Voluntourism

I stumbled across a new word the other day - Voluntourism. At first I thought it was just a spelling error online, but was intrigued anyways, so I did a little research. Apparently I've been in the dark for a while now because this word really isn't really "new" at all.

Rather than taking a trip and just simply sightseeing and indulging in your surroundings, people are using their vacation time to give something back to the world. Indonesia, Cambodia, Kenya...these places haven't exactly been at the top of my list for the most sought after places to visit. A few years ago, I didn't own a passport and could only dream of visiting places like Paris, Rome, and London. Fast forward to now...I've visited all three and have also added places like Dublin, Wales, the Bourgogne region in France and Sicily. Don't get me wrong, I feel so privileged to have visited these places and would go back in an instant to any of them but I'm now interested in expanding my list to include more “off the beaten path” kind of places. Of the places I’ve traveled to, I really must say that I’ve appreciated the smaller towns more than the larger cities. But it’s now time to take this one step further.

I’ll admit that I’m still completely naïve about the world. I don’t know what it’s like to be without air conditioning or live in any other conditions that don’t include elevators or doormen. I’m happy I live like this, but I fully recognize that I don’t appreciate it as much as I probably should.

With all that being said, I’d like to see what this “Voluntourism” word I just discovered is all about. There is a bike tour through PEPY tours that takes you through Cambodia, stopping periodically to work for the local businesses or teaching at schools. There is another program in Africa that allows you to teach English at a school in Kenya or Zimbabwe for 2 weeks at a time.

You completely submerge yourself within the local cultures when you participate in one of these programs. You can understand these cultures better than any sightseeing tour would ever allow. What could be more rewarding?

Companies that offer these tours can be found on the blog below…
http://voluntourismgal.wordpress.com/

GMAT Hell

Last year Mike convinced me to start studying for the GMAT. My mind wasn’t completely into it and after spending a ridiculous sum of money on a Manhattan GMAT course, I spent the next two months haphazardly trying to study for it. I’d spend an hour “sort of” studying and then wonder why I would get most of the practice problems wrong. When I didn’t have a book in my hand, I’d stress over not being prepared and when I did have the book in my hand, I’d procrastinate actually opening it. I just wasn’t into it.

Now it’s a year later and I’ve found myself studying for it again. This time I have a rigid study calendar to follow and have been (surprisingly) doing well on my practice problems. I’m still freaking out about it because I’m so awful at test taking. I know a lot of people say that, but I really am. I always narrow down each problem to two answer choices and then psych myself out and always choose the wrong one. I frequently am aware that I’m choosing the wrong answer choice but convince myself that the test is just trying to trick me and therefore the right answer couldn’t actually be the choice that I think it is. It doesn’t make any sense but, nonetheless, that’s what I do.

The deadline I’ve set is October 30th. Halloween and my birthday immediately follow this deadline and who really wants to be studying for GMAT during these celebrations? I’m not sure when I’ll apply to school but I suppose it’s better to just get this terrible exam out of the way, right? Ugh…this better be worth it.