What am I going to call this thing
The second edition!
Hello to all subscribers!
I am so happy that you’re here! Thanks for reading and for your comments on the first newsletter. I want this to be informative, fun, and interactive. Writing is meant to educate, entertain, or inform. I hope this is a mix of all three sometimes or always. I want to make this more punchy as far as graphics go too but for now it will probably be a mix of my photos and interesting photos related to travel that I grab from other talented photographers on Unsplash, like this edition’s!
Things to know about: Orphanage Tourism
A week ago I was swimming laps at my local rec center’s pool when a woman in my lane asked about the Kenya sticker on my water bottle. She asked me if I’d been and I said yes. I asked her and she said she’s been many times for her work, she’s an anthropologist, and then started to tell me about her work in the area.
Dr. Kristen Cheney, who I spoke to, is an anthropologist and Director of the School of Child & Youth Care at the University of Victoria in Canada. She has researched, written, and spoken extensively on orphanage tourism. We had a brief but interesting chat about orphanage tourism. I learned a lot! In my current role for a tour operator and from some of my own experience, I knew that orphanages are often not all they appear to be. I followed up with her over the weekend via email and she provided me with more information.
You can watch one of her Hague talks here about her work in Uganda.
According to the organization Rethink Orphanages, “80% of children in orphanages are not actually orphans and have families who could care for them”.
You can also watch her talk, The Orphanage Industrial Complex here.
Dr. Cheney also shared an infographic from the Better Care Network, which you can access here.
It made me rethink voluntourism and make sure I am discerning when choosing any volunteer opportunities. I still have not had time to dive into every one of those links but I am eager to learn more.
COOL things to see and new developments
Do you know what Yosemite’s Firefall is? You can read about it and see a photo here. If you see that and think oh wow, I need to see that in person! You’re in luck, February is the time to see it in real life this year. Reservations are required, you can check it out at that link.
BIIIIIGGGG News in 2023 if you live in the Northeast US, the NYC area, or just want to visit New York City. There is finally an affordable and more convenient rapid transit option that operates between JFK airport and Grand Central in Manhattan. New York City is not the center of my world or anything, but my goodness, it is about time! I visited NYC at the end of 2017 or 2018 for an extended family trip and flew into LaGuardia. Getting from the airport to Manhattan was not inexpensive or convenient. This sentence from the article is worth noting, in my opinion, “The new terminal annex is the country’s largest new railway station in nearly 70 years and the most significant expansion in the last century of the LIRR, the busiest commuter railroad in North America, the Associated Press reports” (LIRR stands for Long Island Rail Road). I find it encouraging that money is being spent on rapid transit in the United States, even if the cost was triple what was initially budgeted. So, if you’re headed to New York City any time soon, fly into JFK and you actually have a pretty convenient option to get to Manhattan
Tourism - airlines
Does this just mean “we’re going to keep delivering subpar service and we’re warning you now”? Because the pandemic isn’t “over over”, but, we are traveling again. And yes, it is apparently difficult to find people to work, and training people takes time. However, it is time for solutions to solve problems and for the airlines to stop making excuses. I don’t have any solutions myself but perhaps the airlines need to hire outside help (consultants) to get organized.
Gastrotourism
I’m not a René Redzepi fan girl or anything, but if you don’t know who he is, I can give you a very quick bio. He’s the Danish, 45-year-old chef and founder of Noma, a restaurant in Copenhagen that has been ranked best in the world for several years now. And he’s closing it after 20 years. This podcast about Noma, Redzepi, fine dining, and the restaurant industry in general, was really interesting. I went to Copenhagen in 2017 and absolutely loved the city and my visit. But, Noma was closed the week I was there. Now I am sad that I will never get to dine there. Back then I had a little bit more money to burn and was I guess, a little less tied down. But now I am hoping I can somehow visit the food lab that Noma will become. Either way, the discussion of Redzepi and how he has changed the fine dining industry and is so innovative in his cooking and creating was really interesting. Whether you’re a gastro tourist (or knew that was a thing) or not, it is an interesting listen!
Peru update/more info
In the last edition, I wrote about Peru and its political situation. Now that Machu Picchu is closed indefinitely, the situation seems bleaker. Vox’s "Today Explained” podcast had another Peru episode this week, you can listen here.
You can also read this article from LinkedIn, The Curious Case of Peru. It is written by “Nick Stanziano, a leader in Peru's tourism sector, and an American-Peruvian, writing from in the country”. It was the most informative thing I’ve read about the situation thus far.
Consuming:
Currently reading: Yume, it’s a fantasy novel about monsters and real-life people set in Japan. I’m not that far yet but so far it’s piqued my interest enough to keep going.
Currently watching: The Great Canadian Baking Show, I love knitting or sewing with this in on the background! I also am inspired to bake fancy things like Pavlovas and tiered cakes but then I remember I am not a fancy baker and brownies and banana bread are more my speed. I’ve already watched all seasons of the British version on Netflix too and I also enjoy Nailed it!
Just finished: The book Meru - sci-fi book that had some nice themes and interesting characters, I enjoyed it. The movie The Two Popes - I am not Catholic nor did I know much about Benedict or Francis but I enjoyed it. What a life the current Pope has led! And finally, the miniseries Inside Man, I started watching because Stanley Tucci is in it, and he’s always good, right?! Yes. Well, it is dark, it is a bit gory, and there are twists and turns! Overall, I liked it but I needed a palate cleanser afterward and that might be why I’m watching the baking show now.
That’s all for this edition. Feel free to share if you enjoyed it. Also, feel free to tell me if there is a topic you’d like to dig into! Next edition is Feb 15.