhutantour.br)

Icelandic Turf Houses, Iceland (homedit.com)

Vienna Opera Ball, Austria (vienna4u.at)

Everywhere in Argentina! (inkas.com)

What's on your Travel Bucket List?

Happy Chinese New Year!

2012-01-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

Welcome Year of the Dragon

And also safe travels to EnRoute students Cindy and Erin as they make their way home from China after celebrating new years there. I bet it was fantastic!

Looking Back, Looking Forward

2012-01-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe, but five years ago this week I was embarking on my own, post collegiate gap year. I had just landed in Tanzania and was preparing for a nine-month long volunteer project. I worked with an organization called Student Partnership Worldwide, which brings volunteers from around the world to teach health education in rural areas of developing countries.

It was a transformative experience, and the reason I founded EnRoute. I wanted to inspire more young Americans to become global citizens - to travel and learn about themselves and see the power and strength that lies within all of us. I challenged myself every day in Tanzania and that has reminded me to challenge myself back at home as well.

Teaching with my fellow SPW volunteer, Will

Kids in my village taking a break from washing their clothes

Now with EnRoute entering its fourth year, I have had the privilege of seeing my clients make their mark on the world. I see them grow and mature over the course of the year and end their gap as more confident, thoughtful and well-rounded people. It is the most satisfying experience of the job!

I have a good feeling about 2012. I look forward to meeting new students, learning about interesting gap year programs and having a few adventures myself. Happy New Year!

'Tis the Season...

2011-12-19T06:33:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us! Along with the excitement of cookie baking and gift wrapping, I am overjoyed to hear from many of my students who were gone this fall and have returned to spend the holidays with their families before embarking again on yet another gap year adventure. They have had experiences ranging from climbing Manchu Pichu to delving into the art scene of Oaxaca to backpacking New Zealand to tutoring inner city kids in Chicago. And that's just some of them!

One of my greatest sources of job satisfaction is hearing the incredible stories from my students and seeing them mature and grow during their gap year. I hope in twenty year my students from this season think back to their gap year as the formative experience of their younger years. I think they will.

Although my current students are only half way through their gap years, I'm already fielding interest for next year's gappers. Now that college applications are out in the universe, it's the perfect time to start thinking seriously about a gap year. It's never too early to begin planning, so if you are currently a senior or parent of a senior and would like some guidance, please get in touch.

In the meantime, I wish all of my past, present and future students and their families and all friends of EnRoute a very Merry Christmas, Cheery Hannukah and Happy New Year!

Church Street, Burlington Vermont

A Morning with Justice Sonya Sotomayor

2011-12-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and drove down to Randolph, Vermont for the 15th Vermont Women's Economic Opportunity Conference. This annual event, sponsored by Senator Leahy, brings together women from across the state to attend workshops and panels concerning women in business.

Justice Sotomayor (left) with Senator Leahy and his wife

I enjoyed a wonderful, inspiring day. But the highlight was definitely listening to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonya Sotomayor address the crowd as the keynote speaker. She didn't give a speech, but rather answered questions from a moderator and the crowd. She proved herself to be an incredibly interesting woman who instantly won over the crowd with her warmth and infectious smile.

Justice Sotomayor answered most of the questions in the form of anecdotes from her life. The American public is fairly familiar with her story - she was raised by new Americans in the Bronx and eventually worked her way into Princeton University and Yale Law. But it was through her personal stories that the crowd learned about her female role models and the impact of Nancy Drew and Perry Mason on her early career aspirations.

Sotomayor lamented that the ability to achieve the American Dream - or upward mobility - is slipping away from many Americans. And she put a fine point on the fact that gender discrimination is still a large problem, although today, "It is more subtle and searing in many ways."

In the end, she credited her success to the strong women in her life, luck and hard work. I have to agree. In my opinion, a strong support network is incredibly important to one's success. But hard work and a little luck are key ingredients as well!

Epic Gap Year Journeys

2011-11-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

Some young people really think BIG when they plan for their gap year. I recently read about a trio of gappers who are working to set a world record for longest ever taxi journey. Leigh, Johno and Paul's taxi odometer has racked up 32,000 miles as the group traveled for 10 months though 41 countries across three continents. They are working to raise $31,000 for the Red Cross by the time they reach their final destination, Sydney, Australia. Read more about their adventure here: It's On the Meter

image via gapyear.com

Or have you heard of the Mongol Rally? Every year, adventure enthusiasts accept the challenge to drive a beater car 10,000 miles from England to Mongolia. The goal, the organizers say, is to bring us back to true adventure travel, where, "if nothing goes wrong, everything has gone wrong." All teams are asked to raise at least $2,000 for charity and donate their car when they reach Mongolia. The organizers have recently expanded to rickshaw races and ice races too, as not to bore anyone! Check out the Mongol Rally video.

Photo courtesy of Todd Anderson

In 2009, gap year student Matt Gaskell from England became the youngest person ever to reach the South Pole. He was part of a seven person team that included his father. The trek raised $70,000 for cancer research. Pretty cool, huh?

via dailymail.co.uk

So be creative and dream big when planning your gap year! Now's the time for a great adventure!

School Visits in San Francisco

2011-11-06T17:51:00.001-08:00

San Francisco has always been on my list of places to visit, so I jumped at the chance to speak at schools there this fall. Over the course of four days, I visited 16 Bay Area high schools. At some of the schools I gave a presentation about what a gap year is and how to take one. I also met with many enthusiastic guidance counselors eager to make the gap year common at their schools.

Presentation with students and parents at Maybeck High School

Now that I'm back in Vermont, I'm gearing up for some presentations at Vermont schools. Looking forward to speaking at Lake Champlain Waldorf and Stowe High School this week. Thursday is the first gap year fair of the season - in Burlington. I hope to see you there!

USA Gap Year Fairs - 2011-2012 Schedule

2011-10-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

Thinking about taking a gap year? Attending a gap year fair is a great way to meet program representatives, counselors and other gappers. These fairs provide a wealth of information and inspiration to help you get planning. With gap years growing in popularity, gap year fairs are now springing up across the nation.

Gap year student Nathan in Tanzania

Here is a list below of date and locations to help you find a gap year fair near you!

Be sure to visit Julia Levine Rogers at the Burlington Gap Year Fair on November 10th!

For more information, visit usagapyearfairs.org

November

South Burlington Fair
Thursday, November 10 at 6:30pm
Boston Fair
Sunday, November 13 at 12:30pm
Durham Fair!
Tuesday, November 15 at 5:30pm
Cape Elizabeth Fair!
Wednesday, November 16 at 6:00pm
Hanover Fair!
Thursday, November 17 at 4:00pm

January 2012

Atlanta Fair!
Thursday, January 12 at 4:00pm
Charlotte Fair!
Tuesday, January 17 at 6:00pm
Rockville Fair!
Thursday, January 19 at 6:00pm
Washington DC Fair!
Saturday, January 21 at 12:00pm
Andover Fair!
Sunday, January 22 at 12:00pm
Chicago Fair!
Saturday, January 28 at 12:00pm
Minneapolis Fair!
Sunday, January 29 at 1:00pm

February 2012

Providence Fair!
Thursday, February 2 at 6:00pm
Scarsdale Fair!
Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00pm
Hartford Fair!
Wednesday, February 8 at 6:30pm
Darien Fair!
Thursday, February 9 at 6:30pm
New York Fair!
Friday, February 10 at 6:00pm
Manhattan Fair!
Saturday, February 11 at 12:30pm
Seattle Fair!
Sunday, February 12 at 1:00pm
Portland Fair!
Wednesday, February 15 at 6:00pm

Information provided by usagapyearfairs facebook page

Forbes Article: "Take a Gap Year..."

2011-10-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

Forbes.com has published the first in a series of articles about taking a gap year. Author Tanya Mohn discusses the steady increase in popularity of the gap year stateside and the reasons for the uptick in US gap years.

Read the full article here!

Two gappers on a backpacking trip in Wyoming

New Name, Same Adviser

2011-09-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

EnRoute founder/director Julia Levine got married in Vermont this August. She will now go by Julia Rogers, but nothing else has changed :-)

A Gap Year Fit for a (Future) Queen

2011-04-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

This morning, I along with millions of viewers from around the globe, tuned in to watch the Royal Wedding. I can't help it - I'm a complete sap for beautiful dresses, royal traditions and ridiculous hats. As I watched Kate step out of her coach, ready to walk down the aisle at Westminster Abbey, I was taken aback at her grace and poise. But these are just a few of her positive attributes.

[caption id="attachment_186" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Catherine Middleton"][/caption]

The modern role of the monarchy is about setting a good example and acting as an ambassador for Britain. To me, Wills and Kate seem like the perfect pair to take up the challenge of serving as role models for their generation and beyond. One of these reasons is that Kate appears to be a very intelligent, well-rounded person. A young woman who looks as poised in a pair of hot pants on roller skates as she does in a conservative dress suit and feathered hat.

Wills and Kate both took gap years after finishing high school. While I'm not about to claim that Kate gained her composure and grace while on her gap year, organizers of her Chile trip gushed about her. I think it is safe to say that the word "gap year' has been in the press quite a bit lately thanks to them. And that is a great thing.

Kate spent her gap year in Chile, Florence, Italy and working aboard a yacht. In Chile, Kate volunteered and traveled in Patagonia with Raleigh International, a British-based gap year organization. Prince William attended the same program the fall before her.

[caption id="attachment_187" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Prince William in Chile, via Raleigh.co.uk"][/caption]

In Florence, Kate studied Italian and Art History through the British Institute, a culture center founded in 1917 to nurture a love of the arts. According to an article by The Telegraph:

" Kate Middleton’s Italian lessons took place in the Palazzo dello Strozzino, a princely palace built in 1458, with four mammoth entrances and four floors of heavily rusticated stone in traditional Florentine style, each separated by delicate classical cornices and sheltered by deep eaves."

You can read that entire article here.

Kate went on to major in Art History at St. Andrews University in Scotland. No doubt her background in art will come in handy while strolling down the corridors of Buckingham Palace!

A Royal Wedding may seem frivolous for fun, but any joyous occasion that brings people together is fine by me! Have a great weekend and congrats to Will and Kate!

Peace Corps Gap Year Program?

2011-04-12T02:59:00.000-07:00

A group of Georgetown students have received national backing to develop a pilot program of the Peace Corps specifically designed for matriculating high school seniors.

Hallelujah! I was so excited when I read this article. The proposal aims to democratize the gap year by subsidizing the costs of international travel. The 9-month scheme would include training, shadowing a Peace Corps volunteer and working on an independent development project.

The program is still in the planning stages and requires final approval, but it's a step in the right direction!

Read more here

The Endurance

2011-04-03T02:37:00.000-07:00

This essay was written by my partner, Tom, for our personal blog. It's a beautiful summary of what we experienced on our travels:

MEN WANTED FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS.

I’ve always found Ernest Shackleton’s famous want ad inspiring. He was looking for men to join him on his ship “The Endurance” on what was to be an ill-fated attempt to cross the Antarctic. Despite the fact that Julia and I have not spent the last year on a ship stuck in sea ice, our trip has been in many ways an exercise in endurance.

For almost a year now, we haven’t slept in the same bed more than a few nights at a time, and we frequently haven’t slept in a bed at all. We walk into a store and can’t remember if we’re supposed to say hola or merhaba or sawadee to the shopkeeper, whether we need to pay 45 rupees to the dollar or 19,645 dong. (Messing up a currency conversion caused me to accidentally stroll into Bangkok with $700 cash in my pocket in Thai bhat.) And the animals begging at our feet have gone from the stray dogs of Central America to the cats of Turkey to the monkeys of India to the birds of New Zealand.

The fact is, it’s a big world out there. Only part way through the trip did Julia and I admit to each other that we sometimes wondered if we were actually going to see our friends and family again or if we would ever make it back to the country we call home. The road can sometimes be a scary and lonely place. Once in a while, I would do things to trick myself into thinking that I was back home, like listening to Americana music or staring out the window on long bus rides and picturing myself on a friend’s lawn on a summer night. After a while you start to miss things, things you wouldn’t think you’d miss like singing along loudly to music while driving, cooking for yourself, putting the autumn quilt on your bed or the excitement of the first snowfall of the year.

Our seasons have been all screwed up over the last year –we left in early summer, went to the ‘wet season’ to the ‘hot season’ to the start of the ‘dry season’ back into summer and now we’re entering autumn. And when we arrive home in a few days it will be spring! We’ve been experiencing vivid dreams at night throughout the trip, dreams of our youth or old friends we haven’t seen in years, as our subconscious struggles to put our current day-to-day life into context with the rest of our years.

According to Mark Twain, travel is "fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness,” but I frequently question whether I’ve become more open minded or less so. We’ve seen societies that are highly functional and societies that are frustratingly dysfunctional in many ways. It also seems that our trip has been a tour of failed U.S. foreign policy. We hear over and over again, “Everything was going okay until the Americans began carpet bombing /funding a guerilla campaign /economic sanctions /arming the rebels…” The only place where we didn’t hear that was in India, mostly because the UK beat us to it (thanks for making us look good by comparison, old chums!) And yet everywhere we go, people welcome us with open arms, seemingly able to separate the actions of our government with the will of our people.

The single biggest lesson that I’ve learned from our travels is that a nation functions best when women are completely equal members of society. Educating and empowering women seems almost to be a cure-all for improving a nation’s health and happiness, generating economic prosperity, solving environmental issues, slowing rampant population growth, and improving overall quality of life. While clearly I’ve always believed entirely in gender equality, I only now understand the far-reaching effects that empowering women has.

We’ve awoken to monkeys howling in the jungle and an infestation of bugs crawling on us and the gentle ring of yak bells high in the Himilayas. We’ve been cheated and hustled and been shown incredible generosity. We’ve seen countries still reeling from the atrocities of war and genocide. We’ve watched one nation struggling with a devastating flood and another with a devastating earthquake. We’ve seen crushing poverty and lavish wealth, and we have likewise felt very poor and very wealthy ourselves at various times. We’ve met a king, herded goats, rode elephants, and swam with sharks. We’ve visited mosques and monasteries, temples and churches, danced to the celebration of Ramadan and broken bread for Shabbat. We’ve tasted fine wine and exotic foods and things that made us sick to our stomachs. We've watched the sun rise on the Taj Mahal and the sun set on the Blue Mosque. We've drifted down gentle rivers through the rainforest and we've dodged the endless traffic of Asian cities.

One night in a dusty hotel room, we caught the end of the Curious Case of Benjamin Button on a scratchy TV. One of the final scenes caught my attention because it struck me how much it reflected on how we feel about our trip.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrKB6SGFPu8&fs=1&source=uds]

Now, as we board a plane to cross the Pacific Ocean, we too are starting over. We're moving to a new community, in a new state. Soon, we'll be getting married. Sometimes, I do get afraid about starting over. I worry that we'll be lonely without friends around or that I'll have trouble finding work. But mostly, I'm excited for everything that lies ahead for the two of us.

For all that we've seen and done in the last 10 months, it has been the people we've met along the way that have made the trip the most special. We've met some of the most incredible people on this trip, from locals to fellow travelers, old friends and even some friends of friends. Some have taken us in, showed us a helping hand, or just shared an interesting conversation with us in a cafe. For the people we've met and the things we've seen and done, we will remain forever grateful for the memories we will carry with us for the rest of our lives.

The world is a beautiful place.

Organic Farming in New Zealand

2011-01-30T18:14:00.000-08:00

Oamaru, New Zealand
Living off your own land involves a lot of skills, some of which I have but many of which I lack. WWOOF, or Willing Workers on Organic Farms, offers people like me the opportunity to learn first-hand on a working farm. The organization matches farmers (the hosts) with WWOOFers (travelers like me). In exchange for 4-5 hours of farm help per day, the hosts provide room and board. This arrangement offers plenty of time for relaxing and seeing the local sites. First stop: Oamaru, New Zealand.

Fields of sunflowers outside of Oamaru, New Zealand

Gail and I work on the farm, with help from Goldie and Blaze

Our hosts were Gail and Zim, American expats who uprooted their suburban life in Denver to start a farm in New Zealand three years ago. It was quite the transition for them but luckily they are smart, resourceful people. In just three years they have transformed their land into a fertile permaculture farm. They have big plans for the future that include native plant restoration and building their own earthship home!

In terms of learning new skills, our first farmstay in New Zealand did not disappoint. It was like 4 years of farming college condensed into 10 days. During our stay, we helped while Gail and Zim made homemade butter, cream cheese, mozzarella, ice cream, juice, two different types of bread, beer and wine. We helped milk the cows, feed the chickens, ducks, and turkeys, strung electric wire paddocks for the horses, herded the sheep, stacked hay, moved stone, potted plants, harvested vegetables, and repaired the chicken coup. And we were able to learn something from even mundane activities like stacking wood, weeding the gardens, and composting.

They may have gotten a bit of work from us, but we learned a whole lot from them!

Travels in Laos

2010-12-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

Laos

December, 2010

Laos is a great place to travel, but it is also one of the twenty poorest nations in the world. While we were in Luang Prabang, we bought a bunch of children’s books from an NGO that distributes books to children in rural villages called Big Brother Mouse. The Lao children who are lucky enough to learn to read in school do so with a chalkboard and few of them have ever flipped through a book before, let alone owned one. According to the Big Brother Mouse, many of the children don’t know how to turn the pages of their new book and are amazed to learn they can do it over and over. We bought several of the duel English/Laos language books and have given them out to children over the last several weeks. The children all giggle and squirm when they are presented with the new book, and reading to them, even in English, always attracts a crowd. It has been one of the most satisfying parts of our visit here.

[caption id="attachment_156" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tom reading to eager Hmong children"][/caption]

Luang Prabang is an amazing colonial town right on the Mekong River. It is ridicuously photogenic, as i will try to demonstrate here:

[caption id="attachment_157" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Buddhist Wat"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_158" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Luang Prabang at night"][/caption]

During our last day in Laos, Tom and I took a tour of the caves along the Vietnam border that the Lao people hid in during the bombing raids. Laos is the most heavily bombed country in history. For nine years from 1964 to 1973, the United States dropped a B-52 load of bombs on Laos on average every 8 minutes, totaling 260 million bombs. That works out to 542 pounds of bombs for every man, woman, and child in the country at the time. The United States dropped more bombs on Laos than all of the bombs dropped in Europe in World War II.

[caption id="attachment_159" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lao Countryside"][/caption]

It’s estimated that about a third of the 260 million bombs did not explode and are still out in the countryside. These bombs, called unexploded ordinance or UXO, still blow the legs off farmers or kill children playing in the forest four decades after the war has ended. In fact, an average of one person a day is killed in Laos from UXO, most of whom are children.

The results of the war are still visible among the older generation; we witnessed an old man with missing legs hobbling through a village and the guy driving a boat was missing an arm. Our guide for the cave tour witnessed his parents and grandparents killed by bombs and he showed us scars on his legs from shrapnel. Pieces of bombs are using in building homes and furniture as scrap metal. It is heartbreaking to lean about these things, but important nonetheless.

Just like many other counties that have seen immense hardship, Laos has a people that are resilient and warm-hearted. The country is beautiful, safe and laid-back. A perfect gap year destination if you ask me!

Taking on Thailand!

2010-12-21T01:46:00.000-08:00

Chiang Mai, Thailand

November 2010

It's hard to dislike Thailand - it's got it all: rich culture, beautiful beaches and forest and wonderful people! I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks in the north of Thailand exploring new programs and opportunties.

[caption id="attachment_148" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="Gearing up for the festival of lights, "Loi Krathong""][/caption]

My first site visit was to a volunteer program in Chiang Mai focusing on art education. The organization works with everyone from ethnic minorities to children coping with cerebral palsy. Workshops are designed and executed to expand creativity and introduce new mediums for expression.

Next I visited a working permaculture farm near the hippie-town of Pai. The energetic Thai owner has toiled happily for the past 6 years to build his property into a homestay farm for anyone interested in learning natural building skills, permaculture practices and Thai culture.

Tom and I stayed in a traditional thatched hut and spent our days learning about natural building, helping transport bamboo shafts to the farm, cooking and other duties. Staying on a successful farm surrounded by intelligent, enthusiastic people gets me really excited for our farm stays in New Zealand.

[caption id="attachment_150" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Learning how to weave baskets"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_151" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bike-powered washing machine!"][/caption]

More Volunteer Site Visits and Meetings in Nepal!

2010-11-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

Kathmandu, Nepal, November 2010

Nepal has been a busy country for site visits. It isn't surprising many organizations decide to invite volunteers to Nepal: it's a safe, beautiful country full of hospitable people that treat their guests like gods - literally! Guests are seen as reincarnations from the heavens, so hosts spoil them rotten.

In addition, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with obstacles especially great for women and children. The Maoist movement of 2005 further disturbed Nepal's growth - scaring away tourists and disrupting the country's infrastructure for several years. It should be noted that tourists were never targeted during the disturbance.

With peace restored, there is great need in Nepal for teachers, aid workers and other volunteers willing to lend a hand. There is no shortage of organizations to volunteer with, but if you are planning a volunteer trip to Nepal, make sure to choose your organization wisely. There are many for-profit orphanages and other short-term projects set up specifically to target well-meaning tourists. Choosing a reputable organization is essential to working towards sustainable change.

School children dancing during ceremony

I am working hard on this trip evaluating international organizations in order to encourage students to volunteer with projects that are contributing to real, meaningful improvements in their communities. From teaching English to women's empowerment to medical placements, this is a variety of programs on offer to the willing volunteer. The warm Nepali friends you make during your travels will be ever thankful for your contribution!

Volunteer Site Visit: Sustainable Agriculture in Nepal

2010-11-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

Tanahun, Nepal, October 2010

We left Pokhara after trekking one morning to visit the site of a volunteer project in the Tanahun district of Nepal. The organization works in various capacities to help Nepali farmers cultivate their crops organically and sustainably. We visited the program director, Ramesh at his training center in the gorgeous hills outside Damauli.

Ramesh’s organization recruits international volunteers to work the farm, learning organic permaculture alongside the Nepali staff. As usual, the hospitality we were shown was incredible. We were treated to a few delicious, organic meals that were almost completely comprised of food grown on the farm. As part of our departure ceremony, Ramesh and his employees presented us withtikka - the ceremonial streak of powder on the forehead used for various special occasions – in this case presented as a gesture of appreciation of guests.

Trekking in the Himalayas

2010-10-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

Pokhara, Nepal, October 2010

Trekking is a must-do for travelers to Nepal. They run the gamut from easy strolls to technical mountaineering. Most trekkers find themselves somewhere in the middle: looking for a challenging hike that promises epic views of the world's highest mountain range.

Tom and I opted for a 9-day trek to Annapurna Base Camp. This brought us through several climate zones and to an eventual hight of 14,000 ft. at base camp.

While the word "trekking" might sound exotic, Nepal has a fabulous trekking infrastructure that includes well-maintained trails and comfortable, clean tea houses to stay at every night. After 4-6 hours a day of hiking, Tom and I relaxed in the common area of our lodge with our Nepali guide, Anup, playing cars and drinking tea.

Along the way, I met a couple of gap year students who were on a 5-day trek. They were celebrating the culmination of a volunteer project in Kathmandu. Martina and Andrew worked for an organization that aids street children marginalized by the recent Maoist conflict in Nepal. You can read more about their experience on Martina's blog.

I would highly recommend trekking to anyone traveling in Nepal. Perhaps you think you are too old or not fit enough to hike, but we saw people of all ages and shapes trekking in the mountains and having blast. All you need is a good set of trekking poles and a sense of adventure!

Recent Gap Year Articles

2010-10-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Traveling in places with limited internet access is not exactly the best way to keep up on the news. On the flip side, sometimes taking a vacation from the 24-hour news cycle and really immersing yourself in a place can be really relaxing. I'm currently in Nepal, which besides being breathtakingly gorgeous and culturally vibrant, offers a plethora of volunteer and travel opportunities for gap year students. More on that to come.

For now, here are some links to some recent articles about the rising number of gappers in America:

EnRoute Favorite Nicholas Kristof on DIY Foreign AID - fascinating article!

Fox Business: Is a Gap Year a Good Idea?

UNC offers Princeton Bridge Year fellowship option for incoming freshman

A Parent's Perspective: Gap Years Doing Good in the World

And some photo candy from Swayambhunath Temple in Kathmandu:

Volunteer Site Visit: Northern India

2010-10-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

Darjeeling, India, October 2010

The area south of Kalimpong, India is breathtaking. The land is surrounded on all sides by sharply sloped, emerald-green hills. Some are carpeted with ancient forest, others carefully cultivated into clusters of tea plantations or cascades of rice paddies. Small houses with delicately carved wooden doors perch precariously on the edges of the road, many using stilts to balance the back half of the house over the cliffs.

I am here to visit some volunteer sites of one of EnRoute's partner organizations. Tendup, the on-site coordinator of the program, had offered to take us to a few villages as part of my site visit. Tendup planned a 2 day itinerary for us that included a lot of walking, meeting and eating.

The volunteer program focuses on aiding the Lepcha community, an indigenous population that has resided in the mountains of what is now Sikkim, India, Bhutan, and Nepal for hundreds of years. Volunteers live and work in the villages as teachers, bringing much needed resources to an area that has been largely ignored by the Indian government. As the crow flies, the villages are relatively close to one another and the closest town, Kalimpong. But, “as the human drives” it can take hours to get from one place to another due to the winding, pot-holed, monsoon-ravaged mountain roads.

The first village we visited, Pacheok, is accessible only by foot path leading into the pristine, hilly forest. We were joined by two ex-volunteers, who were coincidentally revisiting their homestay family at the time of our visit. A horde of excited village children greeted our jeep at the end of the paved road. The children were elated to see their teachers again, and to meet me and Tom. They grabbed our things, insisting we carry nothing, and led us across an Indian-Jones style swinging footbridge that shook with the thuds of eager feet. Admittedly, I felt as if we had entered an entirely different India as I hiked past the unspoilt waterfalls and noted the damp silence of the woods.

After a quick rest at our village accommodation, Tendup announced that our presence was requested at the nearby school. The ex-volunteers, Tom and I made our way in the twilight to a small building busting at the seams with villagers, mostly schoolchildren. The kids performed a few traditional Lepchas songs and dances and sang a few songs in English as well. Part of the welcoming ceremony included the children draping white scarves over our shoulders and yelling “Aachuley!” which translates to “Hail to the Himalayas”. Then, much to my surprise and delight, Tom and I were presented with traditional gifts. I received a silk dumden, the customary dress of Lepcha women, while Tom was presented a formalwear hat. “They give and give. It’s their way,” one of the volunteers explained.

The following day was spent trekking to two other villages and visiting a few more schools. At each location we were showered with white scarves and necklaces of flowers, presented with dances and fed delicious food. The schools ranged from a corrugated tin one-room schoolhouse on a ridge to a private school run by a benevolent Christian reverend. Tom and I were honored to be escorted all day by Lyangsong Tamsang, a man the locals deemed “King of the Lepchas” for his extensive work preserving the Lepchas language and culture.

It was amazing to get off the beaten path and experience a vibrant culture few people get to see first-hand. I loved talking to the children about their imported teachers and the impact they have on the students’ lives. Most of all, it was refreshing to hear Lyangsong explain the nature-based philosophy of the Lepchas, which helped explain the trashless paths and lovely gardens surrounding the homes in the villages. “We’re naturalists,” he explained. “We are bound to nature and respect it. Any of the children you saw today can name all the plants on these hills. It is our way of life.”

Turkish Delights

2010-10-06T19:34:00.000-07:00

Turkey, September 2010

As I sat outside a carpet store this evening sipping tea and listening to a man play a Turkish Saz, a traditional stringed instrument of the Middle East, enjoying conversation with local people and surrounded by homes carved out of stone fairy chimneys, I decided that Goreme, Turkey is the one of the coolest places on earth.

Tom and I took an overnight bus from Istanbul to Goreme, in the heart of Cappadocia in the center of Turkey. We awoke to the sun rising over the white waves of stone canyon that ripple across the landscape here. The canyons walls of Cappadocia are white, pink, and red and they radiate out in all directions from Goreme. This area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the unique stone structures that Christian settlers built homes and churches out of starting 1500 years ago. Settlers carved into the stone chimneys or into cliffs and created buildings with arched rooms complete with windows and doors. Today, many of the buildings have been turned into hotels, restaurants, and family homes.

We went out for a morning hike before the heat of the day set in, then enjoyed a meal at a cafe in town. It was the same place we had dinner last night but the meal I ordered was so good that we had to have it again. It was a dry flaky pastry with spinach and cheese with spiced yogurt and tomato sauce to dip it in. After spending the summer trying to avoid eating the same rice and beans every meal, we've been savoring every bite of Turkish food; the spices, the yogurt, the sauces, the fresh vegetables and spiced meats. After the heat of the day had passed, we rented mountain bikes and headed up one of the canyons. As the light of the day faded, we watched the sun dip below the horizon setting the rock formations aglow. Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at a 450 year old restaurant where the clay pot meal we'd ordered earlier in the afternoon was cracked open at our table. Food here is served on a short table and you sit on a cushion on a carpet on the floor and lean against another cushion behind you.

The people are talkative and friendly and every store owner invites you in to sit and enjoy tea with them while you discuss business, even if that business involves buying a 75 cent souvenir. I try to imagine if things worked this way in America. You walk into Sears looking for a power drill and the store owner says "Before I sell you drill bits, why you sit down and have some tea together?" Somehow, I can't picture it happening.

Gap Year Meetings in London

2010-09-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

London, UK August 2010

London is one of my favorite cities. I spent a semester abroad here when I was 18 and it holds a special place in my heart. I was thrilled that Tom and I could pass through here on our way to Turkey.

Most of the week was spent in meetings with UK-based gap year organizations. I met with directors and representatives from six outstanding companies that send volunteers all over the world. I feel it is important to speak regularly with my colleagues to learn about new programs on the horizon and to hear about changes within the organizations. Many of these people I'd previously only engaged with on the phone, so this was a delightful opportunity to meet in-person.

When I wasn't in meetings, Tom and I toured the city, visiting the British Museum, National Gallery and the Tate. We also caught Billy Elliot in the West End. There is no end to cultured activities in London!

La Biosfera Work-Stay

2010-09-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Jinotega, Nicaragua July 2010

I didn´t realize it until now, but Tom and I have had it pretty easy on this trip so far. We´ve enjoyed electricity every night, our health, a variety of fine (alright, maybe only good) cusine, available internet access. We are now in the midst of a volunteer stint that is testing our manual labor prowess, abilities to find our way down rickity steps to a compost toilet in the dark and the courage to chase CORAL SNAKES out of our boudoir.

We find ourselves at La Biosfera, an eco-lodge and retreat center still under construction in the breathtakingly gorgeous green hills above Jinotega. La Biosfera is the branchild of talkative and energetic Suzanne, an American ex-pat who relocated to Nicaragua five years ago.

I can´t begin to relay how beautiful the view is from the lodge. From our bedroom, you can see into the valley of tiny terra coda and corugated tin roofs that make up the city of Jinotega. The valley widens into a patch work of coffee farms, cow pastures and family owned fincas. The mountain walls steepen and rise into sharp emerald points 2,000 feet above the valley. The sky trransforms the view throughout the day - from the misty mornings to bright middays to shadowy afternoons to magically glowing twilights.

The work-exchange option at the lodge gives us a half-price discount for our room in exchange for four hours of work a day. Our first project has been to inlay some natural stone steps leading to the backpacker´s veranda. Our first day we hiked up Suzanne´s property for twenty minutes that brought us through her horse pasture, to the clearing where she one day hopes to build a ¨Great Hall¨, into the tall grasses that lead into a thick, ancient forest. After crossing small streams we finally came to the bat cave - the source of Suzanne´s water for the lodge (and home to hundreds of little batties). Next to the bat cave Orlando, Suzanne's carpenter, and another hired hand were bagging some red rocks taken from a wall on the side of the cave. We helped for a few hours hauling the rocks back down to the base.

The next two days we have laid the foundation for the steps and started cementing the red rock into place. It's been hard work but rewarding!

Coopesilencio Farm Stay

2010-09-14T21:27:00.000-07:00

Costa Rica, June 2010

This June, we spent this week in Coopesilencio, a beautiful, quaint farming cooperative in the Central Pacific region of Costa Rica. We came here primarily because they have a well-known wildlife sanctuary that cares for injured, vulnerable and confiscated wildlife. The co-op also sustains itself with a large African Palm plantation, small dairy, poultry farm, and vegetable gardens.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="Coopesilencio, Costa Rica"][/caption]

The community of 500 is also heavily involved with eco and agro-tourism. They have a gorgeous thatched-roof lodge and matching cabins that attract tour groups, university students and tourists who come to learn about the way of life at Coopesilencio. Their volunteer program houses participants with homestay families and incorporates them into daily life at the co-op. Volunteer wake at 5:30-6am and work alongside the farmers until the afternoon rains begin.

Tom and I spent our first couple days taking tours of each project site and worked one day at the wildlife refuge. That basically required us to chop fruit for the macaws, capuchin monkeys, spider monkeys, toucan, and parrots at the sanctuary. To aid in improving their volunteer program, we wrote up a welcome packet for volunteers to recieve when they arrive. It details the town amenities and how the daily schedule runs at Coopesilencio. In order to increase their online presence, Tom and I created a website, which will hopefully bring them many volunteers in the future!

Hola de Costa Rica!

2010-06-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

I´ve only been in Costa Rica for a few days but have already been shown immense hospitality. Not surprising considering Costa Rica is one of the happiest places on Earth! I´ve already met with the staff of an impressive organization based in San Jose. The internship director, aptly named Jose himself, spent he day showing me and my fiance Tom the organization´s facilities.

After touring the headquarters of their internship and language school, we visited a volunteer onsite at her internship site. Jillian is volunteering at a Peace Center in San Jose and loving it! I was able to speak with her in person and ask her about how she´s enjoying the program. After visiting Jillian, Jose took us to meet a homestay family. They gave us coffee and pastries and in only an hour Tom and I were made to feel right at home! I think my favorite aspect of their home was their dog, Socrates. He was wearing a dog'tee shirt that said, ¨Talk to the Paw¨!

What a pleasure to meet the staff of yet another amazing gap year program. I spend a lot of time speaking on the phone with the directors of programs but to meet people in person and see the program on the ground is an entirely new experience. I´m excited to say that this is the first of many meetings I have planned on my trip.

Tom and I are spending some time on the Nicoya Penninsula, getting a little R/R and will then head down to Coopesilencio Wildlife Reserve to begin a 2 week volunteer stint. Can´t wait to report back!

Hasta Luego!

The Adventure Begins!

2010-06-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

Today my fiance and I fly to Costa Rica and begin our 10-month journey together. I'm so excited to say that I have meetings and volunteer stints organized with several different organizations in Central America. I can't wait to meet volunteers and see how different organizations function.

For anyone who has packed for a big trip, you know that it is quite the undertaking. Here is a picture of our joint packing supplies (click to expand):

Luckily, we are super organized (note check-list on left) and have been gathering our travel items for quite a while now. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about how we packed or want to know what we're carrying!

Well, I have a plane to catch. More to come from Costa Rica, land of Pura Vida!

EnRoute is Headed Around the World!

2010-06-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

There are few things in life I like to do more than travel. It seems fitting that I've created a career out of my passion (something I also hope to instill in my clients). It is with no small amount of excitement that I announce I will be taking a 9 month sabbatical to travel around the world. My fiance, a wildlife biologist, recently finished grad school and it seemed only natural we go on a gap year ourselves!

Alas, I couldn't bear to leave the world of gap years for that long! This trip is also research oriented. I'm working with several gap year organizations to arrange on-site visits in the countries I'll be traveling. Not only will I get to meet in-country staff, see volunteer accommodations and visit the program locations, in many cases I'll get to see the volunteers in action. This will give me immeasurable insight into how different organizations run and the nuances in how they differ from each other. Learning more about organizations will help me make better matches for my future clients.

I will also be doing some volunteer work myself, mainly through local NGOs and WWOOFing. This will allow me to create a worldwide network of personal connections that I will then pass on to clients. This is all in an effort to put faces and stories on the opportunities that are out there. It's a big world, but I'm going to do my best!

Our itinerary is as follows:

June 22 - July 18: Costa Rica

July 19 - August 22: Nicaragua and Honduras

August 23 - August 26: London, UK

August 27 - August 30: Greece

August 30 - September 12: Turkey

September 13 - December 5: India, Nepal and Bhutan

December 6 - January 5: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam

January 5 - January 13: Melbourne, Australia

January 14 - March 28: New Zealand

Stay tuned, as I will be posting stories and photos from our travels on this blog throughout the trip!

via osamap.com

Next stop: Costa Rica!

April Fool's....a Little Late

2010-04-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

Considering it's the last day of April, I'm a little late to fool anyone, but I couldn't help but post the following articles satirizing gap years and volunteerism. If your day is rainy and gray outside, like it is in Missoula, hopefully these will give you a little cheer!

Socialites Without Borders Teach Rwandans How To Mingle

via the Onion

Gap Year Canceled After Student ‘Finds Himself’ in Tie Rack

via NewsBiscuit

Closing Of Homeless Shelter Leaves College-Application-Padding Students With Nowhere To Turn

via the Onion

Until next time!

Huffington Post Has a Point, Barely

2010-04-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

Karen Stabiner, a college admissions and lifestyle blogger for the Huffington Post, recently posted an article about the rising status of gap years in America. It's an interesting piece, and I recommend you take a look at the article before reading my commentary on it.

To give you the Sparknotes version, Stabiner says that today's gap years are growing more elaborate and expensive in comparison to her experience taking a semester off during college, in which she lived at home and taught guitar lessons for extra cash. Her article basically questions the rationale behind shelling out mucho deniro for a gap year experience and the appeal of traveling abroad.

While I see where she's coming from, I think Stabiner fails to delve deeply enough into this issue to flush out the pluses and minuses of her experience versus the Cadillac gap year. First off, one shouldn't feel that a gap year experience needs to be living at home with your folks OR spending $40,000 and traveling the world. There is no formula for a gap year because each student is choosing to take a year off for different reasons and has unique passions and goals for their time out.   The "either/or" tone of this article was disappointing to me.

I know many gappers who have chosen to participate in expensive volunteer or gap year schemes who fundraised or worked towards paying off the fee. While it's unrealistic to think an eighteen year old can save enough to afford a $39,000 program, I can assure students and parents that a gap year can be done for much, much less if need be.   Many students choose to work and live at home on the summer "bookends" of their gap year and travel from fall through spring. This allows the student to save for their experience as well as enjoy the company of their high school friends at home. Some students choose to move someplace domestically (or internationally) to work and end up saving up a bundle to put towards college or their personal use. Living and working for a year can be just as beneficial for the right person as embarking on a gap year program - it teaches real-life skills and gives the student perspective on what working in the real world entails.

Stabiner seems to pooh-pooh the idea of international travel as somehow being elitist or unnecessary for personal growth. While certainly traveling abroad is not required for personal growth, to say someone won't grow exponentially while traveling abroad I find simply untrue.   I have experienced it myself and have since witnessed it with my friends and clients. If a young person has the desire and ability to travel abroad, I would always encourage it, especially during a gap year period (pre or post college). International travel can also be done very safely and cheaply with the right guidance and itinerary. To insinuate you need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to spend time abroad misleads and contributes to the idea that travel is reserved for the wealthy.

I believe the main questions that should be asked when forming opinions about different gap year experiences should be, "Will this be appreciated by the student?" and "Is he/she enthusiastic about the experience they will be having?" The answers are different for everyone. To me, an expensive gap year program should never be written off due to a moral issue with the price tag. I know of several gap year organizations that offer amazing opportunities for their participants and they have a price tag to match. If a student will appreciate it, then chances are it will be worth it. If they are passionate about what they will be doing, chances are they will benefit from it.    If the company is responsible and doing good work, chances are there is a reason it is expensive.

Choosing a path for a gap year needs to be a deliberate decision, otherwise, the year will flitter away and be a wasted opportunity. And that would be the biggest price to pay.

Lemonade from Lemons

2010-03-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

I love talking to people I meet on my travels. On a recent trip to California, I found myself on a long layover in Seattle. After setting up camp at one of the airport restaurants, I struck up a conversation with a young man sitting on the bar stool next to me. Naturally, I asked the typical airport traveler icebreaker question, "Where you coming from?" (A slight variation of "Where you headed?")

The young man responded, "Iceland."

It turns out, Rob, the young man, was on the last leg of his journey home from a two-month long trip around the world. He had been laid off from his job at a tile manufacturer and had received a good severance package. "I had money and time," he said, "so i figured I should take the opportunity to travel."

Rob visited Japan, Australia, Bali, India, London and Iceland. Not too shabby, eh? His favorite place was Bali. He almost seemed to get a nostalgic look in his eye after I asked what he enjoyed so much about it. "It was so laid back," he said. "The people were really friendly and I felt totally able to relax. "

Rob used a popular booking agency called Airtreks to book his ticket. Airtreks specializes in round-the-world trips, allowing you to stop in as many or as few places as long as they all head in the same direction (east to west or west to east). If you have some time for internet day-dreaming, you can use their trip planner to design your own dream trip around the world.

It turns out Rob's story is not a unique one in the current economic climate. I know many young people who have spent a few years working at a job only to be the first on the chopping block when the recession hit. A few friends of mine took this less-than-ideal situation and turned it into an adventure. One of my college classmates flew to Greece for the fall to work the grape harvest after leaving his job. I have several friends teaching English all over the world - South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and China. Another friend is working on a permaculture farm in India.

I admire these intrepid individuals for taking a chance on adventure in uncertain times. Experts say that the twenty-something generation will face a job-market unlike one we've ever seen before. Young people today are expected to have several different careers over the course of their working lives, very different from their parents and grandparents. There's no longer one formula for the "successful" life, and the skills one can gain by traveling and living abroad may very well equip these young workers for their next step.

Now for some travel inspiration based on Rob's wanderings:

Kabuki Theater in Japan via virtualtourist.com

Beach at Ulu Watu, Bali via angabroad.wordpress.com

Mysore Palace, India via jaconmetcalf.net

Stall at Portobello Market, London via pbase.com

Turf houses, Iceland via danny.oz.au

Teach for the World

2010-03-12T03:52:00.000-08:00

In an op-ed for the New York Times, regular contributor and gap-year advocate Nicholas Kristof mused about a government-sponsored Teach for the World overseas program. Taking a page from both the Peace Corps and Teach for America, Teach for the World would be a year-long program for young Americans to teach in developing countries. This model, he argues, would have benefits on all sides: 1. It would provide much needed resources to developing nations with teacher shortages. 2. It would give young Americans a more sophisticated world view 3. It would give young graduates work experience in a very difficult job market.

I really love Kristof's articles. He's a passionate supporter of gap years, whether pre or post university. He really seems to understand the inherent value of immersion travel and appreciating the diversity of our world.

Teach for the World sounds feasible and inspirational - Sign me up!

Top Travel Apps

2010-03-01T04:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Grandmother March Day! I woke up to Garrison Keillor telling me about Bulgaria's national holiday that falls on the first of March. According to tradition, Baba Marta is a mythical figure who experiences strong mood swings this time of year. When she is happy, the weather matches her sunny disposition. If she is irritable, however, she brings back the cold of winter.

Today, Bulgarians will wear martenitsi like the one pictured above. The red and white brooches are believed to improve Baba Marta's mood, increasing the chances of spring coming soon.

Judging from the weather in Missoula today (60 degrees F??), Baba Marta is in a very good mood!

Moving on, the real reason for my post today is to share with you some very useful applications for your Iphone or Itouch, in case you take it on the road with you. Keep in mind it's not always a good idea to travel with such expensive electronics, especially if you are going to volunteer or travel in a very rural area. That beind said, taking a road trip in America or traveling to places with reliable wireless and power, these apps can be lifesavers!

Urbanspoon: (free) Restaurant database searchable by location or keyword. Works best in the US, London, Melbourne and Sydney. Even has a "slot machine" function that picks a nearby restaurant for you at random.

Hear Planet: ($5.99) "A tour guide in your pocket," reviews say. This app will provide local information and points of interest worldwide, and then speak to you out loud about it.

Lonely Planet Mobile Phrasebooks: ($10.00 per language) Perfect for travelers going between countries of different languages. Searchable by topic (i.e. lodging or emergencies) the app will even read aloud the correct pronunciation of your phrases!

World Customs: ($.99) Cultural dos and don'ts for countries across the globe.

Flight Track Pro: ($9.99) Forward your flight details to this app and your itineraries will be downloaded conveniently into your device.

Skype: (Free) This divine service is available for your iphone so you can get international calls for free or very cheap!

Oregon Trail: ($6.00) Bored on a long bus ride? Play the updated version of this classic computer game to pass the time!

Stay well until next time!

Julia

Upcoming Gap Year Fairs

2010-01-15T07:35:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Happy New Year! Phew, things are really gearing up here at EnRoute as we get ready for the high season of gap year preparation. It's very exciting connecting students with awesome opportunities so I'm ready to go!

Seniors graduating in June - now is the prime time to decide if a gap year is right for you! Gap Year fairs are often a good place to start if you want to talk to reps from organizations and meet other potential gappers like yourself.

Here is a list of all the upcoming Gap Year Fairs nationwide

Jan. 14 New Jersey, Pingry School

Jan. 15 New Jersey, Newark Academy

Jan. 30 Chicago, New Trier HS

Jan. 31 Cleveland, University School

Feb. 2 Austin (unconfirmed)

Feb. 3 Dallas, Hockaday School

Feb. 4 Houston, Episcopal HS

Feb. 6 Denver

Feb. 23 LA, Harvard-Westlake School

Feb. 24 San Diego, Francis Parker School

Feb. 25 SF Marin, Sir Francis Drake HS

Feb. 26 SF Downtown, Drew School

Feb. 27 SF So. Bay, Los Altos HS

Feb. 28 Seattle, The Northwest School

Mar. 1 Portland, Lincoln HS

Mar. 4 Philadelphia

Mar. 6 Washington DC, Sidwell Friends School

Mar. 7 Baltimore, Bryn Mawr School

(courtesy planetgapyear.com)

Continue to check USA Gap Year Fairs for the most up to date and detailed information about gap year fairs coming to you!

WSJ Writer Regrets Not Taking Gap Year

2009-12-14T03:41:00.000-08:00

I recently came across a Wall Street Journal article waxing poetic about gap years. In this particular case, the author reminisces about his decision not to take a gap year (30 years ago) and whether or not his son should have taken one this past year instead of starting college right away. It's mainly a reflective piece on the choice to take a gap year.

I'm going to be flying back east in a few days for the holidays so posts will likely resume in a few weeks. I will also be revamping the main ewbsite, enroutegapyear.com with new pictures and updates so stay tuned!

Happy holidays,

Julia

Travel Writing

2009-11-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

If you're like, me nothing whets your appetite for traveling like reading a good travel narrative. Whether a short story or full-length book, travel narratives inspire and lend eye-opening accounts into places I may never have known I wanted to visit otherwise!

While planning a trip, I find reading literature by travelers or natives offers valuable insight into cultural practices and history of the region. This can be much more entertaining and informative than reading a Rough Guide or Frommers. Making an effort to study up on the culture, language and history of a destination separates the traveler from the tourist.

I really like reading anthologies of travel stories. They are perfect for when you want a single-serving travel story. The annual Best American Travel Writing is a personal favorite. This year's collection is edited by travel writer Simon Winchester. Past guest editors have included the Travel Channel's Anthony Bourdain, travel writer Tim Cahill and even more famous travel writer Bill Bryson.

Another great anthology is the Conde Nast Traveler's Book of Unforgettable Journeys. It includes stories from some of the world's more intriguing locations: Tanzania, Capri,the Himalayas and Japan!

London's The Times recently posted their 20 best travel books of the past century. It's definitely worth a read.

I would have included a few more. Not all these are strictly "travel narratives", but they all give a strong sense of culture and place:

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Surfing the Himalayas by Fredrick Lenz

Kartography by Kamila Shamsie

With the weather slowly becoming more and more conducive to curling up with a good story, there's no better time to become an armchair traveler. That is, of course, unless you are actually planning on a real journey - then it's time to research your future destination!

The Washington Post: Think About Taking a Gap Year

2009-11-09T03:35:00.000-08:00

I was sent a fabulous article that recently appeared in the Washington Post. It's called "Advice for the College-Bound: Wait". Great title, huh? Authored by a highly respected college admissions consultant, the article details the author's belief that the best thing a parent can do to prepare them for college is to send them off on a gap year.

You can read it for yourself here.

Also, if you have not received EnRoute's current e-newsletter and would like to, jet a quick e-mail to enrouteconsulting@gmail.com

Conservation Volunteering

2009-10-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Are you considering volunteering for the environment? Great! There are some amazing programs out there for those willing to get their hands dirty. If you are looking for an opportunity independently, here are some things to think about when choosing a program:

Type of Program: Would you rather work at a wildlife project or a conservation project?

Wildlife: There are lots of projects out there, from monitoring sea turtle nests to conducting biodiversity surveys to tracking animals to rehabilitating orphaned or at-risk fauna. Working at rehab center is not just about cuddling with baby animals (although that is certainly a perk of the job). You will probably be cleaning cages, chopping food, helping with behavior monitoring and possibly giving tours to tourists.If that sounds like fun, then it's probably right for you!

Conservation: Conservation projects tend to focus on manual labor projects like trail building, reforestation, and ecological monitoring. Trail building and tree planting is hard work but most programs are not meant to be too grueling. Ask an organization how many hours a day you will be working and what your daily schedule looks like.

Think about your strengths as a person as well as your disposition.

Length: How much time do you have? No matter how much time you have to give, there is a program that would love to have you. For those with less time, work camps offer an inexpensive way to give back. Check out the International Voluntary Service website here. There are workcamps both in the US as well as all over the world. For longer placements, a set program or company (or the US government) would be better to consider.

Credibility: If you are researching your own experience, welcome to my world! To determine a reliable and authentic organization I spend a lot of time speaking with program directors, volunteer coordinators and returned volunteers as well as independently researching the group. One of the best ways to determine a good conservation organization is to investigate their "demonstrable achievements". What scientific papers has this organization published? Where does the program fee go? How many scientists are on staff, working with volunteers? Does the program site change as the research evolves? How do volunteers contribute to research/conservation/sustainable change? These are very important questions to ask of any organization you are considering volunteering with.

Location: It's all about location, of course! Did you know that you can volunteer in the Galapagos for a fraction of the cost it would to go there as a tourist? If there's a place you've always wanted to visit, chances are there' s a volunteer project that would give you a much more authentic experience in the country. Plus, you're giving back to the earth!

The following websites are good resources to begin looking for a program:

Idealist.org

Service Civil International

Transitions Abroad

Chilies and Happiness

2009-10-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

If you haven't yet heard about the small country of Bhutan, you should take a moment to learn about this isolated Himalayan nation, which measures its success as a nation in Gross National Happiness.

I recently attended a Bhutanese festival held annually here in Missoula, MT. The weather at Chilies and Happiness seemed to match the upper reaches of Bhutan itself, a nation that rises from lowland jungle to snow-capped Himalayan mountains. Grad students from Bhutan hosted the festival to share the sport, dancing, food and philosophy of their country. Check out a video from the event: Chilies and Happiness.

You can read an article about an American's teacher's experience teaching English in Bhutan here.

You can read a NYT profile on Gross National Happiness here!

Some Travel Inspiration

2009-10-05T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today I'd like to share some links that I find to be inspiring to the traveler in all of us.

Where the Hell is Matt? You may have caught this fella on you tube, but if you've yet to see his hilarious/heartwarming dancing videos, check it out! What started as a simple request from a friend for Matt to do a silly dance in Hanoi turned into an all-expenses-paid trip around the world in addition to an internet sensation website and book deal! Kudos to Matt for turning a funny idea into a career!

World Hum: Travel Essays, Blogs and Video all about our favorite subject: World Travel!

Jaunted: a Blog that covers 'pop-culture' travel topics

Last Minute Plans

2009-09-02T04:26:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the delayed posts! EnRoute has moved shop from Jackson Hole back up to Missoula, Montana. Now that the boxes are unpacked and the dust has settled, it's back to work!

If you have decided to take a gap year but still find yourself without a solid plan, it's not too late to plan your time out! Contact us today to get started.

IN THE NEWS:

NorthShore Magazine recently did an interesting piece on the gap year

Gap Years Pay...

2009-07-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

A recent article in the Christian Science Monitor talked about how 80 US colleges and universities extend financial incentives to students deferring college in favor of service work. For example, Dickinson College is willing to match $10,000 per year of service work to students, with up to four years of service work eligible for the award ($40,000!).

The article also discusses the inaugural Bridge Year at Princeton University, a pilot, in-house gap year program. The Bridge Year will take 20 students (tuition-free, mind you) and place them in projects all over the globe, from Ghana to India to Serbia to Peru. Read more about the Bridge Year here.

Launching a Recession Special!

2009-06-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

EnRoute is proud to announce a new service specifically for post grads and career breakers!

Many Americans are choosing to take a break from the current job market for different reasons. Why not bide your time waiting for the economy to rebound by traveling? There are thousands of opportunities awaiting; both domestically and abroad. If you have a college or advanced degree, the possibility of paid jobs overseas abounds.

We want to help. The Recession Special is a one-time phone or skype conversation meant to brainstorm about travel plans and logistics of your adventure. Whether you already have a destination in mind and need advice on visas or job opportunities or have no idea what you want to do, this phone call is meant to inspire and empower you. And for only $25, what do you have to lose?

For more information, click here

To fill out a questionnaire and begin the planning process, click here

(note: the questionnaire is designed for pre-university students so only fill out the information that applies to your trip!)

Post-Grad Gap Years in the News

2009-06-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

Yaowza! The topic of taking a post-grad gap year has made headlines in recent months. Could it be due to the less-than-stellar job market? These articles suggest the economy could be a blessing in disguise for recent college grads.

Harvard Business: An article encouraging Gen Ys and recent college grads to take advantage of the economic downturn by taking a post-graduate gap year.

New York Times: Nicholas Kristof muses about the inherent life skills gained from traveling, especially while you're young. He also offers useful tips for traveling in the developing world.

Yorkshire Post: A British paper addresses the positive side of losing your job.

United Planet Press Release: Popular gap year outfitter suggests recent grads go for a gap.

Radical Parenting Article

2009-06-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

I recently published an article on the website Radical Parenting, a site focusing on communicating with tweens and teens. The article is short and sweet, mostly an overview of the gap year planning process. It is also featured on Planet Gap Year's homepage at the moment.

Welcome!

2009-06-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Welcome to EnRoute's brand new blog. Here we will cover recent news stories about gap years as well as address topics regarding student travel. Stay tuned!