2011 May

Now What? Careful Adjusting after a Life-changing Trip

May 23, 2011 By Lacy 1 Comment

Reading “The struggle to return home” by Richard Stupart on the Matador Network last week had a profound impact on me.

I have been to Uganda. I have been where Richard has been. I held children made orphans by the LRA, little ones whose eyes had seen things reserved only for my darkest nightmares. I watched them smile and laugh in the midst of so much pain.

I remember coming home, standing wide-eyed and speechless in the airport as I listened to a woman yell at a hot dog vendor for forgetting pickles on her footlong chili dog. I was flabbergasted. Disgusted.

How do you go from being surrounded by people with nothing who cherish everything to people with everything who cherish nothing? More than that, how do you make others understand the incredible incongruities between here and there? It was terrifying.

What’s even more terrifying, as I look back now, is how the feeling fades. How, after months and years, the things that seem so clear to you become hazy as you lose yourself once again in the day-to-day monotony of working life.

How do we sustain our convictions? How do we change?

I recognize there is no easy fix or secret formula. But here are a few things that have helped me after returning home from trips abroad:

When you first get home…

Give yourself time. Realize it’s okay to feel the way you feel – confusion, sadness, anger, loneliness, guilt, depression. You need time to process these emotions and to make sense of your experience. Don’t expect it to happen over night, and don’t rush yourself. This especially goes for any lifestyle changes. After returning home, I felt tempted to sell all of my shoes and quit eating out. But if I’d made that decision right away, my primary motivation would have been guilt. You need sufficient time to adjust and find balance as you determine the things that are most important to you.

Write. Journaling is an excellent way to organize your thoughts without a filter. As Richard commented, writing can often be a cathartic experience. If nothing else, you will be able to record your thoughts and emotions so that you can come back to them later. Even though I’m a horrible poet, I found myself writing lots of poetry after I returned from my trip and found that artistic expression was extremely valuable to me in giving life to my deeper emotions.

Connect with others. When you’re ready, reach out to those who have had similar experiences. The questions you’re holding now are too large to conquer on your own, and you’ll need others for support. Try to find one or two people who have been through a similar adjustment and stick with them.

After life is back to relative normal (weeks or months later)…

Reevaluate. Now that some time has passed, which realities from your trip are still on your mind? Certainly you will not be able to act on every emotion or impulse that struck you while abroad, so the things that remain heavy on your heart are a good indicator of where you should take action.

Integrate your new convictions with your goals and passions. Little things count! For me, as a writer, my experience abroad solidified in me the desire to honor people and their stories, to write and create with the utmost respect for the complexity and intrinsic value of humanity. But maybe you’re not a writer – maybe you’re an accountant or a landscaper, maybe you love children or are passionate about fishing. How can you integrate your new convictions into the areas that matter most to you? If you can figure this out, the likelihood of real change is high. But please…

Realize change is a lifelong process. It’s easy for me to get discouraged seeing how similar my life looks B.T. (before trip) and A.T. (after trip), which causes me to doubt the validity of my experiences and convictions. Don’t do this! This is only one part of your journey, one part of life that is shaping who you are and who you want to be. There is much more to come.

Please read Mr. Stupart’s article and reflect on how your own experiences traveling or volunteering abroad affected you once you arrived home. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Filed Under: Volunteer Abroad Tagged With: Adjustment, Lifechanging, Reentry, Reverse culture shock, Travel Abroad, Volunteer abroad

1000 Meals for 1000 Followers

May 10, 2011 By Lacy Leave a Comment

We’re about to reach 1000 followers in our Twitter community, which is a huge deal for us! We thought about giving away stuff to show our appreciation. Ya know, a gift card, an iPod, all the usual suspects.

Then we remembered who you are.

Our followers are people who care about the world and strive to do whatever you can to promote the welfare of our people and our planet. You are people who give back.

So it works like this: When we reach 1000 followers on @VolunteerCard, we will donate 1000 meals to people in need through our nonprofit partners Feed My Starving Children and Venture Expeditions.

One meal for each of you.

Thank you for being part of the journey! Tell your friends, and they can be part of it, too. As always, we are overwhelmed by and grateful for your support.

-The Volunteer Card Team

Filed Under: Contests Tagged With: 1000 meals, Feed My Starving Children, Giving Back, Twitter followers

May Snapshot: Greenheart Travel

May 4, 2011 By Lacy Leave a Comment

WHO THEY ARE

May’s Snapshot organization is Greenheart Travel. Volunteer Card is thrilled to partner with such a unique, forward-thinking organization. Greenheart Travel is a division of the Center of Cultural Interchange, a non-profit international educational exchange organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural understanding, academic development, environmental consciousness and world peace. Here’s a bit more direct info:

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Greenheart Travel’s mission is to provide life-changing travel experiences that lead to cultural understanding, social responsibility, environmental awareness and personal growth. Through travel, we aim to fulfill our vision of a more tolerant, peaceful and environmentally sustainable world.

Volunteers in Greenheart programs work with local residents on conservation and social development projects in the U.S. and around the world. They have the wonderful opportunity of making a lasting impact on our planet.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Greenheart Travel furthers the Greenheart movement of connecting people and planet in a number of ways. Whether you Study, Volunteer or Teach Abroad, your involvement with contribute to a more thoughtful, more accepting and more socially responsible future. Their newest development is the Global Greenheart Initiative for their participants abroad.

The Global Greenheart Initiative consists of:
- The Greenheart Club: High School students studying abroad for a semester or academic year and ESL Teachers are aided in finding additional volunteer work abroad. They will be able to then log their volunteer hours in Greenheart Travel’s database and receive a certificate at the end to show their accomplishments. Greenheart Travel assists students and teachers in finding volunteer and community involvement opportunities
- Greenheart Grants: Greenheart Travel is proud to give small grants to participants who want to make a more lasting impact on their communities abroad. Participants work with their local community to find an opportunity to create a social or environmental project that will make a difference locally. Past projects include building small libraries, replacing non-energy efficient light bulbs with energy efficient ones, creating local volunteer projects, etc.

Volunteer abroad opportunities through Greenheart are built around partnerships with grassroots projects that focus on long-lasting community development on all levels, from mentorship programs to environmental and animal rescue efforts.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Volunteer. Help make a difference in one of a dozen countries by spending 2–12 weeks volunteering with a meaningful service project. Volunteers of all ages can choose from projects in children’s education, environmental preservation, women’s empowerment and community development, each chosen to reflect our mission to help build a more sustainable, diverse and peaceful world.
High School Abroad. Choose from 18 destinations to spend a semester or year of high school abroad. You will experience daily life like any teenager in your host community and gain first hand knowledge of a new language and unique culture.
Teach Abroad. Choose from 5 different programs throughout Asia and Eastern Europe to Teach English as a Foreign Language. College graduates of any major can earn money while traveling and making a difference in the lives of children. Many teachers save between $5,000-$15,000 per year!
Host a Student. CCI invites American families to join
thousands of others across the U.S. to enjoy the enriching and rewarding experience of becoming a volunteer host family. You can host from a few weeks in the summer, or up to a 10-month academic high school year. Now more than ever, you can make a difference by hosting an exchange student — making the lifelong dream of an international student come true and contributing in a small, but significant.
Advocate for Cultural Exchange. You have the opportunity to change the world by bringing cultural exchange to your community. Local Coordinators not only place and supervise international students and host families in the U.S., but also act as a local source of information to American students wishing to study and travel abroad. Apply to become a Local Coordinator today!

Filed Under: Snapshot of the Month Tagged With: environmentalism, Featured organization, Snapshot, social responsibility, Volunteer abroad

10 Tips to Minimize the Risk of Losing Your Luggage

May 3, 2011 By Lacy Leave a Comment

Our friends at Travel Insurance Direct posted a fantastic article with 10 tips to minimize the risk of losing your luggage. We thought it was so helpful that we’d re-post it.

Tags – Ensure all items have clear, sturdy luggage tags that won’t tear off. Record your phone numbers for both home and destination. Some travellers prefer to list their office address to avoid suggesting their home is vacant.
Itinerary – Place your contact details and itinerary inside your luggage, so you can still be located if external tags are lost and your luggage is opened for inspection.
Lock up – Locks and straps provide a deterrent to theft, but remember some destinations like the US only allow TSA-approved locks that can be opened by customs inspectors.
Stand out – A brightly coloured bag, luggage tag or strap reduces the risk of your luggage being mistakenly claimed by another passenger on arrival.
Timing – Arrive at the airport with plenty of time for check-in. A last-minute check-in or tight connection increases the chance of your bags missing the flight.
At check-in – Ensure all old destination stickers have been removed from your luggage and that staff affix the correct destination stickers at check-in. Be sure to keep your portion of the luggage sticker provided at check-in (usually affixed to your boarding pass).
Connections – Don’t book tight connections. Ask at check-in whether your luggage is checked through to your final destination or whether you’ll need to collect your luggage and re-check while in transit at another airport (especially if you booked flight sectors separately).
Carry on – For short journeys, consider travelling with carry-on luggage only. This is especially worthwhile with airlines that charge for checked luggage. Even if you check in your main bags, place valuables and a few essentials items of clothing in your hand luggage, just in case.
Pick-up – Ignore other distractions at the airport and go straight to the luggage carousel once you’ve arrived and cleared customs, keeping a close eye on bags as they emerge. Keep bags close to you and never leave them unattended.
Travel insurance – Always have adequate travel insurance, even if travelling for short periods or domestically. Insurance covers not only loss and theft, but can also provide a clothing allowance if luggage is delayed. Keep receipts for your possessions where possible or consider making a photographic record of luggage contents, in case you need to make a claim.