Personal Policy

All four of my previous posts on the topic of travel served the purpose to prepare you, my diligent readers, for world travel. And although passports, visas, vaccines, and good dose of paranoia are important when it comes to travel, the most important part of any journey is the person taking it.

Before you begin traveling you're going to need to have your own personal policy!

Over the course of the last 10 weeks I have made it sound difficult and impractical to travel, unless you're rich of course... It's actually a lot less expensive than people expect, as long as you're willing to enjoy traveling for purely the travel! If you desire the high-end resorts or cruise liners you're not necessarily desiring travel, rather you're looking to the luxurious get away where you don't have to worry about anything. There is a simpler way to travel in relative comfort and not have to be concerned about anything... Be flexible.

We all need a plan when we start traveling, that is a given, but you should also be ready to jump on opportunities when they show themselves! This is the base for a good personal travel policy.

There are plenty of ways to travel and have others take care of you so you don't need to  pay for a hotel or hostel. CouchSurfing is one fairly popular idea. With four million surfers taking part in the couchsurfing experiene and 400,000 hosts all with profiles and ratings from other surfers, the process can be considered a safe and reliable one worldwide. Some times you will get a bad, sometime a couch, sometimes an air mattress, but nontheless it's a roof. You also might have to cook for yourself, but couchsurfing is free!

Courtesy of The New Yorker

Another possibility if you are willing to get your hands a little dirty is through WWOOF, World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It works a lot like couchsurfing, but in trade for a full days housing and food you exchange labor. Typically ranging from four to six hours, work can be on a farm, vineyard, garden, etc. Hosts must follow organic or sustainability principles, so just think, as you work for your meal and roof, you are also feeding people deliciously organic food grown at their local organic farm!

courtesy of WWOOF

So those are ways to stay fed and dry while exploring the world, but what about necessities like souvenirs and proof that you traveled. That has a very simple answer... Just don't. Traveling light makes the trip 1) easier 2) more enjoyable because you're no nearly as distracted and 3) less stressful (at least I would always be paranoid that I forgot something somewhere). Lay down your own personal rules on how much clothes you want to carry, how much of your toiletry bag is actually important, and if you really need that iPad (a deck of cards can be just as entertaining).

Money is important though, even if you don't plan on having to spend that much (thanks to my awesome recommendations!), because what happens when decide to take transportation somewhere far and you are out of money? Nothing happens because you're broke...

courtesy of JCI

One of the easiest ways for us fluent English speakers to make money abroad is to teach ESL! English as a Secondary Language is a program adopted around the world, because for some reason the rest of the world decided it would be smart to learn one of the most indirect and confusing languages out there.... There is a little more required for this one, such as a visa (see my previous blog post!), or a TEFL certification/degree.  The upside to this job is that it opens you to the places of the world, months at a time, and then you can move on. Jobs can last as short as a three month training and as long as you really want (unless you get fired/replaced

The ESL job is my personal favorite, but if you have other abilities it may score you a traveling job. Sailors can get on cruises, you can be a medium between banks, be a tour guide (if you know the place well enough), or you can always join the military. They might not always send you where you want to go, but you'll definitely travel!

Remember, your policy to travel comes first, because if you don't have one you'll get pushed around before you start and your adventure will never start!

As Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God!"

courtesy of HolyKaw

Go get on the dance floor.