new blog post on women on their way - flexibility is essential to having a successful voluntourism experience

Sometimes things on the volunteer road have a strange way of working out.  This past month I was slated to volunteer in Haiti. My second attempt to work in the impoverished Caribbean country was timed to coincide with the one year anniversary of Haiti's tragic earthquake.  In coordination with Ecoworks International (http://www.ecoworksinternational.org/), I planned to help teens create a community newsletter/journal at a small youth center in the town of Ganthier.

Things didn't exactly work out as planned, but much, much better. Read all about my volunteer experience at ANIMAL AWARE in Guatemala and the puppy that stole my heart here.

media mention: united way of king county blog

Friday afternoon thanks are in order for Erica at United Way of King County for writing and sharing this amazing blog post about yours truly and The Global Citizen Project. Read A Global Citizen: Charyn’s Volunteer Spirit Knows No Bounds here.  I met Erica last spring while volunteering at Marra Farms during National Volunteer Week (coming up in April!) and have turned to United Way of King County many times since for volunteer inspiration. Erica truly "gets" what I'm doing and I am thanksful to her for capturing it so eloquently. This blog post made my week! Thank you.

superbowl sunday. black and gold, baby. go steelers.

If you know me in real life or follow me on Twitter, you're probably well aware of my opinion of Seattle as a sport town -- two thumbs down for its teams and 90% of its so-called sports fans. Seattle lacks the live-or-die sports mentality I grew up with on the east coast, and as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, the "We were robbed in Super Bowl XL" whines are exhausting.

So when I put out an APB asking if any Seattle bars were running any specials or promotions for Sunday, I was met with radio silence. No surprises there.

I figured we'd end up at one of our usual football viewing haunts -- the Ballroom or Pacific Inn Pub in Fremont -- until Leslie at Fresh-Picked Seattle posted pretty fantastic list of things to do in Seattle on Superbowl Sunday. Check it out here. Now my NFL-lovin' mind is spinning with so many great options. Thank you, Leslie and GO STEELERS!

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.

february project preview: globe aware in costa rica

In February, I am headed to Costa Rica to volunteer with Globe Aware - The Road Less Traveled Rainforest Village Experience. This volunteer travel program offers a unique opportunity to help a small community next to the Carara Rainforest Reserve improve their well being and create a sustainable future in ecologically important areas. This project was chosen with the Travelocity Travel for Good grant I won via WE tv and Ladies’ Home Journal and I am beyond grateful to be able to bring my boyfriend along for the do good adventures.  He's been extremely patient and supportive of my volunteering efforts over the past eight months and I am excited to be able to share a small part of The Global Citizen Project with him -- especially in one of my favorite Central American countries.

The Carara Rainforest Reserve borders a tiny village where volunteers are immersed. Although the villagers love their natural paradise, they have struggled to make ends meet as much of their farmland was taken over by the national park. They hope to create sustainable community-based tourism, and Globe Aware volunteers will work on community development projects to help them reach this goal.

Projects will vary depending on the number of volunteers, which projects were finished with the prior group, what priorities have changed, weather conditions, which supplies are available, and often the interest and fitness level of the volunteers.

Some completed Carara Rainforest Reserve volunteer work projects:

• Built pedestrian bridges
• Buried and installed new PVC water pipe to bring new clean water source into community
• Painted school
• Built cabinas
• Planted hundreds of trees
• Built book shelves for school
• Built fence around school
• Set up First Aid center
• Made oil lamps to line public road
• Made and installed road signs to community
• Painted communal hall
• Built recycling stations
• Built waste receptacles
• Painted and installed identifying signs in rain forest

To learn more about Globe Aware and its volunteer vacations around the world, click here.

media mention: adventures with alyson

Wow. Wow. Wow. What a lovely introduction to my new voluntourism blog from Alyson at Wyndham Worldwide. I am so grateful that I got to meet this "Can Do" woman at the WE Do Good Awards in NYC this past November and am thrilled to pieces that she asked me to contribute to Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way Jane Air Crew. Thank you, Alyson for providing such a supportive resource for women who travel, but also for giving props to women who give back. Read her blog post here.

yours truly is jane air crew's voluntourism blogger

Wyndham Worldwide's Women on Their Way is a fab online resource for business and leisure travelers to find everything they need to plan and book their next trip. The website, www.WomenOnTheirWay.com, includes expert advice on destinations, hotels, timeshare resorts and vacation rentals, plus special deals and packages.

I recently signed on to be Women on Their Way's brand new Jane Air Crew Voluntourism Blogger. Read my first blog post here and bookmark the Jane Air Crew blog page to read regular posts from a rockstar line-up of wanderlusting women on-the-go. You can also friend Women on Their Way on Facebook here or follow on Twitter here. I so look forward to sharing my voluntourism experiences (the good, bad and the ugly - I've seen it all!) with readers, so be sure to check back each month!

still a few spaces in writers.com travel writing master class with amanda castleman, david farley, thomas swick, edward readicker-henderson and yours truly

Take your travel writing to the next level in the new year! There are still a few spots left in Writers.com's January Travel Writing Master Class with Amanda Castleman and guest critiquers David Farley, Charyn Pfeuffer, Thomas Swick and Edward Readicker-Henderson.

Take your prose to the next level, honing your voice and perspective. Anchored by Amanda Castleman, this extended online workshop assembles a roster of teaching talent that's rarely seen outside of conferences.  Students receive weekly one-on-one feedback, not just Q&A, and assignments ranging from tweets to YouTube, but concentrating on evolving each author's narrative voice. Even the most experienced writers have blind spots and unconscious ticks and we can help retune 'em!

This online workshop starts Monday, January 10 and runs for 12 weeks. The cost is $445 and late enrollment accepted until day 10.  TGCP readers receive a 5% discount with the code MC111CP.

Guest critiquers include:
New York University Instructor David Farley, author of the award-winning An Irreverent Curiosity: In Search of the Church's Strangest Relic in Italy's Oddest Town (1 week)

Charyn Pfeuffer, a culinary and travel freelancer who is undertaking The Global Citizen Project - 12 voluntourism projects in 12 countries - thanks to social-media fundraising (1 week)

Lowell-Thomas-winner Edward Readicker-Henderson, whose poetic musings on quiet have appeared in AARP Magazine, Forbes Traveler and National Geographic Traveler, among other outlets (2 weeks)

Author and columnist Thomas Swick, whose observations on the trade have been honored by Travelers Tales, Best Travel Writing and Best American Travel Writing (2 weeks)

Explore imagery and epiphanies apt to an area. Sharpen your eye for timely angles and compelling quests. Push your plot arcs further and master the interweaving of action, analysis and reflection.

We’ll delve into the sound of words on the page, as well as how to capture the best quotes from locals and experts. The class will even touch upon investigative tactics: when to tuck that press pass in your hat band... and when to meditate and read poetry for inspiration. Finally, you'll refine your cutting, redrafting and repurposing skills, exploring the same material through different subgenres and editors.

Amanda Castleman spent eight years in Europe and the Middle East, before returning to freelance full-time from her homeport of Seattle. Her articles have appeared in The International Herald Tribune, MSNBC.com, Wired, Salon, Italy Daily, The Athens News and Sport Diver, along with the UK's BBC, Guardian and Sunday Express. Her Honduras scuba article won a 2007 Lowell Thomas award (travel writing's ersatz Pulitzer).

Amanda has contributed to 30-odd books, including Greece, A Love Story and Rome in Detail, plus titles for National Geographic, Frommer's, Michelin, DK Eyewitness, Time Out and Rough Guides. She has launch-edited glossy consumer magazines, as well as a Silicon Valley start-up. Previous gigs include graphic- and web-designing, and staffing and editing on metro dailies. In addition to Writers.com, Amanda teaches through the Richard Hugo House and TravelWritingClass.com, which offers week-long workshops in Rome. Her website is http://www.amandacastleman.com/ and she ego-casts further on the blog Road Remedies.

Not sure if the master class is for you? Take our quiz to find out.

To see the Travel Writing Master Class week-by-week syllabus, click here.

news: bus bomb kills five in guatemala city

An explosion on a bus in Guatemala City has killed at least five people and left more than a dozen others with serious burns.  Read more about it here.

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

january project preview | animal aware | near sumpango sacatepéquez, guatemala

What: AWARE (Animal Welfare Association - Rescue/Education) is a non-profit, non-governmental charitable organization, founded in Guatemala in 1998 by Xenii Nielsen (USA), Gina Illescas (Guatemala), and Pamela Hirst- Prins (England). The principal activity of AWARE is rescue and rehabilitation of domestic animals. AWARE has a permanent on-site spay/neuter clinic, and plans to build an education center to provide free environmental education to local children, eventually including basic literacy and numeracy, and perhaps English language teaching. At the moment AWARE’s educational provision includes visits in schools and colleges - and even, on occasion, private homes - in and around Antigua and Guatemala City. AWARE is financed solely through membership subscriptions and private donations - either financial or in-kind.

AWARE operates a No-Kill animal shelter. This means that they do not euthanize any animal brought to them, as long as they feel that the animal is still able to live a reasonably normal and enjoyable life. All animals that are not adopted are kept and provided for. They sometimes participate in AWARE’s school visits, and all of them give Hound Heights its special character.

Where:  Hound Heights is located just off the Pan-American Highway - at Km 40, between San Lucas and Chimaltenango - close to the village of Sumpango Sacatepéquez - very handy for the spectacular kite flying on All Souls Day (1st November). This is Guatemala’s Central Highlands, and the farm is about 2300 meters (7500 feet) above sea-level. Although AWARE is only 14° north of the Equator, it gets cold enough for a touch of pre-dawn frost during the winter at this altitude.

The Shelter sits astride a ridge, nestling amongst woods and the tiny fields of maize and beans of the local Kakchiquel Indians. It’s a very peaceful spot, and listening to the whippoorwill at night it’s hard to imagine that these apparently gentle hills and valleys owe their steep inclines and jumbled configuration to terrible seismic convulsions resulting from Guatemala’s situation on the junction of no less than three tectonic plates.

Volunteer work: With over 200 dogs and nearly 100 cats, AWARE always need help with anything from building dog-runs or putting up fences to bathing, brushing, or walking dogs, providing some human company for both the dogs and the cats, or helping out with their educational programs. From time to time, AWARE needs help with their spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics, garage sales, and other fund-raising events.

Possible duties include:

• Dogs: bathing, brushing, obedience training, medicating, cleaning cages, walking, and socializing.

• Cats: brushing, medicating, cleaning the cages, and socializing.

• Educational programs in local schools.

• Helping with spay/neuter and rabies vaccination clinics in local villages.

• Thinking up and organizing fund-raising events.

• Photography.

• Sunday: Hound Heights is open to the public from 10 am to 3 pm. Volunteers can help show people around, assist parking, discourage littering, show animals to potential adopters, etc.

Significance:  I adopted Gus, my four-legged sidekick in the throes of a messy break-up. Some women buy shoes or binge on Ben & Jerry’s – I rescued a three-month old puppy on SPCA doggy death row. Adopting an untrained, abused puppy presented all sorts of challenges I wasn’t prepared for, but this beast dressed in brown fur taught me to let go and believe in my ability to love without all the bullshit riders and clauses and exceptions I’ve managed to build like a fortress around my heart for decades. Animal rescue and spay and neuter programs are causes I strongly believe in and I look forward to working with animals in a country where animals are generally not treated well or considered a status symbol (versus a well cared for pet). If I can help connect one animal with an owner who will give 'em a lifetime of love like I've given Gus, I'll be happy.

As an added bonus, I get to volunteer with my food and travel writer friend, Lisa Rogak of Where In the World is Peckerhead? fame.  This gal has been incredibly kind to me on so many levels and such a source of creative and travel inspiration, that I am pretty damn happy that I finally get to meet her live and in the flesh in Latin America. Volunteering pretty much kicks butt, but getting to share the experience with people you respect and admire takes it to a whole other level of awesome (as I learned this month at Food Lifeline). So, thank you Lisa for putting AWARE on my radar!

help support a center for sustainability and healing in portugal

The Korashan Project would like to restore and revive this amazing 16th Century Manor House in Vale das Lobas, Portugal to use as a center for sustainability and healing to be known as The Semanario. It will provide a focus to the eco-village, and a means for the members to derive an income from within the community.

About The Semanario:  The Seminario and it's beautiful terraced farm will be a multi-faith centre for peace, offering courses and workshops to encourage and inspire people who seek creative change and healing. The themes will range from natural medicine, through permaculture and traditional agriculture, to ecological construction and rural crafts. Residents at Vale das Lobas will be able to develop their income in association with the cycles and rhythms of the centre. Whether it is working in hospitality, to offering courses within the programme, to being part of the ecological building team, or having your own craft or artisan workshop, and selling your products directly to visitors. If you want to live a rural life, but take an active part in changing the world, join us at Vale Das Lobas.

About Vale das Lobas: Situated in the breathtaking Beira Alta region of central Portugal, in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela Mountains, Vale das Lobas is one hour’s drive from both the Spanish border and the wild Atlantic coast. Surrounded by granite boulders and ancient Neolithic sites, it occupies over seventy hectares of unpolluted, fertile land. The heart of the project is the village of Sobral Pichorro, with its terraced farmlands and 16th century manor house, known locally as The Seminario.

Learn more about the project on the Korashan Project's Facebook page here or donate here.

maybe third time will be the charm: why i put haiti on hold

After a lot of debate, I decided for the second time (grr...) during The Global Citizen Project (TGCP) to postpone my volunteer trip to Haiti in January. It was not an easy decision, but I didn’t really have a choice. Haiti was put on hold in June when I launched TGCP because post-earthquake safety conditions had not improved to a point I was comfortable with.

Plans were locked and loaded and tickets were booked for me to go next month to volunteer with Ecoworks International. I was supposed to work with a terrific volunteer, Pete Medalia, a farmer and tree specialist who has taken over the creation of Ecoworks International’s tree nursery. Medalia lives most of the time in Ganthier at Mayor Ralph Lapointe’s house. Ecoworks International also has a small youth center in Ganthier where I was planning on helping teens create a community newsletter/journal. Here is an article about the happenings in Ganthier.

Everything looked like it was going to finally happen until Haiti’s recent November 28th election, which resulted in Michel Martelly (the third place candidate and popular Haitian carnival singer, a.k.a. “Sweet Mickey”), as well as the 12 other candidates contesting the elections.

The basic gist is that everyone is pissed that Martelly got screwed in the election, no one likes Jude Celestin (the candidate who beat Martelly by 6,845 votes for second place) and the response has been gunfire, barricades, riots, police confrontations and a run off election slated to take place during my volunteer stay. Election results can take up to two weeks to receive. The powers-that-be at my host volunteer organization expressed extreme worry for my safety in coming to Haiti at this time, as incoming flights had been cancelled due to the political unrest and as a result, my contact was considering postponing her involvement in a charette project that was planned to coincide timing-wise with my visit.

Over the past seven months of TGCP, I’ve managed to survive dengue fever, bubonic plague, gang violence, tropical storms, mudslides, contaminated water sources, more crime-ridden situations than I care to think about, sub par living conditions and the list goes on. I’m okay with facing crime, weather and health uncertainties (I was all ready to deal with Haiti’s current cholera outbreak – my malaria meds are apparently the first course of pharmaceutical action for infection), but situations of political unrest are the “oh shit” line I’m not willing to cross in the name of giving back. Such scenarios are a wildcard and although I want to help as many people as possible during these 12 months, I’m not exactly prepared to die in the name of this project.

Fingers crossed, I can make this project in Haiti happen in April or May. I love this organization and I’m so inspired by the work they want me to do for youth of Ganthier. And like Ecoworks International, I too am optimistic that the future of Haiti will improve. Big thank yous to Delta and its super efficient Twitter customer service at @deltaassist for being so understanding and helpful in canceling my airline ticket. May the stars align this spring.

Photo courtesy of EcoWorks International

jason fried: why work doesn't happen at work | video on TED.com

Jason Fried: Why work doesn't happen at work video on TED.com

first week of volunteering at food lifeline: a smashing success

It’s been a rockin’ first week volunteering at Food Lifeline. I love the people I’m working with and the rotating cast of kind-hearted volunteers and court mandated community service characters that roll through the Shoreline warehouse.  I started the week inspecting and repacking grocery rescue produce.  In real people speak, that’s nearly expired donations from several local grocery retailers, including Fred Meyer, Whole Foods and Amazon.com.  Foodstuffs have ranged from chanterelle mushrooms and vegetable and dip combo platters to very ripe avocados and heirloom tomatoes.  Potatoes, apples, bagged lettuces and pre-cut fruit reign supreme, with the latter in past expiration abundance.  It’s humbling to play a part in feeding so many needy Western Washington families and inspiring to see the volume of food that is processed at Food Lifeline with such meticulous care.

Parker Staffing Services and Tiffany of Carbzilla joined the food-packing festivities on Tuesday; Tiffany even returned again on Thursday.  Later in the week, I was “promoted” to processing dairy and have even been entrusted to train a handful of new volunteers.  Physically, it’s been an exhausting week, moving and packing boxes ranging from 25-40 lbs., hauling, weighing and disposing of heavy compost bins, and working on my feet for several consecutive hours in a fast paced warehouse setting, but I absolutely love it. 

In other news, my beloved 1992 Nissan Maxima went to car heaven last weekend after one final road trip to Vancouver, B.C., so I was forced to learn how to navigate King County Metro.  Riding the bus is no big deal for most urbanites, but I am not well-versed in Seattle’s public transportation system and the prospect of taking the bus (including a - gasp! - transfer) instilled panic that I’ve never experienced in all my third world ground transportation travels. Go figure.  So as a freelancer who’s worked from home for the past 12 years, never had structure or a schedule to abide by and has limited public transportation experience, I am proud of myself for getting myself to Food Lifeline every day this week via bus and on time. Maybe I wore repeat outfits this week and showed up with wet hair, but volunteering really isn’t about looking pretty. It’s about productivity and all of the volunteers at Food Lifeline kick ass.  I am so happy that for December, I get to play some small part in Food Lifeline’s annual goal of delivering 24 million meals to hungry families in Western Washington. 

"no" is my new mantra

Really, I don’t mean to be a bitch, but, I need to get this rant off my chest. I’ve been freelancing fulltime for 12+ years. I did not attend journalism school and I learned everything I’ve needed to know to support myself solely off a writing career by making every mistake in the book. Yes, I had a few big serendipitous breaks, but I did not have a mentor or a whole lot of guidance to show me the way.  I just jumped in, did it, worked my ass off and made it work, because I fell hard and fast in love with writing and knew nothing else in the world would fill my soul quite the same way.

So, when I get nearly three dozen emails a week asking me how to become food writer, a travel writer, an author, a ghostwriter, a blogger or a social media expert, I cringe, and now, more times than not (there are a few exceptions), politely decline help and say “no.”  For one, I simply don’t have time to dole out career advice, especially while engaged in this year long volunteering tour de force. Secondly, a “small” favor inevitably turns into a never-ending string of questions and pseudo-mentoring that I didn’t sign up for and then I find myself in an awkward cyber break-up situation.  Lastly, the percentage of people seeking help who actually thank me is ridiculously small.  (I’m a stickler for giving thanks.) 


Don’t get me wrong. I want to encourage people to write and follow their dreams – I just don’t want to hold their hands or be a go-to source for career advice and information. At least not for the 100 or so people who hit my inbox each month seeking a “short” phone conversation or a “small” favor.  No thanks.  If I’m going to spend time inspiring budding writers, I’m more inclined to guest speak at a high school or university class or share insights in a blog comment or engage in back-and-forth banter on Twitter. This friend-of-a-friend email referral situation, though, is driving me batshit crazy.  It’s like asking my dentist, lawyer, veterinarian how I can do their job and expecting a quick, all insightful answer.  It’s impossible to sum up a decade plus of experience into a short and sweet email.  Creating a successful freelance writing career is not easy, but if I can do it, I’m guessing there are other passionate people out there who can do it too – without my help. The influx of outreach is flattering (thank you), but I'm afraid “no” is my new mantra. All of my charitible resources are maxxed out for the time being. Well, at least through June 2011.

we tv we do good award video

media mention: we tv do good, feel good

Big thanks to Britt, WE tv's WE Volunteer blogger extraordinaire for this fantastic post on "Do Good, Feel Good."  Really appreciate the online love, Britt!

passports with purpose. donate now and help build a village in india.

I am knee deep in the spirit of giving back, so when Passports with Purpose’s annual Travel Bloggers’ fundraiser rolled around, I was pretty stoked to participate.

Passports with Purpose was founded in 2008 by the Puget Sound kitten squad of Debbie Dubrow, Pam Mandel, Beth Whitman and Michelle Duffy as a way to build community among travel bloggers and to give back to the places we, as travelers, visit. Last year, 90 bloggers participated and raised almost $30,000 to build a school in rural Cambodia (complete with a school nurse and a kitchen garden that provides each child a daily meal).

This year, the social media savvy gals-on-the-go have raised the bar and are hoping to raise $50,000 to build a village, brick by brick, in rural India through our partnership with Friends of Lafti.

Here’s how PWP works: You, dear, kind, generous donor, make a tax deductible donation directly to the charitable organization (LAFTI International in 2010). For each $10 you donate, you are entered to win a prize of your choice.

The Global Citizen Project has donated a Bachmann Trains' Golden Spike Train Set (MSRP value $180). This 163-piece train set commemorates the historic event when the world's first transcontinental railroad was completed with the driving of the final Golden Spike. This set features Bachmann's exclusive E-Z Track snap-fit track and roadbed system plus a diesel locomotive with an operating headlight, open quad hopper, plug-door box car, single dome tank car, stock car, off-center caboose, 63" x 38" oval of snap-fit EZ track including 12 pieces of curved track, 6 pieces of straight track, 1 plug-in terminal rerailer, 1 manual turnout-left, undertrack magnet with brakeman figure, 1 Hayes bumper, suburban station, signal bridge, 48 figures, 36 telephone poles, 48 railroad and street signs, power pack and speed control and an illustrated instruction manual.

Donations for PWP prizes close December 13th (Note: PWP will still take donations, but you won’t be entered into a drawing after December 13th). On December 17th, PWP will notify prize winners and host bloggers.

It truly is an honor to be part of this fundraising event and to feel like, in some small way as a travel blogger, I’m able to help make a big picture impact so much greater than myself. So thank you, PWP.

media mention: kirstenalana.com "woman doing good"

Let the waterworks begin.  Again.  The stars aligned on Tuesday night for travel writer and photographer, Kirsten Alana to join me and a handful of friends I haven't seen in ages at the WE Do Good Awards in New York City.  I've been a fan of hers on Twitter, but she is even lovelier live and in the flesh.  I am so thankful she was able to come kick up her heels with me and look forward to continuing a real life friendship. 

I was a nervous, emotional wreck for most of the actual WE Do Good Awards ceremony, but Kirsten captured all of the highlights oh so eloquently here.  Thank you 100 times - this is too sweet for words. XO