Summer Plans?

Shanti Bhavan, about 2 hours from Bangaluru, educates
the lowest caste of Indian children, ages 4-17.
(Courtesy of Shanti Bhavan)

As teachers, we pretty much have our vacation time mapped out for us. So right now we're in the process of making plans for our two-month break this summer. We could tour central Europe. We could road trip across the U.S. We could visit every national park within a 500 mile radius.


Or, we could continue teaching. Today, we went to an informal info session on teaching at Shanti Bhavan, a school for ages 4 to 17 that seeks to provide a world class education to some of the poorest kids in the world. The school is located about 2 hours from Bangaluru (formerly Bangalore) in southern India. Many of its teachers are volunteers who donate anywhere between a month or a year of time working at the school. Kids receive instruction in general academics, as well as arts enrichment, economics and other subjects.

The two of us are considering applying to spend 4 to 6 weeks teaching at the school this coming summer, then spending an additional week or two exploring the country by train. Our room and all our meals (which are mostly vegetarian) would be provided free of cost. All we'd need to cover is airfare and any additional travel within the country.

We're super pumped for this possibility, and we'll keep you informed about the application process and let you know as our summer plans develop. If you're interested in the organization, you might like to check our their website at http://www.shantibhavanonline.org/index.html or their blog at http://sbchildren.blogspot.com/

Essential Hosteling Accessories

That's me, Sputnik, at the Valley Hostel in Lauterbrunnen,
Switzerland, where I went during the summer 2010.

As I’ve mentioned previously, my dad and I spent a month touring western Europe last summer. We were on a budget, so we stayed mostly in hostels, with the occasional small hotel or B&B thrown in the mix. Here’s a list of items we brought and found immensely helpful, and a few items we wish we’d packed.

Sleep sack. Some hostels will require you to rent sheets, or might not have any at all. And then, of course, there are the hostels with questionable cleanliness. A sleep sack will keep you clean under the covers. You can get cotton sacks, or splurge and get silk, which are much lighter and smaller. Check out the Sea to Summit collection ($26.95-$64.95, www.rei.com).

The lightweight Jetlag Alarm Clock
takes up barely any room in your
pack. (Courtesy A+R)

Portable alarm clock. You don’t want to miss the sights (or your train)! Pack a lightweight one to save space. Try the Travel Alarm Clock (Rick Steves, $15.95) or Sam Hecht’s Jetlag Alarm Clock (www.aplusrstore.com, $40).

Ear plugs. Every hosteller has stories about snoring bunkmates or drunk and stumbling spring breakers. Unless you sleep as deep as the Mariana Trench, you’ll be glad to have these on hand. You might also want to pick up a sleep mask for the same reason.

A good paperback. Not only does a good book help pass the time, but many hostels have book exchanges, so when you’re done with the one you bring, you can choose another one. A book that somehow involves your destination is a nice choice.

Headset. No one wants to hear the other side of your Skype conversation. Get a lightweight, USB headset, complete with a microphone, to easily voice- and video-chat over the internet. Try the super lightweight Freetalk hands-free device, which also helps to cancel out that background hostel noise (shop.skype.com, $49.88). Jade also recommends the Skullcandy line of headsets (skullcandy.com).

Deck of cards. You don’t need to speak the same language to connect over a card game. It’s also a great diversion if you’re stuck inside or outside your hostel during lock-in or lock-out hours.

The FlexiLock allows you to
secure your belongings.
(Rick Steves' Travel Store)

Combination lock. Most hostels have lockers of some sort, but often they require you to supply your own lock. A combination lock is better, because then you don’t have to worry about misplacing a key. When hostelling, though, make sure to keep the really important stuff (passport, credit cards, big bills) in a money belt, and keep that money belt on you at all times, even when you sleep! I like the FlexiLock, which has a flexible cable, allowing you to secure your stuff in lockers, on trains and elsewhere (Rick Steves, $9.95).

Netbook. If you’ve got the space, a netbook (smaller and lighter than a regular laptop) will be immensely useful. You can Skype, Facebook and e-mail, and you can also use it to confirm hostel reservations, check museum hours or catch up on the news. In my experience, most hostels have internet, and if they don’t, they can recommend a nearby internet café. Since there’s no way to protect your stuff fully while hostelling, don’t invest in expensive or attractive-looking netbooks (or really, any technology).

Clothesline. Dry out hand-washed laundry or wet clothes overnight using a packable clothesline. You can get some that have clips attached (like REI’s Hang-up Clothesline, $9.50) or with braided elastic, so you can stretch it and hold clothes in place (Travel Clothesline, Rick Steves, $9.95). Also pick up detergent, like Tide Liquid Detergent Travel Sink Packs, with just enough soap to wash a few clothes in the sink.

If you can think of any other essentials, mention them in the comments!

-- Sputnik

42 Hours in Vegas

Las Vegas is one of those places about which you hear and think "what's the allure?". If you are one of those people, put your judgment on hold. Sputnik and I randomly ended up there last summer and were pleasantly surprised. The story of how we got there will be reserved for another day but I will say we didn't expect to be there or like it and yet we did. But that's a different story.

Last weekend I found myself in the city of lights for the second time. Two of my dearest friends were getting married and decided to do it in grand style. Because I was there for the wedding I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked but now I have some great ideas for when Sputnik and I wander that way in about a year.

Since my stay totaled less than 42 hours I mostly wandered along the strip. Again, one of those things that sounds uninteresting until you do it. Even though everyone I was with was from the city we all felt like country bumpkins because of the grandeur of the city. Every direction you look there's something eye catching. The new hotel, the Cosmopolitan, is the perfect example. They manage to combine the classic idea of glittery Vegas with modern flair as well as sophistication. The first thing you see when you enter is a three story chandelier which is large enough to have a bar inside. All I could do was stare up in wonder. My friends and I had dinner at Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill, which was excellent. One of the best things about this hotel was that everyone working there (including the waitstaff and bartender) we're both congenial and professional. This was refreshing considering the poor treatment we received at the Bellagio. While that hotel has a list of pros as long as your leg, the staff all acted like we were something stinky stuck on their shoes. New York New York was on the opposite end of the spectrum. Their workers were extremely friendly but failed on the end of professionalism. One of the bouncers at Coyote Ugly made a comment which was highly inappropriate and made me quite uncomfortable. I realize that this kind of informality is appealing to many but there is a line. Despite this, the club was one of the highlights of the trip.

The whole point of the visit was to participate in my loved ones stunning union. When they told me they were getting hitched in Vegas and not doing the tacky Elvis wedding, I was a little disappointed. Maybe it's just me but I think getting married at the world's littlest chapel with ushers wearing powder blue tuxedos ala Dumb and Dumber and brides maids with dresses straight out of a thrift shop has its own charm. This is not what my friends did and I cannot say the wedding was lacking. The ceremony at the Paris Hotel was absolutely beautiful and combined both their personalities. We had the reception at Augustus Cafe in Caesers Palace. There was only one problem with the meal: there was so much food I couldn't finish a single dish. This was only a problem because it was the best meal I've ever had. Their french onion soup can only be described as delectable and the prime rib was simply amazing (the most perfect medium rare I've ever had paired with huge asparagus and a stuffed baked potato). Unfortunately, the piece of meat I left on my plate could have been a meal unto itself. If I hadn't been getting on a plane in less than 7 hours I would have taken it with me.

After the meal we had cake at the condo where some of us we're staying before going out for drinks. Nothing  of particular interest happened at this point; just a group of friends celebrating. I was only there for a few hours before I had to run off to catch my plane.

All in all Vegas is one of the few cities in the world that can get away with charging you an arm and a leg at every point but have you leave still feeling good.

-Jade

Jade is the Girl of the Hour

Jade in front of Hoover Dam

First off let me say I am not THAT self absorbed; the title is a lyric from one of my favorite bands. Brownie points if you know who I'm talking about.

This is Jade writing (in case you couldn't tell). Like Sputnik, I'm from Washington State. I was born in Virginia, lived in Indiana until I was 6, then lived a little South of Seattle from that point on. Now I'm in Louisiana.

Traveling is probably my favorite thing in this world. I've been on numerous cross-country trips across the US, to Canada (BC specifically) countless times, Mexico, Germany, France, and briefly lived in Austria. Some upcoming trips I'm looking forward to are Washington DC, Florida, and hopefully India. In the back of my mind I'm considering traveling to Las Vegas, Central Europe, and a through hike of the Appalachian Trail.

To balance out Sputnik, I am the meat eater. Also, I have a sweet German Shepard mix (Ginny) who travels with me often and will almost certainly show up in this blog from time to time.

Happy exploring!

-Jade

A Bit About Sputnik

Hello fellow travelers,

Sputnik in Siena, Italy.

Sputnik here, writing to tell you a little about myself and my travel philosophy. As a kid, I did a lot of traveling in the United States and Canada. I've been to 37 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces. My favorites so far are Massachusetts (where I spent most of my summers as a kid), Arizona, Quebec, and of course, my home state of Washington.

Until recently, I hadn't had travel experience outside of North America. Last summer, my dad and I did a tour of western Europe, visiting France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The trip only increased my appetite for international travel. Next, I'm looking forward to trips to India, Spain and central Europe.

Even before my Europe trip, my passion for travel was inspired by my French language studies and by Rick Steves' TV program and travel books. In future posts, I'll further explore my mild Rick Steves obsession...

A final note -- I'm vegetarian, which affects my travel plans, especially internationally. I'll post about my food experiences along my journeys.

Thanks for traveling our way!

-- Sputnik

Welcome to Our Awesome Blog

Howdy y'all! Can you tell we're in the south? Welcome to our brand new blog. This is Meghan (Sputnik) and Anne (Jade). From now on we will be using our travel names. We've started this blog to share our travel adventures, aspirations, and advice to you, our fellow wanderers. We're not by any means experts but rather we enjoy the path through life. Sometimes we will post together and sometimes we will post alone. You can always tell who is writing by the sign-off at the bottom.

Enough about that. You probably want to know a little about us. We are currently special education teachers in Jackson, Louisiana. Neither of us is from here although this is where we met. Completely coincidentally we are both from Washington State, love to travel, and are complete goof balls. Because we both have a teacher's income all of our trips are low budget. As we post more you will surely get to know our distinct personalities. Just to end on a cheesy note: thanks for wandering by!


-Sputnik & Jade