Frequently Asked Question

Q: You are traveling around the world? Where will you go?

I left Iowa City in August 2006, hung out with my family in Omaha a few days and headed off to Hong Kong, China. I explored Japan, China, and SE Asia before heading west into Tibet. After an overland drive from Lhasa, Tibet, I stopped by Nepal and landed in India in late September 2007. I crossed India from north to south and, as of this writing, am headed to The Middle East, former USSR, a quick few weeks in Europe and then onto Africa. In Africa, I hope to cover Kenya, Tanzania, and points southwards finishing up in South Africa. Depending on funds, wits and friends, I may stick around Africa, and then must choose whether to fly east towards Australia/New Zealand or west towards South America. I find that knowing a local person in a place, makes a place much more interesting and fun—so I tend to head where I’ve got friends (new and old).

Q: Why are you staying so long in Hong Kong?

I am very fortunate to have gained the support of The Rotary Foundation and The Iowa City Noon Rotary Club, who have selected me as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, which will fund me to live in Hong Kong, China while doing ambassadorial work for them.

Q: What is a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar?

Let’s turn to the Rotary for an answer on that one: The Rotary Foundation’s oldest and best-known program is Ambassadorial Scholarships. Since 1947 nearly 37,000 men and women from 100 nations have studied abroad under its auspices. Today it is the world’s largest privately funded international scholarships program. Nearly 800 scholarships were awarded for study in 2005-06. Through grants totaling approximately US$500 million, recipients from some 70 countries studied in more than 70 nations.

The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries. The program sponsors several types of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students as well as for qualified professionals pursuing vocational studies. While abroad, scholars serve as ambassadors of goodwill to the people of the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to greater understanding of their host countries. Learn more about the Rotary at www.rotary.org.

Q: Even with the help from Rotary, you must be independently wealthy! How can you afford such a trip?

While the world of nonprofit entrepreneurship sure brings in a lot of cash, beyond the support from The Rotary, I am neither independently wealthy nor rich. A plane ticket around the world can be purchased for as little as $2000 USD., in many developing countries the cost of living can be less than $15 USD. My trip averages a budget of about $25 USD/day, which includes food, accommodations and transportation.

I worked a normal 8-5 job for two and one-half years, and put money away, just like anyone could. A trip around the world is not as expensive as you may think it is, as long as your willing to be selective in your destinations and prudent about your spending habits. Don’t believe me? Check out AirTreks.com.

How much would a trip cost for you? Well, it depends. I’d say, depending on your itinerary, if you stayed mostly in the developing world (meaning you don’t stay too long in Europe, America, Australia/New Zealand and Japan, you could comfortably make it around-the-world in one year staying in budget guesthouses for as little as $8000 USD. You’d be comfortable with $15,000 USD and you’d be a really happy camper with $20,000-$25,000 USD. (All inclusive: transportation, food, accommodations, activities).

Q: Two years? What do you do all day, sit on the beach?

While the image of a young backpacker often involves large groups of twenty-somethings, hostels, beers, beaches, and partying, my trip only sees that occasionally. From the onset, I wanted to “live as the locals live” to see how people live in places around the globe and to better understand their perspective, as well as what it means to be an American.

To help facilitate this, I set the goal of arranging 5-6 “experiences” in a few different places that would last from a week to a few months. These experiences would be intended to take me off the beaten tourist/backpacker trail, which I would use to go between these experiences.

Initially my criteria was pretty open for these experience, including working, teaching, volunteering. So far, some of the major experiences I have had include:

• Taking university courses at the City University of Hong Kong
• Visiting a social entrepreneurial, gourmet yak cheese operation in Yunan, China.
• Living in a rural Kazakhstan village and and assisted with and observed English teaching at the local school.
• Visiting a social entrepreneurial “water harvesting” project in a rural village near Bombay, India put together by a Rotary Club.
• Organizing and raising funds with a group of friends to take 10 local Tanzanian students (many of them current or former “street kids”) on a 6-day hike up Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak.
• Living in a mud hut for a few weeks in a rural African village in Zambia, learning to be a farmer.

I am still open to further “experiences” and would love suggestions or tips. I am presently planning to;

• Visit an HIV/AID Education site in South Africa.
• Work for a few months while in Australia.
• Volunteer on an organic farm through WOOF in New Zealand

Also, along the way I have spent a lot of time trying to learn more about things that I am passionate about including filmmaking, cooking, social entrepreneurship, media, photography and creativity. I have interviewed a series of creative professionals (artists, film directors, photographers, etc.) from a number of countries as well as social entrepreneurs from all walks of life.

That all being said, its hard to give an example of a “typical” day. It usually involves exploring, talking with people, eating new foods, and planning my next move. After traveling for so long, the most interesting thing are usually talking with people and trying new foods—-because after a while all beautiful mountain passes begin to look like every other beautiful mountain pass; and all white sandy beaches begin to look like all other white sandy beaches, etc. Though I appreciate the sights and such, after many months traveling, people and food are what keep the trip interesting for me (and could probably keep me going forever).