Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures » What to do on a career break

WWOOFing It on Your Career Break

jeff — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:00:14 +0000

This is a guest post submitted by Tony from LandingStanding.com. You may remember that I recently featured him and his wife, Meg, in a Who’s Out There Now interview. This post has been delayed for a while and I’m glad I can finally publish it. One of the top activities for career breakers is volunteering and giving back. For the past few years, WWOOFing (Weekend Workers on Organic Farms) has become increasingly popular. Tony and Meg recently spent time on a farm in Italy and agreed to write about their experience and tell you how you can get involved. Thanks to Tony for writing this post. Happy farming!

A machete in my right hand, a thick glove on my left, and bloody scratches covering my arms. Thick foliage blocked most of the Italian sun, but I was still dripping in sweat. It was my my first day at the agriturismo site, Barbialla Nuova, and I was loving life.

Just one year before (back in the US), my days were spent either in meetings, on the phone, or pounding away at the keyboard writing up credit reviews so that my commercial banking customers could get financing. It is amazing how far I’ve come as I travel around the world… and I’m not just talking about miles.

When taking a career break, there is always that freaky blend of apprehension and excitement that preludes doing anything uncertain or unknown. There are many reasons why you might make the decision to travel, but for me, my reasons were finally clarified 6 months into our trip. As I whacked away at insanely sharp thorn vines on an Italian truffle hunting trail, I realized that I took my career break and traveled around the world so that I could:

Experience more.
Experience something different.
Experience life.

As tired as my shoulders felt, as bloody as my arms got, and as hot as I became, I had never appreciated work or life more. This was why I quit my job to travel.

The best part about working at this agriturismo site? I only had to work at various jobs around the farm for 4-6 hours per day and I had 2 days off per week. Oh, and even better? On some days, part of my 4-6 hours of work consisted of me helping host a giant lunch for people staying at the farm’s villas… where I got to eat and drink right alongside the guests.

Yes, it was as dynamite as it sounds.

So how did I end up working for 2 weeks on an agriturismo site in Tuscany?

WWOOFing

My wife and I spent almost 2 years planning our around the world career break. Much of that time was spent researching and dreaming about all of the different ways we could experience our travel.

We have rented apartments, slept in hostels, lined up house-sitting gigs, camped, stayed with friends, taken overnight buses, but had never tried WWOOFing. Luckily, a friend of my mine had secured herself and her boyfriend a great 5 month job as assistants on a lovely agriturismo in Tuscany. She let us know that the farm was looking for WWOOFers to come help for a couple of weeks and we knew we had finally found our WWOOFing opportunity.

WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and is an organization that links organics farms with volunteers. The farms list what type of work they need, the hours required per week, and what they will provide the volunteers. In return, volunteers typically get a free place to sleep and often get free food as well. At the agroturismo site, we received full payment for any groceries we bought in addition to a private bedroom and bathroom in a quiet tuscan villa. Not too shabby.

Who Should Try WWOOFing?

WWOOFing really is not for everyone.

You need to be open to performing physical labor, actually working during your travels, and getting dirty. But you are thinking about taking a career break, right? Why else would you be reading this? So scratch that. Let me amend my statement. WWOOFing is for everyone who wants to try something different and is looking to experience life while on their career break.

If you’re considering a career break, then you’re probably exactly the type of person who would enjoy WWOOFing. There are jobs posted for people of all abilities.

How To Sign Up

Anyone can access the list of available opportunities and it is a great way to see what you might like to try. But if you want to actually inquire about a job, you need to sign up for that country’s specific WWOOFing list.

It costs $25 to sign up and you have to sign up by country, so plan on where you want to apply before you start paying for a ton of lists. But the list does provide you with the contact info you need to contact the farms, so it’s a must.

There are a lot of amazing opportunities on these lists, so give them a try!

Would We WWOOF Again?

Definitely.

We see WWOOFing as a great way to save money while we travel (especially in more expensive places like Europe), but we also like having time to just work on our own projects, which WWOOFing does not always allow (we were always too tired at the end of each work day).

This means we would not do back-to-back WWOOFing gigs. We loved our experience on the farm and had an amazing time getting to know everyone who worked there, but it was actual work for us.

Bottom-line: WWOOFing is a great way to save money while you travel and get an incredibly rich life experience. We maintained truffle trails, picked wild cherries, played with truffle dogs, took care of chickens, and worked our butts off. If any of that sounds interesting to you, then you are perfect for WWOOFing.

Your Turn: Is anyone considering WWOOFing? Has anyone tried and had a different experience from ours? We’d love to hear so please share!

About the Author: About Tony – Tony Rulli is the co-founder of LandingStanding.com and has been traveling around the world with his lovely wife, Meg, for the past year. They are passionate about food, travel, and all things ridiculous. They are always eager to meet new people and you can say hi on Twitter or Facebook.

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WWOOFing It on Your Career Break is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Book ‘Em Jeffo

jeff — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:35:37 +0000

It’s here!

This week is the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes work. My book, The Career Break Traveler’s Handbook, is finally here. Since I started my trip back in 2007, I had dreams of writing my own travel book. Then when I started Career Break Secrets, I had dreams of writing my own book. And all along the way, my aunt kept encouraging me to write a book. But, the management of the site and working to get The Career Break Travel Show (coming soon!) launched precluded me spending any time on trying to figure out the publishing world.

The Power of the Network

Late last year Janice Waugh, author of The Solo Traveler’s Handbook, told me that she wanted to expand her book into a series. As you can see from the review of the Solo Traveler’s Handbook (1st edition), I was a fan. She offered me the chance to be a part of the first wave of travel style books under her label, Full Flight Press, and I accepted without hesitation. At the same time, the other authors came on board: Jodi Ettenberg to focus on food travel, Sarah & Terry Lee to focus on luxury travel and Shannon O’Donnell to focus on volunteer travel. Janice took the opportunity to produce the 2^nd edition of her book on solo travel. It’s always great to work with smart people who are experts in their field. The Traveler’s Handbooks series was born.

Why a Career Break Book?

Frankly, I wanted to have a resource that made it easy for anyone with a dream of a career break to get started quickly. There’s a lot of information out there about taking a career break and blogs filled with stories and adventures of people who are out there doing it right now. That’s great for amplifying the amount of information that’s available for the people planning their trip right now. But, it also adds to the time you need to comb through it all to find what they need. And, you still have to piece together your own plan.

My goal was to take the information and put it together in a way that helps you get going and get planning. Not only that, I want you to be able to have a process to follow so you don’t forget any important details.

Finally, there are so many people that I’ve met during and after my career break who have stories worth telling. I try to cover as many as I can on the site. And, the book has many more. Some are stories I’ve told on the site already while others I haven’t. I could have included so many more and I felt bad that I couldn’t include more. I tried to focus on one aspect of their story to help illustrate the various themes of the book. Having those stories also highlights that there are a lot more people than known taking breaks, they come all walks of life and do it for a variety of reasons.

What’s Inside

The book is only about 110 pages. So, you can get through it quickly
There are over 20 photos from around that world that I took that will hopefully fuel your wanderlust
13 stories from current and former career breakers
4 sections covering the career break lifecycle
- Deciding puts the career break in perspective of your overall life and career, explains why it’s not selfish to take a break, highlights the scientific benefits of taking a break and ends with a pep talk
- Peace of Mind Planning takes you step by step on how to prepare so you can fully relax once you leave knowing you are ready for anything that comes your way. I cover what you need to do before you quit, how to come out of the career break closet, the art of career break budgeting, planning where to go, dealing with your health, packing and tech tips and more
- Making the Most of Your Trip gives you ideas for how to maximize the time you have whether you have have one month or one year. I start by highlighting the 3 types of activities that career breakers do, how to adjust to a ¨free¨ life, how to deal with loneliness, how to stay safe physically, digitally and protect your belongings, my list of budget stretchers and discuss whether you should work or not
- Re-entry helps you get going again once you’re back from adjusting to life back home, how to restart your networking and how to position your career break to prospective employers
Resource lists (over a dozen) that cover the following:
- accommodation
- career break and related books for further reading
- career break TV and films
- other career break resources
- budgeting and money management
- connecting with locals and other travelers
- finding great dining experiences
- flights
- health and health insurance resources
- re-entry resources
- registering your trip
- free blogging and communication options
- volunteering resources
- naturally a list of the other books in the series

And finally, you can check out the Table of Contents and read a sample chapter.

Reviews of the Career Break Traveler’s Handboook

I’m trying to capture the reviews as they come out. Here are the latest of what I’ve seen so far.

“I found the taking of sabbaticals the single most successful strategy in helping me to look at my work as a calling, rather than just as a job. Jeff Jung tells you how to go about it.”
Stefan Sagmeister
Grammy Award winning Art Director and Graphic Designer
Author and TED Speaker
___________________________________________________________________________________
“Jeff Jung helps us realize that Career Breaks are important aspects of our work lives. As a 5-time career changer, talent and career take time to play, study, explore and really live. We are so much more productive, imaginative and interesting when we do these things, and that leads to innovation and a competitive advantage for our careers and the organizations we work for. Taking a Career Break is a “must-do” and this book is a “must-read.”
Ginny Clarke
CEO of Talent Optimization Partners, LLC
Author of Career Mapping: Charting Your Course in the New World of Work
___________________________________________________________________________________
“This book covers everything. From how to quit your job to how to pack your bags, it’s all in there. If you’re ready to turn that secret travel dream you’ve been ignoring all these years into reality, this is your starting point.”
Dan Clements
Author of Escape 101
___________________________________________________________________________________
“Perhaps you have been dreaming about taking a career break. After reading the career break travelers handbook, you will move from dream to action. With inspiring stories, practical advice and an overall can-do, should-do, will-do spirit, this book will have you asking yourself why you’ve waited so long. Even if your career break is not possible today, you will get step by step strategies to ensure your career will not slip away without one.”
Julie Bauke
CEO, The Bauke Group
Author of Stop Peeing on Your Shoes: Avoiding the 7 Mistakes That Screw Up Your Job Search

Where to Buy The Career Break Traveler’s Handbook

The book is in both paperback and electronic versions. It is currently rolling out around the world. Here are the places where you can buy them

US
- Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle)
- BarnesandNoble.com (paperback. Nook Coming Soon)
- Sony Coming Soon!
- Kobo
- iBook Store Coming Soon!
- Copia
UK
- Waterstones (paperback)
- W.H. Smith (paperback and Kobo)
- Amazon.co.uk (paperback and Kindle)
- iBook Store Coming Soon!
- Copia
- Hammicks Legal
- The Book Depository (paperback)
- Eddington Hook
Canada
- Amazon.ca (paperback and Kindle)
- iBook Store Coming Soon!
- Kobo
- Copia
Australia
- BetterRead
Croatia
- Superbookshop
Estonia
- Kristosomus
India
- BookAdda
Japan
- Amazon
- Junkudo
Italy
- Bol
- IBS
Latvia
- Kristosomus
New Zealand Coming Soon!
Norway
- Bokklubben
- Studia
Romania
- Books Express
Sweden
- Bokus
Wholesalers
- Baker & Taylor Coming Soon!
- Alibris (UK)
- Gardner’s (UK)
- Lehmann’s (Germany)

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Book ‘Em Jeffo is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Photo Essay: Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest

jeff — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 12:00:29 +0000

Clever marketing, no?

When you think of Texas, you probably don’t think of wine. But, that’s changing. Even though the state is the 5th largest producer of wine in the US, it’s sort of like the Canada wine region, unknown by most people outside of the region. My hometown, Fredericksburg, Texas, has become the hub of the state’s wine country. Wine tasting rooms have long been a presence on Main Street. But, I was struck driving on US Highway 290, west of town towards Austin, how many wineries have taken root.

The quickest and most fun way to get a crash course on what Texas has to offer is to attend the annual Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest. Started in 1990, I’ve never had the chance to go. As luck would have it, the festival happened to be going on on my trip to Texas in October. Finally, I could go! Here are a few photos from my day drinking, err sampling wine.

Required gear? For god’s sake, you can’t be expected to carry your glass all day. I’ve never seen these around-the-neck glass carriers. But, by the looks of things, I was the one out of the loop. If you didn’t have one already, there was a vendor selling them in many handy colored leathers.

25 wineries from around the state showed up to show off. As you enter, you get a glass for the day. You have the option of a ¨taste¨ or a full glass. A taste was anywhere from a ⅓ to ½ glass. Some were more generous pourers than others. Or, maybe after a few pours, I didn’t really notice anymore.

You might recognize the label from Becker Vineyards, one of Texas’ most successful wineries.

Viognier was very popular with many of the vineyards. I was not familiar with the grape before the festival. It is nice and crisp, dry and slightly fruity in its finish. I tried several. And, my favorites were from Becker Vineyards and Brennan Vineyards. My least favorite of the day was a Vermentino from Bending Branch. There were also lots of reds being poured. But, I was there in the afternoon, it was beautifully sunny so I preferred to start with the whites. And let’s just say, I didn’t make it long enough to try the reds.

Food was the other part of the story at the festival. While I do think there could have been more food stalls, once I found this pulled-chicken sandwich spiced with guajillo chili from the Sunset Grill, I was in heaven. Their sliders looked pretty damn good too. Note to the Sunset Grill people: get this sandwich on your menu! Seriously!

In two large tents there were vendors selling everything from lavender soaps to chili spices to hot sauce to farm-raised feta cheese to balsamic vinegar, in lots of flavors. I asked the balsamic guys how they got away with using the name balsamic in their product. Turns out they import it from Italy and then flavor it in central Texas, often with organic ingredients. This was a cool, unexpected find. These bottles pictured here are from the Texas Hill Country Olive Oil company and are certified organic.

There was always music playing during the festival. Here I caught Jazz trumpeter, Jeff Lofton, belting it out for the crowd. I thought the music selection for the event was great.

Just for fun, people could enter the Great Grape Toss. I wonder if these purple balloons were filled with water, or wine? Regardless, the winners won a festival t-shirt.

I’m not sure what this guys’ name was, but this Scare ‘O-Lantern was guarding the items in the charity silent auction. Oh, and he was up for auction too. The event raised money for the upkeep and beautification of Fredericksburg’s Market Square.

The biggest thing I missed was the group cooking classes. There was a huge tent featuring the region’s top chefs. It was packed and I felt just a bit too self-conscious to walk up while the chefs were cooking to get any photos.

Plan for 2012

If you are can make it to Fredericksburg in October 2012, plan your trip around the Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest. Next year it will be held on October 27.

If you like this post, sign up for our newsletter or subscribe to our RSS feed to keep up with Career Break Secrets’ career break and travel advice.

Disclosure: Thanks to Creative Marketing who runs this great event for giving me a press pass to get in and enjoy the day. As always, all opinions are my own.

Photo Essay: Fredericksburg Food and Wine Fest is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Getting a Taste of Vancouver

jeff — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:00:57 +0000

Harbour in Vancouver

Back in September, I had the chance to travel around Canada with G Adventures on a media tour to talk about career breaks. One of the highlights for me was having the chance to visit Vancouver for the first time. I have yet to meet anyone who had a bad thing to say about it. Well, the weather, maybe.

We arrived from Calgary in the late afternoon. The approach to the airport was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen. The forested-covered coastline dotted with green, lush islands just off the coast kept me engaged and only made me more anxious to land.

These yummy calamaris went well with the yam fries. Just sayin!

We were treated to a cool, clear night, perfect for getting lost. After wandering around the Nelson park neighborhood, we started craving a little sustenance. We wound up at the upscale, Joey Restaurant. A bottle of wine and a couple of crispy appetizers including calamari were all we needed. My lasting memory is that all the waitresses wore high heels. I didn’t know if I should be impressed or sympathetic.

Friday morning was full of radio and written interviews leaving us with the afternoon to explore. I had reached out to the Vancouver Tourism for some suggestions. They sent over a nice packet of information. And, after a careful review of the 100s of things to do, we wound up on foot again exploring. The sun was shining. What else were we supposed to do?

Walking Around Vancouver…the Whole City

Felt lucky to have seen this much color in Stanley Park in September

Fall hadn’t quite arrived, so the flowers in Stanley Park were holding their own. But, I’m sure that the first short cold blast took out the colorful petals all around. As we walked along the path that hugged the Lost Lagoon, we were kept company by the occasional jogger, a family of raccoons that were way too tame for my taste, and the families pushing their all-terrain baby strollers.

I think I could have spent all day here. But, there was more of Vancouver to see. I had the idea to take a carriage ride through the park to cover more ground. But, I couldn’t find it and like I said, there was more of the city to see. We spilled onto the marina and started heading toward the convention center. As I looked across the water, I thought we were seeing Vancouver Island. Later I realized it was merely North Vancouver.

After passing by the convention center, we entered the historic Gastown district. Trolleys, coffee and shops lined the streets. We slowly walked down Powell, sitting for a bit for a coffee and water. We looked at the map and saw that our final stop was actually across town, Granville Island. After a quick look at the map, I thought, hey, it’s really not that far.

One of the old lamps in Gastown

Over an hour later…and crossing the Granville Bridge by foot…

…we arrived.

Granville Island was filled with shops, high-end, waterfront restaurants and the stacked-stone sculptures of Jozsef Toth. Tim and I must have watched him for at least half an hour. I don’t know how he gets them stack up, but the garden of statues he built along the waterfront made the feat all the more impressive.

Real entertainment on Granville Island

I broke one of my travel rules when we headed for something to eat, don’t stop at the first restaurant you find. Whet is on the left-hand side of the road, just as you come onto the island. With an impressive view of the harbor and the sunset from its outdoor seating area, we couldn’t resist. A glass of white wine, a bowl of chowder and a seared tuna salad seemed like the perfect dinner after a long day of exploring. As good as the salad looked, it was a bit of a disappointment. I didn’t care too much as it was the end of a long week and I was enjoying just being in Vancouver.

Seared tuna salad

After a short water taxi ride back across the bay, we made our way back to the hotel jumped in a cab and headed to the airport to catch our ride back to Toronto.

What to Do in Vancouver…Next Time

After getting a quick taste of the city, I got a sense of the city, but left so much unexplored. Here’s a quick list of what I would return to do.

Enjoy the city’s natural beauties. More time in Stanley Park is a given. But, I would also check out the UBC Botanical Gardens.
Eat the street food. I didn’t mean to avoid the street food. It just worked out that way. There are so many carts selling lots of yummy looking fare, I now know that lunch will be served outside!
Pop over to Victoria Island for day, maybe even for a night. With ferry service connecting the two cities, the ride over is likely to worth the trip alone.
Get active. Hiking, biking, kayaking. Between the mountains and water, I won’t be trapped in the city long. I’ll have to get out and explore.
Explore the nightlife. Vancouver is rumored to have great nightlife. While you can probably find me out in the Davie Village after dinner, Vancouver offers something for everyone.This is not a city to spend the night in you room.

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Getting a Taste of Vancouver is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

A Day of Food, Culture and Ice Wine in Canada’s Wine Country

jeff — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:00:27 +0000

Downtown Niagara On the Lake. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

So, you don’t have to be on a career break to go wine tasting, but all that world travel does give you a good excuse to explore and discover new and unexpected wine regions. It’s a personal favorite activity of mine. I went biking while wine tasting in Mendoza, Argentina. In Spain, while filming our series, I went down to the Alicante wine region to sample some lesser-known wines. And, of course, there’s always time to pop open the cava!

Beyond the better known wine-producing countries, sometimes the lesser-known wine producers will surprise…like Ontario, Canada.

Two hours by car outside of Toronto, I headed out with my friend Janice from SoloTravelerBlog to Niagara-On-the-Lake, the center of wine production in Canada. We spent the late morning and early afternoon at Greenlane and Southbrook wineries. Much of the time I kept trying to get my mind around the idea that there could be good Canadian wine. And, what we found in the morning was really good. Janice has a great write-up about our education in the vineyard on her blog.

Barrels from Southbrook Winery. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Afternoon Matinee, Then Dinner in Niagara on the Lake

Niagara on the Lake was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Shaw Festival. And Janice and I had tickets to see My Fair Lady, based on Shaw’s Pygmalion, thanks to the Niagara Tourism Board. In high school show choir we did a medley (definitely not a Glee-style mashup) of songs from My Fair Lady. As I watched the show, I couldn’t help but sing along to myself in sotto voce.

Mmmm. It tasted even better! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Despite having a huge pizza from the Southbrook winery for lunch, I was hungry after the show. We headed out to The Old Winery restaurant, a couple of miles off the center of town. The restaurant’s decor was dominated by dark woods and leather chairs accented by modern finishes making it elegant, yet warm and friendly. One look at the menu and I knew what I had to have, the braised pork chop. Janice’s pistachio-crusted scallops served on a bed of lettuce looked pretty scrumptious too. I probably should have ordered the lighter dish, but after one bite of that lovely chop and mango salsa, I wasn’t too concerned with the quantity of food I had eaten all day.

A lighter alternative. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Ice Wine For Dessert

Our final stop was to the largest estate ice wine producer in the world, Pillitteri Estates Winery. I had no idea what ice wine was or how it was made. I mean, I was just learning that you could cultivate wine-quality grapes in Canada. And then there’s the little detail that I am not a sweet wine drinker. I like my wine dry and bold.

First made in Germany around 2000 years ago, ice wine came to Canada in the 1980s. And, the country now accounts for 75% of the world’s production. And, most of that comes from Ontario. Other than Canada, China is a huge consumer market for the sweet dessert wines. And, South Korea and Japan are big markets for Pillitteri too.

This cart is an icon of not just the winery, but of the family. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Pillitteri is now the world’s largest estate producer of ice wine. That’s quite and achievement for a winery that was founded in 1993. While touring around, I got to meet the founder, Sicily-born, Gary Pillitteri. It was brief but we talked about the carretto, or cart, that he brought over with him in 1948 and is the central feature in the company’s logo.

Ice Wine's a Pouring! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

After touring the vineyard, we made our way to the tasting room. Harvested in the dead of winter when the temperatures reach a crisp -8 Celsius, these wines come alive unexpectedly. The grapes are pressed while still frozen and the juice is put into fermentation while it is still partially frozen. Fermentation takes quite a while, about four months. Having to keep the wine at 12 degrees Celsius slows it all down.

Prefer white or red? Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

So, what does they taste like? They reminded me of port wines. Sweet, but without the kick at the end. The finish is much smoother than the Port wine that I’ve had before. I have to say, I could see myself finishing a nice night with a glass of this! While I couldn’t take a bottle home with me, when I come across ice wine again, I will definitely leave room for this little nightcap.

A Day of Food, Culture and Ice Wine in Canada’s Wine Country is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Flame on at Buskerfest in Toronto

jeff — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:00:46 +0000

The performers come to you! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

I love a good street festival. And, I usually come across them by chance, not by design or good planning. In 2008, I went to the Festa Major de Gracia in Barcelona and last year, I got lucky that the Caminata de la Solidaridad parade in Bogota passed by my apartment.

In Toronto in August, I caught the last weekend of Buskerfest in Toronto. Lots of street performers and street feed lined the Front Street between Yonge and Jarvis. The troupes of performers included these fit performers from Australia, Flame Oz. I swear they introduced themselves as The Flamers. But, maybe the Aussie accent played tricks on my ears. Flamers – Flame-aaahhhzzzz???

The proceeds from the event went to Epilepsy Toronto. Here are a few photos from the event and performance. If you’re in Toronto next August, be sure to check it out!

Buskerfest supporting Epilepsy Toronto. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Flame Oz tearing it up! Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Lots of street food. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Funnel cakes with strawberries. Your health food option. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Toronto skyline that night with CN Tower lit up in NDP Orange. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Flame on at Buskerfest in Toronto is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Cooking Class in India. Learning Something New on Your Career Break

jeff — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:00:19 +0000

Making Chipati (Indian flatbread) at The Spice Box in Udaipur, India. Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Focusing on your personal passions, picking up a new skill or hobby, call it what you want, but all of the above are popular with career breakers. In my case, I learned Spanish fluently, learned to ski and got to develop my photography skills. When I went to India with Gap Adventures, I saw that one of the optional activities on our Rajasthan tour was a cooking class. I jumped on the chance to film this class. The class involves food, travel and passion, the perfect combination for career breakers. Check out the video and see what we learned and more importantly, what we cooked!

What We Learned About Indian Cooking In Our Class at The Spice Box

Store all your spices in a traditional Indian spice box to keep them fresh and handy.
Cook with oil, not butter. Butter not only adds fat, but also prevents the full taste of the spices from coming out.
Cook your spices first to really bring out their flavors.
Use fresh ingredients, always.
Have a good attitude in the kitchen, always

My B-Side Tips for Taking a Cooking Class During Your Career Break Travel

This video isn’t about tips. It’s about showing you an alternative way to get more out of your career break trip. Cooking classes can be found in many countries. Some are for an evening like this one, others last a full day, and others are even more formal allowing you to obtain formal certification. Here are some additional tips to finding a class wherever you’re traveling.

Get the recipes…ALWAYS This is fairly standard and shouldn’t be a problem.
Take a market tour, when possible. It’s not offered with all classes. But, if you can go to the local market with your chef-teacher, take advantage. You will learn even more about the local cuisine.
Find a class that allows you to participate. There are a few courses out there that merely show you how to prepare the dishes. You will have much more fun and get more out of the class if you are the one doing the cooking.
Here are links to some of the recipes from my cooking class in Udaipur at The Spice Box:

Check out the other topics covered in the Gap Adventures Career Break Video Series

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Disclosure: I am serving as the Gap Adventures media spokesman for career break travel. While this series is part of a broader campaign to raise awareness about career break travel, all opinions, tips and advice are mine.

Cooking Class in India. Learning Something New on Your Career Break is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Discovering A Country Through Its Food During Your Career Break

jeff — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:00:37 +0000

What entices you while traveling? Copyright CareerBreakSecrets.com

Food. Food. FOOD!!!! It’s an integral part of the travel experience. Whether you go for the street food stalls or a fine dining experience, you will leave a country remembering what you ate. Or in some cases, the food may not have impressed you, which is also a lasting memory. When I talk about my travels with friends, everyone wants to know what the food was like.

Food for me is always a window, dare I say, a taste of into the local culture: What people eat, the spices, how they eat it. There are a lot of ways to experience the country through its food. Here are a few.

Tips for Discovering a Country Through Its Food During Your Career Break Travel

Ask the locals. I have a few favorites types of locals I like to ask: a good taxi driver, the staff at the hotel or hostel or the salesman at the market after you’ve bought that trinket, and your tour leader. Sure they might send you to their buddy down the road, but they are around enough to know what travelers tend to like.

Take a tour of the local markets. So many cities and towns have fresh markets where you can go and pick out the fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, etc for yourself. The one in Santiago, Chile, ¨La Vega¨ even has a set of restaurants next door where everything is made from that market. Spend part of a day to see what’s available.
Find a busy stall when you are hungry for street food. Street food is always traveler favorite whether you’re in New York, Paris or New Delhi. If you’re not sure which cart or stall to pick, go with a busy one. It means they are turning over their product and there’s a need to keep everything fresh to keep up with demand.
Try everything once, just once. Part of traveling is discovering things that are new to you. I remember on a trip to Paris, it became a joke to order off the menu and see what showed up. Often what we expected was not what was delivered. But, it was usually very tasty!
Stick to sealed bottled water. A lot more places have safe drinking water than what you’d expect. But, if you are in a place where you can’t or are unsure, stick to bottled water. And be sure it’s sealed: If you don’t hear the crack send it back! It’s not worth the risk to your system.

Now, my B-Side Food and Eating Tips for Your Career Break Travel

Ask the waiter or staff at the restaurant what the specialty of the house is. These guys know what sells and what people like.
Find a local cooking class. Whether it’s a partial day or full day class, you can get a lot of of the time you spend with a local chef. Make sure you will get your hands dirty and find out if a tour of the local market to help pick out the ingredients can be arranged.
Get out of the hostel kitchen. Budget concerns usually keep people cooking for themselves. But, be sure to explore. There’s usually something budget-friendly and tasty in the area.
Pair up at the hostel kitchen. Rather than just cooking for yourself, get together with some of your new travel friends and make a potluck dinner. Just make sure that someone attempts something local when possible.
Accept invitations to people’s homes. In South America and Turkey, I received several invitations to dine at people’s homes. As much as possible, I try to accept these invitations. It’s a great way to get a home-cooked meal and have a real connection while you’re there.
Go beyond the “known” local dish. If I say, “Argentina”, you probably will think steak. But, did you know that the pasta and ice cream are out of this world? No doubt you should have the stereotypical dish the country is known for. But, there is always more just below the surface.

Check out the other topics covered in the Gap Adventures Career Break Video Series

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Discovering A Country Through Its Food During Your Career Break is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures

Two Faces of Nepal

jeff — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:00:38 +0000

Mountains in Nepal. Copyright EdgeofSeven.com

Nepal captured my heart just over two years ago. It was my first time visiting the country nestled between India and China and in just three weeks, I fell in love with the land and its people. Nepal, unlike any other country I have visited, has the ability to render visitors speechless from exquisite beauty in one moment to extreme poverty the next. Perspective often dictates the experience.

The beauty throughout Nepal is unparalleled. The vast Himalayas line the northeast border and the snow capped mountains, including Mt. Everest, are far more impressive than any photo predicts. The hills of the countryside boast thousands of terraced rice paddy fields that paint the land a lush green. And finally, the spectacular gorges almost swallow rafters as boats sail through the tumbling rapids looking for sunshine. While the vistas have people longing for more, there is no moment untouched by the backdrop of destitution.

Woman in Field. Copyright EdgeofSeven.com

According to Wikipedia, the definition of poverty is the lack of basic human needs, such as clean water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter, because of the inability to afford them. In Nepal, many families, mothers, must walk several miles to draw water from a community tap. According to the U.N., almost half of Nepalese children under five are chronically malnourished. This figure is within the top five in the world. Research studies have shown a significant correlation between low maternal literacy and poor nutrition status of children. Lack of proper maternal care and sanitation, absence of dietary information, unsuitable feeding practices, and inadequate access to food are the other key underlying drivers of malnutrition among children. Most families in rural communities lack toilets as only 41% of people have sustainable access to sanitation.

Kids in Nepal. Copyright EdgeofSeven.com

While poverty levels have dropped in Nepal from 42% in 1996 to 25% in 2010, one quarter of the population still lives below the national poverty line of $1 per day. That is 7.1 MILLION people living on less than $365 each year. According to the United Nations, Nepalese have the lowest life expectancy in Asia, the largest share of undernourished children, and most importantly, development has been significantly unequal across social groups. According to Girls Discovered, the gross primary school graduation rate for girls is 64% and only 32% of young women in Nepal aged 20-24 years old have achieved at least a secondary education. The statistics are powerful but visiting a rural community in a developing country is a far leap from the page.

In November 2010, we were interviewing girls in the Everest region of Nepal for our first short film. We spoke with a fourteen year-old girl named Nimdita about the value of education. Nimdita’s parents were uneducated and could not afford to raise her or educate her. At five years old, she was sent to live with a family friend she calls her “sister.” For the last nine years, Nimdita has lived away from her parents so that she can pursue an education. When asked what she will do in the future, she responded that she would like to be a social worker to help educate others to develop rural Nepal. We could not detect a trace of resentment for the choices made by her parents. It is simply her life.

Nimdita in the Spinach Fields. Copyright EdgeofSeven.com

Nimdita’s story is all too common in Nepal. We spoke with many girls who are perfectly willing to sacrifice their basic needs so that they can have an education. Many girls farm their family’s land before and after classes so that they can attend school. We talked to girls who told us that they skip meals so they can have money for rent. We heard from girls who are living four people to a small rented room without beds or furniture just for the hope to be something other than a housewife. These are the women who will push Nepal forward.

Girls in Class. Copyright EdgeofSeven.com

My experiences in Nepal have been transformative. Now, I seek a world in which no fourteen year-old is forced to choose between her family and an education. I have created a nonprofit called Edge of Seven to improve the lives of girls throughout the developing world through education, health, and financial initiatives. In addition, we connect volunteers with service projects in the field because we are true believers in the philosophy that getting out and seeing the world will help people become more effective at changing it. If you are looking for your next big adventure, the trip that rocks your world, I dare you to visit Nepal. You’ll never be the same.

About the Author

Erin Guttenplan is the founder of Edge of Seven, a nonprofit that creates awareness and volunteer support for projects empowering girls in developing countries. Edge of Seven fuses international travel with service, creating opportunities for personal and global development. For information on how to volunteer in rural Nepal this spring, please visit Erin’s website, Edge of Seven.

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Two Faces of Nepal is a post from: Career Break Secrets: Travel show, independent travel blog and advice for career breaks and around the world travel adventures