Wanna get out of here

[budafist]

Been having a shitter of a day and went out to have lunch with my boyfriend. We both expressed how we just want to get out of here (Auckland, job etc) so we decided to we are going to look into volunteer work with the red pandas in the Himalayas asap. As soon we have saved a few thousand dollars we are out of here. Hopefully.

Dreaming is good too.

I had a beer with lunch and things are looking much better now. It's Friday afternoon and I'm going to be out of here soon!

On one hand we want to stay and build our freelance business but on the other hand it would be so great just to pack up and flee.

What do you want to do if you could?

[Two-Toe Tom]

i want rootbeer float, but there's no ice cream. or rootbeer.

[jimking]

Fly to Tahiti then New Zealand then off to Sidney to visit relatives.:)

[hewligan]

Forget rootbeer - I want beer-beer. Also, I would quite like it if this particularly miserable winter would end. It seems like it's getting everyone down, including me.

[frankster]

I've had a lot of changes of direction so far in my life. Hard one was turning my back on the career in physics and all the studying that had gone into it, then surprise babies and emmigrating whilst pregnant. The past three years have been rock and roll and unstable, but I've developed what I feel is a much more adventurous outlook on life due to all that.

I want to try my hand at many things and live many places and meet many people. You, your "self", who you really are is a product of your mind and it's collective experiences. If you have a posetive adventurous outlook then any choices you make or directions that you take will enrich you. So many things, good and bad, happen in life that you have no control over or no choice in. When it comes to things that you do have the power to choose and control, then shake it up a little, especially before you become responsible for little people (my first thoughts are of how my choices will affect my children these days).

wouldn't you just love to be that ancient old woman with a million astounding tales for her grandchildren one day?

Have some fun Buda! and then tell us all about it!

[budafist]

Well, I've never been the pack up and go kinda person but it's getting to be like that. I do like security and I do like creature comforts. I dunno, maybe it's just the crap day I'm having and my work situation feeling less and less idea is making me want to go far far away.

[Two-Toe Tom]

do you have any vacation days saved up? maybe its time for a vacation. woot!

[budafist]

I've got the rebooked trip to Niue still in the horizon in August. I'm not sure that will be enough sadly...still something to look forward to I guess.

[hewligan]

Well, if you're not sure, I'd probably try something a bit less radical first - like, maybe, what you really need is to find yourself a new job.

Then again, those red pandas ain't gonna save themselves :D

[budafist]

No, I'm pretty sure I wanna get out of here. Just not sure that a 1 week holiday is enough. I'd like to go away for 6 months minimum.

[cornfed]

Buda, I agree with Frankster. I guess it's cause we both have kids thus lending us the ability to look back. You don't have kids or a family to look after so I say follow your gut and fly like the wind. The risk is far less than it will be later in life. Who's really looked back on their life and expressed regret over an adventure or a spur of the moment trip or some other spontaneous maneuver? Maybe if you made a dumb decision while on said trip or something like that, but adventure for the sake of adventure and mental health is not something thats always going to be an option. Eventually, you'll be dealing with old parents that need looking after, kids that want to be fed, gobs of bills that you can't turn your back on and all those things. I'm not saying all of those things are bad. I just look at them as certain inevitable parts of life that come with being a certain age and under a certain set of life circumstances. If you've got the freedom right now, do it. I wish I had had more of a free spirit back when I didn't have so many responsibilities - but I didn't. So, now I'll be happy to live vicariously through you and yours!!

[Zendada]

What do you want to do if you could?
Live and work and play and travel in Europe.

[suas]

Do it! Travel is great for inspiration. An adventure is even better.

[urstwile]

I agree completely with Frankster and Cornfed.

I was not particularly adventurous when I was younger, and now I feel like I'm making up for time that I lost. I'm fortunate in that I have no kids, never planned or plan to, so I can make those choices, but I do wish I'd jumped on some of those opportunities when I was younger. Now, I feel like the adventures compete with the pragmatic even more than they did then, and it's harder to make the leap sometimes.

Although I do anyway, but I can't help but wonder what the impact will be on my 401(k) plan or the idea of someday buying a house. :rolleyes:

[budafist]

Thanks to you lovely people that are wiser than me. The reassurance really does help. My parents are of the conservative kind and always drilled into me that I was to go to uni straight after high school and then find a job, get married, buy a house etc. Holidays yes, but no adventures! I definately want to have babies one day so best to get this fleeing business out of the way before then!

Looked into volunteer work in Nepal and by the looks of it you have to pay around $2000+ US to join the volunteer programs. That's disappointing.

I was hoping there could be a programme where we just buy plane tickets and then work 40 hours a week somewhere in the wild and get fed and a somewhere to stay in exchange. No such luck so far. You can work for free, but you have to buy their food and pay for the accommodation. (sounds like a bum deal) I will keep looking for sure though. 2 of my friends paid about $2500US each to do volunteer work for a couple of months in South America over Christmas. Great experience but I guess I have to get my head around paying someone to work for them!?

If anyone has heard of any good conservation volunteer placement groups, let me know!

[captain spanky]

life is short and you gotta do what you feel.

my dream is to travel round france in my custom vw manx buggy with my laydeeee.

one day.... *sigh* ...one day.

[hewligan]

Buda - look into English Language Teaching. It;s pretty easy to get into, you can have your adventure and get paid while you do it. Plenty of my friends did it that way.

[frankster]

Hey Buda, The husband has spent a lot of time in Nepal from the age of 11 and is in love with the place. We have tankas all over our house! I have a contact that sorts out English language teaching for people who want to stay there for a bit. I could try and put you in touch with them if you like. He's a nice bloke, but lives in the UK. The only thing I'd say is look into the political situation out there very closely. Admitedly the Maoists are now in the government, but I'm still not sure how stable the government actually is. It's been mayhem the last few years. My in laws went on a five week trek and MIL had a fall, was injured badly and had to spend the night in a Maoist hut before being airlifted out. They don't do the regular treks though, they are crazy adventurous where they go. Still, do some research on the safety of western travellers in the country. I really want to go there, but we're waiting till the kids are a bit older to do any serious travelling again.

So, this was about a year ago that the Maoists joined government...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5085760.stm

The situation that kicked off the civil unrest was bizzare...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1365393.stm

Not sure what's happened since the interim Maoist inclusive government in 2006. There's a tonne about the development of it all on the BBC news website though.

[Logo-Mechanix]

My wife and i got most of that stuff out of the way before the kids, although we really only traveled withing the US we did take some great vacations and had a blast.

[WannaBrie]

Thanks to you lovely people that are wiser than me. The reassurance really does help. My parents are of the conservative kind and always drilled into me that I was to go to uni straight after high school and then find a job, get married, buy a house etc. Holidays yes, but no adventures! I definately want to have babies one day so best to get this fleeing business out of the way before then!

Looked into volunteer work in Nepal and by the looks of it you have to pay around $2000+ US to join the volunteer programs. That's disappointing.

I was hoping there could be a programme where we just buy plane tickets and then work 40 hours a week somewhere in the wild and get fed and a somewhere to stay in exchange. No such luck so far. You can work for free, but you have to buy their food and pay for the accommodation. (sounds like a bum deal) I will keep looking for sure though. 2 of my friends paid about $2500US each to do volunteer work for a couple of months in South America over Christmas. Great experience but I guess I have to get my head around paying someone to work for them!?

If anyone has heard of any good conservation volunteer placement groups, let me know!

Wow, Buda, I didn't know that they actually expect YOU to pay THEM. I thought volunteer meant, well free on both sides. That IS disappointing. I know this is probably a lame suggestion, but what about the peace corps?

I truly wish that I had done something like this before my son came along. I don't think I will ever have the opportunity now. I dream about being able to just take off and travel the world with my son. I always thought that would be a great way to grow up, seeing the world and learning about foriegn cultures firsthand.

If you really want to, I say Do it! do it now while you're young. Good luck let us know what you decide!

[carter the artist]

If you guys wanna visit California, I can let you sleep under my bed. Just give me heads up so I can buy a frame, otherwise it'll be a tight squeeze.

[cornfed]

Buda, you should have no trouble finding someone in New Orleans thats taking volunteers! Then you could come visit me!! :D My dads church is currently being built by a rotation of a bunch of volunteers. There's usually about 100-200 people there on any given day. I think they work in 2 week rotations.

[CkretAjint]

If you guys wanna visit California, I can let you sleep under my bed. Just give me heads up so I can buy a frame, otherwise it'll be a tight squeeze.

My door is open in south Florida as well (about 20-30 minutes from Miami)!!! I have an uber comfy couch, and a nice queen size air matress... Not much but common, ITS FREE! LOL :D

[cornfed]

I just make one of my teenagers give up their room! Usually whichever one is the cleanest!!

[Jackimalyn]

Have you looked into the peace corps?

During service, Peace Corps Volunteers receive vacation time, pay and living expenses, deferment of student loans, and transportation to and from the country of service.

I dont know how they are affiliated (do you need to be an American citizen, or what) Or if you do, does NZ offer something comparable?

[AlexNJ210]

My door is open in south Florida as well (about 20-30 minutes from Miami)!!! I have an uber comfy couch, and a nice queen size air matress... Not much but common, ITS FREE! LOL :D
next time i visit my bro in Port St. Lucie im comin over your place for a night!!! We'll go out and get wasted at your fav. place :D

[budafist]

Aww, you guys are so sweet offering up your places to stay. You make my wee blinkers moist!

I'll look into Peace Corps. There are plenty of English Language teaching jobs around the world and I know of people that do them, but I've got idea in my head on being more of a hippy doing conservation stuff. Cutting down stuff and building stuff.

[budafist]

:eek: Peace Corps costs $5000US for doing 12 weeks of volunteer work. I'm not even sure if I can do it since I'm not an US citizen. I guess volunteer work is a big business across the world.

These are just program fees too. None of these $3000+ course fees include airfares. Goodness...

[carter the artist]

i thought you got paid for being in the peace corp.

[tuliptree]

Buda, I agree with Cornfed and Frankster, fly like the wind and have a ball before settling down. I did several cross country (US) trips after college and before buying a house and settling down, and I am so glad I did. I'll get back to it some day, but things change a lot when you have kids. So if you have the urge, now is the time! If you make the US GDF circuit there's room here too. The Buda 2007 GDF Tour!

As for conservation groups, have you checked out Earthwatch? I looked into them years and years ago, I wanted so badly to go on one of the expeditions--they have so many and all over the world (alas, they have fees too, but they vary some more than others). Might be worth a look http://www.earthwatch.org

[budafist]

Just thought I'd post an update:

Well, we've done some more research and found WWOOF (http://www.wwoof.org/). World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms - means that you work on farms (or other organic related places) in return for food and accommodation. No money is swapped between hosts and WWOOFers. Certainly beats paying thousands to do volunteer work.

For a joining fee of less than $100 US per country, you can be a member of the WWOOF network for that country. WWOOFing is very popular for tourists coming to New Zealand, but I never really thought about this organisation in other countries.

We are planning to go WWOOFing in Japan next year (About $60US to join). You become a member for 1 year and can WWOOF at any of the farms over the course of 1 year. After a year you need to pay another join fee.

Our plans are to stay at each host's place for about 1 week each and WWOOF our way across Japan. There are farms, restaurants, hotels, resorts and other places to stay at. 1 week is pretty safe I reckon. If we don't like the host or the food or the work, I could handle 1 week. If we love a place, maybe we can organise to go back another time. Most places ask for 1 week minimum because it is too hard to teach someone a job properly if they are only going to be around for a day or two.

I look at it as a great opportunity to learn about the culture, people and the real Japan.

Of course we will do some touristy things as well, but those things are expensive and staying for a long time in the cities is just not a viable option.

It's exciting but a shame that I can't do anything more about it at this stage. To organise things we'd need to join and we want to join at the latest moment possible so that our 1 year membership will last. So I guess we'll join when we buy plane tickets.

[GraphixNPrint]

Buda, honestly I would say that avoiding the major cities would be the best way to experience the TRUE culture of a given country. I would love to spend a week in a real rain forest or a real indian community... these are just examples. I say go for it, but keep a laptop in your back pack with a good worldwide wireless card in it so you can keep us up to date.:D

[budafist]

Naw, I'm not about to buy a laptop to go travelling with. Trying to save money! I'd like to travel as light as possible too. I'll keep a written and visual diary though.

I don't know about avoiding the major cities - what's an adventure in Japan without Tokyo?

[GraphixNPrint]

I don't know about avoiding the major cities - what's an adventure in Japan without Tokyo?I am referring to the native culture areas. In big cities you tend to see and find what you would anywhere else in the world. If it were me I would want to find that "off the beaten path" place and truely see and learn the culture first hand.

[John G]

people paying to work for dinner... wow, what a scam.

Mexican labor watch out, ur days r numbered.

[GraphixNPrint]

And I do want to see pictures :D ,, so take the laptop to send them with, or an iPhone ;)

[frankster]

In big cities you tend to see and find what you would anywhere else in the world.

Not in Tokyo! It's like being on another frickin planet!!! :eek: Very expensive though and worth remembering that Tokyo Narita airport is a loooong way from the center of the city.

[GraphixNPrint]

Not in Tokyo! It's like being on another frickin planet!!! :eek: Very expensive though and worth remembering that Tokyo Narita airport is a loooong way from the center of the city.see, this is why I need pictures... or a sugar-mama to pay for my ticket ;)

no really though, I would love to visit many of the big countries, but I would also like to see the "back woods" of many third would countries too.

[fredrich]

A trip to Japan is one of my "must do" things for the future. That also includes a trip to USA. Two fascinating countries, which I have to visit for at least 3 weeks when I first decide to go (pretty far away from where I live, and therefore somewhat expensive flight tickets).