I need to loose weight … so doing it in public

I’ve been diagnosed with diabetes!

This means I need to get healthier and loose weight so have decided to blog about it .. ‘they’ tell me I’m as sick as my secrets so will let it all hang out so to speak, and hope that reporting on my successes and failures online will keep me on the straight and narrow.

Sign up to follow and support me here — my blogspot blog.

travel writers and banned countries

Should travel writers go to, and write about, countries which whom their own country has travel warnings or sanctions against?

For instance, think about – CUBA: FIJI: ZIMBABWE: MYANMAR/BURMA and other such places.

What do you think? Do you go to such places? Why? Why not?

Comments and discussion please

The Kiwitravelwriter to tutor on a Pacific Island – FIJI

Learn travel writing on a Pacific island

They pay you to do what? Like travelling? Like writing?

This course is run by the redoubtable kiwitravelwriter, well-known in New Zealand and expanding her readership rapidly. Her suggestion is compelling:

“Take a vacation-with-a-purpose, learn travel-writing, and then get paid to travel! Combine your writing and travel passions so you can earn money for even more travels by learning to write terrific stories at this travel writing workshop – and wonderfully, where all the topics we need will be right on our doorstep for us to experience – I believe authentic, ethical travel writers never write about things they haven’t done or seen.”

And of course you can also use the same skills for creating a setting in a novel, or short story, and to greatly improve your blogs, letters, and emails.

Topics will include (but not only):

• How to write specifically for various publications
• Know your market
• What works – what doesn’t?
• Where to sell your stories – locally and internationally
• Finding your own style and the secrets of style
• Use your senses; quotes; fact files
• Query letters and the taxman
• Considering other markets
• Photography and travel writing: along with exercises, daily expeditions, and lots of talking in-between.

By your last day you should have a perfectly formed (critiqued) article ready to pitch to an editor and start earning.

Course requirements: enthusiasm and curiosity are essential.

Add notebooks and pencils; a camera; perhaps your laptop or an audio cassette – and, as we are on a Pacific island – sunscreen and swimming costumes are highly recommended!

Check out this link for more info re course and of  course the fabulous resort – I hope to see you there!

Kiwitravelwriter included on 101 Most Awesome Adventure & Travel Twitterers

Just had to pass this information on

(after all there are another 100 travel writers you need to know about, not just me):

Hi Heather,
Congrats! You’ve made our “101 Most Awesome Adventure & Travel Twitterers You Should Be Following” list!
You can see the list here:  http://abroadening.com/161

We worked hard to compile a list of awesome people like you who embody passion, adventure, and share their best traveling tips via Twitter.

I love connecting with new globetrotting friends who love travel and adventure as much as I do, so connect with me at http://twitter.com/abroadening

(and if you’d like to share the 101 list on twitter, here’s a handy link: http://bit.ly/travel-list)

Travel wide and live dangerously!

Markus Mindaugas
m@abroadening.com
twitter.com/abroadening
abroadening.com

If you like my writing, my book is for sale HERE

Join me on my FACEBOOK PAGE The Kiwi Travel Writer

Heather (L) joins in the fun of Thai Buddhist new year festivities

lipsticks tips for learning a new language

Go to Lipstick and wanderlust for more great ideas and stories , sign up for their newslatter

6 Tips for Learning a New Language

by Susanna Zaraysky

The first steps to learning a foreign language actually don’t involve speaking. You have to listen first and then you can speak. Your ears need to get used to the sounds of your new language. Listen first. Speak later. Most importantly, make it fun. Enjoy the learning process and you will learn much more!

1. Listen, listen, listen
Learning a new language means you have to change your key and tune. Dancing the cha-cha to waltz music is like speaking a new language while still using the rhythm of your mother tongue. Let yourself take in the sounds of the language as though you were listening to a new piece of music.

Even if you are just a beginner and barely know any words, you can still learn by listening. Pay attention to how people speak. Does it seem like they are reading a phone number or rattling of a list of numbers? Are they angry? Happy? Sometimes, you have to shut off your brain and inclination to interpret to analyze. Listen to the words spoken to you and listen to your intuition.

2. Relax and listen to music in the language you are learning
Find music in your target language that you like. It doesn’t matter if at first you don’t understand the lyrics, just pick music you like. You may start singing along without even knowing what you are singing. That’s fine. You are not only learning the rhythm of the language, you are learning new vocabulary.

Relax and close your eyes. Turn off the lights. Lay down or sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and listen to the music. Don’t try to understand the words, just listen. You might fall asleep or daydream. Give yourself the time to simply listen and not do anything else. Your mind needs to be calm in order to absorb the sounds. Your ears need no other distractions to let them properly hear all the high, medium and low frequencies of the language. Do this regularly.

Your local library may have a foreign language CD selection. Large music stores carry foreign music sections and may let you listen to the music before buying.
•    You can find songs to download for a cost at iTunes or Rhapsody.
•    Browse music videos in the language at YouTube.

3. Listen to a local radio station in the new language
Don’t underestimate the power of the FM and AM bands on your radio dial. We may be in the Cyber age, but millions of people listen to the radio everyday for news, entertainment and music. In the United States, where millions commute daily in cars, the radio is a popular medium. Immigrant groups in the United States have many radio stations and broadcast in their native languages.

When you first start listening to radio broadcasts, the radio announcers may sound like they are emitting a stream or storm of sounds and not individual words. In time, you’ll hear familiar words repeated and will learn to distinguish them. Language teachers call this “acquired competence.” Like with the music section, you can actively listen to the radio attentively and take notes, listen to it in the background or just close your eyes to listen without straining yourself to understand.

Turn the radio dial during different times of the day to look for radio stations. Some radio stations may not have 24-hour programming as they share the frequencies with other small radio stations.

Here are some places where you can start searching for stations:

.    Look in your phone book under the radio section.
.    If you are in the U.S., use the Yellow Pages and look under “Radio Stations.” The foreign language stations usually list their language in their title.
.    Go to the Yahoo Directory of radio stations
.    Look up the radio stations in your area, checking for the language you are learning. It’s best to search under regions rather than your city. There might bea radio station in another city nearby that broadcasts in the language that you want. If you only look forradio stations in your town, you will not find others in your vicinity.

4. Watch television programs in the language
This may be the first time in your life when watching television is your homework. Take advantage of the opportunity!

Let’s say you are learning Spanish. You have found a local Spanish language TV station in your area or you are watching the national Univision news. Even without knowing all the words, you will be able to get the gist of some of the news reports. The images and video footage of events already tell you what the news announcers are talking about. Tune into HOW they are speaking and the words they are using to describe the images on screen.

Even if you can’t watch TV all the time, it’s all right to do errands around the house as you listen to the TV in the background. Think of the TV as background music like you would hear in a café or restaurant. Even though it’s not at the forefront of your consciousness, your brain is still processing it and getting used to the flow of the language. Remember, we listen before we speak.

Extra bonus: Not only will you be learning how the language sounds, you will also be exposed to news you may not see on your local or national television news. If you are learning Mandarin Chinese and find a local television news station broadcasting in your area, you may learn a great deal about the Chinese community that you never saw reported in mainstream news. You will learn about what is going on in places where the language is spoken. It’s quite possible that the Italian news will have more news about other European countries than a news channel in the United States or Taiwan. So, keep your mind open. You are not only learning a language, but also another view of the world.

Check your local television listings for foreign language programs or stations. If you have cable or satellite TV, you should have more foreign language options.

5. Find the original version of movies in your target language
NEVER WATCH MOVIES DUBBED IN YOUR LANGUAGE!!!

Watching dubbed movies is a cardinal sin when it comes to learning languages. You lose most of the cultural experience when you watch a dubbed movie.  

Living in Europe, I wondered why the Scandinavians and Dutch had such good accents in English, while the French, Spanish, and Italians were known for their heavy signature accents. Northern Europeans start learning English earlier than the French, Spanish and Italians. But it’s not only their early start that gives the Northern Europeans their wonderful pronunciation. Their teachers are not native English speakers. So, they are most likely not acquiring their stellar accents from just their instructors.

The Scandinavians watch many English language television programs on their televisions and English language movies in their movie theaters, as do the Mediterraneans. However, the northern Europeans leave the soundtrack in the original language and just add subtitles in their respective tongues. The French, Spanish and Italians see English language actors speak in unnatural dubbed voices in their national languages. They are learning English in isolation from the sounds of native speakers. Learning a language in a vacuum is tough. You can let the world into your home by watching the original versions of movies, listening to how people really speak. Stay away from dubbed movies and TV programs!

A movie that’s mostly conversation and no movement, may be hard to follow. (The philosophical French movies fall into this category.) Action-packed Indiana Jones is much easier to understand than Hiroshima Mon Amour with the long scenes of just two people talking. Comedies may have a lot of jokes that will be hard to understand. Humor does not often translate well!

You can rent foreign movies at your local library. Look for cultural organizations in your neighborhood as they might have their own libraries with films from their native countries.

Two sites that have a wide selection of international movies are Netflix and Blockbuster.

If you want to just watch certain scenes from movies, you can look for them on YouTube. Just type in the name of the movie and some words pertaining to the scene you want to see

6. Learn on the go
You are busy. You want to learn Chinese while driving to work, commuting by bus or waiting at the doctor’s office. It’s possible.

Praxis Language Learning Networks have created mobile podcasts of language lessons for Chinese, French, Spanish, English and Italian that you can listen to and interact with on an MP3 Player/iPod, mobile phone, in a customized workbook or CD, on TV, on the Internet or through a learning service/API. A native speaker and language learner uses a conversational style to lead daily lessons in grammar, conversation, social customs, real life situations, stories, anecdotes, humor, mnemonic devices, etc. Students can print out lessons and flash cards from the website. There are also opportunities for students to study together online. Students can choose which topics they like best and customize their lessons. The introductory podcasts are free and subscriptions that include lessons and learning materials range from $5-23 a month.

Speaking with hands photo by jeanbaptisteparis

Radio photo by JP Correa Carvalho

Foreign films photo by ronocdh

* * * * *

Susanna speaks seven languages (English, Russian, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Serbo-Croatian) with excellent accents because she learns languages like music. She has also studied Hungarian, Hebrew and Arabic. After teaching English in Argentina, Bosnia, and the United States, she realized how to make foreign language learning fun and easy through listening exercises and music. Susanna has written, Language is Music, with over 70 exercises and tips to learn foreign languages using music, TV, film, radio and other low-cost and free methods. She’s been featured on MTV online, the Filipino Channel, an NPR podcast program and MSNBC.

kiwi travel writer confesses it’s difficult sometimes

Every traveller I meet is going to write travel stories: well every second traveller. They know they are good writers- everyone loves their letters and emails – and now they will give up their day job to become a famous writer.

According to my unofficial, and unscientific, gestimated research, 99.5% will never write. Why? Writing is difficult. It’s solitary; requires self-discipline and concentration. (if you want to be a travel writer see here for how to become one)

I know one hundred and one ways to avoid writing. When I sit at a blank screen, with a deadline looming, it’s amazing how creative I can be. I have developed the skills of evasion or procrastination to a fine art.

Confronted by a pristine sheet of paper – or my well-worn notebook – I suddenly need a coffee. The urge is imperious and no matter what I tell myself – write a hundred words and then you will really enjoy it I say – I don’t believe it, nor do I listen to myself.

Next comes the need, well not a need, but a desire, a craving, for a cigarette, or at least the nicotine in a cigarette. I would have thought after all this time that would have disappeared but no: every time I have to write- as opposed to wanting to write- the old addiction dragon rears up. It tries to tell me I could write if and when I have a white tube of dried plant in my hand.

To date I have been able to remember that I smoked to relieve the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal: not for pleasure as I had always imagined.

So, to quell that imperious urge and the thought that I can’t write at all without a nicotine fix I decide to dice vegetables for minestrone or some other time-intensive soup. Other writing-avoidance-ploys including sorting photos for some possible future story, having a bath, another coffee (at the Arts Centre) pruning my bonsai trees or responding to answer-phone messages.

However once all those have been attended to – or pushed down – I finally sit, pen in hand and start to combine my letters and postcards home with my on-the-road notebooks and record my experiences. Translate the hours, days, weeks, or months in a place into a story that will give you some of the flavours of a place.

I’m happy I am not a travel writer -in the usual way. It is so much more fun to be a traveller who writes about my experiences – rather than travelling so I can write about places. There is a world of difference. I don’t have to record where I stay, what restaurants I ate at, what activities I indulged in or visit any of the iconic must-see places that so many travel articles comprise of. I just travel; record highlights, then later decide on which to write about.

Travel writers who are bought to New Zealand hit the must-go-to places such as Rotorua, Milford Sound and Queenstown, while trampers hike the big name walks, Milford, Routeburn, Tongariro.  Unless they do some deeper research many do not realise that much of the real New Zealand lies in places that are off the well-worn trail. That’s why I like to write of experiences, people I meet and public transport, rather than tours of a country.

One of the saddest T-shirts I ever saw was on a young woman in Athens. 32 countries in 30 days it proudly proclaimed. Not the type of trip I want, but one that could produce a travel article on the highlights for the next persons race though the continent in a bus with others. If you just want the highlights and want others to do the planning that’s fine and I understand it too.

One of the difficulties of living down-under is it takes so long, and costs so much, to get ‘upover’ that we are tempted to cram in as many places as possible. I recently spent a few days with a group of Americans who had two weeks to explore and hike in New Zealand and they too had a tight schedule for the same reasons. New Zealand is a long way from anywhere- geographically speaking.

However if you want to be tempted to try somewhere different, (or be one of my many armchair travellers) and I  hope my stories encourage you to do some research and explore this wonderful world.

See what happens when I finally just start writing – eventually the page is full.

‘invest in yourself and travel’ says a fellow blogger

Why is it that when I am traveling I have more faith in myself and in God, the universe, Buddha, [insert higher deity name here] then when I am home in the comfort and familiarity of my environment?

There is something about traveling that allows me to let go and trustthat all will be ok no matter what goofy, hair brained, or scary situation I might be in, all will be ok. Traveling is about stepping outside our daily comfort zone and brazenly shouting to the world, “ok, let’s dance!”  I jump enthusiastically into situations that I might otherwise shy away from if the same experience was presented to me back home.

Travel is freedom, exploration, and connection with self and with others. I have found nothing else on this planet that provides such an array of learning and growth opportunities while having fun.  Ok, granted not all travel is exactly fun, plane rides today are more like overpriced outdated rail cars that are never on time and rarely have seen a cleaning agent. Despite the less colorful and cheery aspects of travel what you are given in return for stepping outside into the unknown world is priceless.  Your life experiences are precious and can never be taken away from you. Travel is a very wise investment and can fit any budget, so there are no excuses.

Plan, budget, research, and enjoy.  The memories you make while traveling will be with you for a very long time. The experiences you have may just unveil your authentic self, now that is a worthy investment of money and time.

http://travelngrow.wordpress.com/

bad travel writing includes all these words

As travel writer I can endorse this article: l teach travel writing in Christchurch, New Zealand and these are all on my longer list of ‘dont’s’ – however my list of ‘do’ are even longer

10 Words and Phrases We Never Want to See in Travel Writing Again

Written by Teresa Ponikvar

The first time some travel writer tossed off each of these words and phrases, they might have sounded fresh and clever. But we’ve seen them too many times, and now they sound tired, strained, and cheesy—and at Matador, that’s definitely not what we’re about.

1. Best-kept secret
Really? Are you sure The Purple Dinosaur Bar is Denver’s best-kept secret? You found it, after all, and now you’re publishing its location, so it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a secret, much less a well-kept one.

2. Et cetera
Whether it’s “et cetera” (fancy! Latin!) or plain old “etc.”, you’re really saying this: “There’s more, but I’m too lazy to tell you about it.”

3. sun-dappled/sun-speckled/sun-splashed
We get it. It’s sunny. Tell us about it in a way that doesn’t involve the word “dappled.” Please.

4. don’t-miss/ must-see
A bit of a bully, are you? What are you going to do to us if we miss it, huh?

Just give us your experience. Let us decide for ourselves if South Dakota’s Corn Palace is a must-see or a see-maybe-if-I-happen-to-be-driving-through-South-Dakota-someday-and-need-to-use-the-bathroom.

5. exotic
“Exotic” is relative—it just means “different” or “foreign”, and depending who your reader is, that could mean ao dai, guayaberas, or blue jeans—so focus on describing your experience, and let your readers murmur, “oooh—how exotic!” if they so choose.

6. gem/jewel
A beach is not a gem, and a restaurant is not a jewel, and yes, we know what a metaphor is, but you can come up with a better one than that, can’t you?

7. oasis/paradise
If you’ve traveled to an actual oasis, as in “a small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well,” feel free to tell it like it is. But describing anything but an actual oasis as an oasis is another case of a threadbare metaphor.

And throwing “paradise” around just makes you sound clueless. Have you seriously found a place with zero problems, conflicts, threats, dangers? Or are you just, you know, on vacation?

8. treasure trove
If you’ve stumbled upon a previously undiscovered royal Egyptian burial chamber, or a forgotten cache of pirate’s booty, fine. Otherwise, leave “treasure trove” alone.

9. breathtaking
Was your breath literally taken away by the beauty of that sunset? Probably not, so this word is overkill. Unless you’re blue in the face and suffering from awe-induced oxygen deprivation, look for another word.

10. boast
Why must places “boast” fine dining, colonial architecture, unspoiled beaches, or symphony orchestras? Can’t they just have them? “Have” is a perfectly good word. The citizens may well boast about their city’s marvelous offerings, but that’s another story.

Sign up for Matador’s new Travel Writing School and get the skills you need.

how to behave in the air – do you need reminding?

YET ANOTHER GREAT ARTICLE BY JANE LAKSY

+  If you are asked to board in groups, there’s a reason.  It is called efficiency.  Cutting in line to get on the aircraft before your group is summoned will simply delay take-off.  Indeed, this form of aircraft entry is designed so that there are not people blocking you as you try to get to your assigned seat and they try to get their carry-on luggage situated by standing in the aisles.

+  Do your best to stow your bags in the bins above your assigned seats.  If you can’t, secure a bin within reaching distance.  This is helpful not only if you need something from up above during the flight, but also after the plane has landed and you are allowed to reclaim your carry-on and deplane.  In both instances, you are apt to cause the least amount of commotion if you are easily able to grab your bag out of a bin.

+  Keep your laptop underneath the seat in front of you, for your protection as well as for the protection of the people sharing your overhead bin.  Since items tend to tumble around a bit while stowed up above, expect some fallout some of the time when the bin is opened. That said, the last thing you or your fellow passenger needs is to be knocked on the head by a flying computer.  The same goes for bottles of wine or pieces of heavy glass.

+  If you are toting any of the items mentioned above (computers, wine bottles, etc.), do not book a bulkhead seat (a seat that faces a wall) because those particular seats do not have any seat in front of them and therefore they have no under seat storage capabilities.  By default, those passengers occupying bulkhead seats must stow everything in the overhead bins.

+  If you are physically able to help someone struggling to get their bag up above in the overhead bins, do so without hesitation.  Likewise, if you need help with your load because you are not strong enough to get it up above by yourself, ask nicely if someone can help you, whether that be a flight attendant or a fellow passenger.

+  At the beginning of a flight is a good time to gab but when the lights are lowered after your meal, remember that some people like to take that opportunity to sleep or to watch a movie.  If need be, keep your talking to a minimum and whisper if you must keep the conversation going.

+  If you are one of those people yearning to sleep in peace while up in the air, consider purchasing a pair of headphones that reduces noise.  Bose offers this product and so does Pro-Tech, with their NoiseBuster (www.NoiseBuster.net). The latter is my choice since, at least for me, the quality is as good as the Bose alternative and yet the NoiseBuster is much less expensive.

+  Check this article (click here)  for more ideas from Kelly S Kelly, great travel writer and Tampa Travel Examiner.

dancing babies – passing it on

Videos

Evian dancing babies US

see larger video

uploaded by Tina Kells

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Skating babies are the stars of the latest Evian water ad campaign and the creepy-cuteness of the little rollerblading wonders is taking the web by storm. The Evian skating babies ad campaign has already gone viral with people voluntarily looking at the one minute commercial on YouTube and is a throw back to the famous dancing baby from Ally McBeal.

The Evian ad features a large group of CGI generated babies rollerblading through the park, performing stunts and facing off in dance-off type skate offs.  Hilarious and cute, the ad is a clever, all-be-it creepy, way to get viewer attention in a world where traditional television ads are becoming increasingly obsolete.

With the advent of TIVO and PVR technology people no longer have to watch commercials on TV shows forcing advertisers to get creative.  The Evian skating babies does just that, rather than making commercials to show to a captive audience, this ad creates something people seek out. The Evian skating babies are a plain old commercial that people actually look online for and want to see.

There is a less silly but just as cute Water Baby Evian commercial also worth looking at for a laugh.