Inspiring readers to meet the people when traveling and immersing oneself into the culture has been an important goal in the mission of The Cultured Traveler over these last five years. As we enter our sixth year of publication, I wanted to remind you that you could enjoy cross-cultural exchanges even without leaving your home.
A number of organizations look for local families to host home-stay...
Tour Host Review
In another case, again at kids’ eye level, are tiny gold ingots and gold flakes whose glitter evokes in kids and adults alike those subtle stirrings about acquisitions and wealth.
As the visitor turns a final corner, there is a swift intake of the breath before a perfect replica of a skeletal form, lying in the sand, along with his grave goods of food, scarab jewelry, amphora, bow...
The drums have been beating hypnotically for hours – about as long as the 110˚ sun has been beating down on dancer and observer alike in the pueblo plaza. Filaments of dancing Pueblo Indian men, women, and children thread slowly up and down the plaza in the ritual patterns of the Corn Dance in this centuries-old tradition.
My friend Judy, a high school French teacher from Santa Cruz, is able to join me for a couple of days in Paris. As soon as I confirm the dates, I email Andrea Nims, who has a new people-to-people agency called In Touch Travel. Andrea puts me in contact with a diminutive blonde Parisian dynamo named Andrée Chalm.
Ah, like Jimmy Carter.” Gardon, a rural sheep farmer near Krynica, and I had just exchanged names. Maggie, the sister of my Polish friend Marcin, was acting as translator. “Philadelphia, the city of twin love,” he followed, after hearing where I was from. “That’s right,” I acknowledged, “the city of brotherly love.”
I enter the steamy fragrance of Nadezhda's Siberian kitchen, leaving my heavy boots and parka neatly hung in the dark hall with the rest of the family's winter gear.
Nadezhda has made cabbage and potato soup for me, to chase the cold from my bones after an afternoon at Lake Baikal. She plugs in the kettle for tea, and insists I drink it the Russian way, with a...
There are several reasons why one travels. Perhaps the most fulfilling is the experiencing of a different culture; the differences in the ways people live and interact. Part of the reason we travel is to enrich our lives with the curiosities and the unknowns we uncover during our journeys. These journeys more often than not encompass encounters with locals, the very people who can introduce us to...
Before traveling, many of us have been warned against the abuses and excesses of the ugly American tourist. We must be sensitive and respectful. We must be open and understanding. We must not wear leisure suits and track shoes. I prided myself on my cultural sensitivity, which is probably why I was so traumatized when, during one of my first outings in Italy, a fruit...
When Sue returned from spending two weeks living and working with the people of a remote village in Laos, she brought back a lot more than memories and a few photographs. Realising she had so much more to give… she quit her job and vowed to return to help them improve their lives in whatever way she could.
After spending time with their parents, learning about the...
Imagine, when you were young that you overheard the conversations around the kitchen table. The "grown-ups“ spoke about places far away and unknown to you. Occasionally you caught hold of something that had some special meaning to you. So you grew up in belief of these selective memories, and you lived your life according to their special meaning that somehow your ancestors were extraordinary.
Having just returned from the Planeterra Peru tour, I can now reflect on this journey of a lifetime. After spending several years traveling and volunteering in South America I can honestly say that there are no words to adequately describe how meaningful this experience was for me and for the local people we encountered.
We began our adventure by boarding a small plane and heading to the...
In the Spring of 2005, I lived and worked as a long-term volunteer in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with Amizade an international nonprofit volunteer organization. The variety of sites and volunteer options offered through Amizade, initially caught my interest and, wanting more first-hand knowledge about the organization, I participated in their short-term program at the Navajo Nation in Arizona.
