What a Shame Not To Have A Camera!!!

It’s just not the same blogging without a camera! I have just arrived in Manchester today after my four weeks in the North West of Wales.

I didn’t have far to go from the beautiful magical mountains of Eira, Snowdonia, to reach the center which is located on the Llyn Peninsula of Wales. Both areas are a strong hold for the Welsh language and not exactly known for their shopping centers and crowded cities. The history of the name Llyn itself is said to be Irish, and related to the ancient kingdom of Leinster in the East of Ireland. Though most of the Irish have long since departed, there was definitely a connection between the two areas, and traces of the history remain in place names and ancient archeological evidence. Geographically, the peninsula is fairly flat and bare, though it has a few mountains and beautiful forests, and the sea has always been a part of life for the inhabitants.

Felin Uchaf itself is located in the south west of the Llyn. The full name is Menter Felin Uchaf which means in Welsh – Upper Mill Venture. It is called upper mill because the building itself, though no longer a mill, was once a mill. The venture part comes from more recent times when some great minds got together and decided to create a community rooted in sustainability and the traditions of the land.

When I arrived at Felin Uchaf, Upper Mill, was hopeful but had no idea what to expect. I found Felin Uchaf on the WWOOF UK website, before I left. I looked at the website http://www.felinuchaf.org/ it sounded like a terrific idea, but you never know. What I found when I arrived was a sort of commune where I would live with others, primarily two couples one English and one French. The cooking cleaning and work schedules were shared between the group and pretty much everything was shared all the time. The main proprietor of Felin Uchaf, Daffydd Davies-Hughes, was at the center each day to help with the planning and inspire us with ideas.

It was great getting to know Daffydd. I think he is a bit of a dreamer like myself. The anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner was a common theme of discussion and his ideas were definitely incorporated into the center. I had come across the radical thinking of Rudolf Steiner (inset link) before in Chico so it was interesting to see someone putting the ideas into action. The plants in the garden, for instance, were all planted in accordance to the planetary alignments of the great cosmic mystery.

During my three weeks at the center I spent time learning how to thatch roofs in the traditional manor of the Llyn tradition. I built stone walls. I built raised beds for the plants. I built walls of cob (clay and straw). I met local people, practiced welsh and shared experiences with other people living at the center. Most of the days there wasn’t a whole lot of time to do my own thing, but whenever I could I took the time to learn and practice Welsh traditional tunes, and learn the Welsh language. I spent the week after Halloween at my favorite haunt, no pun intended, Nant Gwrtheyrn the Welsh language and cultural center in the Llyn. I’m quite happy to say my welsh has improved dramatically after one week of does dim seasnig, no English. That’s right. For one whole week I did not utter one sentence of English. Maen Fawr Iawn! It was great.

After my week at Nant Gwrtheyrn, I soent Bonfire Weekend in Wrexham, a city with some interesting family history. Then it was back to Felin Uchaf.

I got fairly close with my friends at Felin Uchaf, and parting is always such sweet sorrow. I know someday I will return again though, and I am very curious to see what becomes of Felin Uchaf.

Culture shock was what I expected and what I received when I arrived in Manchester this morning. The first thing I did was walk down to the Weatherspoons book shop where I purchased some literature, including a crash course in Italian, for my next leg of journey which takes me to both Rome the distant Italian Island of Sardina. One of the main attractions in Manchester, other than shopping, is the museum of industry. Manchester was an important center of factory and thought during the industrial revolution, and many Irish immigrated here during the Famine to work in the cotton factories. In fact, I got a ride to Manchester from a nice couple, of whose grandparents were Irish immigrants to the area. The museum itself is very large, and very interesting. I have only seen half of it so far.

I plan to spend the weekend with a friend from Fein Uchaf who lives in the area. On Monday it’s off to Italy. By the way, I searched for pictures on the internet which best convey my experiences so far since I have no camera. It’s a shame mine broke down due to cold weather. The museum said that every year a million phones are thrown away, what a waste. Why can’t they make them sturdier?

Cymry yn eto!

Happy Halloween! It has been some time since my last blog entry, and what an amazing journey it has been so far in my fall travels through my home away from home Wales. After leaving my last WWOOF host I spent an entire week exploring the great outdoors in the Snowdonia National Park. My first stop was Bala, a small town located alongside what I think may be the largest lake in wales, also called Bala. There is an interesting local legend associated with the creation of the lake itself which involves divine retribution on an evil prince who once lived in a castle where the lake now stands. When the Princes domain was flooded the only one to escape was the harp player. It is truly beautiful how deeply embedded music is in the Celtic Consciousness. Not just fiddle music, but the music of the Welsh language itself. Music and sound have an innate ability to express the deep, timeless truths which cannot be easily explained away by words, and the Celts must have realized this. Bards were the links to the spirit world. They lived half in and half out of the physical world and they drew their knowledge from the "music of the spheres" or "the heavens". It felt great to be able to walk into a pub in Bala and exchange a few words in welsh with some local farmers. Then the next day hiking along the lake and surrounding country side was nice as well.

My next stop was the Conwy valley, a hiker's paradise. I stayed at a lovely back-packers barn in a small town just outside the walled castle town of Conwy itself. There was a blue-grass festival going on the first night I arrived and I got to hear some great music. Didn't pull out my fiddle this time since I don't play too much blue-grass, but it was sure nice to listen, and I made some new friends from South-Wales who have welcomed me to stay at their house any time. The next four days I hiked the local mountains and valleys and explored the legends that encompass the area. The height of the hiking for me was to hike up a great mountain named after a distant ancestor Llewellyn the last prince of Wales. There was even another mountain named after his wife Gwenllyn. Nothing like a little outdoors adventure to bring one closer to the natural world, and my next stop Felin Uchaf was another chance to renew my connection to the Welsh land and culture.

Felin Uchaf is situated on the south west of the Llyn Peninsula N.W. Wales. The Llyn is an area rich in heritage, and like Snowdonia, a strong-hold of the Welsh Language. I arrived at Felin Uchaf enthusiastic about the potential for such a place. A natural living center, rooted in the welsh culture, language and traditions seeking to involve volunteers and the community together to bring the past to life. I arrived on a beautiful day, and was greeted straight away by the volunteers and staff. There were two payed staff and six volunteers on the day I arrived. There is also Daffydd Davies-Hughes who runs the venture, and what a venture it was. I felt that I fit in right away. My home for the next three weeks would be a Celtic round hut. I would share meals every night with a diverse group of people. The next three weeks would be exciting, inspiring and educational. When I did find free time, the harp or fiddle were close at hand waiting for traditional Welsh tunes. One night I was asked to join Daffydd in a story telling night for twenty youngsters from a near-by school. My job was to play a tune during the story of the drowning of the lower one-hundreds, a traditional Welsh story recounting the loss of an entire kingdom during a flood. There were always stories at Felin Uchaf. One night a large group of professional story tellers came and we had a fire-side story filled afternoon that no television program can ever begin to compete with. Daffydd himself is a great man willing to spend most of his waking hours working with the volunteers and building and designing the dream of felin Uchaf. Sleeping under the moon and stars and immersing myself in the sacredness of the land renewed my interest in Celtic mysticism, and I came across some great books on the subject of Celtic astrology.

Come Halloween Day, it was time for me to depart and make my way to nearby Nant Gwrtheyrn. The Welsh Language and heritage center. This being my second time at Nant Gwrtheyrn, I am still blown away at the beauty of this little village. Nant Gwrtheyrn used to be the home of a mid-evil king of Arthurian legend called Vortigern. In more recent times it became a granite mining village until it was shut down in the mid-late twentieth century. I will be here for the next week on the foundation Welsh language course. Allot of people ask why I want to learn welsh. I always find that question hard to answer, because there are so many reasons why I want to learn any language, and especially one such as Welsh that has connections with my family. One very important reason is that I think language is rooted in spirituality and a critical component of any movement of cultural movement. It has everything to do with peace and understanding to me. Language includes sounds that work like music to open new doors and paths to all sorts of discoveries and understandings. So, being here is very important to me, and I am very grateful.

I have just finished my first volunteer farm experience in Wales. The couple I have been working with are both from North London originally, and have been living in Wales for about a decade. The farm is a very large organic vegetable farm. John Crocker takes his farming very seriously. He does a good job of producing food for the local farmers market, and the organic food store he and his wife own in Aberystwyth. Of course it would be very difficult to earn a living solely from vegetable sales, so the shop is the main sourse of income. I have learned many new things about farming while working with John. Especially green manure and organic cycles for growing.

Whilst working with John and Yvonne, I lived in a caravan and worked five hours a day with the weekends off. I managed to stay dry most of the time despite being in wales. Instead of constant showers overhead, I was frequented with the screams and thunder of jet planes doing test flights from the Royal Air force base in Anglesy. Both John and Yvonne were very kind considerate hosts. Yvonne cooked great traditional meals, and most days after work John would treat me to one of his delicious home brewed beers. I was introduced to the local community of organic growers last weekend and a delicious pig roast.

The last week has been full of traumatic events back home, including the death of my Great Uncle, and the course of cancer treatment of a close family friend. All this whilst awaiting the results of my Grandmother's cancer test, which I am relieved to learn has come back negative. Another less grandiose problem has been the unexpected breakdown of my cell phone/camera.

I write this latest post while awaiting my buss to my next destination. I am heading north into Gog territory (Gog is the Welsh term for the people of North wales) and one of my favorite places Snowdonia National Park. After a week I will be heading to the Llyn peninsula to do another volunteer project and then spend a few weeks in Welsh language courses. Things are going great and I am getting allot of time for reading and thinking, some of the perks of traveling. Sorry, no pictures this time since my cell phone is broken.

Four weeks of immersion in Irish language, and music. Wow! Educational, thought-provoking and totally exhaustive, my time in Gleann Cholm Cille was an amazing experience. It is difficult to explain in full how valuable and trans formative language immersion can be. After the three weeks, I feel like I have a handle on the language and I think with regular practice and use, I could become an Irish speaker, but there is so much more I have gleaned from the experience.

At the moment I am reading an excellent book by Lillis O'Laoire called On a Rock in the Middle of the Ocean. One of the things the author talks book the author talks about in the book in the chapter on the practice and theory of ethnography is the role of mimesis plays in the constructing of new works of art. O'Laoire draws an interesting comparison between Aristotle who holds that all works of art are new creations pieced together by a process called poiesis in which mimesis is at work in providing the signs, rules and norms of creation, and Plato's theory which was that all works of art are week recreations of an original. Experiences like language immersion provide an excellent source of mimesis, or inspiration, for my own examination and creation of culture and self.

In his study of the musical traditions of the Tory Islanders of Ireland he examines the possibility of metaphor as creation in miniature. The metaphors in the Irish Language and tradition are elegant and plentiful. If O'Laoire's view is true than I have just been exposed to a very high level of creative juice! The ways of expressing feelings and relations in the Irish Language differ greatly from English where ownership takes precedence over shared experiences. For instance something amazing in Irish can be expressed as such: ta se thar ceann liom, which translates to something like that is all around my head. In English a thing often acquires a label when a person describes it: that IS great. In Irish it is the experience of the thing is used to describe.

Many great friendships were forged at Gleann Cholm Cille. The people who were coming from all over the world made a big impression on me and listening to their accents was great fun. There were people from Russia, Italy, Wales, France, Brittany and Spain. The language obviously has an attraction which is not limited to those with an Irish background. Irish language, music and dancing are definitely healthy activities I will continue to pursue, and I have decided to give Irish sean-nos singing a try in the near future.



I left Ireland last weekend, and I am now in the Northern Irish county of Fermanagh, or fir Manach (meaning men of Manach). I am on a beautiful organic farm with a lovely family where I feel right at home. The volunteer work in the garden is engaging and relaxing. I enjoy a little creative landscaping each day and I have been learning a little about aesthetics and permaculutre as well. The family all come from county Down, Dun, who have just beaten Kildare in the semi-finals of the all Ireland Football League. Hugh McCann is a nice hardworking fellow who works for the civil service, and Teresa is a very positive and friendly person with a great sense of humor. They have two children who just started school again this week. Finbar, the youngest, is twelve, and has a head like an encyclopedia. Maeve is a few years older and takes her Irish Music very seriously. At the moment there is one other volunteer here from South Africa. Her name is Julia and we get on quite well. It is fascinating to hear her decribe the lifestyle at home. Here is a picture of her next to a lotus flower in the garden.

A loaded Month

July was an incredible and action packed month for me on my journey of discovery in Ireland. The first Amazing thing was the Willie Clancy festival in Miltown Malbay Co. Claire. After a nervous audition, during which hundreds of children less than half my age played tunes at a standard and speed I can only dream of, I was fortunate to be placed in a class with two spectacular fiddlers of my own generation. Caoimhin ni Reiligh, and Oisin Mac Dermot. Caoimhin is from Dublin and has what I would describe as a very rhythmic and creative fiddle style. Oisin plays great tunes with very clear crisp notes and plenty of variation. Both fiddlers were great teachers and I think their styles were suited to the Claire fiddle tradition which seems to encourage variation and technique. I made plenty of friends at the festival from Ireland, America and even Japan. It feels great to be part of such an important and fun cultural movement that is popular all over the world. Here is a picture of myself with the great fiddlers themselves.

After the festival sadly ended (I wish festivals like these never did), I got a lift from my friend Jim to my next volunteer farm in the Slieve Aughty mountains of County Galway. Sadly, on the way my camera was stolen and I have to resort to the camera on my phone now. The farm I arrived at was in one of the most pristine and remote places in Ireland. It was a magnificent location for a terrific farm that was both comfortable and sustainable. There were plenty of other volunteers there for me to talk to and the women who ran the farm was remarkable. Eileen Thomas came from Scotland. Her father was a Welsh Coal miner and she is a speaker of the Gaelic that is spoken in the North West of Scotland. She has a wealth of information about traditional herbs and edible plants, and in three years she had transformed an empty run down stone house into a beautiful natural home complete with donkeys, ducks and fun projects for travelers like myself. My jobs were a little garden work, caring for the animals, picking berries, building recycled cement structures and re-constructing an old caravan into a habitation for other volunteers. Here is the restoration I did:

And inside:

And, here are my friends:

Here is a picture of the house itself:

A friend from Willie Clancy Week, Bridget, lived close to the farm in a town called Burr in Co. Offaly. We spent a weekend walking around the beautiful Slieve Bloom mountains and then after my two weeks at the farm were up we went to Achill Island County Mayo together for the Scoil Acla festival of music and traditional arts. I had a great time with Bridget. She is a three week old learner of the tin whistle, and a near fluent speaker of Irish. At school Acla I took fiddle classes from another young great fiddler named Liam O'Connor. Liam is doing a masters degree on folk tradition in Ireland through trinity college Dublin, and he is a powerful fiddler from a family of traditional musicians. In the afternoons Bridget and I went to Irish language classes together where we read Sean Fhocails (century's old Irish sayings) from the Achil Islands. A week with Bridget was both a lovely and rewarding time with a very intelligent and compassionate person. That's her second from the left:

Bridget went to Spain to walk the Camino Santiago de Compastela, and I have been here in my new favorite haunt, Glenn Cholm Cille, for the past week at a music school featuring the Donegal Fiddle traditions. My classes this time were with a local musician named Derek McGinly. The classes were much smaller and Derek is a great teacher both patient and good tempered. He plays great with other musicians, and he is very good at giving people individual attention. It feels great to be back in the Glenn. After being here in May and coming back, this place is beginning to feel like home. It is quiet and peaceful here, but there is always plenty to do and plenty of artists around to soak up the natural beauty of this special area. This weekend begins my first of three weeks of Irish Language classes at Oideas Gael. I am sure that my time here will be priceless as I make the most out of each special day here. There is so much to experience, create and learn here in this small little town. Finally, a picture of a double-rainbow I saw on Achil Island while I was sitting on a bench watching Bridget swim in the ocean. Rainbows always seem to catch me by surprise.

My apologies for the blandness of this latest blog post. Allot of great things have been going great for me, but one unfortunate setback is that I lost my camera in a book store in Ennis -- so no pictures. Allot has happened since I left the farm in County Claire. Willie Clancy Week was quite an experience. I made some great connections with other players and took fiddle classes from two great fiddlers of my own generation: Oisin Mac Dermot and Caoimhin ni Reiligh. Both of my teachers had great style and teaching methods. Oisin is from West Claire, Clancy's territory, but currently resides in Sligo. Caoimhin is from County Dublin. There were far too many people in that small town, few of whom were actual musicians, to be able to hear the pub sessions but I was able to learn so many great things about trad music and my style of playing. the concerts were amazing! I can't believe the level of playing some of these musicians are at. The fiddle concert in particular blew my mind. I was a bit melancholy when I had to leave at the end of the week, because I had gotten used to the routine and the friends I made. Fortunately I didn't have to say goodbye to everyone. I am currently on the Aran Island of Inis Oirr with my lovely new friend Bridget Mac Ateer. Bridget is a brilliant and beautiful person with a heart of gold. Anyway, back to the story. After the Willie Clancy Week my friend Jim gaev me a ride to the town of Loughrae where I met my next organic farm host. As soon as I met her Eileen Thomas gave me a hug and took me to her home. The first thing I thought was this place is amazing. Talk about living close to the earth! everything on the farm was made from recycled materials. There were native species of all sorts of plants and animals, and they were all part of the ecosystem Eileen was working to preserve. Eileen comes from Scotland. Her father was a welsh coal miner and she is a Scots Gaelic and Irish speaker. She works in Loughrae as a geologist. She is really a fantastic and interesting person, also very kind. There are three other volunteers on the farm, one from Canada, one from Basque country and one from France. we all get on very well. My job at the farm is restoring an old caravan. I have been replacing a rotten wall inside with materials I salvaged from around the farm. It is a great job that involves creativity and ingenuity. That's where I have been for the past week, and this weekend for my time off Bridget invited me to come to this island, Inis Oir with her. On Monday I go back to work. That's the brief synapses. Hopefully I can find a way to send pictures soon!

The Kerry Farm Recruit

Volunteering at the Gibson O'Connor Farm was a great experience. I learned all types of new things about dairy farming. From the everyday tasks involved with working on a farm to the workings of the machinery that enables everything to happen, I have come out with a wealth of practical skills. The farm taught me new things about life as well. If there is one thing I am sure working on a farm can teach anyone it is patience. Farm work is never done. There is always something that happens that changes the plans you make during the day: a piece of machinery brakes down or the power goes out. It is therefore important to have the priorities of the farm in order. The farm is a system itself and each part is dependent on another part. In this case the dairy milking takes the highest priority since it is the primary source of income. Farming can also be really fun. After the work is done each day, it feels great to relax with a few of my favorite pastimes.

A farm is a good model for society. Society is hierarchical in nature just like a farm. It can be hard to accept that coming from a seemingly unimportant nitch. Within most societies, premier importance is given to a small percentage of "highly skilled" people, usually CEOs, bankers or surgeons. The hierarchy of most societies is financially based. Nitchs which are no less important in the long run but seemingly less important in the immediate future such as small farmers, naturalists, teachers, are often underpaid and under-appreciated. Volunteering the last few weeks has rewarded me with an appreciation of all the parts and how they fit together. A farm needs the money which dairy cows provide, but without the vegetable gardens, the chickens, the lovely flowers and trees a farm seems colorless and empty. The plant life connects the farm to nature. Unless one wants to live a monotonous farm life, milking the land for all the money it can provide without putting anything back, all parts of the farm are equally important. The same can be said of society. All the parts are important in the long run. The social hierarchy is based on fear and misunderstanding. It seems that humans are destined to live in a state of panic that prevents them from thinking long-term.

I love how farming gives me time to reflect on myself and my life. Nature's rhythms are therapeutic to me. I find connect to these rhythms readily when I spend the day outside working in the elements with one of the most basic essential human needs, food. Farming is, after all, the basis of civilization. If I remember my history books correctly, the techniques of rural farming spread west out of the area that is today Iraq. While I work, I have been contemplating my future in an American society that is far from ideal. My instinct to travel and the connection to my ancestral and spiritual homes are new found strengths. One question I have been pondering is how to incorporate this strength into my future, and do so harmoniously with the planet? Thinking about the future can be a scary prospect. There are not allot of options out there that satisfy my needs. I need to be able to see my family; I need to be able to travel; I need to support myself; I need to live harmoniously with the planet; I need to have time for myself, and I need to have time with others. The best thing I can do for now is too keep an open mind.

Next my journey takes me to one of the centers of Irish traditional music, Ennis, County Claire. I will stay there a few nights before heading to the Willie Clancy Festival of Traditional Music, the biggest traditional music festival in Ireland! I am very excited to immerse myself in this fascinating festival that brings people from all over the world to Ireland for the noble cause of Irish music. I am sure I will try to play the fiddle with a bunch of other musicians I have never met. Am I nervous, oh yes.

Country Living In County Claire

Of all the traveling I have ever done, nothing is more rewarding and satisfying than the working on organic farms in other countries. This is the fourth time I have farmed in Ireland, and each time I want to say this is definitely the best farm I have ever worked on. The truth is that each farm and its family is unique in its own way and has its own lessons and things to experience. This time I am working on a beautiful dairy farm in County Kerry (chiarraí). This is my first time on a dairy farm, and there are big differences involved. For one thing the pace of work on a diary farm seems to be much quicker. This farm also has a sizable garden with six poly-tunnels and six raised beds for vegetables. My daily chores have usually been: cleaning the milking parlor in the morning; collecting, cleaning and sorting eggs; and then garden work involving weeding, transplanting, and harvesting. Whenever possible I try to help around the house too since Claire O'Connor has her hands full with a brand new 16 month old adopted baby from Vietnam and her two other adorable adopted children. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to share my afternoons with such beautiful children.


There are plenty of other fun and educational activities to do after the daily chores are done. The weather has been very good to us the past four days. On Sunday Claire took me to a beech called Inch (Inis) where I had a great time trying to surf and got a heavy dose of rare Irish Sunshine. There is always plenty of cooking to do, bicycles to ride, towns and villages to explore and socializing with the family. There is even a second worker here to keep me company. His name is Martin. Martin is also from the U.S. He has been traveling for two years, and has a pleasant, outgoing personality. There is so much to learn around the farm with all the various personalities and backgrounds. Here is a picture of Martin sorting Gooseberries for market.




Both Claire and Gerard have the kind of warm and practical personality that can only come from having lived on a farm in Ireland for a prolonged period of time. I hope it rubs off on me! They also have the beautiful, county Claire accents that remind me of birds singing in a peaceful forest clearing. The accent also comes with a lovely Irish sense of humor and gentle, laid back attitude towards work and life.



Today is my weekend, and I have taken the opportunity to take a trip to nearby Killarney (Cill Airne). Today and tomorrow will be my opportunity for exploring one of Ireland's greatest national parks. There are great bike rides everywhere, and plenty of exploring. There is also great ice-cream. Plenty to do her until I head back to the farm tomorrow afternoon.

June 16, 1978

Happy Birthday to me!

When I arrived in Ireland this afternoon, I learned that British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has professed a deep apology for the Bloody Sunday Massacre in 1972. Many thousands of people in Northern Ireland have waited too long for this day. It comes thirty-eight years after the murders, but such an event does go to show that truth cannot be silenced forever. When I was in Northern Ireland a few months ago, I met a man who was there at Bloody Sunday. The horrible stories he told me were both traumatic and unresolved. There are stories of families still seeking justice for loved ones lost decades ago. There were stories of corruption in the police force, and people being framed. I would guess that, from his point of view, this is still just a tiny step toward what needs to happen before many people of Northern Ireland can move on with their lives, but it is an important step none the less.

This is my sixth time traveling out of the United States. It will be my third time in Ireland and my second time in Wales. I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to travel abroad. Every time I go on a trip I try to new discover things about myself. I usually come back with more questions than when I started, and that's a good thing. This time I want to improve my relationship with myself and the planet in a way that doesn't shut out other people and their ideas. I intend to learn about permaculture, communal living, friendship and I want to learn as much as I can about the Irish and Welsh languages and cultures. This blog will be my thought collector as ponder and work my way to these goals. I hope to come back educated, refreshed, inspired, motivated and ready to make a new mark on the world I live.

Traveling is a positive and enriching experience to me. That is because it is challenging. At times it can be downright scary. Given the generally less than positive reputation of independent travelers and the lack of understanding between settled and nomadic lifestyles, I often receive less than cordial greeting at the immigration offices and scornful looks from people who seem to view traveling as an anti-social, or rebellious activity. I believe I have an important responsibility to make a good impression when I travel. In the back of my mind wherever I go is the burning question: what kind of legacy am I leaving behind? Traveling alone can be tiring. It can create a feeling of alienation inside me, but the rewards are absolutely worth it.

The rewards of traveling are profound and personal. A positive relationship with myself develops when I travel, and this is a great asset to anything life throws my way. I have found that having a good sense of where I am going and what I will be doing before I go helps me consciously and intentionally control my own development. I can set travel-goals and match these with my life-goals and destinations. This makes my journey an engaging and transformative experience. Keeping lots of goals, while on the road, can of course difficult, but it really pays off. Traveling puts me in the here and now. It makes me keenly aware of my surroundings, which makes everything I do much more meaningful to me.

Despite the increases and trappings of globalization, you still don't have to be rich to travel in Europe. There are some great tools to help a person plan a meaningful adventure for a reasonable cost. Things such as: hostels, Willing Workers on Organic Farms and Couch Surfers, give travelers opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. I find it best to mix and match to get the most out of all of these opportunities. I put allot of thought and intention into my trip planning and the results are life experiences that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I can't travel for ever, so each trip is the chance of a life time, and the things are invaluable experiences which I take home with me and keep using the rest of my life.