Change Yourself…Change The World.

One of the most crucial traveling adages is the always-important ‘travel light.’ Many of the things you think you need (extra batteries, most toiletry products, eons of clothes, etc.) you can easily find in another country. You’ll most likely pick up cool stuff along the way, so it’s always better to have a pack that has extra space.

I have a different travel adage- ‘travel light- and prepared’. If you’re traveling and staying in one place for a longer period of time (a month or more in one place), a new conundrum raises when packing: how am I going to make this new and disorientating place feel comfortable and familiar? Settling into a new place is hard, and poses a different challenge than constantly traveling. I’ve done such an exercise countless times now- India, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Kenya- each place I’ve stayed in for a few months. From my experience, each place needs a period of ‘settling in’ to counter culture shock- and we’re talking immediate settling in. I’ve found that if I start experiencing culture shock and I’m not in a comfortable space, it’s just a downhard spiral to hell. Helping smooth culture shock can include really simple things, like unpacking all of your stuff, buying groceries, and re-arranging furniture.

As time has gone on, I’ve found what’s really helped me personally are pictures. Pictures of family, friends, and places I’ve traveled to. Pictures are small and don’t take up a lot of space in my bag. I can spread them out all over my room and make it feel like it’s mine. A candle or two also really helps with the ambience. I also have a thing for prayer beads, and cards from friends. Sometimes you just need a couple of small and nice decorations to make you feel more at home. The same goes for toiletries- I know it sounds ridiculous, but there’s nothing like having a pumice stone, foot cream, and nail polish if you’re out trekking all day in the heat, or if you’re feeling lonely and frustrated. Sometimes giving yourself a ‘luxurious foot spa’ is all it takes for a refreshing outlook. Even if these things are frivolous and take up a little bag space, I find them really essential for helping me get through the frustrating times.

So with that being said, I just invested in a couple of posters to bring along with me to the Peace Corps. Posters are customizable and they do an amazing job of making me feel like I’m at home. Posters are also great because they weigh absolutely nothing and I can fold them up to line on the bottom of my suitcase- virtually no space- but they take up a lot of space on a wall. So rather than staring at probably unpleasant cement walls at my site, I’ll have something refreshing to look at!

Poster One. Something calming that reminds me of Asia. One of those things to look at right when you come into the space.

Poster Two. A Map of the World. This is actually huge in life size, which I’m really excited about! I’m actually planning on using this one as a project that will probably take up an entire wall of my room. 

Poster Three. Something pretty to look at. Maybe next to a designated ‘reading spot.’ 

Poster Four. More artistic. For some reason it reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami (probably because he’s Japanese). This is one of those ‘bathroom’ pieces, you know what I’m saying? A bit more intense.

Along with the pictures and other little keepsakes I’m bringing, I’d say that I’m pretty set for a rocking space in Paraguay!

Hi guys,

I have FINALLY started packing for Africa! I was having some sort of block about it this past week, and I kept putting it off. But last night I finally spent a good four hours sorting through all of my old travel gear and picking out clothes, and now I’m in the middle of a long list of things to do before I leave for San Francisco in three days (I start training for Kiva there).

The only problem is, I’ve come across a major road block in my packing, which is a HUGE dilemma in the world of traveling: should I bring a backpack or a suitcase?

I’ve traveled with my trusty Eagle Creek backpack since the start of my travels. It’s a colossal 90L backpack (which is the largest they get)- I naively bought this when I first started traveling because I had no idea how to really travel at the time (I also brought twice the amount of things that I needed, like batteries and power bars and all of these random things- I ended up sending most of it home after 2 weeks in India. But the upside to that is, I’ve always been able to restock on the next trips rather than going out and buying stuff again!) It’s actually worked really nicely for me the past two years- fits all of my schoolbooks, my med and toiletry kit, my clothes, and all of the random little things I picked up from traveling.

But here’s the thing: this trip to Africa is different from my previous ones. First off, I’m actually going to be working this trip, and that means that I need to bring some nice, formal clothes (not only is this the culture in Kenya, but I also want to look professional). However, I’m planning on traveling for two weeks before I go to Kenya, and then a month afterwards. This means staying in cheap hostels (or Couch Surfing), a lot of bus rides, and just general traveling. So this means that, for this trip, I need to bring double the clothes; nice clothes that I can wear to work, and then travel clothes. And since clothes take up the breadth of my packing, this means that I will be literally stuffing my backpack to the brim, which I don’t like to do. It will also mean crinkly work clothes, which I also don’t want to do; and most importantly, it will mean that I’ll OVERPACK the 90L bag, making it impossibly heavy and difficult to walk for long periods of time in, which renders it as a ‘walking backpack’ kind of useless.
Moreover, there are some downsides to the traveler’s backpack. It’s a huge nuisance checking it in on flights- every time it comes through the conveyor belt, something has snapped, or a buckle has broken off- it gets dirty pretty easily, all of my things get kind of jumbled up inside, and because it is 90L, it can get pretty heavy.

So this brings me to the suitcase. The suitcase is larger and it rolls, which is great. It will nicely pack all of my things, and they’ll be more protective and less likely to get, for better lack of a word, disgusting. No matter how heavy the suitcase is, I’ll still be able to roll it along. And I’ll feel significantly safer stowing my computer/camera in there than I would my backpack.
The potential issues/cons to the suitcase is that I’m afraid I’d be more susceptible to mugging, since I will probably look like a more upscale traveler- and that it could be a complete nuisance to get around (though it’s hard to tell because I’ve never been to Africa). A suitcase would be better, hands down, if I was merely staying in Nairobi for three months. The issue is AFTERWARDS, where I’ll be traveling all over the place, hopping on buses or trains and looking for hostels, where I’m afraid that a suitcase will prove to be very cumbersome.

Another suitcase vs. backpack dilemma is the psychological factor. With a suitcase, I’m afraid that it will take away more of the ‘travel’ feeling for me. With my backpack, I always feel young and daring and on top of the world- that I have everything in one backpack, and that’s all I need in this life- that I can take my stuff and just spontaneously wander anywhere, totally carefree. I think the suitcase kind of takes away that aspect- it makes me feel less mobile, like I need to plan everything out before I do it.
Alternatively, transitioning to a suitcase makes me feel a bit more like ‘growing up’- like a more mature traveler, that has more of a purpose to traveling- I’m not going to Africa just to hang out and take in the sights- I’m going there to work in a field that I’m passionate about and that I want to be taken seriously in.

So now that I’ve fully explained this debacle- should I go for a backpack or a suitcase this time around? Help me out and leave me some comments guys!

Much thanks,
Brittany

Rosetta Stone is a language learning software program, with 31 languages to learn from your picking and choosing. Many of you may have seen Rosetta Stone on TV ads, or perhaps one of those ‘customer representatives’ threw themselves in front of you while you were in a rush at the airport, trying to shove a Rosetta box into your hands while hawking about how you can ‘learn Spanish fluently!’

Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous language learning programs out there, and it covers many of the most widely used languages in the world, including Mandarin, English, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian, Hindi, German, etc. The way that Rosetta Stone teaches you is ‘total immersion’- which means there is no translation, but rather an interactive ‘game’ where, with the lessons taught, you eventually learn how to communicate in the language desired.

A lot of people question whether Rosetta Stone is truly an effective language learning tool, or whether they are able to learn the language ‘fluently.’ Is this a great travel resource, and worth the price?

Let me start by saying that I have used Rosetta Stone Spanish, Levels 1-5 (Latin America). I got this incredibly expensive software (fortunately, my school fees covered some of it) because of my intense commitment to learning Spanish to a nearly fluent level within the span of three months (this was while I was in Latin America, primarily Costa Rica and Paraguay). If you’ve been following this blog for quite awhile, then you’ll know that I was pretty successful in learning Spanish very well in a fairly short period of time (you can check out my Spanish capabilities here, where I gave a presentation to my internship, Fundación Paraguaya, in total Spanish. Yes, there are a few mistakes, for you fluent Spanish speakers out there 🙂 But still pretty good for three months!).

So some of you curious readers are probably wondering by now what the gist is with Rosetta Stone. Does it work? Does it REALLY make you fluent, and how influential was it in my language learning process?

Here’s how I learned Spanish: I lived in Latin America, where the language is predominantly Spanish; I took Spanish classes with a tutor 3-4 hours a day; I lived with a homestay family in Costa Rica that only spoke Spanish; and to top it all off, I studied Rosetta Stone Spanish every day at night to supplement my language learning skills. Notice that I said SUPPLEMENT. I do not think that Rosetta Stone will make you fluent in a language, or even conversational. Rosetta Stone teaches you random words and phrases, which is great IF you are learning and speaking the language as well- but because it is total immersion, they don’t teach grammatical structure, which makes it difficult to string along actual words that aren’t pre-ordained by Rosetta Stone.
However, Rosetta Stone was a GREAT supplement. It tied together all of my learning and helped me learn much faster. The exercises are fun and easy enough, and you also have the opportunity to practice speaking (they include a mic).

But when it comes down to it, do I RECOMMEND Rosetta Stone? Yes, for these reasons:
– If you are living in a country for an extended period of time (3 months+) and have a serious commitment to learning the language there.
– If you are GOING to travel to a country soon, stay for an extended period of time, and want to start learning the language before you go.
– If you want to learn how to pronounce in the language nearly perfectly. The great thing about Rosetta Stone is that they have seriously rigorous pronunciation exercises, (really annoying at first because you’re always wrong, but then over time you realize how well you speak) and you will eventually be speaking like a pro.
– If you are committed to learning a language, then I would only recommend buying Rosetta Stone if you can get levels 1-5 of the language- and currently, Rosetta Stone only offers levels 1-5 in English (American, though if you’re reading this I doubt you’ll need it), French, German, Italian, and Spanish (Latin America and Spain). Most languages have levels 1-3, or even just level 1. I think that buying only level 1 is completely pointless, in my opinion, because it doesn’t teach you basic phrases. Levels 1-3, in my opinion, also aren’t worth it, because you only start to learn much more advanced language skills in levels 4 and 5.
– If you’re considering taking high school/college credit for a language (in your home country where the language is not spoken) versus using Rosetta Stone, I’d say go for Rosetta Stone (if you have the means and discipline). In my experience, classroom language learning is all about memorization, and there is little individualized attention and speaking. With Rosetta Stone, you can take things at your own pace, the exercises keep you fresh and alert, and you’ll have plenty of time to speak.

I DON’T recommend Rosetta Stone for these reasons:
– If you are going to a country for 1-2 weeks and want to learn basic phrases. Rosetta Stone doesn’t work in this way- they’ll start you off by learning colors, numbers, and sentences such as ‘The girl runs,’ ‘The boy reads,’ etc. They don’t immediately teach you ‘how much,’ or ‘Where is the train station?’ If you’re looking for something to teach you easy phrases, then I recommend a Lonely Planet phrasebook, or something similar. You can also find all kinds of references online, such as YouTube (type in ‘Spanish language learning’ or something similar in reference to what language you’re looking for).
– If you’re choosing between going to a country for a period of time to learn a language, versus just buying Rosetta Stone. ALWAYS CHOOSE THE COUNTRY! Not only will you have some unbelievable adventures, but the absolute best way to learn a language is cultural immersion in the actual country where you want to speak it.
– If it’s a choice between learning from a tutor in the country that speaks the language versus Rosetta Stone by yourself. Rosetta Stone, unfortunately, doesn’t teach much about cultural nuances- what makes the language unique, and how to speak the local dialect. With tutors, you will learn all of those things. They are also more apt to speak only in their native language, which is a bit of a barrier, but more gratifying in the end. Last but not least, you may meet other students to practice the language with! If a person is taking a language course IN the country that speaks the language they’re learning, then they’re very serious about learning it quickly (unlike college or high school classrooms, where it’s a requirement). You’re more likely to meet other people who want to learn just as much as you do- and you’ll probably make friends in the process. Win/win.

Last advice: Rosetta Stone IS a great learning tool. It won’t make you fluent. But it will definitely aid you on your quest to becoming a native (and let’s be honest– we all want to be natives, don’t we?).

If you’re looking for something more budget-friendly, I’ve heard great things about Livemocha, where you can learn languages online for free.

I hope that was helpful advice for all of you travelers and adventurers out there that want to take on another language. Believe me, I understand- my quite ambitious and unrealistic goal is to speak seven.

Best of luck future leaders of the free world,

Brittany