new blog post on women on their way - voluntourism isn't all about the volunteer

Ten months into The Global Citizen Project, I'm still having "ah hah" moments at every turn.  My recent voluntourism project with Globe Aware in Costa Rica was no exception. Read more about it here in this month's blog post for Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way Jane Air Crew.

media mention: tbex weekly roundup

Thank you TBEX for including me in this week's Weekly Roundup!  This volunteer gal-on-the-go is very much looking forward to June's travel blogger and writer festivities in Vancouver, B.C.  My room is booked at Sunset Inn & Suites and I'm shacking up with roomie extraordinaire.  Can't wait to see everyone hot off the heels of the The Global Citizen Project.

seeking balance in the world of social media

Taking a Twitter/Facebook/social media “time out” between Christmas Eve and the New Year was the best thing I’ve done for myself in ages. I’m not one to wax poetic on sappy end-of-year round ups or make New Year’s resolutions, but stepping away from Tweetdeck helped put my cyber priorities into perspective.

There are so many things I love about social media – all of the new friends I’ve made – many of whom I’ve been fortunate enough to meet in real life (or “IRL” in Twitterspeak), being part of an interactive, international forum of writers, travelers, foodies and creative types (few things in my globetrotting world are as fun as Travelers’ Night In, a.k.a. #TNI), and the fact that I was able to use this tool to fund (and now share) The Global Citizen Project.

Twitter, Facebook, blogging and whatever other social media outlets you partake in are all about the give and take of ideas and information. I think people who post, but don’t participate are really missing out, and my brief hiatus made me think long and hard about how I can strike better balance in my personal life while still maintaining an active and fulfilling online presence.

Reality is I put far more value on real world interactions, and even my closest friends and loved  ones don’t know my every move in 140 characters or less like my followers on Twitter do. Sure, it’s been entirely my choice to put my personal life on cyber parade, but the past week has left me seriously rethinking what and how I’m going to use these tools to share in the future. 

Am I experiencing social media fatigue? Maybe. Or perhaps like anything in life, moderation is the key for successful living, especially now more than ever in our weird and wonderful, online world.

Here’s wishing you the best – and balance – in 2011!

Photo by Murray Barnes

media: fresh-picked seattle "food volunteering: help at food lifeline"

Leslie Seaton, Seattle's go-to gal for all things food and drink wrote this lovely article about food volunteering around the holidays and featured my December project with Food Lifeline.  Hopefully, this will rally a few more volunteers to come help out next month (hint hint).  If anyone has any questions about this volunteer opportunity, please feel free to pick my brain. 

Read what Leslie wrote here!

good stuff + a gala

Last week, WE tv sent a film crew to Seattle to film yours truly for the WE Do Good Awards Gala in New York City next week (insert loud squeal of excitement here). Of course, Seattle weather could not possibly cooperate, so the majority of the shoot took place inside my home sweet home. (At least I got to rock my flower-print Bogs for the outdoor segments!) It was truly an amazing day, and Loch and Kris made me feel perfectly at ease, sharing personal, and often tear-inducing stories of my volunteer work over the past five months. I cannot wait to see what visual story they tell from our all-day, show/share and tell experience, but have complete confidence that they “got” what volunteerism means to me.

I have loved every minute of my TGCP volunteer experiences (and I’m only half-way through), but it hasn’t all been easy, and a lot of it has been very emotional in nature. I am beyond honored to be recognized for this volunteer project and my volunteer efforts over the past decade by Travelocity, Ladies Home Journal and We tv. I try to imagine how I will feel when I receive this award next week in New York City and it overwhelms and humbles me. This award belongs to everyone who has played a part in making this dream happen and makes an effort to give back. If I’ve learned one thing over the past five months, it’s that it takes very little to provide comfort to another person – we all have the power to be a hero to someone else.

I plan on live tweeting from the WE Do Good Awards Gala, next Tuesday, November 16th, starting at 5:30 EST (@charynpfeuffer). Also, mark your calendars to pick up the January issue of Ladies Home Journal, which features The Global Citizen Project. So much good stuff in the works – thank you.

blog profile: north by motorbike

Traveling is what sustains me. You can strip me of my every last material possession, but please keep your paws off my passport. As much as I love exploring new places (and revisiting much loved places), meeting new people is just as important to me.

Mid-way through my volunteer project at Campamento Tortuguero Platanitos, I had the serendipitous luck of meeting another West Coast wanderluster named Jason. He arrived in a nasty downpour on his motorbike, two days shy of the six month mark since he set out from Buenos Aires. From Argentina, he wound his way through South America, crossing into Central America, eventually taking a "time out" in Sayulita, a surfing town/fishing village 35 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. Feeling feeling a little down about Mexico, he thought a quick stay at Turtle Camp would turn things around.

Similarly to me, Jason decided to take on a major travel adventure after 11 years at his finance job (I took on The Global Citizen Project a few months after my 12-year anniversary of freelancing fulltime). It was his first time in South America and I reveled in his stories about experiencing these countries and cultures from the unique vantage point of a motorbike. Sure, I’d been to many of the same destinations, but I’d experienced them as a luxury traveler (for work) or as a backpacker (for play) and always got around via planes, trains, busses and automobiles. Obviously, traveling solo via motorbike affords greater flexibility and advantages, but it also presents a set challenges typically unbeknownst to us backpacker travelers – from bribery at border crossings and hot-as-hell heat to vicious summer storms and batshit crazy Latin American drivers.

Swapping spirited travel tales over five hours of turtle patrol in the late hours of the night was just the dose of inspiration I needed after spending five intensely meditative nights inside my head. (My thoughts tend to go inward and deep when patrolling the beach in the late night hours.) It makes my travel lovin’ heart so happy to see people hatch ambitious travel plans (well, any travel plans, really) and make them happen. It makes me even happier when they say, “This was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

As travelers we collect all sorts of things – experiences, memories, photos, passport stamps and souvenirs – but it’s the conversations with other travelers that stick with me the most. Here’s wishing Jason safe travels and continued adventures as he makes his way north through Mexico and heads home to Los Angeles after more than six months south of the Border on his bike and on the road.

You can read all about Jason's motorbike travels on his blog, North by Motorbike.

So fess up. How many of you fantasize about packing it all up and taking a six-month or one year hiatus from your job and everyday responsibilities? If you had the time, flexibility and freedom, where would you go and what would you do? We’re talking wish list scenarios here, so nothing is too outlandish or over-the-top.

ain't too proud to beg. vote. vote. vote.

I’m a big believer in last ditch, Hail Mary efforts, so here’s mine. (When I say “Hail Mary,” I’m talking football, not the prayer.) You have three days left to vote for me in WEtv’s WE Do Good Awards. In case you haven’t received the 3,946 prior APBs, I’m one of five finalists in the whole U.S. of A. to win a $5,000 voluntourism grant from Travelocity’s Travel for Good Program. If you wanted to, you could vote for me every 24 hours between now and 11:59 EST on August 31, 2010, but really, I’d be happy with just one well-intentioned vote. Please and thank you in advance. There’s a very long list of reasons why I want to win this prestigious award – a once-in-a-lifetime voluntourism opportunity, a feature in Ladies Home Journal, a trip to N.Y.C. to accept said award at a swanky gala, a spot on WEtv, and one personal one I’d prefer not to disclose in the blogosphere. But more than anything, winning this award would be a huge honor and a humbling achievement.

Thank you to everyone who voted while I was volunteering in Mexico, posted voting links to Facebook and Twitter and retweeted my admittedly, not-so-personal (but friendly!) scheduled reminders. I really appreciate everyone’s continued support for The Global Citizen Project more than 12 point type can tell you. Three projects into this year-long tour de force and my eyes, mind and heart are already busting at the seams. Thanks for being part such an important part of the journey and for letting me share the play-by-play with you.

PLEASE VOTE HERE.

one of these volunteers is not like the others

I’m quickly learning that volunteers tend to fall into four main catgeories: the missionary worker, the retiree voluntourist, long-term Peace Corps and NGO workers, and 20-something shoestring budget backpackers. And then there’s late 30-something me.


As a travel writer, I’ve been on my fair share of press trips* and have learned how to get along with (or at least, bite my lip and tolerate) people from all walks of life. I figured volunteering abroad with any well-intentioned person maybe not exactly in my demographic had to be easier than traveling anywhere with a high maintenance travel writer with 101 demands. Surprise, surprise; both scenarios present their own complications and require sacrifices, compromise and some extra effort.

In the volunteer world as I know it, finding short-term, non-faith based volunteer work that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg has been a real challenge. Different people are steered down the path of volunteering for different reasons, and I don’t believe that one path is more righteous than another when good deeds are being done. I also don’t believe it should be prohibitively expensive to volunteer, but that is a discussion best saved until after I’ve experienced a few more opportunities in a wider range of budgets.

I’m living a pretty rough and tumble lifestyle this year and things like outbreaks of Dengue Fever and Bubonic Plague (project #1 and #2 realities, respectively) are beyond my control. I do, however, have a say when it comes to the cleanliness of accommodations, volunteer work expectations or having running water, and will always require reasonable safety, respect and some privacy on occasion. I’ve dropped the “gourmet” from my usual global gourmet existence (also my Twitter handle) and have been living on simple volunteer meals, street food and the occasional cerveza. Accomodations have ranged from a comfortable private room in a home stay to a roach infested basilica to a shared dorm-style room without heat in the dead of winter and a twin bed in a barrio where gun shots lulled me to sleep at night. There’s nothing glamorous about what I'm doing this year, but The Global Citizen Project is not all about me; it’s about giving back. But, there’s a small part of me that wishes I could do just that with a (preferably) female peer coming from a similar place, instead of feeling like the odd woman out.

Whether you volunteer or not, I think we all feel and need a lot of the same things, and hope for a world without so much hardship. At least my ever optimistic self would like to think so. I just wish there were more accessible and appropriate opportunities for women like me, who aren’t afraid to live a scaled back existence, but would appreciate working with people with similar life experience. There are 10 projects to go, so there’s still hope for me to find the perfect fit volunteer project. Fingers crossed.

One objective of The Global Citizen Project is to participate in a variety of volunteer opportunities and report back with honest, firsthand feedback. That is why my project involves me in 12 different areas and styles of service. Although I’m only in the throes of Project #2, there are already many comparisons to be made between my experiences in Peru and Honduras. I’m sure when all 12 projects are said and done, the big picture perspective will be very insightful (and hopefully, helpful) for other service-minded folks, especially 30-something women like myself.

If you’re a 30-something gal who has had a fantastic volunteer experience, I’d love to hear from you. Nancy Drew here is on the detail to see if such scenarios exist. In the meantime, I’ll keep plugging away at my save the world efforts with an open mind, my bottles of bug spray and SPF and a smile.

* For those not in the know, a press trip, also known as a FAM – Familiarization Trip, is basically an all expenses paid travel tour de force sponsored by hotels and tourism boards who woo and pamper travel writers, vying for a few inches of ink (or 12 point type, in these print media world gone to hell days) in one of our published musings.

it's on. pre-registration tix for tbex 2011 went on sale today.

Holy crap. Within minutes of receiving an email from Wanderlust and Lipstick Founder and Editrix, Beth Whitman that Travel Blog Exchange tickets had gone sale, more than half of the blogger pre-registration tickets had already sold. In less than seven hours. Wow. Since TBEX is being held in roadtrip friendly nearby Vancouver, B.C. and I'll be hot off the heels of The Global Citizen Project, I plunked down the $50 pre-registration ticket fee (it jumps to $80 during regular registration, which I believe starts September 5th, 2010). Sure, my travel dance card is locked and loaded with the next 11 volunteer projects for TGCP and I'm typically not one to plan anything so far ahead, but I'm giddy about the prospect of having so many of my peers in the PacNW and hope that folks take me up on my offer to show 'em around Seattle. Mi es su casa and there's not much I love more in life than a good roadtrip. I don't want to get all Julie the Cruise Director, but there's anything I can do to make my fellow travel writer/blogger's stay in the PacNW more enjoyable, holler. When it comes to my hometown, Seattle, baby I was born to hostess.

project | building a future and hogares crea in honduras

I'm back in action after three weeks in Honduras for the first project of The Global Citizen Project. My apologies for delayed posts – technical logistics in Tegucigalpa were unpredictable and it’s taken me a full week to step away from the volunteer project and process the experience. On many levels, it was a very difficult trip for me. My time was divided between working with first and second graders in Colonia Ramón Amaya Amador, an underserved barrio on the outskirts of the capitol city, through Building a Future, and with abandoned and street children, many victims of violence, addiction and abuse via various Hogares Crea homes.

I had seen painful glimpses of the face of poverty, homelessness and hunger in Latin America on previous trips, but never experienced its myriad of effects so intimately. Despite this often seen reality, I also traveled throughout Honduras in late 2007 and had been floored by the beauty of the country. On this trip though, beauty was limited to a few quick countryside road trips and the gracious hospitality of the Honduran people; if it existed in Tegucigalpa, it was lost on me. The city (and country) face a plethora of problems ranging from its 40% unemployment rate, $1.30-1.50 average hourly wage and pervasive lack of education (the average Honduran completes 6.5 years of school) to widely divided social classes and a population where more than 50% of its people are ages 18-years-old and younger. Factor in Honduras’ recent Presidential coup and its current political polarization, and well, you don’t exactly have a recipe for (easy) success.

I’m eager to share specific experiences and stories with everyone and plan to do so over the coming weeks before I take off for project two of The Global Citizen Project with Karikuy in Lima, Peru in mid-July. In the meantime, here are my photos on Flickr of the people and places in Honduras that have given me pause and huge gratitude for the opportunity, education and friends and family in my life.

more photos | the global citizen project goes to honduras

Hola! I'm back from my first project for The Global Citizen Project, working with Building a Future and Hogares Crea in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and trying to process so many things - my volunteer experience, several deadlines, catching up on sleep and sifting through hundreds of photos and videos. Since I'm guessing that not everyone has the time to sit through 500+ images, here is round two of my favorite photos (with captions this time, too). Please click here to my Flickr page if you'd like to take a quick visual trip to Honduras. Grab your Kleenex - some of these photos are heartbreaking.

all volunteery eyed: inside the global citizen project

HotelChatter, Jaunted and VegasChatter contributor Globetrotting Gourmet aka one Charyn Pfeuffer will be leaving shortly to begin the biggest trip of her life--a year-long voluntourism adventure she's dubbed The Global Citizen Project. Here she explains what she's doing, how she's doing it and most importantly, why.

media mention: the faster times

If you know anyone who works in the creative sphere—writers, photographers, designers, filmmakers, artists, what have you—you’ve probably heard of Kickstarter. Read more of Amy Westervelt's article "Help Fund a Travel Show that's Actually Good" here, which includes a nice mention of The Global Citizen Project. Thanks, Amy for your continued support of my project!

a broad volunteers

Good news! I'm over-the-moon excited to report that I'm officially blogging for Wanderlust & Lipstick, your destination for women's travel. I've taken over the reigns of the "A Broad Volunteers" column and will be posting several times weekly. Sign up to follow all the action here as I dish about my travels for The Global Citizen Project as well as volunteer travel and voluntourism opportunities. Cheers and thanks for joining me.

media mention: matador network (again)

Thanks are in order for Julie Schwietert at Matador Network for her continued support of The Global Citizen Project and for mentioning it's fundriasing success in today's "How To Fund Your Start Up Org" post on Matador Change.

media mention: blogging: explore the publishing frontier

Thank you to Writers.com intructor, Amanda Castleman, for mentioning The Global Citizen project in her post today on "Micropatronage and blog sponsorship." Blogging Frontier is a online course for blogging beginners that focuses on the art and craft of new media.

give thanks: bogs footwear

Who says a gal has to compromise fashion for function? Not the design-savvy folks at BOGS Footwear who sent me an incredibly cute pair of waterproof/weatherproof "Classic High Cosmos Berry" boots for The Global Citizen Project adventures. Thank you, Dustin.

These knee-boots are not only warm, snuggly and way stylish, they have these great little cut-outs which make pulling them on and off super easy (a gripe with previously owned practical boots). And hello, retro flowers! Adorable. I don't want to take these boots off. Ever. My boyfriend thinks I should wear 'em with tights (now that would be a fashion statement). I'm thinking I'll test run 'em during Seattle's next rainstorm and be the belle of the muddy dog park (the gals always talk footwear as we've all managed to trash many pairs of shoes in the name of ChuckIt and stick). Either way, my new BOGS are absolutely perfect for my upcoming travels where in many instances, mud, rainy season and jungle/rainforest-like conditions are certain. Despite their girlish exterior, these boots are tough and ready for whatever scenario my tootsies take me to. I'll be sure to post pix of my BOGS in all-weather action. In the meantime, I'd love a little rain so I can splish, splash and play. Thank you again, BOGS Footwear for helping to outfit me for The Global Citizen Project.

prioritizing "to do" lists

This week, I'm in the throes of prioritzing a rather lengthy "to do" list for The Global Citizen Project and determing the next steps, as many decisions will have a domino effect on how others will play out. I'm also trying to catch up on a lot of work, assignments and pitches that got kicked to the curb due to the intensity of the past few months. Next week, I'll be guest tweeting for the fine state of Alaska about my recent travels to the Inside Passage in May and October 2009. Also, I reconnected with a former (fantastic) client, Costco Connection, and will taking a quick trip to Cabo San Lucas sometime this month for a feature on the resort town's changing culinary scene. The inbox is whittled down to less than 100 emails, a number I feel comfortable with. Lastly, just about all of the backer rewards have been mailed, with the exception of Lighthouse Roasters coffee, which will go out tomorrow. My apologies to the long line of people stuck behind me this morning at the U.S.P.S. in Ballard. I'm still waiting on some addresses for a few other items, so if you have some backer goodies coming your way, please get your mailing addy to me a.s.a.p.

Today, I spent some time researching travel insurance. In the past, I've purchased short-term plans with Travel Guard and MedjetAssist, and thankfully, have never had to use their benefits. Planning for a year of travel that will take me to 12 different countries is a bit different than thinking about a two or three week stint in a singular destination and I want to be sure I'm covered to the best of my ability for whatever medical emergencies may arise. Right now, World Nomads seems to offer the best benefits versus price ratio, but I'd love to hear what some other wanderlusters recommend (especially if you've had to make that call and actually use a travel insurance plan's services). I'm going to see what my travel doc has to say, as well, but she drinks the juice of the CDC and can be a bit overzealous with her medical recommendations at times.

I'm also working this week to confirm my 12 volunteer projects and exact dates of committment. Right now, more than half are set in stone. There's a method to my madness for wanting to serve certain projects in certain countries at certain times thoughout the year and making all the projects fit timing-wise into the grandmaster itinerary has been tricky. I'm almost there, though. It's kind like putting together the world's greatest puzzle. I plugged all of my potential flights into a nifty Seattle-based online airfare tracking site, Yapta, to keep an eye on airfares as they ebb and flow (and hopefully drop nice and low). I've used Airfarewatchdog in the past, but thought it best to support a local travel business. After some minor stumbling blocks (as with all new tech things in my world), I think I have the site figured out and yes, will admit to giddiness when Yapta sends me email notification of a price drop in airfare. (It's not quite the same level of excitement, though, as when my BlackBerry would buzz during TGCP Kickstarter funding period and alert me to a new backer.)

Tomorrow, I will take a long look at the steps necessary to apply for non-profit status. If anyone has any experience with this, I'd love to hear about it. Filing paperwork with the IRS, especially during peak tax season, doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, but it's one the necessary, immediate next steps for TGCP.

That's what I have on tap for the week. It's feels really good to be able to roll my sleeves up and jump into the thick of planning TGCP. I promise to keep you in the loop every step of the way! Here's hoping everyone has a great week. I'd love to hear how you're ringing in this fine month of March...

media mention: national geographic traveler intelligent blog

The Global Citizen Project and Kickstarter are featured today on National Geographic's Intelligent Travel blog. Thank you, Janelle Nanos for the coverage! Read it here.

new backer reward - one night stay at hotel max (seattle)

A quintessentially comfortable, utterly hip experience awaits you at the Hotel Max.

In the heart of downtown Seattle, Washington, the Hotel Max offers an artistic setting for both business and pleasure. The Hotel Max provides the platform for both emerging and established Seattle artists and photographers. There are more than 350 original paintings and photographs found throughout our Seattle hotel in the lobby, guest rooms and corridors.




The fine print: This Gift Certificate entitles you to enjoy a One Night Stay inclusive of Valet Parking. Reservations will be made based on availability. Incidental charges are not included. Other restrictions may apply.
The value is $299, but can be yours with a $150 pledge to The Global Citizen Project.

Photo courtesy of MACSURAK