The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

Opportunities for university or college students to study abroad - during non-Covid times, of course - are very special. While I didn't get an opportunity to study abroad for any part of my university education, it's something I definitely want to encourage my son to do and putting together Episode 233 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast reminded me of many reasons why. First up, I chat with Jennifer Johnston who spent time in the United States studying abroad as part of her Australia-based university degree. She speaks of many of the advantages of study abroad programs and the huge changes they can make in the students who take them. I then speak with Tinsley Rios about her shorter study abroad experience in Peru - a reminder that it doesn't need to be a long program to have a lasting impact. Finally, Patti Buff tells me about her experiences as a college exchange student in Dublin, Ireland - and we chat about some of the many extra-curricular parts of being on a study abroad program which are just as valuable as any time in the lecture hall. Links: Jennifer Johnston - Travel Bug Within - https://travelbugwithin.com.au/  Tinsley - Travel with Tinsley - https://travelwithtinsley.com/  Patti Buff - https://pattibuff.wordpress.com Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/233 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's party time!! The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, in the past week, has both turned five years old (ready to start school now!!) and download numbers have hit half a million. It's been a very exciting week in our household! In this special celebration episode, I start off with a quick chat about podcast statistics and where The Thoughtful Travel Podcast fits into download numbers in general (remember, I like statistics - I love maths!). But then I digress to chat about how I've reached this stage, and reference psychologist Angela Duckworth's book Grit, which I'm currently re-reading - it's an interesting thing to consider how passion and persistence can work hand in hand and then suddenly, I have a five-year-old podcast and a much clearer vision of what else I want to do with it (and thoughtful travel in general) in the future. Finally, I give in to a directive from my son who, on listening to some older episodes, instructed me to tell more of my own travel stories. I've linked them to this fifth anniversary in a typically quirky fashion but just bear with me and enjoy the tales!   Links: Average podcast stats - https://www.thepodcasthost.com/planning/whats-a-good-number-of-downloads-for-a-podcast/ Grit - Angela Duckworth - https://amzn.to/3fneKr3  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/232Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all have some kind of unconscious bias - or a few! - some stereotypes or misconceptions that we think deep down, even if in our conscious minds we don't think we do. It's human nature, but yet another marvellous part of travelling is it often helps us identify and confront these unconscious biases, and the examples from the guests in Episode 231 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast demonstrate this perfectly. First up, I chat with Tonya Fitzpatrick who first tells me one of her own experiences in recognising and confronting an unconscious bias, and then explains another example from a traveller she'd interviewed on her own podcast. I then speak with Pam Mandel, who's travelled more than usual within her home country of the United States in the past few years, and found she also needed to confront and overcome some unconscious biases about her homeland. Links: Tonya Fitzpatrick of World Footprints - https://WorldFootprints.com  Pam Mandel’s website - https://www.nerdseyeview.com Pam’s book The Same River Twice - https://amzn.to/319lwbq Pam’s project The Statesider - https://statesider.us/  Harvard’s Implicit Association Test - https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/  Article critiquing the IAT - https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/psychologys-racism-measuring-tool-isnt-up-to-the-job.html  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/231 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This special episode is the audio of the Facebook Livestream of the March 2021 meeting of the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, talking about Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams. If you'd like to join the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, all the info is at https://notaballerina.com/bookclub, and you can keep up with all the thoughts about our current books in the Thoughtful Travellers Facebook Group at https://facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For this special round-numbered episode I wanted to muse on just one of the important lessons the 2020 pandemic has taught me about travel. In this episode I talk about issues like taking relaxing holidays (I'm bad at it; and most of the Thoughtful Travellers community agreed it's not their style); travelling close to home and staycationing, and some of the reasons I really miss the ability to travel further afield, to different cultures, languages and countries. Links: Support the podcast on Patreon - https://www.notaballerina.com/support Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/230 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling abroad is an amazing experience but living abroad takes this to an entirely new level. It's not for everyone but if you've been fortunate enough to call new countries home or you're wondering whether you'd like to, Episode 229 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is for you. I chat first with Flip Byrnes, a bit of a serial ex-pat who has plenty to say about how living abroad compares to travelling; we decide that "living" somewhere equates to twelve months or more (it's our arbitrary ruling!) and then Flip turns the tables and asks me a few pertinent questions about my experience of living abroad. Following that I speak with Seana Smith, another serial ex-pat who decides perhaps she's not actually a very good traveller, but she's more suited to living abroad for extended periods. Finally, Penny Walker talks to me about some of the main differences she's identified from living abroad in France as compared to simply visiting, and also has some great tips for anyone planning to make such a move. Links: Travel journalist Flip Byrnes - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theadventuremamma/  Seana Smith - Hello Sydney Kids  https://www.hellosydneykids.com.au/ Penny Walker of Adventure Creators https://www.adventurecreators.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/229 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Volunteering abroad is an experience lots of thoughtful travellers contemplate - who doesn't want to give back when we can. But of course, we know that not all volunteering opportunities are created equal. In Episode 228 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three women who have had fairly in-depth volunteer experiences in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Nepal, and their stories might help you reflect on what does make a good volunteer experience. First, I chat with Lindy Alexander who spent eight months volunteering in a remote part of Uganda. She's very frank with me about how, on reflection some years later, she's not sure that everything they did had a positive impact - although lots did. I then speak with Julia Salnicki, a zoologist who has spent many years either volunteering or managing volunteers on animal research projects in Africa. Her stories are amazing and apart from her tales on this episode, I've added another one about her three years in a painted dog research project onto Patreon - if you're a supporter, listen now, or sign up at notaballerina.com/supporter Finally, I hear from Patti Lefkos who, after several decades of experience as a teacher and principal in Canada, volunteered in a small school in Nepal. She tells us some of the many lessons she learnt from that experience. Links: Support the podcast on Patreon - this week's bonus content is an extended chat with Julia Salnicki - https://www.notaballerina.com/support Lindy Alexander - The Freelancer’s Year http://thefreelancersyear.com/  Julia Salnicki from Classic Safari Company - https://www.classicsafaricompany.com.au  Patti Lefkos - https://www.pattishaleslefkos.com Episode 145 on Volunteering Experiences - https://notaballerina.com/145  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/228 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Travelling to see the sights is one thing; travelling when you get to know some of the local people is a whole other level of wonderful experiences. Finding ways to have meaningful interaction with locals is something really important to me when I travel, and the three guests in Episode 227 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast illustrate some wonderful ways to do so. First up I chat with Tasha Goldberg who describes how a friend of a friend in Kenya became an inspiring local she met on Lamu Island. She also mentions the bonus part of making close connections when you travel - the chance to make return visits! I then speak with Lindy Alexander about her experience of a cooking class with the Courageous Kitchen in Thailand. This is a really interesting example of meeting not just any locals, but marginalised ones who you might not ordinarily even know about, let alone have the chance to meet and learn from. Finally, Penny Walker speaks of the value of tapping into local knowledge and uses her example of the Pyrenees in France where locals she gets to work with include shepherds who've spent their lifetime in the mountains. And we mention cheese, too! Links: Tasha Goldberg’s project Evidence of Hope - https://www.evidenceofhope.com/ Lindy Alexander - The Freelancer’s Year http://thefreelancersyear.com/ Courageous Kitchen online classes - https://www.airbnb.com.au/experiences/1701757  Penny Walker of Adventure Creators https://www.adventurecreators.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/227  Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If nothing goes wrong, were you even travelling? Episode 226 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast centres on my firm belief that many of the best travel memories derive from when things go wrong on our trips. First I chat with Travis King, and he introduces a concept that I will carry with me on every trip from now on: "Level 3 fun". You'll have to listen to learn what "Level 3 fun" he had with his brother on their cycling trip across Canada. I also talk with Tracey Croke, an adventurous soul who never shies away from a challenge and she certainly found plenty of them in a mountain biking expedition over the Talas Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Links: Travis King's website and book - http://www.traviswking.com/ Tracey Croke's website - http://www.traceycroke.com  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/226 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether you follow a vegetarian or vegan diet or not, the stories in Episode 225 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast will still fascinate you, I'm sure! I start off chatting with Lindy Alexander, a social worker turned freelance writer who spent eight months living in rural Uganda in her mid-twenties. As a vegetarian, she was a bit concerned about what she could expect there in terms of food and what she actually found is very interesting! I then chat with Tasha Goldberg who, like me, was raised vegetarian and tends to follow that diet on the whole, but can be flexible at times when travelling, and she tells me about her experience with this, starting out with a special invitation in Senegal. Finally, I speak with Brighde Reed who has been vegan for the past decade and has lots of useful tips and resources for anyone looking to research their trip and wanting to eat a plant-based diet along the way. Links: Lindy Alexander - The Freelancer’s Year http://thefreelancersyear.com/  is all about giving practical advice about how freelance writers can earn great money from their writing Tasha Goldberg’s project Evidence of Hope - https://www.evidenceofhope.com/  Brighde Reed - World Vegan Travel - https://www.worldvegantravel.com/  Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/225 Support the show: https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.