1 About This Guide

This is your guide to volunteering abroad...and doing it now! Whether this is your first trip, or you are an experienced traveler, the following pages will surely help you plan your next volunteer adventure. Our team at Build Abroad has thoughtfully crafted this guide based off of our own experiences and the experiences of our volunteers. We have also reached out to some of the most well known travel and volunteering experts in the world to help you formulate a realistic plan to turn your travel dreams into reality.

If you have any reservations about volunteering abroad, that’s completely normal. Any experience worth having is often exciting, and can be a little frightening. The good news is you have already taken the first step...you have downloaded this guide and are on your way to planning your trip!

About Build Abroad

Build Abroad builds and repairs communities around the world through socially responsible construction volunteering. We feel that construction volunteering is the best way to serve a community. Construction projects provide a physical impact in a community that will last for years. There will always be a need for building projects throughout the world, which is why we have chosen to connect volunteers with these opportunities. You can learn more about us at buildabroad.org.

2 Contents

Travel with a Purpose 4 How to Start 12 Choosing Your Program(s) 14 Choosing Your Destinations(s) 23 Fundraising Tips 26 What to Expect In-Country 28 The Short Term Volunteer 31 The Impact 34 Why Now? 38 The Travel Experts 40 Resources 57 About the Author 58

3 Travel with a Purpose

So you’re thinking about taking the leap. Cutting the cords and throwing wind to your sails. But why? Yes, everyone should experience the benefits and personal learnings of international travel, but understanding your purpose and the outcome you want to have will help you make the most of your experience no matter what or where it is. In this section we outline some of the psychological, practical, personal and impactful reasons that should motivate your desires to travel and see the world while changing it for good.

Form a new world view

Most of us have grown up experiencing the same cultural norms our entire lives. Sure, people move, they travel for vacation; maybe you have even experienced extended travel through someone’s job being moved to a new uncharted area. But generally speaking, our cultural day-to-day surroundings have remained the same. We believe certain things to be true, to be right, and to be normal. But all cultures are not alike. They change in extraordinary ways, from language, to motivations, actions, diets, aspirations, and beliefs about the way the world should work. Traveling abroad gives you a window into different worlds, and when looking with an open mind one can start to understand and manage the differences between people.

Here’s an example. A simple grasshopper is considered a pest in the U.S., a pet in China, and an appetizer in Northern Thailand. If there is this much variation just over a grasshopper’s role in our lives, can we even imagine how larger differences like human actions, gestures, and speech influence our perceptions of other people whom we are trying to understand? So when we see something on the news about a different country’s policies or meet a new expatriate down the street from Vietnam, how can we connect with them without bringing our own world view and

4 judgments with us that say they are wrong or different for doing things a different way. If you travel, you begin to build cultural intelligence just by meeting people and talking to them. By living in their culture you can understand why they act the way they do, and better understand what part of your thinking is the cultural lens you’ve grown up with, and what is really universal to all people. Once you can separate things you know to be true as just one culture’s lens from your way of thinking, you can open yourself to thinking about different countries and people in new ways. You can begin to understand them and be more accepting and open-minded. Be a fish out of water. When you don’t have your own culture and society to back your beliefs you learn that there are multiple ways of thinking, and all of them can be right. It is being able to think in multiple dimensions, considering where other people came from; that you can really change the way you think and therefore understand the world you live in.

Gain greater empathy for other people

Travel has a strong connection to the heart. If you’re naturally inclined to care about people, traveling will be one of the most fulfilling experiences of your life. This reaction is called empathy. It’s seeing and experiencing another way of life for yourself that puts you in another person’s shoes, and allows you to both feel what

5 they go through every day and also compare it to your own experiences. It’s difficult not to feel something when you see homes with three walls in Belize, or children wearing rags in the streets of India. Traveling is the only way to realize first hand what you have compared to those who don’t. It puts the issues in front of your eyes where you can’t change the channel. It forces you to realize real issues in the world and may ignite a fire within your heart to act on those issues. Most people who start businesses with an international development focus started with an experience of extreme disparity, which broke their heart and inspired them to fix the issues they saw. Take the founder of Charity Water. In his 20’s he spent his life as a club promoter in New York City. After a trip abroad, something triggered him to switch career paths and start one of the most well known charities in the world. Whether you become deeply passionate about education, poverty or any social issue is just as important as becoming aware of greater issues in the world. This mindset can not only help you address your own issues, but can also help you to understand different cultures, and maybe even want to help.

Empathy doesn’t have to only be about experiencing people in extreme poverty. Living with a host family gives you an understanding of what is important to them. You may find similarities in your problems, such as finding time to exercise or visiting with relatives.

6 Gain new skills

Your purpose for international travel can also be a more practical one. Travel provides many opportunities to learn new skills. Take advantage of your trip to learn a language or work on a specific craft like photography. The sky is the limit!

Travel to become a global citizen

Take a look around your classroom or your office space. Chances are you or one of your close friends is working with or interacting with someone from a different country. More and more this is the way the world is heading. Because of technology, affordable travel, and multinational businesses, people are scattered all around the world. International schools are popping up everywhere to educate people from different backgrounds together. Multi-week or month business trips to other countries are replacing long-term assignments. Interacting with diverse people and in diverse environments is the future, and travel is the key to unlocking your potential to navigate the new world. When you travel you meet people from many different places and learn how to communicate with them. You will learn a lot of patience in navigating language barriers and city transit maps. You can’t imagine the pride you will feel in successfully navigating another country’s transportation system with no previous knowledge of the language. Traveling gives you the confidence and the bootstrapping skills to figure things out for yourself, to be comfortable with ambiguity and being lost, and to react to situations calmly and appropriately.

These skills, tolerance, patience, and confidence working in multi-national teams or environments makes you a global citizen. You become an asset by knowing how to navigate challenging and possibly uncomfortable situations. You learn how to communicate effectively with people and understand what methods work best for them even if they seem illogical to someone from your own culture. You can handle any situation, whether it relates to culture or not, because these skills are transferable to all areas of life.

7 Train linguistically and culturally for future jobs

The fastest and most effective way to learn a language is to be immersed in it. If you want to learn Spanish, travel to a Spanish speaking country and live among it. It’s amazing what you will pick up just by listening and forcing yourself not to use English. Learning a language is one of the most valuable assets you can have today. The problem with learning another country’s language in your own country is that it’s been modified. Although your Spanish education may be grammatically sound, you may come to realize the way you were taught is not actually how people speak. The speed of the language may also differ from how it is actually spoken. However, by listening to locals and asking questions you will begin to pick up the language in a way that is much more natural and effective. This is a linguistic education that can only come from traveling outside of your native country.

Traveling to other countries also helps prepare you for situations you may face in a multi-cultural workforce. Maybe your boss will send you to Malaysia where you once took a one-week trip, and you’ll know not to wear yellow or white. You’ll be prepared to experience some difficulties if you’re a woman being sent to India, or a young colleague being sent to Japan. These are cultural differences that can be looked up online of course, but a true understanding of the reasoning behind such strange

8 business actions comes with experiencing the culture through travel. You are now looking at new experiences with a global lens, accepting what is different - and not wrong - in another country. You will still encounter difficulties, but you may be able to handle them more effectively than you would have before.

Learn and grow personally

Traveling abroad is the best way to understand yourself and to understand your place in the world. Whether you know it or not, you are one of over 7 billion people on the Earth. This fact should not make you feel insignificant, but it may make you feel a little smaller. If you do choose to take on the challenges of the world, to see it and experience it, you have the opportunity to make a huge impact. If you are reading this document you at least have access to a computer, an education, and probably many other assumptions about ability and comfort in your life. You’ve won the birth lottery already. One in every five people in the world can’t read. One third of the global population doesn’t have access to the Internet, and over half of the world’s population lives in poverty, on less than $2.50 a day. When you think about your place in the world and what you have relative to the rest of the population, you have a giant opportunity to make a positive impact. When you travel you see these statistics for what they actually are; human faces, hands and feet; their problems now become real, and you realize those faces have names. Traveling shows you just how small you are, but just how large your impact can be. It opens your mind, and may drive new passions domestically or internationally that you never had before. As this guide will talk about later, you don’t have to rescue every orphan or feed every starving child to make a difference. There are positive ways to even take a vacation with positive benefits to the community, but being aware of the opportunity you have is the first step.

Any stage in your life can be a time of discovery. You don’t have to be a college student or twenty-something. Change can be constant and is born out of new experiences. It takes a lot of time to figure yourself out, and the idea of yourself

9 that you have in your head can unravel several times. Maybe it’s the pressure of picking one thing and sticking to it, the need to be consistent with your interests and passions once you become an adult (whatever age that is). Or maybe you truly haven’t experienced enough yet to know exactly who you are. When you put yourself in completely new situations while traveling abroad you realize not only new things that you love, but also the things that you care most about in your life. You learn how comfortable you are blending into new cultures, trying new foods, or creating relationships. The most important thing to remember when traveling is to reflect. Saying you are going off to find yourself with no direction or goal is probably a waste of time and money. But looking for strategic experiences and outcomes, such as studying abroad, interning abroad, working abroad, or volunteering abroad, helps to put travel in a form that is able to truly benefit you in your quest to find yourself. Traveling, though it sounds like a whirlwind of train horns and broken languages, is a great time to explore your own head. You can’t understand what that Turkish man is saying on the phone anyways, so get introspective, reflect on your experiences and the way they make you feel, what you learned from each situation, whether it was retracing your way back into the country after you got onto a bus or that possibly life endangering canyoning trip you took with your friends. We make thousands of decisions a day, but taking time to reflect on the patterns in your decision making and how each outcome made you feel allows you to get better grasp who you are, what you like, and what you want to do. You realize passions and dreams that may have nothing to do with travel, but your creative mind is opened by the stimulation of new environments completely different than those you comfortable with. Even if you have a pretty good sense of who you are, give it a try; take an extended trip to a completely new country. Try new things, and start to see how you and your interests change, it will only affect you for the better.

Travel to be of service to others

The last, and probably most apparent way to travel with a purpose is to use your resources; your time and skills, to positively impact people who face great social

10 issues every day by not being born into the developed world. Many people believe they don’t have anything to give people in other countries. And while specific skills are definitely needed - water engineering, construction knowledge to build homes, and business knowledge to help bring people out of poverty through entrepreneurial activities - you can still make a huge impact by simply giving you time. There are many organizations like Build Abroad who give you the opportunity to help by teaching you the skill sets you need to know. If you are willing to donate your time, these organizations simply need the hands of volunteers to make their impact larger, to build more homes, to feed more people, and to create social impact. If you do have certain skills you would like to use to help other people there are opportunities for that too. If you knit blankets better than anyone else, there are children in Nepal who need warm clothing but can’t afford it. If you know English, you can probably teach it. Teaching English is one of the biggest efforts of American volunteers and volunteer programs. There are many options which will be outlined later in this guide. The point is that in order to help, you must only give yourself the permission to do so, along with the drive to make it happen.

11 How to Start

You have the inkling of an idea in your mind, a desire to go somewhere and do something for others, but what if you have no idea where to start? There are just a few simple steps to get you started on your journey; we’ll share them below.

Planning

You have a life. A job, school, responsibilities and engagements. Volunteering internationally will require a break from the normal routine, and involves some planning. You must decide how much time you can take off and when you can take it. You have to decide where you want to go and what you want to do, even whom you might want to take with you. The later sections of this guide go into more depth, but this is a good place to start your trip planning.

Budgeting

While volunteering is typically a low-cost way to immerse oneself in a new culture, international travel is still expensive. It is important to know that the longer your experience, the less expensive it is over time. This is because things such as flights and documents are expensive sunk costs in your travel, but the longer you stay, the more experience you are getting out of those fees. There are other expenses to consider as well, passports, visas, vaccinations and travelers insurance. It can be scary to think about the money you’re spending on an experience that is outside of your comfort zone, but Shannon O’Donnell founder of grassrootsvolunteering.org and author of The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook and National Geographic Traveler of the Year in 2013 says to make the leap.

“Find the trip you’re most passionate about and incrementally work toward it. Just buy the ticket and the rest will fall into place,” says O’Donnell.

12 It’s all about making the committing to your dream and making it happen. It’s important to understand what you can afford before you begin to look at programs. This will help limit your search. However it’s important to know that you don’t have to finance it all alone. There are options out there for fundraising specific to volunteer experiences that people want to support.

Kathryn Pisco, Founder of Unearth the World, also gives this advice, “Make strategic decisions to save money. I opened up a separate travel fund and all the money I saved would go towards that. I made the trip a priority.”

Fundraising

Fundraising is a great option if you want to volunteer internationally but need help affording the program and airfare. While some people think fundraising is just asking close friends and family members for money, it can actually be a fun and impactful way to share what you are doing with others while creating a community of support and awareness for your cause.

So share your story with your co-workers, your company, your school, and your community. Let people know why you’re doing this and that they have a chance to make an impact through supporting you. It takes a village they say, and that village can make up the puzzle pieces that make your end picture a reality. By getting creative with fundraising channels, there are endless options to connect and involve people who want to support your mission. Raising money through online crowdfunding sites like GoFfundMe, hosting events and sending email campaigns are just a few ideas. See more about fundraising on page 26.

13 Choosing your Program(s)

When looking for the right fit in a volunteering program it is best to start with an internal assessment and then move to an external search of the volunteering space and available opportunities. Knowing what you want out of your experience will help you narrow down your search. When you are able to match your desires for an experience with a program offer, you’ll have a much easier time deciding which program is right for you.

Internal Assessment

There are three major questions to ask yourself when marrying the perfect volunteer experience with your internal goals and aspirations.

Question 1: What kind of work do you want to do?

This may seem like an obvious question, but the answer significantly impacts the type of experience you will have and how much you are going to stretch yourself through the process. According to Ken Budd, author of The Voluntourist, there are opportunities for both skilled and unskilled volunteers:

“Having relevant skills is an ideal situation, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be helpful,” said Budd.

Skilled volunteers are those who have been trained in the area they are working for. For example, skilled volunteers might have a background in construction when they go to build new houses or schools, or they might have a teaching certificate when they go to teach English. The founders of Build Abroad were Architecture majors and continue to work in and know the industry well, which makes them skilled in construction. However when looking for applicants, they will accept anyone with the drive to be of service with a hunger to learn. Construction is perhaps one of the

14 best types of volunteer programs that anyone can take part in without any prior experience. This doesn’t mean an unskilled volunteer can’t help build houses or teach English, but an unskilled volunteer must be willing to “be the intern” as Budd puts it:

“I saw myself as an intern, you do whatever low level stuff that is asked of you but at the same time you’re learning and getting experience”.

It’s a humbling thing, according to Budd, to not feel as if you really know what you’re doing or how to contribute. With an attitude geared towards learning and experiencing, unskilled volunteers can be huge assets too. A contractor alone cannot build a house, and there are not enough English certified teachers to send to remote villages around the world without access to education. It’s tough, but the more you are open to learning the greater impact you will have. It’s important to always keep in mind that you are there to serve, says Budd:

“When you’re there remember you’re the guest, you do whatever they need and whatever they ask”.

Question 2: What are your strengths?

There are no limits when it comes to volunteer experiences, although some may be harder to find. Consider using your unique skills and talents to heighten your impact. If you know business, work with local entrepreneurs to create sustainable business models. If you love sports, so do thousands of children with no access to coaches or equipment. The more creative and innovate volunteers become in catering their experiences to those in need, the wider and more well rounded the volunteer ecosystem becomes.

“Assess your skills and where you will be the most useful,” says O’Donnell, “sometimes it’s not the most fun option but it’s where you’ll be of most benefit”.

15 You don’t have to be an exact expert in micro financing to help an NGO management team focused on providing entrepreneurs with capital, but if you know more about finance than elderly care your best option is to play to your strengths.

“Do what you’re good at. You shouldn’t be building bridges or digging ditches if you have business savvy. Businesses need it and you can provide it” says O’Donnell.

Question 3: What do you enjoy?

Take inventory of your life right now. What is easy, effortless, and enjoyable to you? Is it playing with children? Is it talking to and counseling people who have been through tragedy? Identifying what you really enjoy is a good way to pinpoint a type of volunteer involvement that will bring you the most rewarding experience. The most beneficial experiences are those where both the volunteer and the people within the program benefit. A lot of this comes from having an open mind about the experience, but a great deal also comes from setting yourself up for success when pairing something you love with a chance to help others. Your results will be compounded exponentially and your experience will be life altering.

After you have a good understanding of who you are, what you want to do, and what you enjoy, you can then move to an external assessment of the volunteering space. It can be a bit overwhelming to navigate all of the volunteering options out there, and there is no one way to go aobut it. We recommend some of the best tools in the industry here, but your volunteer experience is unique and so should your search, so always be sure to shop around for more information on finding the right program.

Kathryn Pisco, gives this advice:

“The best way to find opportunities is by word of mouth. Reach out to

16 your network and talk to people who have been where you want to go. The more important thing is to ask the right questions. Idealist.org gives 50-100 questions to ask, like where is the money going? Why does the community even need this program or volunteers? And is training available before you go or upon return? Question yourself and your skills and what you’re looking to do abroad.”

Before going to any particular volunteering site it is best to detail the necessary components of a successfu experience. Choose the ones that mean the most to you and rank these in order of priority. A sample list, though not complete, can be found below:

• Cultural or volunteer training opportunities

• Logistics coordination (flights, ground transportation, accommodations)

• Mutual accountability (are they researching you as much as you’re researching them?)

• Two-way background checking

• Group vs. independent experiences

• Price of program

• Length of program

• Interaction with other volunteers

• Direct/indirect interaction with local people

• Homestay vs. dorm stay

• Volunteer work expectations/hours

• Involvement of program representative throughout your preparation and volunteer experience

• Adventure activities

17 • Opportunity for pleasure travel

• Accommodations, such as meals and transportation

• Re-entry seminars on culture shock

• Long term relationship with the program

• Direct communication with locals post-volunteer experience

This is by no means a comprehensive list, but these are some important things for travelers to consider when choosing what is important to them in a volunteer program. A few of the most important are detailed below.

Training opportunities

Whether your volunteering program is skilled or unskilled, there will always be something you do not know about the country’s culture, behavior, practices, or expectations that will require training.

“When you’re out of your comfort zone it can be difficult to react or conduct yourself in a certain way. Training helps.” says Pisco.

Some programs offer this while others let volunteers familiarize themselves with the practices of the new culture. This is a choice that is up to the volunteer, whether they want the program involved with that training or not, but the training must happen regardless.

“A lot of people wing it, but it’s important to do research on what cultural norms, food, dress expectations are so you can pack the appropriate things”, says Pisco.

A basic language crash course is always helpful, even if your destination location speaks English. An attempt at speaking the local language endears many foreign

18 cultures, not to mention the benefits of knowing a few important phrases on the very likely chance you find yourself in a situation in which you need it. Knowing certain aspects about the culture and typical behavior is also critical to avoid offending someone.

“Do things in your local community first to take yourself out of your comfort zone. Go to a different church, or neighborhood or restaurant where you’re completely out of your comfort zone to practice what that feels like” Pisco says.

Understanding inherent cultural values and beliefs will help when adjusting to the culture shock of being around people completely different from anything you’ve experienced before. It is also important to know the climate. Will it be hot and dry? Rainy and humid? Cold, moderate, or intense heat? Packing appropriately involves understanding what is appropriate dress as well as dressing for the climate. Beyond all of this cultural training is training for your actual role. If you’re teaching English it might be helpful to get your TEFL certification. Similar crash courses for other types of volunteer experiences are also available. It is a lot to think about, so deciding whether this is a must have from your selected program is something to consider.

19 “It’s hard to be completely prepared” says Pisco, “but feeling comfortable being uncomfortable is a good place to start”.

Logistics Coordination

Program fees vary for many reasons, one of which is the amount of logistics coordination that is set up for the volunteer. This includes travel, documentation, and in-country coordination. The more things the program does for you, the more expensive it will usually be. Some programs include your flight and set you up to travel with other volunteers. Some submit for visas and international health and travel insurance for you. In-country some programs set up your living situation and meal coordination. Some programs don’t do any of this. It’s important to decide what things you want the program to coordinate for you and which you are comfortable with providing on your own. Don’t be afraid to ask what parts of the fees are going towards each accommodation as well. Price is always an important factor when considering a program, and while it may seem expensive to volunteer, make sure you know just what all is going into those fees.

Mutual Accountability

“A good way to gauge whether or not a program is a good fit is if they are scrutinizing you as much as you are scrutinizing them,” says Budd

A program that carefully selects its volunteers is one that is looking out for the best interests of its beneficiaries, showing its commitment to its mission. These companies are also making sure you are the right fit so you can have the best experience. Although not necessary, programs requiring a background check are showing their accountability to their patrons, not just looking to grab anyone and throw them into a delicate community.

Mutual accountability also involves both you and the program having an honest

20 dialogue about expectations from the experience. You should be able to ask any question you want of the program, even those related to how the program fees are distributed, and the program should be open and honest with their answers. Accountability on the volunteer’s end includes completing all necessary trainings before departure as well as going the extra mile to understand the culture they’re about to enter and being fully prepared for their immersion experience. If either party is not holding their end of the deal, it will be difficult to get the best experience out of the program.

Consider multiple options, and when you start to narrow down your choice ask a lot of questions. How does your being there impact the community? Do volunteers take jobs away from locals? Ken Budd encourages volunteers to reach out to previous volunteers with that program.

“Ask if the work was impactful and the living situations alright,” says Budd, “You have to do your homework and research the organizations”.

Below are some reputable websites where many volunteer opportunities are congregated into one resource:

GoAbroad.com and GoOverSeas.com These sites compile thousands of volunteer opportunities from many different programs and volunteer organizations. You can explore the site by country or program type. These sites also have articles about planning that are helpful resources for volunteers. When starting your search, this is a good place to find a range of options and compare programs before looking at specific organizations. You can also search by experience - whether it’s study abroad, volunteer abroad, teach abroad, intern, gap year or many other options, the categories make it easy to specifically search for programs. Perhaps the most important aspect of these sites are the volunteer reviews. Potential travelers can see how other volunteers felt during their experience. This should be a crucial part of your research.

21 Grassrootsvolunteering.org This site is unique in that it bypasses the large volunteerism companies and third party programs that put together volunteer experiences. This site links potential volunteers directly with nonprofits in-country,. These experiences are usually a lot cheaper, however they require the volunteer to customize every aspect of their experience, which can be daunting for some.

Shannon O’Donnell, the creator of grassrootsvolunteering.org was unsatisfied with some of the fees and tape around programs that buffered the experience with the local nonprofit, which is what prompted her to create the opportunity for volunteers to create their own DIY grassroots trip. This also gives volunteers the option to be flexible with time constraints and go local direct. Shanon states:

“I wanted to be a tempered voice out there saying not every volunteer trip is right for every volunteer.”

She found a gap in low cost do it yourself volunteering and created this website from that gap. If you’re a traveler looking for autonomy in creating your own experience, this is a good site to access local nonprofits directly and build your volunteer trip from scratch.

22 Choosing your Destination(s)

Once you choose a program that fits you and your expectations, you then get to choose where you want to go with them. With some organizations the options are few and easier to choose from. On the other hand, some organizations have literally hundreds of volunteer destinations. There are many things to consider, including culture, climate, and activities available outside of volunteering.

Culture

The most important aspect to consider is culture. Are you comfortable running headlong and leaping off of a giant cliff between your home country culture and your new destination? Or would you be more comfortable taking more of a step or a hop to a destinations closer to home? While any international travel can be a culture shock, some are vastly different than others. Do a little research into cultural differences in dress, behavior, and beliefs, even foods to understand if you would be a fit there. If you’re gluten free you would certainly have a hard time in a culture who’s diet is based off of noodles and carbs. If you’re a vegetarian you might come into misunderstandings when refusing meats in cultures where offering meat to a

23 guest is considered an honor. Maybe religious differences may be an issue for you. While the idea of international volunteering is to broaden your world view, make sure it is within the constraints of what you’re willing to try to immerse yourself in and understand.

Climate

Climate is also important. Understand what makes you happy and what makes you miserable. Is it extreme heat or cold? How about humidity, rain, altitude, or being closer to a city or a more rural area? Weather, temperature, and surroundings have a huge impact on one’s mood and psychological state, and with the wrong attitude no volunteer trip can be successful for the volunteer or the project. Therefore understand what will set you up for the most positive experience, one where you enjoy your location and what you’re doing.

Extras

There can also be things you want to do besides volunteer that are specific to certain regions. Want to ride an elephant? Don’t go to urban San Jose, Costa Rica to volunteer. Doing things in the country you are traveling to is important for cross- cultural exchange and learning.

Matt Long, award-winning blogger of LandLopers says, “Experiential travel has become the norm instead of a novelty, and I love it. Instead of holing themselves in resorts away from local communities, tourists around the world are seeking to become more involved with them. From food walks to bike tours and even voluntourism, today’s traveler understands the importance of inter-cultural exchange.”

Maybe your future career will have an impact on what destinations you want to be familiar with. If you want to eventually work in the booming electronics industry in

24 Asia or the Environmental Sustainability Industry in Scandinavia. Having experience working in a region or industry you want to eventually go into looks much better than an arbitrary trip to an island because you’ll get a better tan there. Be intentional with your choice, consider your long-term goals.

Choosing your destination is not to be taken lightly. Robert Schrader from Leave Your Daily Hell highlights the importance of choosing carefully:

“Many people miss the point of getting on a plane. It’s about setting the intent of actually discovering your experience, not going on vacation.”

What’s important, he says, is to actually get to know a place by experiencing it, therefore it’s important that you have real reasons for choosing that place besides just wanting to put a new, cool pin on the map.

“It’s very easy to get into the ‘put another notch on the belt’ mindset about travel, but it’s about the quality of your experience, not quantity,” says Schrader.

So choose your destination wisely, and when you find a method that works, do it again and again. Look at you, you’re becoming a traveler!

25 Fundraising

Fundraising doesn’t have to be daunting. By using some of the following tips you can have fun and share your impact and financial burden of your aid.

Share your story

Whether it’s a brochure, short video, slideshow, article – tell people why you chose the program you did and why it is important to you. Let them know what you are passionate about and how their support will help you reach your goals. Whether it is a desire for international travel, furthering education, or passion for the local community and construction projects, share what you will be doing on the trip and how they will be supporting that community by sponsoring you.

Use an online platform to make it easy and secure for people to donate. Sites like GoFundMe are easy to use and allow you to advertise your fundraising efforts and track your progress. They also have a section just for volunteers equipped with a robust search engine that allows you to view local projects. Razoo, Fundrazr and Indiegogo are more examples of crowdfunding sites that can be used to share your story and raise money online.

26 Get creative

You are not just raising money, you are raising awareness around the cause you are supporting when you volunteer abroad. Create t-shirts with native designs or text in native languages. Have a cultural party and make food from the country you will be visiting. Complete a personal sacrifice campaign, where people can pledge $1 for every day you live off of less than $1. Offer people something in return for their support: a photo, a reflection letter, or simply an email thanking them for their support. It doesn’t have to cost you anything, but knowing how their donation impacted your trip and the community you are helping will allow them see the return on their investment.

Corporate or Educational Sponsors

Get your company or school to sponsor you. Most companies love showing that their employees love their jobs, but what they love even more is positive PR. Ask your company for sponsorship, and in return they will get a photo with you holding their sign (or wearing their t-shirt) while volunteering. This is a great opportunity to highlight your trip as well as promote your companies willingness to encourage employees to pursue their passions. Maybe even ask if the company has frequent flyer miles they would be willing to donate to fund your flight. It may not work everytime, but it’s worth a try.

Remember, make your fundraising goal clear. Let your supporters and sponsors know why you chose the program you did, what you’re excited to do there, and how they will be supporting that community by sponsoring you. Make it personal to you and your goals. Get creative, and have fun!

27 What to Expect In-Country

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness” Mark Twain

When traveling to a new country it is important to expect the unexpected. This isn’t meant to scare you, it is meant to be a frame of reference when you realize that even though you researched, studied and asked countless questions about what to expect your actual experience was nothing like the picture you were painting in your mind. This is because people are not homogeneous. All U.S. citizens are not the same, just like all New Yorkers are not the same, just as all Manhattan natives are not the same, just as all those who live on East 5th Street are not the same. If there can be that much difference on one block in the U.S,, then of course you cannot be prepared for everything that happens in a new country. That being said, it does not mean that research is not useless. It is a great way to get you in the right frame of mind when approaching a new culture, but it is not a cheat sheet on how to act and react. The most important thing is to be open-minded.

“Be open minded because anything could go right and anything could go wrong,” says Christina from Chasing Travel. “Learn as much as you can about the people, community, culture, history and politics because if you go without any education you might do something disrespectful without even knowing it.”

Keep an open mind

But don’t get locked into thinking everything you read is true. Although many resources are out there (and listed at the end of this document) to guide you, you must not fall into creating stereotypes. The quote from Mark Twain above reinforces that we may learn about cultures and people but we view them through a lens that is from outside looking in. By taking a look around from within the country the view is much different.

28 Don’t expect each place you visit to be especially safe. It is important to be cautious. You are in a new place. Sometimes safety may be an issue, so an awareness of the political situations in the country is important as to be able to expect and prepare for problems that could arise and how to handle them.

One thing you can expect, is that the people will be different. They will have different beliefs, values and behaviors.

“We get so used to our westernized life that we forget not all other cultures are like us, it’s not right or wrong, just different,” says Christina.

It is very likely locals will have different religions, family values, even view the importance of time differently. In Belize there is something called “Belizean Time” and in Costa Rica there is “Tico Time”. This means that these cultures do not value time as something specific. In many modern cultures, being on time is essential, while being late is frowned upon. In Belize and Costa Rica and so many other places time is relative - people simply show up when they show up.

However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you will have nothing in common with the people you will meet. We are all people, and people have similar goals: to

29 have families, to benefit society, and to ultimately be happy. Look for opportunities to connect. When we connect we cross barriers that separate people based on fabricated differences like geographical boundaries and we can bring greater connectedness and impact to the world through peace and understanding.

“It’s hard to feel completely prepared,” says Kathryn Pisco.

But knowing what you can expect as well as being prepared for the unexpected will give you the right mindset to handle anything that comes your way.

30 The Short Term Volunteer

The length of your volunteer trip is a critical constraint on your volunteer experience. Some people go for months or even years, while others only have one or two weeks to donate their time. There is some criticism in the voluntourism industry over the real impact of these “short term volunteers,” but with the right outlook any service trip can incrementally benefit the world.

Ken Budd wrote The Voluntourist based off of his two-week volunteer experiences. He understood that he couldn’t drop everything to volunteer like some people. Instead he realized that impact isn’t only measured by the amount of work done in another country. Although this is a critical piece, communities still see the benefits of short-term volunteers in other ways.

“You’re not going to change the world when you’re volunteering for 2 weeks at a time,” said Budd, “but if we’re all doing a little bit we can make a big impact.”

The key is creating a shift in the motivation of travelers.

“Some people see a country from an air-conditioned bus,” says Budd, “volunteering gives you more, it’s a way to see a country in a way you wouldn’t otherwise. You’re submerged in it vs. being in a tourist cocoon”.

For short experiences it’s the small gestures that are most important, says Budd, like breaking up the routine for people permanently on the ground, creating a relationship and taking it home with you.

“You go for two weeks but the experience doesn’t end then, or shouldn’t end then” says Budd, “Financial contributions, creating scholarships, it keeps you involved. Dialogues continue, and it changes the way people see each other”.

31 Those relationships can now be maintained easier than ever with social networks like Facebook and communication technology. The relationships don’t have to end when your plane leaves the country.

Short term volunteering can be tough. By the time you feel you’re up to speed it’s time to leave. It can be daunting being thrown in and expected to make an impact right away, and it is never the perfect setup, but the right mindset can help you find contentment in your contributions and peace during your experience. You also must be careful with the type of project you’re working on. In some cases short-term volunteers can do more harm than good. Does someone coming into an orphanage for two weeks add to the cycle of abandonment? These are questions that need to be raised and thought about in order to volunteer responsibly and counteract the negative stereotype of voluntourism. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to choose a program that does good, not harm. It is not simple and you have to be careful.

“From our place of privilege we have an obligation to make sure we are doing no harm,” says O’Donnell. “Good intentions with research go farther. Understanding the dynamics of the industry you’re entering goes a long way toward making sure you are respectful and compassionate when you travel,” says O’Donnell.

32 “Two week trips aren’t the journey, they’re the start of the journey,” says Budd. “They’re experiences that can help you define your own life and find purpose.”

While it might not seem like you’re making the largest contribution, each volunteer plays a part in the bigger picture.

“Be a small piece in whatever they’re doing and do whatever you can to help” says Budd.

With each additional volunteer organizations can run more projects with more volunteer laborers. A helping hand or kind word does amazing things for marginalized people, especially when it comes from a foreigner.

“The intangible benefits are the most important . People are amazed at what strangers will do for them,” says Budd. It’s creating a service economy, and the benefits will spread with each helping hand, even if the act of volunteering is only short term, the impact is much bigger.”

33 The Impact

This is the point right? We all want our lives to have a positive impact on others. What is the impact of a purposeful travel experience? Whether volunteering on a specific project or being mindful and local in the way you travel, the impact far exceeds the work that was physically completed.

So many volunteer trips are short or unfinished, but they all make an impact on the people you helped, the greater ailment that is impacting the community or country, and more than anything the volunteer. When Build Abroad sends volunteers to build a house, the impact doesn’t stop after the trip. Sure the volunteers may see the completion of the house if they stay for several months, but it is the people they interacted with and the things they set in motion that leave the greatest impact. It is the wider view of the world they now have and their new place in it.

Kathryn Pisco took her experiences and created a lifelong business out of them.

“I believe its better to do something than nothing. What can come out of a short trip can be cross-cultural immersion and exchange (global citizenry). Immersion projects break down cultural barriers and build relationships. For the short term volunteer the impact can’t be seen as much in the project, but the traveler can be impacted. They can change a lot in a short amount of time. They can have a broader perspective of the issue and it can inspire them to get more involved on a larger level in the future. I came home and started a social venture from my experience with short term trips.”

But she is not the only one who found impact in travel and voluntourism beyond the project itself. It has become lifelong for her and many others.

34 Take interest in the people, not just the work

“The real benefit was the interactions that occur between people that would never have otherwise,” says Budd. “Like playing catch with a boy who has grown up being marginalized, telling him he’s a great ball player changes the way he sees himself, it’s something he’s never experienced before. When people from other countries are interested in these people it makes a statement - it says they’re important.”

Understand the bigger picture

The biggest impact is teaching people about local level travel and how travelers can actually make a change in a nation’s economy, which can change everything.

“We need to travel to help others, not for ourselves, if we can spend our time and money in ways that inject money into the local economy we can use it to help empower the recovery process,” says Christina.

It can pull a community from poverty to great economic prosperity.

She says, “the largest redistribution of money potential between the west and the developing world is through tourism – we have the opportunity to boost these countries not through charity but through tourism to develop.”

Break barriers created by differences in culture

Though we’ve said it before, travel gives you a new lens.

“Travel is something far greater than just crisscrossing the globe. It has the unique ability, like nothing else, to connect us to others, to break through cultural barriers, prejudice and preconceived notions” says Christina.

35 It gives us the opportunity to open our eyes and really see the world and its differences as something to be celebrated, not something to be afraid of.

Don’t quit when the project ends

“If you believe in the mission your job doesn’t end there,” says O’Donnell. “You can be an advocate for them or volunteer remotely, stay up on their impact, and maintain a relationship and support beyond the trip. You must understand that your role in that community lives on.”

Jessica Wynne Lockhart, travel journalist and Founder of Go Further Travel also says when coming back travelers should connect with other travelers to continue their mission for that community or purpose.

“Join associations within your community related to the experience you had that you can volunteer with locally,” says Lockhart

Be an agent of change

Futurist and Speaker Anne Lise Kjaer sees those who travel as the movers and shakers of tomorrow.

“Today, travelers – we know them as Global Citizens – are changing our world. Culturally open and highly mobile, they are change agents who are setting new standards in virtually all areas of business and society. In order to appeal to this group, businesses are going to have to build new models based around values – concern for others, community, and the environment – as well as delivering diversity that matches Global Citizens’ value sets.”

A value driven world begins when you travel.

36 Yes, your life will literally change when you travel or volunteer internationally if you are doing it with the right intentions. And you will change other people’s lives as well. Whether it is with a few kind words or building a new school, the impact is long lasting and will evolve over time. From staying involved in the cause through local efforts or starting your own organization to end the issue most important to you, it is about you as much as it is about them.

Matt Long puts it best, “I think travel is inherently selfish and that’s fine. But more than relaxation or a nice time, travel always helps us grow as people. Even if it’s a short trip nearby, we always learn, we always interact and we always expand our own personal horizons.”

37 Why Now?

Go. Now. Find that spot on the map and buy your ticket. Why so incessant? Because the desire to travel and to change the world is a small flame inside most of us. The farther you get into a comfortable and ordinary life the more chances that flame will have to go out for good. You must fan the flame and help it grow if you want to create change and impact. We need more global citizens, people who care, but are also willing to act.

There are millions of ways fear can cover itself up as excuses; like job security or career advancement, not wanting to be uncomfortable once we finally have the house and job.

“The more you get into your career the more difficult it is to take time off” says Kathryn Pisco.

But if we’re being honest with ourselves it obviously isn’t enough. That desire is in you for a reason. It could be for a week; it could be for years like many of our travel experts. You’ll discover what makes you truly happy if you give it a chance.

38 It can be frightening, but hopefully this guide has helped make the leap manageable. If you have learned anything from this guide, it should be to do your research, and do it now. Even the experts find value and courage in getting comfortable with an idea through extensive research.

“I did a bunch of research, looked at costs, found travel bloggers who had done what they wanted to do.” Says Pisco, “The more we started planning the more doable it seemed.”

Go now to avoid getting stuck. Sure you’re happy, but you don’t know what else is out there. And if you’re comfortable, you’re not growing. It is my understanding from experience that you are only growing when you’re slightly uncomfortable. Just like when you were a kid: your shoes didn’t quite fit month to month and your pant legs were always a few inches short. Discomfort means you are learning, growing and adapting, and you’ll be proud of yourself when you do.

“Breaking out of your comfort zone is good for you,” says Matt Long. “It’s scary, that’s why it’s called the comfort zone. But the best that travel has to offer will only reveal itself when we push our own travel envelopes. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, in fact baby steps may be best, but each time we do something new and a little scary, we redefine what we consider scary and in the process become better people.”

So why now? To fan your internal flame to travel the world, to take a step out of your comfort zone, and to become better - one baby step at a time.

39 The Travel Experts

Shannon O’Donnell is a speaker, blogger for a little adrift, founder of grassrootsvolunteering.org, author of The Volunteer Traveler’s Handbook and National Geographic Traveler of the Year in 2013. As seen in: BBC, USA Today, lonely planet, Cosmopolitan.IT, and many more.

Q: What is the most important thing you’ve learned? A: Everybody has a story. Underneath it all we’re all in this together. Otherness, there’s a lot of cultural differences but when we come from curiosity and understanding and respect worth exploring.

Q: What is the best trip/experience you’ve had? Why? A: I traveled with my 11-year-old niece 7 months in SE Asia – to see her understand at such a young age that we’re all connected in a whole world of problems was important for her.

Q: You wrote the volunteer travelers handbook, which guides travelers to positive volunteer experiences. What motivated this? A: I built it because it didn’t exist. I had a hard time finding low cost volunteering so I did an investigation into the industry and where the fees were going.

Q: What isn’t in your book that you would have included? What is the extra chapter so to speak? A: When I first wrote the book I knew the message I wanted to talk about but I don’t

40 know if I tempered the positive ways people could travel local and how important it is. To be of service a trip could look like many things. You could go on a vacation but make sure your tourism makes an impact. Volunteering is one way you support but also making sure your dollars stay is another.

Q: How can more people be exposed to the benefits of international travel? A: Study abroad is great in university systems – it takes away the fear factor when people graduate and want to travel. People also need to know that they have the means and permission. Many lower income families don’t think it’s attainable but it is.

Q: What do you think the biggest benefit of travel is? A: A shift in your own consciousness and an understanding of who you are in relation to the world.

Q: What kind of mindset do you take with you to the places you visit? A: Curiosity, respect and service. When I arrive I ask how can I be of service.

Q: What trends have you seen in the voluntourism industry that you find important? A: The democratization of volunteer travel and finding programs on the internet – people can more easily find information – this has created a shift from the major players in the industry to allow more people to embrace volunteering as the idea of being of service. This encompasses more than just being a volunteer but all around ethical travel and traveling responsibly.

41 Ken Budd, author of the award-winning memoir The Voluntourist, has written for The New York Times, Smithsonian, National Geographic, The Washington Post and many more publications. He is the host of 650,000 Hours, a web series that will debut in 2016.

Q: What motto do you live by? A: I want to live a life that matters.

Q: Have you always been interested in service work? A: I was turning 40 when my father died very suddenly. That made me question what I was doing with my life. Around that time Rebuilding Together was working in New Orleans. Nothing was planned; it was serendipitous that I went for two weeks to help. I didn’t drop everything to volunteer, but most people don’t have that opportunity.

Q: What were you feeling when you went to New Orleans the first time? A: Everywhere I went I thought this is a huge mistake. I thought, ‘what am I qualified to do?’ I came to find that you go in thinking you’re going to do this specific thing, but what I kept finding was the real benefits were the interactions that occur between people that would never have happened otherwise. Some people get on an air- conditioned bus and never meet people different from them. This is something that changes the way we see each other.

Q: What was it about your experience in New Orleans that was the tipping point for other volunteer experiences? A: I was dipping my toe in the volunteering abroad waters and I began to think I could actually do something that may be useful. You’re not going to change the world when you’re volunteering for two weeks, but if we’re all doing a little bit it can be important.

42 Q: How would you encourage other people to capitalize on their feeling to go and take advantage of that tipping point? A: It’s a way to see a country in a way you wouldn’t otherwise. You’re submerged in it versus being a tourist in a cocoon. You have to remember it’s not about you, do whatever you’re asked, and smile. Respect the cultural differences and be a small piece in whatever they’re doing and do whatever you can to help.

Q: Why did you write The Voluntourist? A: I Didn’t start out thinking I was going to write a book. I wrote an article about my experiences in Costa Rica thinking that I would be normal again, but maybe it was the start of the journey rather than the journey. When I talk to people who have read my book they talk about the things that have helped them in their own lives in finding purpose.

Q: You say in your biography that we live better when we live for others – even if its only two weeks at a time - can you speak to this a little more? A: You go for two weeks but the experience doesn’t end then, or shouldn’t end then. There are financial contributions, creating scholarships that keep you involved and the dialogues continue. It changes how people see each other and even continues via Facebook now.

Q: What kinds of projects have you done like this? A: I taught English at an elementary school in Costa Rica. In two weeks by the time you get up to speed you have to go. It was a daunting experience doing different lesson plans from 1st to 6th graders. It wasn’t the perfect setup but the kids picked up English just by talking with me. Next was China – teaching English for 2 weeks I paired with one child – to help him write numbers and characters. You start to find that you still find a way to communicate even with the language barriers. Language is both a barrier and not a barrier – we can still make these connections between people. In Ecuador I was with Earthwatch trying to get a handle on climate change. In the West Bank I did a variety of projects in Palestine, working at farms and women’s centers for example. Then in Kenya I worked at a children’s home.

43 Cristina is Editor of ChasingTravel.com, The Experiential Travel Blog. She was also a Top 25 Travel Blogger of 2014 by FlipKey- TripAdvisor and a Top 100 Canadian Travel Blogger in 2013 by FlightNetwork.com.

Q: You write a blog on travel for social good, why did you leave your job in journalism to start your own blog? A: I knew that journalism had to mobilize in some way and I thought it should be mobilizing for people. When I didn’t see that in mainstream media I started a blog on international journalism that focused on stories that could encourage someone to make a change or make a difference. It made me feel good and was meaningful during my travels.

Q: What do you write about now? A: My writing is more local as opposed to what to see and do, trying to find some kind of connection in that community. I’m writing more about different issues, misconceptions about traveling to certain destinations and educating people about destinations they wouldn’t think about traveling to.

Q: What are small ways to make a big impact? A: Stay at local accommodations - BnB, guest house (I stayed in a casa in Havana), a homestay with a family, a non-profit hostel like Hostelling International)

- Buy and eat local - go to neighborhood markets, do your grocery shopping at family run shops. Buy from local artisans, choosing family-run restaurants instead of big commercial chains, buy wine made in the destination/locally-produced

- Helpx and workaway are great ways to volunteer short-term in exchange for room and board

44 Q: You’ve been on many volunteer trips, what are the factors that make the most successful or impactful experiences? A: I do a lot of research when I’m choosing the organizations I want to work with. I make sure they’re run sustainably and that funding is going directly to help the communities involved and will stay in that community. It’s also important that the experience aligns with your values and beliefs

Q: How do you travel local and authentic? A: Another way you can travel local and authentic is by asking locals where they go and what they do - most often they let you in on what is not in a guidebook.

- have a meal with locals (I like EatWith) or take a tour with locals (WithLocals is great).

- learn a local custom (like a cooking class to learn the local cuisine, I once joined a community to help give alms to monks).

45 Jessica Wynne Lockhart is the author of Go A Little Further Travel, contributing editor at Verge Magazine, a publication devoted to travel with a purpose, and marketing manager for the Go Global Expo. She has appeared in Chatelaine and the Toronto Star.

Q: What have you learned from your travels? A: Some of my most memorable trips have been working on a remote medical team in Guyana and volunteering in Vanuatu. Through travel—especially to developing countries—you learn about your place in the world and how to see it through a different lens, with a different perspective.

Q: How can people choose destinations with a purpose? A: The easiest way on any trip is to stay with locals or find locally-owned accommodations. For every $100 spent at a foreign-owned resort, only $5 stays in the country. By researching ethical and sustainable travel operators, you can keep the dollars in-country and support the local economy.

Q: What does the ideal traveler look like? A: The ideal traveler recognizes that tourism has the power to effect positive change in the world.

Q: What kind of mindset do you take with you to the places you visit? A: Be a listener and a learner. It’s all about the stories of the people you meet — listening is a key skill that has driven me through my travels.

Q: How do you see the future of travel being shaped? A: Right now, the hot topics are solo women travel and improving the diversity of those participating in “travel with purpose” opportunities. We need to make studying, volunteering and working abroad more inclusive. I think—and hope—that access will be improved for underrepresented groups (such as lower income

46 students). I also hope that we’ll see travelers and governments understanding the transformative effect that tourism can have on local economies and environments.

Q: What are the benefits of travel? A: For young people, working, volunteering or studying abroad can propel your career forward. You stand out to prospective employers when you demonstrate adaptability, flexibility and communication skills. Travel is one of the best ways to obtain the intercultural skills necessary in today’s global marketplace.

47 Kathryn Pisco created Unearth The World, a volunteer placement company that promotes unique and life changing volunteer travel experiences.

Q: What does it take to quit your job to travel and volunteer for a year? A: It was crazy. We lived and worked very traditional lives but were always obsessed with travel and volunteering. The more you get into your career the more difficult it is to take time off and making a decision is scary, but the more we started planning the more doable it seemed. You really only need a passport and a visa for the first country you’re going to, a flight in and a general idea of what you want to do over the next months. We resigned from our jobs the same day and learned a lot along the way

Q: What is the biggest thing you have learned? A: We knew we wanted to incorporate volunteering and be more than just a tourist. We wanted to immerse ourselves in the culture to do projects with locals. We didn’t understand there was “good” and “bad” volunteering and learned how to find projects that made bigger impacts than others.

Q: How can you train to travel internationally? A: There is a ton of training for people about culture shock and global citizenship, how to conduct yourself as a foreigner traveling abroad. When you’re out of your comfort zone can be difficult to react or conduct yourself in a certain way. Training helps. Do things in local community first to take yourself out of your comfort zone. Go to a different church, or neighborhood or restaurant where you’re completely out of your comfort zone to practice what that feels like.

Q: How do you vet your community partners? A: We start off with research, are they community drive, solving or working toward

48 solving a social issue in that community and is financially transparent? Is it safe? The country, community, and volunteer site. Lastly is it something meaningful, impactful, and something people would want to do.

Q: Why do you volunteer? A: I grew up volunteering my whole life. I went to 12 years of catholic school and it was part of my upbringing. Every experience was the most selfish and unselfish thing you can do. You leave feeling great. The motivation while traveling came from wanting to have that cultural exchange. We wanted to see and experience international cultures from a local’s perspective instead of a tourist’s perspective, thinking we wouldn’t be able to have that same opportunity from staying in hotels or doing the traditional tourist thing. It was a transformative experience living with locals. Hopefully we made a positive impact but walked away with way more.

49 Matt Long is an experiential luxury traveler at heart. He adventures with thousands of readers every day through his award winning site LandLopers.com. As someone who has a bad case of the travel bug, Matt travels the world in order to share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer. Based in Washington, DC, Matt has been to more than 65 countries and all 7 continents.

Q: How many countries have you been to? A: More than 65 countries and all 7 continents

Q: How has your life changed since you’ve started doing what you are currently? A: I left my old 9-5 job three years ago to pursue my dreams and life has never been better. It’s amazing how what we do can impact every other aspect of our lives, but since pursuing what is my dream job I’m healthier, my relationship with my partner has never been better and in general life is good.

Q: How can more people be exposed to the benefits of international travel? A: I think a lot of folks don’t realize how accessible international travel really is. By making a few changes in our daily spending habits, we can quickly save more than enough for a trip overseas, which most times isn’t any more expensive than a long domestic trip. Once people get over the fear hurdle once, they understand the benefits to international travel and quickly become converts.

Q: How do you see the newest generation affecting travel? A: Well if the Millennials have shown us anything, it’s that they love to travel and they really value experiences over things. Though younger, they spend more on

50 travel than Gen X, which to me is a shocking statistic. But they’re willing to forgo certain luxuries in their daily lives if it means they can travel more and enjoy enriching experiences. This has and will continue to define what tourism offers in forms of products and services.

Q: How can someone be the best prepared for a trip into a new culture? A: It sounds corny, but the good tourist will be one who leaves home with an open mind. Political leaders do not define their people, and so we need to forget whatever prejudices we may have about a country and instead be willing to learn about a new culture from the people themselves. Basic education is also key. Read up on new places you visit, learn about their history and be prepared to chat with folks about their lives from a position of education instead of ignorance.

51 Robert Schrader is the founder of Leave Your Daily Hell Travel Blog, one of the most visited independent travel websites in the world, as seen in CNN, About.com, Business Insider, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, USA Today, The Sydney Morning Herald and Details Collection.

Q: You do a lot of travel coaching, what is that? A: I custom plan trips for people who do not have the time to plan it out themselves. I give them the structure of a trip but give them the feeling that they’re winging it. I live by the golden rule in all aspects of my life: Plan eclectic interesting and balanced trips. I ask the person a lot of questions about their past trips, goals and expectations, things they may want to do and use that to build a trip around. The key is to balance traditional tourist attractions with off the beaten path, city and countryside, hedonistic travel with connecting to the community.

Q: What is your advice to keep the impact of travel local? A: Whenever it’s safe – it can be difficult in developing countries - walk instead of taking a taxi, talk to people, walk off the beaten path, skip the shiny restaurant and pop into a little hole in the wall. You don’t have to do something explicitly conscious or related to sustainable tourism - it’s all about interacting with the local community at the end of the day

Q: What is the most important thing to remember when traveling? A: The most important thing I try to remember is being able to let go. I run a business on the road but I remember to have one or two moments in the day to let go and be totally be present in the culture. Go out in the world and get lost. One time in Japan on a north island there was a canal with icicles as big as a person. It was one of those

52 places you go take a picture and you’re done. I walked past the industrial shipping port instead of the canal. Off in the distance there were mountains and really blue water, and starfish frozen in the snow. It was really strange, and I had an epiphany that had to return it to its home. It only took a couple seconds but there is something about that experience that returned me to childhood.

Q: What is the purpose of your travel blog? A: When I started there weren’t a lot of travel blogs. As I’ve crafted it over a few years it’s not about making it better than others, it’s about making it my unique voice. I inform, inspire and entertain so you’re there with me. But if it ends there it’s pointless. My goal is to be a leaf that blows in the wind and gets planted in the grass so that other people want to something like that too.

53 Anne Lise Kjaer is a futurist and the Founder of Kjaer Global, an international trend management consultancy.

Q: How can people best prepare to work in global task forces and workforces? A: Today I think one of the greatest tools we have is the Internet – in a moment, we can understand the world in a much broader context. We can prepare and compare through snapshots of distant places via Wikipedia, YouTube or friends on social media. Suddenly, the world is more immediate and within our grasp as we become aware that everything is interconnected: people, places, nature and cultures. Ultimately, our values and our similarities – as well as our differences – give us common points of reference, and in this way we learn to appreciate other cultures. Of course, nothing replaces the firsthand experience – the journey you make to a place or culture!

Q: Do you think that international travel experiences benefit people when looking for jobs? A: Absolutely, travelling is what makes and shapes us. Not only do we get a more open view of the world, we also acquire knowledge about different cultures. The biggest benefit is greater tolerance and understanding of things that are different to our own background.

Q: What trends are you seeing in the NGO and public sectors? A: There is not one but many trends influencing the voluntary and NGO sector. We are seeing wider movements around building social capital, globalization, doing good and recognizing our interconnectedness – building a better world by

54 being more transparent. In fact, my new book: The Trend Management Toolkit – A Practical Guide to the Future highlights the importance of recognizing the interconnectedness of trends to navigate the future. It’s all about connecting the dots – an essential task of our work is to imagine possible future scenarios, based on what we monitor and research. People are the center of everything we do as futurists because it is their living patterns and behaviors that shape the future.

Q: Where do you see the future of travel and the future benefits of travel heading? A: I cannot highlight the importance of traveling enough as a gateway for human exchange, knowledge and value sharing in order to develop a wider cultural understanding in an increasingly globalized world. To me, there can be no doubt that someone who has traveled will have a very different outlook to someone who never left the place they were born. Perhaps they will be less suspicious or fearful of change and more tolerant of the differences between people; certainly they will have a deeper understanding of how the world works and how lucky we are to have the opportunities we do. I think the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen had a very poignant point when he wrote: “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To travel is to live.”

Q: How do you see younger people changing the world of travel and the international landscape for multi-national businesses? A: Increasingly Millenials look at the world without boundaries – and most expect to travel and do international assignments at some stage in their life. Hyper-mobility simply means that we travel with much more confidence and curiosity than ever – which is key to discovering the world in a wider context - and for most young people a gap year is now the norm.

55 Craig Zabransky writes tales of travel to inspire others to take and make adventure in their life. He owns and operates StayAdventurous.com, a travel blog which was a finalist for best photography (bloggies) and best adventure blog (flipkey, TBU) in recent years. Craig has also be seen on Fox and Friends, AOL, SiriusXM Radio, Florida Travel and Life, cheapflights.com, Work Style Magazine, and others.

Q: Why do you write Stay Adventurous? What are you hoping to inspire other people to do? A: In travel, we learn. We’re educated in a way that isn’t in a classroom. It’s a different way of learning and for me an RTW (Round the world) costs less than an MBA. I wanted people to take one step outside of their comfort zone, not always something adrenaline junkie like skydiving, it could even be eating something or going somewhere new. I wanted to educate and push people outside of their comfort zones to have fun. Because once you come back you’re different.

Q: What does adventure mean to you? A: Adventure to me is taking that one step or living where you really feel alive, when you’re really in the moment. It’s exciting, I’m focused on being there and travel is the gateway to being there in so many ways.

Q: Any words of advice to help people step of out of their comfort zones? A: Don’t follow what other people do. It’s your comfort zone. Know where your comfort zone is and work on that. Know each person has a different journey and a different adventure lined up for them and encourage them to take it. Either you

56 follow you dreams or make sure you’re helping someone with theirs, those are the two ways to live in life.

Q: How has your mindset changed since you’ve started traveling? A: I’ve always had the opportunity to travel. Really I followed the typical path – college, job in NY. But decided to take a year off to travel sabbatical. After seeing how the world is different I realized there is a big world out there. From my first trip my mindset changed and when I came back I was never the same. You’re expected to jump right in but you’re in a new reality and you can’t go back to what was normal.

Q: What is the purpose of travel to you? A: I’d be foolish to say it wasn’t for fun. I think life is for fun. But it’s also for education. They don’t need to be in two different boxes. Every place has character, history, charm and if you’re open you can soak it up as a sponge.

57 About the Author

The basic concept for this guide was concieved by the Build Abroad team, but almost all of the writing was done by our very own Becca Peets. She has been with Build Abroad since the beginning, taking part in the very first group trip to Costa Rica. Becca also does marketing and communications for Build Abroad. She enjoys both travel and volunteering abroad. Through her travels across four continents and 25 countries she enjoys experiencing both the nuances of quaint towns and meeting good people who make volunteer travel a joyful pursuit. She now lives and works in Chicago as she plans her next adventure with the inspiration from many of the travel experts interviewed for this guide. She hopes the guide will help people take the first step to being global change agents. Enjoy!

Meet Becca - Traveler, Volunteer & Global Citizen!

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