r.i.p. bernhard j. pfeuffer

April 18, 1947 - June 19, 2011

blog post: sometomes voluntourism is found in unsuspecting places

Read my latest post for Women on Their Way by Wyndham Worldwide about my recent trip on Aqua Expeditions M/V Aria: "Sometimes Voluntourism Is Found in Unsuspecting Places."

today's top three happy list

Peonies blooming in my yard

Manita (a.k.a. Mimi), the rescue pup I brought back from Guatemala, turning into such a sweet beast

Wine-on-the-deck-worthy sunsets in Seattle. It's nights like this that make all the winter months of gray and gloom absolutely worth it.

media mention: dog's life magazine

All paws up to Olivia LaBarre at Dog's Life Magazine for featuring my volunteer work with dogs at AWARE Animal Rescue in Guatemala in the Summer 2011 issue.

The article features several voluntourism trips around the world that involve helping our four-legged friends. It's a thrill and an honor to share ink company with Nola Lee Kelsey of The Voluntary Traveler and animal advocate extraordinaire. Be sure to visit dogslifemagazine.com/voluntourism or TheVoluntaryTraveler.com for more animal voluntourism ideas.

read: tbex 2011 review by go, see, write

Usually, I'm the one who says what everyone else wishes they had the chutzpah to say. Well, Michael Hodson of the blog Go, See, Write beat me to the publishing punch with this spot-on review of this year's TBEX conference in Vancouver, B.C.

"When the guy running the local food cart knows your conference is unorganized, you have a problem" sums up TBEX's dysfunction, although I'd have to put co-founder, Kim Mance's tacky opening remarks pretty high on the list.  During the first few minutes of the weekend-long conference, Mance called out a travel blogger who had demanded the Presidential Suite at a nearby hotel. For free. I've crossed paths with plenty of travel bloggers who behave badly (ditto for PRs), so such a scenario isn't unfathomable.  But, there are two sides to every story, and whether this story is or isn't true, starting a conference on a note of public humilation for one of its attendees is pretty crappy.

Sure, there were many positives to attending TBEX, but for me, the most memorable interactions did not take place within the confines of the conference center. It was about the people and the place, seeing old faces and making new friends. Being in Vancouver for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals was an absolute thrill.  And for those moments, I am grateful. 

But would I do it again? Hmm...I doubt it.

read: is this the future of food guides?

"With the success of films like Food Inc., books such as Fast Food Nation, and shows like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, people everywhere are starting to learn more about the food system. But what about the specific foods we eat?"

Read HuffPost Food article, Is This the Future of Food Guides? here.

photos: aqua expeditions m/v aria - amazon, peru



Me with a turtle rescue from poachers



One of the dozens of species of wildlife we encountered on the Amazon River

Aqua Expeditions latest luxury cruise vessel, M/V Aria

View from my spacious suite (#206) aboard M/V Aria

Aqua Expeditions gives back to local rainforest villages/communities in many ways. One way is by offering $5 Toiletry, School Supply or Fishing (above) Kits for passengers to distribute during village excursions.

One of the four naturalists aboard M/V Aria.

Gourmet Peruvian cuisine aboard M/V Aria. Breakfasts and lunches were served buffet-style, while multi-course Tasting Menus designed by Peruvian Celebrity Chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino spoiled guests each evening.

View from the dining room.

One of many stunning sunsets.

Children in dug out canoes near the city of Iquitos, Peru

Me and some children during a village excursion.

More super dreamy sunset magic

My suite aboard M/V Aria. Very luxurious with luxe linens, king sized bed, iPod docking stations, gorgeous black and white photography, modern decor, hardwood floors, rain showerheads, Peruvian bathroom products, in-room safe, robe and slippers and floor to ceiling windows.

Children of the rainforest

A local Pacaya Samiria National Reserve ranger and fisherman

Look closely! There's a three toed sloth in the branches.

Ranger Station #2 in Pacaya Samiria National Reserve

Beautiful reflection on a black water river.

Check out the rest of my photos from my trip with Aqua Expeditions on the M/V Aria here.

sunset on lake charo - amazon river, peru

skiff ride through the slums of floating shanty town, belén - east of iquitos, peru

bottle-feeding orphaned baby amazonian manatees in peru

listen: nick drake - from the morning

great read: seth godin - busker's dilemma (busker's delight)

"If you play music on the street with a bucket for donations, every song has to be a showstopper..."  Read the rest of Seth Godin's blog post "Busker's Dilemma (Busker's Delight)" here.

adios - i'm off to the amazon

Still reeling from wrapping up The Global Citizen Project earlier this week, I'm headed to the Amazon on Sunday to check out the latest addition to Aqua Expeditions' Amazon cruise vessels - the M/V Aria.  I'm very much looking forward to returning to one of my favorite corners of the world and cannot wait to get my pink dolphin fix.

Thank you Amanda Castleman, Alex Kralicek and Libby Seiter Nelson for the school supplies and clothing donations. Thank you LAN for flying me LAX - LIM - IQT.

Note: This trip is a fully hosted press trip, with the exception of flight arrangements from SEA - LAX.

all signs say "yes"

Dear Pam:

Not to get all Tom Cruise circa 1996 cheese on you, but you complete me. Your recent post, Putting on Noise Cancelling Headphones, on Spunkygirl Monologues sums up exactly how I feel these days.  "No" has been my mantra for the past many months, but maybe I just need to tune out all the noise, re-focus and redirect.  Your blog post has given me the much-needed kick in the ass to make it happen.

Much love and thankfulness,
Charyn

media mention: seattle weekly's voracious dining newsletter

Yours truly was featured in Seattle Weekly's Voracious Dining Newsletter:

"Twitter and Facebook have proven themselves invaluable tools for restaurants, and bursting onto the local social-media scene recently is ViaVita, a café and wine bar in Bellevue that wants Seattleites to know it's worth the drive (just maybe avoid rush hour). Local social-media guru Charyn Pfeuffer is to thank for the sudden uptick in the restaurant's community outreach, but what makes the place—and that side of the lake—so special?"

Read the rest of the shout out here.

recipe: tomatillo salsa

Ingredients:
1 pound tomatillos, quartered
1 jalapeno – halved (not seeded)
2-3 cloves of garlic (whole)
½ cup of cilantro (add more to taste)
Juice of one lime
Olive oil
Salt
Method:
Place tomatillos, garlic and jalapeno on a baking pan. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Cook at 375-400F degrees for 45 minutes or until everything is soft and starts to brown.

Place cooked mixture into a blender or food processor and add cilantro, lime juice and salt to taste. Add more jalapeno for spicier salsa.

blog post: a four star voluntourism experience teaching english in spain

Read all about my recent volunteer experience with Pueblo Ingles in Spain in my latest column for Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way here.

"every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” - seneca

Eeks. I have very mixed emotions about the completion of The Global Citizen Project. I’ve tried to wrap my brain around how to best sum up this year of my life in a neat and tidy blog post, but it’s next to impossible. So consider this the first several “Final Thought” installments. We’ll see how this plays out. All I know is that I don’t want to be confined to 500 words to verbalize up how I feel.

Truly, The Global Citizen Project has been the most inspiring year of my life. It’s pushed me well beyond my comfort zone and challenged me – over and over again. It brought me in contact with the best, and sadly, the worst of humanity, and shown me sides of people and places I’d never otherwise experience. It’s made compromise, sacrifice, speak my truths and bite my lip. It’s made my heart ache. And overflow with joy. It’s made me more capable of love than ever before. The number of people who’ve humbled me this past year makes my head swim – the 220+ donors who helped fund the project, the countless supporters from around the world, the people, communities and organizations I’ve been so fortunate to volunteer for, and the dedicated volunteers I’ve worked alongside – thank you. When it’s all said and done, I volunteered close to 900 hours. That’s a lot of help for a whole lot of people and I feel very lucky.

So where do I go now? People have been asking me this very question since I launched The Global Citizen Project. Last June. I went into TGCP with a very organic, take-it-as-it-comes attitude. If it evolved into something bigger than itself, like an Oprah Winfrey school for girls in Africa, fine (I kid). If it didn’t, fine. I enter most scenarios in life with very few expectations. It’s not that I don’t think big, work my ass off and shoot for the stars – I just make it a point to not tie myself to any particular outcomes in life. As my volunteer travels draw to a close, I’m nowhere near ready to abandon my efforts to promote responsible travel, voluntourism and humanitarian causes and will continue to make a difference and inspire others to do good.

This path has led me to MISSION, a media platform for global travel, humanitarian issues and (voilà!) making a difference in the world. I’ve signed on as MISSION’s Volunteer Travel Editor and plan to help as many people as possible “See the Planet, Change the World.” MISSION founder Amy Schrier created BLUE magazine (bluemagazine.com), the original Adventure Lifestyle brand presenting the world, its amazing peoples, places and the ways to explore them, through outdoor recreation, action sports + adventure travel. BLUE was described as “Not your father’s National Geographic” by The New York Times, and “National Geographic with a rock-n-roll beat” by New York’s Daily News.

The site, set to launch fall 2011, will be home to the first independent database of volunteer trips on the Internet. Site visitors will be able to sort by location, cause, time and cost required to find the trip that is right for them. MISSION will also create a magazine that brings the themes of global travel and humanitarianism to life in print and iPad mediums and host events that tie to meaningful social causes.

No one is doing what MISSION is doing – creating a humanitarian content media brand. MISSION is the bacon to my egg and I am humbled to be a part of its efforts.

Please check out our pre-launch site out and our Facebook group.

In addition to taking on Volunteer Travel Editor duties at MISSION, I’m coordinating social media and marketing for an area café and wine bar, as well as booking volunteer speaking engagements, consulting on all things media related for nonprofits and humanitarian causes, and continuing to freelance write about food, travel and lifestyle topics (albeit in a much more scaled back capacity). I really don’t know how to function unless I am multitasking like a madwoman.

So, thank you for being part of TGCP journey. The 12-month project may be over, but it’s inspired a new chapter that’s just beginning. I hope you’ll continue to join for me the next adventure(s). Like all things I engage in life, I pinky swear promise it will be fun.

8 Days of Giving to Japan: Day 8 - Habitat for Humanity Japan (#Habitat_Org)

Habitat For Humanity Japan is still assessing the situation but will be involved in the reconstruction of housing once the emergency period ends. This is one of the most vital aspects of recovery and the homeless will need a lot of help to put their lives back together.

Learn more about Habitat for Humanity Japan here or donate here.

 

For all social media outreach, please include the hashtags:

• #blog4japan
• #8daysjapan
• #Habitat_Org

Extra Credit: If you are unable to donate, please share this page with your friends, family and coworkers through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter or any other outlet you can think of. The more people who see this page the greater the donations will be.

 

If you are blogger or have your own website, please see the Blog4Japan page to learn how you can utilize this appeal on your own site and help us reach even more people.