Category: Travel

On the Path to Solo Travel

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Adventure, Life, Travel, Wanderlust, Writing2 Comments

3 years ago I was super stoked.  The summer had descended on Michigan, I had a teaching assignment at the college secured and a great group of friends. I had gone through a wrenching breakup a few months previous, and had reorganized/re focused my life in a drastically more positive direction. (You know, that good growth stuff of your late 20’s) Now,  I had traveled before, I had been on a few study abroad excursions, and had made some amazing connections over the pond.  It had been a year or so since I had been abroad.

The itch was real.

Roads_Mountains_Alaska_444230

I thought about it constantly. I began mentioning to my group of friends casually.

“We should totally hit Europe this summer”. I wanted  miles under my feet, and crazy new sensations. Those damn motivational prints all over social media haunted me “Not all those who wander are lost” Etc, etc.

I began hatching some carefully constructed plans, seeing how I could convince my buddies to come along.

Finally after a few weeks, one particular friend who had never been outside of the country, declared over beers “Im in”! And the planning began in earnest.

Where would we go? I was keen on the Balkans, and the Baltics. I was planning on roughly 10 days. Swayed by the scenery of Croatia, and the mountains of Bosnia we decided on the former Yugoslavia.

38216566932_e69a8edbb2_b

At this point I was watching flights daily, frantically refreshing, waiting for just the right combination, connections, and overall logistics.  I would text my buddy my findings through out the day

“Dude, DTW-BUD now 550$”

He would reply “Yeah man, lets do it!”

Later, when it was time to book, some sort of excuse would seemingly always emerge. I was getting anxious, watching flights rise and fall like the stock market. While trying to set a day to book I would read more about our intended region

37437103200_066e2f8f70_b

Sarajevo in particular looked beyond kick ass. The history, the culture…the food! I wanted to book NOW.  It was ultimatum time. Either we are booking or this, or it’s a no go….the day comes, we are getting together after work, its time to lock this in….

 

and then disaster strikes.

 

Pt 2 coming up next!

 

leave some love!

Notes about a “Shithole” country.

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Caribbean, Haiti, Politics, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

IMG_0090

 

The following appeared in the New York Times Op-ED While I was abroad. This is a short piece from The American ambassador to Haiti. As I’ve posted a few dispatches from this Caribbean nation, before and after our “Doritos in chief” made the “shithole” comments, I want to draw notice that the disparaging remarks about Haiti have been long running. I was amazed by my time there. By the people and their tenacity more than anything. Haiti leaves its mark on you, more so than many places around the globe.

 

By Paul Altidor

WASHINGTON — Once again, Haiti, a country with deep historical ties to the United States, is in the news. Once again, a negative narrative permeates the public dialogue and Haitian people are compelled to defend our humanity. Once again, the circumstances require us to wage a battle on two fronts: tackling the physical rebuilding of our nation so that future generations can prosper, while simultaneously combating prejudice and stigma that risk being, over time, institutionalized in the American consciousness.

Over the Christmas weekend, Haiti found itself the subject in a public spat between two major American institutions, the White House and The New York Times, over some comments the president allegedly made regarding Haitians and the AIDS epidemic.

While the controversy, fortunately, has receded from the headlines, it brought back painful memories for Haitians of a sad chapter in the United States’ public health policy. In the 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued official warnings that simply being Haitian made a person more likely to contract HIV. The C.D.C. eventually — and rightly — dropped the unsubstantiated claim.

The reports of the president’s supposed comments — and the ensuing discussion of them — fit into a broader, troubling continuation of a narrative that is far too common in the United States, one that stigmatizes Haiti and Haitians as nothing more than the sum of natural disasters and instability, a country rampant with death and disease. In many American eyes, Haiti is in perpetual need of charity. This attitude provokes “compassion fatigue” — or worse yet, disdain.

img_9799

 

It is long past time for such thinking to end. Influential American news outlets and political leaders should lead the way by resisting the reflexive tendency to paint Haiti and its people, whether living at home or abroad, with broad-brushed narratives that lack historical context and oversimplify complex socio-economic realities.

Haiti has been a vibrant, steadfast hemispheric partner since its birth. Hundreds of Haitian soldiers fought in the Siege of Savannah alongside American troops to battle British imperialists in the Revolutionary War. Sparked by this nation’s commitment to independence and freedom, Haiti soon followed with its own revolution, throwing off the shackles of slavery and colonialism. Thus, Haiti and the United States represent two of the oldest republics in the hemisphere, bound by dignity and a pursuit of freedom for our peoples.

The Haitian-American population has made significant contributions to American culture and the United States’ economy. Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian man, founded the city of Chicago in the 18th century. W.E.B. Du Bois, a leader in the American civil rights movement and a man of Haitian heritage, played a key role in creating the intellectual framework for equality for African-Americans.

Today, Haitian-Americans serve in the United States armed forces, and they represent their communities in state houses and on City Councils around the country. They are prominent scientists and engineers; they are taxi drivers, doctors, nurses and professional athletes. They are public-school teachers and university professors.

As Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, I have witnessed firsthand the Haitian people’s dignity, perseverance and resourcefulness. I have seen my people’s commitment to rebuilding communities and restoring homes after hurricanes. I have seen how young entrepreneurs in Haiti are now making exquisite chocolates to export to the United States. I have seen how engineering students in Haiti are now using technology to work remotely with Haitian-American engineers on disaster prevention.

These are examples of the countless positive initiatives underway in Haiti, with the support of the diaspora. Yet these attributes seem to be chronically lost in wider conversations about the Haitian people.

The recent controversy over President Trump’s alleged remarks have resurrected painful memories for Haitians. But it is a reminder of the urgent need to change the way our country is discussed in the United States. The narrative about Haiti should reflect our government’s development priorities.

We want our country to create wealth and prosperity for its citizens, not be viewed just as a recipient of humanitarian aid. Rather than American businesses donating excess inventory to our country, we are hoping they will invest in our country. Rather than students spending a week of spring break doing volunteer work, we want them to study abroad for a semester at one of our universities. Rather than writing a check to a charitable organization like the Red Cross, take a vacation on our beaches.

Given our two countries’ long intertwined history, it is time to we get to know each other on a level of mutual respect and understanding.

IMG_0078

These pictures are mine, taken just a few weeks ago. Do you have a story about Haiti? Do you need to vent some political rage about this situation? Drop a line.

 

comments welcome.

Friday Motivation

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Adventure, Life, Motivation, Travel, Wanderlust, WeekendLeave a comment

 

img_8899

The weekend is nearly upon us! It’s time once again to momentarily shed the office shackles and wander a bit farther afield…Even if only in our imaginations.

Today’s blurb comes to us from an unlikely source.

 

Remember that there needs to be a balance, don’t kill your self for a company/job that would replace you in minutes.

Take care of yourself.

“The less you eat, drink and buy books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorise, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save – the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor rust will devour – your capital. The less you are, the less you express your own life, the more you have, i.e., the greater is your alienated life, the greater is the store of your estranged being.”

– Karl Marx, 1844

 

img_7846

Now rock that weekend!

Caribbean dreamin’

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Adventure, Caribbean, Haiti, Life, Travel, Wanderlust2 Comments

It’s been damn cold here in Michigan. As friends have not hesitated to remind me, I seem to have missed the really cold days, but I’m rather frigid none the less.

As the semester is underway and the rhyme and flow of the “grind” has set in, I’ve been thinking of Haiti yet again. I’ve been thinking of the island nation on a few different levels.

The first of which is downright adversity. Our last full day on the island was dedicated to a roadtrip to the sea. We tried to go the day before, yet couldn’t find a car. After overcoming this obstacle through much time, hard currency and angst, we then could find no fuel.

What?

That’s right. Port Au Prince was seized by a petrol crises. When was the last time you couldn’t go somewhere because when pulling into your local gas station a 12 gauge wielding team of guards informed you “no gasoline”?

Makes for a frustrated road trip. But this is a common occurrence for Haiti, especially in the capital. The solution? Dollars and time. Our fixer cobbled together a gallon here, a gallon there. We were set for early nothing the next day. To the sea we will go!

A mere hour outside the city is akin to visiting another planet. This is what I had imagined when thinking of a quick week run immediately before the semester. You know, coconuts n shit. Sandy beaches. Drinks with wee umbrellas.

Taking a day to lounge along the Côte des Arcadins is majestic. Slow, easy and not butchered by gaudy resorts. This day on the sea allowed me to begin to wrap my mind around Haiti. I had gone from the context of adversity to one of calm beauty. I did drink out of a damn coconut and floated for a while. These memories are extra potent when confronting sub zero Michigan temps. My final layer/level to Haiti that comes to mind is sheer tenacity. The savage beauty of the landscape as well as the people. I think back to the Ghetto Biennale, and Andre Eugene, the resident artist and curator. I think of seeing the kids of the art collective assemble amazing pieces, and having literally nothing. Living in a tent city.

I think about the grit that it takes to create, despite living in actual realized destruction. While I listen to my students bitch about the battery life of their new iPhones wearing their pajamas to class because they can’t be bothered to find actual pants. They “can’t even” as they say.

I think about Haiti. I think about how this place caught me off guard. Destroyed my intestinal tract, proved much more expensive and difficult than originally intended, how it caused friction among friends and could prove absolutley exhausting. But all of that aside, Haiti changed my perspective. I gassed up my private automobile yesterday…without issue. I drive where I want and things around me work for the most part.

You should smile about that.

Our political situation is nutty, with the US president calling Haiti a “Shithole” and promising to deport more Haitians…and this isn’t the post to delve into colonial legacy, but it’s something that deserves far more attention than it currently gets.

I think about Haiti, and I smile. I’m thankful for seeing a vastly different world, and yet again what that human spirit is capable of.

Thank you!

Please check out The Gypsy Professor now on Facebook here:

Comments and feed back always appreciated.

Weekend thoughts

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Adventure, Life, Travel, Wanderlust, WritingLeave a comment

5 weeks on the road. (With a few runs home mind you). Makes one think.

I wanted to share a few weekend words with you.

Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal. Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you have yet to earn.

Keep moving forward.

Happy Saturday.

The End of the World…Caribbean style.

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Adventure, Art, Caribbean, Haiti, Travel9 Comments

I’ve been back in the states a few days now. Here in west Michigan the traffic is mostly minimal. The winter semester has kicked off and the daily grind is in full effect. The weather has moderated and a sense of relative normalcy has returned.

The transition back from Haiti has been a startling one. I’m thinking back on the shocking week around the Haitian capital and I’ve noticed it resonates daily.

It’s time to talk about Haiti.

There is poor…and then there is Haiti poor. I’m going to come out and say it. I’ve never been anywhere like this. Ever.

I’ve been some places, I’ve seen some shit..but nothing like this. Shocking on multiple levels on a daily basis. I tried to place and contextualize all of this brutal new input…and finally it came down to post apocalyptic imagery, books, movies…Mad Max type shit. Here’s the kicker though…Mad Max set on a Caribbean island with a cool sea breeze.

How’s that for bizarre?

I will tell you this. Most go here from the states with a well intentioned but condescending super white pity. They come down for a week with a Church, bang out a another church, feel like they saved the world. Pat them selves on the back and go home with a bracelet.

When you show up as a “tourist” most Haitians are quite confused. They give you this look essentially saying “the fuck are you doing here?!”…takes a bit getting used to.

KNOW THIS. (Thank me later)

You will accomplish absolutley, positively, nothing in Haiti without a fixer. A local keen to help you and show you how to navigate the insanity in return for your American dollars. Accept this, embrace it and enjoy.

Haiti is a place that slays spontaneity. My usual travel style died a painful awkward death by the second day in country. But once a solid fixer entered the picture, the layers of this turbulent island began to peel back a bit for a wee peek.

This is where I will directly recommend my man Richard. (Jacques Richard Miguel) his story is as rugged and awry as the local landscape. Richard grew up in New York, after his parents immigrated from Haiti in the 1960s. He soon discovered rock n roll, and the party that raged along with it in the 1980s. Richard eventually succumbed to a crack addiction and was arrested stealing from a department store to get his fix. He was deported back to Haiti in 1988. After getting clean Richard had no choice but to adapt to his new yet native home. (He has been clean over 12 years) His observations and insights delivered in New York accented English and rapid fire French are priceless and reveal keen tidbits about modern Haiti. (Please drop me an email or a comment for his contact info.)

Through Richard we were able to discover the gnarled yet throbbing art scene expanding in the capital. The best example of this being the Ghetto Biennale. This “art gallery” literally sits among the tarp/trash city within Port Au Prince and is run as a collective. This is also the coolest fucking gallery I’ve ever visited. No pretension here. Every piece is made 100% from collected garbage. Kids collect the pieces and learn how to craft/create. This is raw, this is real, and completely kick ass.

These aspiring young artists show amazing skill and tenacity. We enjoyed joking and a few candid photos on this afternoon visit.

You come to realize that “garbage” in Haiti includes metal, car parts, glass, body parts, etc. upon realizing the abundance of real skulls I was told “after earthquake, we find everything”. For a very somber moment I let that one sink in while admiring the twisted beauty of these pieces.

Voodoo themes abound and flow through the reality that is life in the capital.

Next up on the agenda is the attempt to roadtrip outside of the capital…sounds easy enough right?

Didn’t I tell you this one was going to get weird? I’m still ripping through thoughts and words back here where things mostly work, and I don’t have memories of an earthquake that claimed near half a million lives.

Want more Haiti?

Drop a comment with your thoughts.

 

If your’e feeling saucy, check out this new Kindle travel gear as well.

Shop All-new Kindle Travel Gear

 

 

Haitian sunrise

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Adventure, Caribbean, Haiti, TravelLeave a comment

I’m up.

I’m up early…and through some trick of the gods woke up in Haiti.

A few days ago I was in Bangkok, trying to make everything from the last month through South East Asia fit into my carry on bag. (Checked bags are for suckers) After Sri Lanka I had a brief stopover in Bangkok before heading home.

I fucking love Bangkok. Happy endings not even necessary.

The long slog on China Eastern wasn’t as bad as expected. Although the Chinese seem to have an odd orientation toward logistics. If you fly China Eastern, be prepared to wake up to this beauty roughly once an hour.

I made it back to the mitten mostly unmolested.

Well, I was in Michigan for all of two days.

Snow and coneys. America’s high five at its best.

Now back on the road. Landed in the Haitian capital less than 24 hours ago. This is what a serious travel addiction looks like. Sometimes it ain’t pretty. I had thought about doing a year end review post, and I still might, but I will plot it over creole food and a good cold beer.

Haiti comes at you hard. After a few days in Sri Lanka, I felt on the edge of the world a bit, but now I’m over the cliff. The airport is the perfect primer for the aggressive beauty that is this island nation.

Sit down, buckle up, and get ready. We are back on the road, and this ones going to get weird.

You ready?

Cheers.

Comments welcome!

An island like no other… dispatches from Sri Lanka

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, TravelLeave a comment

Sri Lanka is on my mind. Travel they say, is the act of leaving the familiar behind. Few things about Sri Lanka proved familiar. In my end analysis, Colombo especially, proved a nut I was unable to crack.

Now having returned and neck deep in the glowing heart of Bangkok, I’ve been unraveling my experience on the island for an afternoon.

Sri Lanka for me was mostly unknown. I had a hazy framework of colonial rule, beaches, and curry. Not a bad trifecta as far as travel destinations go. My last minute run to the island started off a bit rocky, and continued to haunt me a bit throughout the week. I was often left feeling that there was something I was missing. Despite my best efforts, I was seemingly “stuck in the lobby” on a regular basis.

As I was boarding the Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur, (after making it rain at the airport Popeyes) the gate agent, upon looking at my ticket and passport asked “where is your visa”?

I went cold for a bit. I was (mostly) sure I didn’t need a visa for Sri Lanka. She asked again giving me that face that suggests I ate too much paste as a kid.

“Visa”??

I explained that we didn’t need one? And eventually was allowed to board. The entire flight of 3 hours and 20 minutes I had visions of being denied entry and awarded the “idiot American of the month” trophy.

Not to worry however. Sri Lanka thinks it loves tourists, and thus the visa, is available on arrival, for 40$ USD, they take major credit cards (didn’t ask about diners club) and the line takes 2 minutes.

From this point, you are recognized as an easy access, no fee ATM. There is no going back. You are a walking community coin purse. Takes a bit getting used to.

Making my way to the taxi stand, after waiting in a 20 minute line for a cash machine, the “official airport taxi” uniform guy prints me a receipt for 2800 Sri Lankan Rupees for the trip to my downtown hotel. Now I’m used to paying the “tourist tax”. It’s part of traveling. Prices for you are going to be higher than they are for locals.

Get over it.

Getting schemed bums me out though. The 2800 was already high. My taxi pulls up in a car that looks more hand crafted from old pizza boxes and bondo than metal. My driver is no joke the villain from Disney’s Aladdin…in his old man jail disguise. He’s also sporting a T-shirt that reads “Friday is my second favorite F word”

We never get over 60km an hour, and it’s 90 outside. (Sorry Michigan, we can defrost together soon) The driver keeps looking back and grinning just like he wants me to grab him cave treasure when he asks if I want him to take the “high way”…because it’s 300 rupees extra.

Now I know, it’s 2$ USD. But I’ve been in country now for 30 minutes. We can “no take high way, hour extra” which I wasn’t game for.

These types of situations were often repeated, along with constant attention from the Tuk Tuk mafia, and other enterprising locals hoping to “help you out”. Side note: I hate being called “boss” and “big man” when people pitch me anything. I seem to elicit these two titles in South Asia a bit too often.

Now this is not to say that Colombo, and Sri Lanka doesn’t have an amazing side. It most assuredly does. I had some shockingly awesome moments and walked away with a quite distinct impression that this place is on the edge of a cliff. If you want to go, go NOW. Because this place, the island I spent a week on will not be recognizable in 10 years tops.

It took me a bit to realize what made Colombo so much different than my previous spots on this run. It’s barely developed. The money is just now starting to pour in, mostly from China, and it will completely change this place. The skyline is already filling in with new high rises and construction projects. The Hilton is finished, the new Grand Hyatt is nearing completion. The planned new China harbor project will be 15 billion USD in scope, and remodel Colombo into the “gem of Asia”.

(A gem most likely free of locals)

This just in. Sri Lanka does not feel like Asia whatsoever. There are similar qualities between Tokyo, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Hong Kong.

Colombo is something totally different. This place has the fringes of globalization, there is KFC, Pizza Hut, and a few hotel chains, but at heart, there is still an authentic culture residing.

In my week here, I was simply unable to unravel it. I thought giving up on Colombo and venturing to the ancient capital of Ceylon might do it, wandering through tea plantations and visiting my second temple focused on a tooth of the Buddha might clear the separation. Give me my eureka moment…while I had a tremendous experience in the mountains, and especially with the elephants…I was still left wanting.

My pictures from the capital, as well as the highlands evoke mystery to me. I met and partied with locals, as well as other visitors, I tried internet resources…all to no ultimate avail.

But in the end that’s okay. By my final days there, I just wanted to experience this place that I could practically feel eroding under my feet. Sri Lanka is indeed an island like no other. Perhaps I’ve been immersed in commercialization and raw globalist influence for so long, encountering something outside of it strikes me dumbfounded. I was immediately reminded of Cuba. My drive to get there and see something so different before it fell to the resort life, and non stop development. Perhaps I should have spent more time in the mountains…but isn’t that always the case?

For now, Sri Lanka will remain a riddle. A rapidly disappearing riddle. From 2000 year old Buddhist temples, to shop keepers burning their trash on the sidewalk. From a culture of Spicy curry, to an endless row of cheap questionable gas station style hamburger stands. Off the beaten path to reset the radar. If you feel the need to get lost, this is your place. But pack shipping containers of patience and an open mind. Also be sure to book that ticket yesterday.

Being back in Thailand feels strange, such a total transition. By the time I landed in Bangkok, after realizing monks in Sri Lanka receive automatic priority boarding…I felt like I had been gone for months. My days on the island bled together into a seamless warm haze.

Do we need more elephants here? Maybe have a elephant post? I’m thinking so.

Also follow me on Instagram for more updates kweaverton

Always dig your feedback and comments!

Thank you!

Christmas in Sri Lanka

On By TheGypsyProfessorIn Asia, Travel, Writing5 Comments

I’m exhausted. Drowsy and curry drunk. It’s the day after my fourth Christmas in a row abroad, and I am ready to sleep in tomorrow. I’ve trekked to the island of Sri Lanka. How that cane to pass I’ll detail a bit below. I’ve had a day tracking elephants. Before that I was dragging my tired ass into the central highlands through old tea factories and mountains, to the ancient capital of Ceylon. Driving here is for the iron nerved sociopath, and I’m beginning to think being a passenger is an even more desperate and depraved sport. This first scrambled bit is going to be short, as my thoughts are still turbulent on this savage place. My chutzpah is running low, but I will say this…

I was all set, enjoying the fuck out of Kuala Lumpur, basking in the unexpected goodness of new friends, cold beer, and eclectic dishes when I hit a snag.

Now I travel with a rather open itinerary as I’ve mentioned before, and sometimes this leads to all around, stars aligning glory. Other times it’s more of a mallet to the dong. I had asked the FaceBook world which path at this travel fork in the road I should take. Should I relax and beach it in Thailand, or should I get twisted and roll through the jungles of Laos? The votes were more or less even, with a bit more weight given to the jungle. But.. wait for it…I waited too long. Flights to Laos had tripled in a few hours rolling back from a fog enshrined Buddha.

Now I’m left to scramble. Let’s scan the skies and look for dozens of possible combinations across a slew of browser tabs. A few hours of logistics and where am I headed?

Motherfuckin’ Sri Lanka!

Mountains AND beaches, exotic flavor, and country #68! Compromise can be awesome.

Sitting next to the Indian Ocean on the Bay of Bengal makes for some epic scenery. Columbo as a city can be a bit like a sugar addled toddler. This place will keep your hands full. The savage nature has been amazing thus far, and so has the incredible warmth of many of the people.

The key factor for many, when it comes to enjoying Sri Lanka is getting out of the capital city of Colombo as soon as possible.

Which, that’s cool, but then you may be overlooking a gem of a city. I’m just not sure how to categorize Colombo just yet.

One thing I certainly did come here for…relaxation and elephants!

I’ve been enamored with the sunsets from the roof top pool and some stunning interactions with local mammals. I’m still organizing my thoughts on this crazy place, so this is just an introduction.

This is indeed, an island like no other…

Stay tuned for the next installment dropping shortly.

As always, I dig comments and email!