OMG!  Look what I discovered. My book, "More Spaghetti, I Say" has been immortalized!

These kids are fabulous! If you know the book, you have to look at this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixgqDdh0VNY

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January 24, 2012

I’ve had several inquiries recently from people interested in hosting foreign students. The information is worth sharing.

There are lots of youth exchange academic programs that bring students into the U.S., and an organization, the Council on Standards for International Travel (CSIET), that “annually evaluates U.S.-based youth exchange programs to ensure compliance with CSIET Standards, so that students, families, and schools can identify inbound and outbound reputable exchange organizations.”

Bringing in an extra teen is not a simple decision, but I’ve talked to many people who have told me that having a foreign guest enriches the family and expands the horizon and dreams of the American  kids and adults in the household. And a lot of host-families stay in touch for years and many visit the family of the guest, who, in most cases,  becomes another son or daughter or sibling.

So do check out the details. And if you haven’t thought about it, maybe it’s time.

More than 30,000 foreign students come annually to study in our high schools.  It’s not easy to find enough homes.

So, if you think you might consider becoming a host, go to www.csiet.org .   Click on the orange, “Program Finder” button. Then, Get Started. The rest is self-explanatory. (The site gives you a chance to choose the country and the programs you’d like to get involved with.)

I just talked to Lindsay Poehlman in the Alexandria, VA, office and she said to let you know that if you have questions, just send an e-mail to: mailbox@csiet.org or call the office at: 703 739-9050.

It could be a fantastic experience for your family. I hope you think about it.

And do have a look at their publications. I have one called “International Youth Exchange Statistics 2009-2010” and another that is a “Demographic Profile of US Host Families and Schools” from 2006. I don’t know if they updated them or if they still have copies of them, but they’re great reading.

Happy hosting.

Love, Rita

PS If you haven't read the Rick Steves' article, do have a look. The link is in the Jan. 21st entry below.

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January 21, 2012

This is a USA Today column by Rick Steves. I wish everyone in the country would read it….and take off!  Please, if you agree, take it viral and make a pile of copies and bring them in to your local middle and high schools. Give them to the counselors, the language teachers, and whomever else you think might pass the message on to the kids.

And be sure to take it viral too.

We need everyone to endorse the idea. Please, please, send it, print it, hand it out. Thanks. I’m trying to start a movement from the ground up. We need you, your friends, your family to join. Thanks for helping and spreading the word.

Steves is writing about college exchange; my focus is after high school and before college………..but whenever they go, their experience will enrich the youth and the country. We need leaders who understand the world they want to lead!! 

Thanks.   Love, Rita

PS I don't know what that square is but I can't make it disappear. I think it's a graphic that was with the article.

·  

Rick Steves: Study abroad is necessity, not luxury

www.usatoday.com

Our national security rests upon the foundation of a well-educated electorate with a broad and sophisticated worldview.

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January 6, 2012

Last week I got an e-mail from Jan Zoochie telling me she had written about Tales of a Female Nomad.  I went to read the review and then played around on her site, TRAVEL WITH BALLS, for a while.  Love her style and mission. I thought I’d share it with you. First, her review:

 Travel With Balls.  http://travelwithballs.com/2011/12/29/twb-words-from-the-world-tales-of-a-female-nomad/

While you're on their website, have a look at their mission. Here’s what she wrote to me, “our primary purpose is to encourage travelers to give out soccer balls to kids…but we also want folks to venture through life with gusto and daring, which I why I wrote about your book.” 

The goal for both of us is joy and connecting.

Here's the link to a 4-minute video of their trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica a few weeks ago. They gave away 16 balls and created lots of smiles.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xRBLL-hxqE     

Here’s the THE STORY of TRAVEL WITH BALLS as expressed on their website:

"In 2010, TWB co-founders Jan Zahler Zoochie and William Zoochie were traveling through Morocco, a nation where over 70% of the population is under the age of 17.  Driving their rental car over back roads and through small towns and villages, they noticed children playing soccer with tin cans and bottles.  In the marketplace of the next town, they hit upon the idea of purchasing some balls to give out at random on their journey.  The balls were only about $2.50 apiece, so they purchased ten of them – the small shop owner got a little economic boost, Jan and William got the means to interact with the locals and spread a little joy during their travels.  $25.00 was a small price to pay for all the exuberant smiles, excitement and shouts of thanks those ten balls elicited from the clusters of kids who received them over the next few days.  It was such a great experience that Jan and William purchased three more balls when they arrived in Fes and handed them out to groups of children playing in the medina.  These experiences were among the most highly cherished memories of their 3 1/2 week trip to Morocco.  Thus, the idea of Travel With Balls was born."        I like it!!

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I'm starting to think about my cross-country drive....from the end of March to the beginning of June.  I'd love to visit with readers, talk to schools (I'm hoping readers will help me here.), talk to Rotary Clubs (my anthology, Female Nomad and Friends, has contributed $46,000 to sending slum kids in New Delhi to vocational schools....via Rotary International), and I'm up for paid speeches too, keynotes or classes about my life and what I've learned about connecting. And I'm looking for company along the way....especially if you drive a manual car! Let me know if you're interested:  femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com.

I'll be driving a southern route from Gainesville to San Diego and up. I'd be thrilled if you found me schools to talk to, especially middle and high schools. I talk about my books, my life, and the incredible joy of connecting across cultures. I'll also talk to your book club. My hidden agenda is to promote "peace through connecting"--face-to-face, heart-to-heart.             Hope to hear from you.                Love, Rita

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December 4, 2011

I just sent the following to my listserv pals. I'm doing some editing for this blog, but most of it is the same.

 This entry is a mix of my personal, emotional, and ethical thoughts, which are totally intertwined. So there’s a little of everything here. A warning:  it’s long.

First, in answer to all your questions:  Jan, my daughter, is well after her August surgery (removal of a benign cerebral meningioma); thanks for asking. She’s working (www.jangelman.com), playing, and planning a trip to Tanzania in February. Serious surgery encourages people to reassess what’s important in life. Every day and life in general are treasured. One of Jan’s passions is facilitating  workshops on women’s health and all the components that are involved. She’s really good if your group is looking for a meaningful event. (Just in case you haven’t seen it, Jan has a story in my anthology, Female Nomad and Friends). I’ll be in Seattle from January 26th to February 16th, taking care of grand-dog Roxy and the house in the Mt. Baker district while Jan and her husband are elephant-watching. I’m open for visits, meetings, meals, workshops, talks….or just coffee in Columbia City.

I’ve been non-stop thinking/stressing about my Let’s Get Global project (www.letsgetglobal.org). I’d love to find someone to totally take it over….while I promote, on a free-lance basis, the idea of the Gap Year. I want to write about it, talk about it, visit schools and service clubs, work with other groups who are doing the same……but I’m not made for running an organization.  If you are looking for something exciting to do, a legacy to leave, a reason to wake up every morning, do think about taking on Let’s Get Global. When you are successful in creating a Gap-Year cultural norm in our country, you will have changed the country in a wonderful way. That thought is what’s kept me going for the last two years. I’ve got tons of ideas but no ability to make things happen. I’d be happy to spend a week with you and share everything I know in my head and have in my computer.

Some personal notes:

 I’ve been living in Annapolis, MD, house sitting until I head to Seattle at the end of January.

•  I’ll be in Houston from the 17th to the 20th of February for my grand-nephew’s bar mitzvah.
• On the 21st of Feb. I’ll be talking in Jefferson, TX, to the Pulpwood Queen Bookclubs in the area (there are more than 500 in the country). They’re interesting; the members wear tiaras. Check them out.  (www.pulpwoodqueen.com, www.beautyandthebook.com )
• I’m thinking of going to Dallas after the talk in Jefferson and flying to DC from there. I’m up for a talk in Dallas as well.
• And finally, I’ll be in Gainesville, FL, on March 7th for around a week. I’m giving a couple of members-only talks….but there’s room to set up some others. Or just to meet for coffee or a meal.
• I think I will drive from Gainesville to Seattle after that. I’ll deal with that cross-country trip in another letter. I’d like to meet people and give talks as I travel…..maybe even connect with readers who want to go along on segments of the trip. Anybody out there want to help me organize that?

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On to another topic. For months now I’ve been watching the Occupy Movement from afar. I agree that  our population is unbalanced. The few people at the top have very little connection to the many on the bottom. If you are reading this, you probably know that I’m all about “connecting.”  I keep thinking that if the middle class were more involved in bringing together the strong and the weak, the immigrants and natives, the rich and the poor…. to talk, to share lives and stories, to eat and sing together…we’d begin to understand and respect each other. “Connecting”  reinforces the concept of our shared humanity……….and our social programs would be strengthened.

There are far too many people in DC who are willing to write off a majority of our population.  I question many of our representatives…not their politics, but their morality. I’ve been paraphrasing Hubert Humphrey for many years. I finally looked up the exact wording:

"...the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life; the sick, the needy and the handicapped. "

Last Speech of Hubert H. Humphrey
November 1, 1977
Washington, D.C.

The Occupy Movement has the feel of “fringe.” Middle-class Americans, for the most part, are not out there in the streets and parks….but I’m convinced that most of us agree with the concepts and philosophy the Occupiers stand for. Most serious movements start with fringe, and if they’re relevant, the concepts move into the general population. (The early feminists burned bras to get people’s attention. ) How do you think we can get middle-class Americans to get involved? How do we let Washington know that we agree with the Occupy ideas? We should be working together to alert the president and presidential hopefuls that the 2012 election hinges on candidates who care, connect with, and support the weakest among us.

It’s not easy to accept what’s going on. Reduced taxes for millionaires and billionaires and corporations? Cuts in education? Battles against birth control for the poor? Come on!

We’re all in this together and our country’s problems won’t go away unless we work together on behalf of everyone. I’m looking for ideas of how we can take the message of the Occupiers and bring it into mainstream. Most of us are not about to “occupy” parks….so what can we do? (I really am asking you …my questions are not rhetorical.)

The Occupy ideas are not new!

Humphrey was not the first to express the importance of moral governing. There are lots of others who expressed the same sentiment. I just pulled these off of the web.

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September 26, 2011

I've been in Seattle since the end of July so I could be here for my daughter while she recovered from surgery. She's almost back to her old self and I'm heading east on October 13th  to Annapolis, MD (to house sit) and to Purcellville, VA (to hang out with my grandson, Cris, and his parents in their new home) until the end of January. I'll be back in Seattle for a few weeks in February, Houston to see family for a few days, and then?  Don't know. My friends from France, Lars and Nirin (they are characters in both of my Nomad books), want to drive to Alaska inb May. I'm considering it. I want so badly to be back on the road again.

I've had a lot of time to think these two months. For two years now I've been mostly in the US trying to organize a movement to bring the Gap Year to the country....and lately, Let's Get Global has been driving me crazy. Not because I've stopped believing that a globally educated population is the only way to combat the growing intolerance, xenophobia, and insularity of our country....but because I've learned that my organizational skills are non-existent. I don't like heading up a movement; I don't do it well; and I'm probably a serious liability to something that I think is vitally important. Do read the July 23rd entry below...and if you believe in the cause, talk it, blog it, post it, Tweet it. And if you don't need an immediate salary, take it over and get some funding for the cause, for a staff, and for yourself.

Once someone else is in charge, I will take orders. I will write and talk and interview (sing and dance too if that's what it takes) for the cause. I passionately believe that connecting across cultures is the path to world peace and I'm willing to do just about anything to create a US population that respects, understands, and recognizes the common humanity that all people share.

Please, please....consider taking it on. Especially if you are looking for a reason to get up every day. Maybe you are recently retired and feeling a little lost. Are you well-organized? Passionate? Unhappy with the fact that education in the US is not preparing our youth for the global ecomomy? Frustrated by what's going on in Washington? Maybe you need a cause!!!

Bringing the Gap Year to the US is an amazing legacy. Find a friend and work together!! You'll be so happy you did! It will bring a smile and purpose to your life. I'll spend a week with you, catching you up on what's been done.

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For those of you in the Seattle area, I'm talking at Wide World Books in Wallingford, Washington (Wow, don't you love all those W's) on Tuesday, October 11th, 7 PM. I'm open to giving talks to organizations and colleges, wherever they may be. I will donate the money I get to Let's Get Global. And if you want to donate, it's tax deductible through USServas.org, our fiscal sponsor.

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And if you've been thinking that you want to gift Tales of a Female Nomad to a friend, this is a good time to buy it. Sales are falling off.....and I don't want it to go out of print. Thanks.

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Finally, Anna Redsand has written an interesting review of TOAFN on her blog. Most people read the book and start thinking about travel. Anna, an addicted traveler, read it (for the second time) and decided it was time for her to sit still. Do check it out. www.annaredsand.com

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July 31, 2011

This YouTube is self-explanatory. It's definitely a convincing argument for the Gap Year....but it's also about LIFE.

Do click on it! Then think about it and pass it on. It's only about two minutes long. 

http://www.facebook.com/l/aAQDMhgOA/www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERbvKrH-GC4

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July 23, 2011

I just spent the last five days brainstorming my Gap Year project with Kelly Hayes-Raitt who was my guest in Todos Santos, Mexico. Kelly is writing a book about her visits to Iraq, her experiences in Iraqi refugee camps, and more. (She has three stories in my anthology, Female Nomad and Friends.) Kelly and I talked a lot about Let’s Get Global.

As most of you know, two years ago I decided to put my international nomadding on hold to work on the idea of bringing the international Gap Year to the U.S. The decision to create a Gap Year culture was born when I observed the growing intolerance and xenophobia that was sweeping the country (still is!). My experiences over the last twenty-four years--eating, playing, working, learning, connecting in other cultures--has convinced me that travel is the antidote to prejudice….. and the pathway to peace.  And that year after high school, before the next phase of life, is the perfect time to extend education beyond the classroom.

A Gap Year is a win, win, win:

• Returned gappers know who they are and what they want; they’re ready for college.
• An international experience is a dynamite item on an application and a resume.
• A U.S. population that has experienced the oneness of humanity through travel will respect others and care about the suffering and problems in the rest of the world.

Back in 2009, when I first decided to start my Gap Year project, I called it a “movement.” I like fighting for something I believe in. I actively supported the civil rights and feminist movements. I was ready to start a Gap Year movement, something that would sweep the country and change the world.

A "movement" is a cause or social issue that is promoted by individuals, groups, and organizations in many different ways. These days movements use technology and the internet to mobilize the base. Supporters lobby, advocate, promote a common cause. A movement thrives and grows because people and groups who don’t even know each other unite and act independently and together around a shared passion. I want the Gap Year to become a national movement, with a broad base of independent believers.

Initially I talked about a movement, but the deeper I got into the planning, the researching, the organizing, and the non-profit strategy, the idea of a “movement” kind of got lost. For two years now I’ve been focusing on compiling lists, setting up blogs, Facebooking, Tweeting, writing PR material, researching existing programs.  And obsessing about how I could raise the money to hire an executive director and a social network coordinator. The “movement” got buried under “non-profit” efforts and rhetoric.

But this week Kelly put me back on track. My dream is still to get enough funding to hire a top notch executive director to oversee the movement….and to book a top-notch marketing/PR firm that will set up a national campaign to educate the country about the benefits of an international Gap Year. But starting in August, my personal efforts are going to go to giving talks and interviews, to writing articles and guest blogs on as many sites and venues as I can find. I plan to spread my passion by doing the things I do well. Hopefully hundreds of others will get involved on other levels, and the Gap Year movement will take off.

Margaret Mead wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

I want to see tons of teens run with the idea….take it to their parents, their schools, their community. I want to see thousands of parents and educators and peace-loving citizens out there promoting the Gap Year.  On their own. A leaderless movement of people doing their own things. The Let’s Get Global site (www.letsgetglobal.org ) has a ton of ideas and links and material. It’s there for anyone who wants to blog it, share it, Tweet it, shout it..

I’d also like to see everyone who ever did a Gap Year, writing about their experiences....online, in blogs, on Facebook, on Twitter. In local papers. National magazines.Community newspapers, school papers. Wherever people hang out.

To anyone who has done a Peace Corps stint, a backpacking adventure, an organized program……to anyone who has discovered the beauty of our shared humanity….I invite you to steal the LGG information, use it to create your own blog. If you like, LGG will be happy to post your blog.  Don’t worry about being slick…just write in a way that expresses  your experience and your thoughts. We’ll get it out to our growing fans.

How about blogging your original ideas of how to fund a Gap Year?

How about setting up your own Gap Year network:  GoGappers, or something like that, where Gappers and potential Gappers can talk to each other.

There are lots of ideas and links on the Let’s Get Global site…and if you Google “Gap Year,” you’ll find tons of sites there too.  Come up with ideas of your own and run with them!  Send an article to the local paper, to your school paper, to online sites.  Send it to LGG. Start your own Gap Year group….do some YouTubes. If you're talented, how about a funny YouTube of a couple of dogs talking about where they should do their Gap Year? You don't need permission....just do it!

You might want to subscribe to Google Alerts. They'll send you links to all the "Gap Year" articles. I get them every day....it's free. Most are from England....but there are a number of U.S. stories too. Send them to your list,

Everyone’s a leader.  Everyone's important. A movement is not a top-down kind of thing. As the base grows, more and more independent actions will move the cause ahead. If you agree that a Gap Year movement is a good idea, do your own thing. If you want to send me your comments, ideas, and blog entries, I’ll try to post them...or maybe one of you wants to take on the job. I'll make you one of the admins of the site.

Everyone else.....please check in from time to time and tell the world what you find. The more blogs, the more speeches, the more articles.....the stronger the movement.

Thanks.

Love, Rita.

www.letsgetglobal.org

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July 15, 2011

Well, I promised myself I'd blog here a couple of times a week, but I don't have a whole lot to add. I've been working on getting some immediate funding for Let's Get Global. It's a job I'd like to hire someone to do....but it has to be done before I have the money to hire someone. A bit of a problem.

If any of you reading this have any ideas for individual funders, do write. I have lots of good documents about what we're doing and what we plan to do. I'll send them to you. And, as I have stated previously, for $10,000 I will come to your house, cook a Thai meal, and dance and sing after dinner. My cooking and entertaining skills are lots stronger than my formatting skills.

I did fix the formatting problem I talked about below....well, I didn't fix it. Kelli Shewmaker did. We e-mailed a million times and finally got it! (Thanks, Kelli.) She put all those numbers in a grid and they stayed there. It worked.

Gotta go get the ceviche ready for dinner guests. I bought the fish from a fisherman. Right out of the Pacific Ocean to the lime juice. Doesn't get much fresher. It's been marinating all day. I'm putting in some mango chunks before I serve it. I tried that last week and it was wonderful...the sweet mango was a fantastic contrast to the lime-y fish.

Love, Rita

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July 11, 2011

Arrrggghhh. I've spent most of yesterday and today trying to format a long email that I want to send to about twenty people. Part of the document is a list of numbers, each attached to a description. The text has to align on the left and the numbers should align on the right. But I can't make it happen.

The formatting doesn't hold when I send it to myself. It comes through as a jumble. The numbers move all over the place. I desperately need a live-in techie.

I often tell people that children's book writers get assigned an elf. I've written a ton of kids' books, but my elf seems to have gotten lost. Elf!!! If you are out there, I need you and your tech skills here in Mexico. And if you are super-organized that's a huge plus and I will see that you get great meals and fantastic desserts. I'm assuming elves like desserts. And there's a beautiful beach five minutes away, down a sandy path!!

Love from a very frustrated me,    Rita

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July 10, 2011

I've received several e-mails in the last few days from teachers asking me for my lecture fees. Thought I'd answer here.

Like everything else in my life....my fees are flexible. A lot depends upon the event, the organization, the college, or the business that's inviting me.

I do not ask for money when I speak in elementary, middle, or high schools. When some other group is paying me to speak, I usually ask that they book me into a couple of schools. So, if you want me to come to your school, ask around. Maybe there's a college or group in your area that is accustomed to paying for speakers and you can set something up. I often give a workshop in addition to a keynote or a scheduled speech.

For many years I've been speaking mostly to first and second graders...talking a little about my life and a lot about kids' books. I usually read a couple of my books and I play a fun rhyming game. But lately I'm more interested in middle and high school groups so I can tell them about the Gap Year option.

With the older kids, I spend most of the time talking about my experiences as a nomad connecting around the world. For the last 15 minutes I introduce the idea of a Gap Year. I should warn you that a lot of high school principals are reluctant to have me introduce the Gap Year. Schools are rated by the percent of their graduates who go on to college. (That's why Let's Get Global suggests that students apply and ask for a deferral.)

Anyway, I'm telling you this so that if you read that I'll be in your area (I'll post my plans here.) and discuss a visit with your principal, you might want to emphasize my life of connecting around the world and my 70 children's books. The theme of my talk is the joy of connecting and the oneness of humanity. I present the Gap Year as a logical extension of my experience, but it isn't the main subject of my talk.

I've talked at a number of middle and high schools durirng 2011. I'd be happy to give you some names of the teachers who invited me.

I don't know where I'll be during the next year. Depends on invitations. I have a daughter in Seattle, a son who is moving to Loudon County, VA, and a brother in Houston. I'll be in all three places during the next school year.

Stay tuned. And check in here now and then. I'll be posting once or twice a week.                  Love, Rita

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July 5. 2011

The "Likes" on my Gap Year site (www.letsgetglobal.org) have more than doubled. Thanks for clicking. I'm hoping the numbers will continue to grow. Also click on  "+1." It's the new Google equivalent of Facebook's "Like."

We're over 500 "Likes".....I'm hoping to get it over a thousand. If you can help in any way to take it viral, that would be great. Funders like to know there's support out there.

I truly believe a successful Gap Year movement in the US will change the participants, the country, and the world. An international GapYear...travel in general for everyone...is the best antidote to intolerance and prejudice. We share a world with many different cultures; and if we want to be leaders in that world, we have to know, respect, and understand our world-mates. Crossing borders and sharing lives can make that happen.

We're a great country, built by immigrants, strengthened by their talents, and successful because of our policy of welcoming the "tired, the poor, the huddled masses..." Most of us don't have to go back very far to find relatives who were welcomed. Intolerance against immigrants is not what we're all about....and it seems to be growing.

So I've been working, going on two years, to create a population that has shared meals and lives across borders

I'm going to try to take today off. I'm not very good at taking breaks. I've been sitting at the computer for a solid month here in Todos Santos, Mexico, answering e-mails, working on my Gap Year project, and trying to stay current on Facebook, this blog, Twitter, and the two LGG blogs (the other is www.thegapyearsite.blogspot.com. It's the first one we set up....but Google has it in their search engine, so I'm trying to keep it going.

My personality tackles challenges in an all-or-nothing style. When I zero in on something, I have trouble noticing anything else. But I'm determined to walk, talk, and eat somewhere else today. I'm now quitting the computer and driving into town. I'll be back in a couple of days.

Don't forget to click if you haven't done it yet.    So long for now.

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July 3, 2011

I'm hoping you'll "click" for me. I need your help. Skip to the last sentence if you don't have time to read.

I never said it was easy to change the cultural norm of a country: everyone knows that when you graduate from high school you go straight to college. It's what you're supposed to do.

So how come 30 to 50% of college students drop out? 

Well, some are just tired of all the pressures of that senior year. Others haven't a clue who they are or what they want. Most have never had a chance to think for themselves....their lives have been lock-step all the way. So how about taking an international Gap Year?

What? Take a year off to travel around the world? You bet.

I don't know why the Gap Year hasn't taken off in the U.S. It's popular in England, New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Canada, and more. A Gap Year opens eyes and hearts; it takes education beyond the classroom; and it's the perfect antidote to the intolerance and prejudice that is growing in our country.

I have to confess that I like and thrive in experiential-learning situations. Gappers learn on the ground. They face challenges, connect and share lives with people who are different from them....yet the same....and they gain perspective on the world and their place in it.

Also, an international experience is a huge plus on an application or a resume. I did a talk show on NPR Wisconsin in June and a man called in to say he was the CEO of a big international company." If I have two resumes in my hand, I'll hire the one that's had experience interacting in other cultures."

I've been working on Let's Get Global for two years now. I'm ready to go after funding so I can hire people to create a national awareness of the Gap Year option. LGG is not offering a program.....we're waging an awareness campaign. We want to let students, parents, educators, and corporations know that choosing a Gap Year is a fantastic, life-changing option.

This week I plan to send out query letters to funders, and if you agree with the idea, I'm asking you to show your support by going to the site and clicking on "Like" and "+1" (the +1 is the Google equivalent of "Like").  It's easy and doesn't cost a thing. It will take you one minute.   I imagine potential funders will check out the site, and I'd like them to see that LGG has support.  It would be great if you could ask your friends to do it too!! I'd love to get up to 1,000. It's at 375 now.

Click on the link above and then click on "Like" and "+1".  Thanks. I love you .

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June 19, 2011

I’m hanging out in Todos Santos, Mexico, until July 28th. Yesterday I went to my first wedding here.

Veronica and Romero pick me up at 2:30, and we drive to the site of the reception: an outdoor area, about half an acre of mostly hard sandy ground, filled with tables covered with white cloths and folding chairs also wrapped in white, several bunches of balloons, and fabrics draped between posts.  It’s a pretty and simple scene.

We’re early….but our table, is already staked by V&R’s mother and daughters. The bride and groom aren’t there yet; the guests are still pouring through the gate. Then the chartreuse-clad band climbs out of their bus in a procession and onto the stage, carrying instruments. The music begins. It’s loud. Very loud. Even if I spoke perfect Spanish, I would have trouble having a conversation. I don’t know a whole lot about music, but it feels as though a number of the instruments are playing in clashing keys.

 As the hours go on, there are a number of fantastic soloists….especially on the clarinet. Turns out that the groom is actually a member of the band (he plays trombone)…and their enthusiasm and spirit, even their stepping/dance routine, is wonderfully entertaining.

We  had been there for around half an hour when the bride and groom arrive….and dance in the middle of the tables so that all the guests can see them. They dance with each other, with their parents, even with a couple of band members. Most of the dancing is two-step swaying and stepping back and forth. Pretty tame.

Each table gets sodas and beer and chips with a dip. A lot of kids are jumping on a huge trampoline that has been pushed into a corner. There are also swings and climbing rope-ladders that have been disabled. Various guests get them into swinging and climbing order again.. (I think the space is a playground when there are no weddings.)

I manage to have a brief conversation with Veronica’s mother who is sitting next to me. She has 15 children, all of whom still live in the area; the place is filled with her immediate family. The bride is one of her dozens of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Grandma is greeted by lots of people; her energy is impressive. She laughs a lot and tells me that she sings too. She says a lot of things that are funny….but most I do not understand.

Altogether the wedding guests number around 150 adults and about 40 kids. It’s a happy affair. Lots of smiles and waving and hugs. But no food. More than three hours go by before I decide that there is not going to be anything but chips, so I eat and dip some more, get used to the sound, smile a lot, and observe the fashions (lots of strapless satiny dresses, some very mini-skirts, and great colors).

People keep arriving. So do more chips and beer and soda.  As I am wondering how long the party will last, Styrofoam plates arrive with beans, potatoes with onions and green peppers, shredded beef, and tortillas. By then I am totally stuffed with chips (I’ve been eating them for nearly four hours); but my rule is, eat everything I'm offered. So I do. The meat and beans are well-seasoned and really good.

After we eat, Veronica tells me to let her know when I’m ready to go. She will take me home and return to the party, which, she says, will go on at least another four hours!

After another half hour, the first band leaves and a new group arrives. The music and dancing speed up and more people dance and wiggle (the men are better at wiggling than the women). Earlier, the dancing was two or three couples at the most; when the new group takes over, dozens jump up and dance, not in the middle of the tables so everyone can see….but on the side, where there is a stone floor. By the time I leave, the floor is packed; I’ve been there for nearly five hours. Others leave too, but the party is far from over. The music is still loud, the dance “floor” more crowded than before. More hips are wiggling. More feet are stepping.

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June 14, 2011

I have no idea how I let two months go by without blogging here. I have been working hard, talking a lot (that's speeches not chatting), and meeting tons of people. And I do get and answer a lot of e-mails and Facebook messages. I've also been spending a lot of time on my project, Let's Get Global (www.letsgetglobal.org).

I'm writing this in Todos Santos, Mexico, where my son and his family have a wonderful home just a short sandy path from the beach. I moved in six days ago. They are not here, so I'm luxuriating in the beauty and silence (except for the birds and the little squeaking lizards) of the setting.

Yes, I said luxuriating in silence. I just spent several days in total isolation....didn't go any place where there were people.... which is actually something quite new for me. I thrive on interaction, on renewing old acquaintances and connecting to new ones. I'm a people person; I love teamwork, brainstorming ideas and sharing thoughts, meals, chores. Yet, I've actually been enjoying my solitude. I'm not sure if it's age (I turn 74 in two weeks), but I'm not feeling the least bit sorry for myself. I'm here and I'm alone because I want to be.

I've been productive--sending out inquiry letters to foundations and philanthropists about funding LGG, communicating via e-mail with quite a few friends and readers, and doing some research on Google. I've read three books (The Help by Kathryn Stockett about the relationship between the white wives and the black help in the South a few years back; and The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou set around the same time. The Angelou book begins in 1958, the year I graduated from college and settled into Greenwich Village. The third book is not worth mentioning; I pulled it off the shelf here because it was set in Paris, but I was mostly bored by the story line.)

I've walked, eaten, sung along with Pandora, and even studied some Spanish during the last several days. None of this is my usual MO. But I have to admit, I'm happy.

I remember how scared I was when I started out on my nomadic journey....the idea of being alone was something that brought tears to my eyes. I still like people....but maybe the difference is that now I like myself too. One day soon I will go into town, talk to some strangers, make some new friends, check out the local restaurants...but for now, I shall go put the ravioli in the boiling water, pull the parmesan out of the freezer...and eat it by myself.

******

I'm still looking for names and e-mail addresses of possible contributors/philanthropists to LGG. We're dealing with the compelling problems of the world by coming at them from a unique angle. Instead of focusing on one particular issue, we want to create a population that cares about the world because they've been out there and discovered that we all share a common humanity. Sitting across the table with people who are superficially different, tends to reinforce the sameness. Laughter, tears, love.....are a common language! When young people return from doing a Gap Year, they have a totally new perspective on the world and their place in it. They become more caring and empathetic, and for many, it's just the beginning of a glorious and joyful addiction to connecting across cultures...both at home and abroad. I know...it's been 24 years since I stepped onto the plane and started a new life at the age of 48.

If any of you would like some more information about LGG to pass on to friends, e-mail me at:  femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com  Send your comments there too....there's no comment option here.

Thanks.    rg

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April, 22, 2011

It's been a busy month. The Bandon "travel talk" at the library on March 28th was a great way to say goodbye to my friends in Oregon. Between that talk and my leaving on April 14th, there were lunches, parties, and a few other events. I made a lot of good friends that I'll miss.

On the 13th I drove to Portland and stayed with Suzanne and Ron Younge. I had talked to Suzanne's book club a few months earlier....but we actually met at a shuttle bus in Boulder, CO, a couple of years ago. The next day I was in Lancaster, PA, where I gave a talk at a charity event for Women and Babies Hospital.

The event committee created an amazing event. I'll give a few details in case someone reading this is trying to come up with an idea for a different charity event. The theme was "Nomad for a Night." The decorations were tent-wraps and camel statues and other deserty things, plants, paintings, and stuff. The food was international. The entertainment was too. And I was there as the quintessential nomad. The guests and donors had a lot of fun; the charity netted about $100,000.

It's interesting how they got to me and the nomad idea. Heather who was searching for a theme for their annual fund-raising event, found my Tales of a Female Nomad book on an airplane and the light went on.

The day after the event, I gave a workshop on "Writing Your Life." Lori Stevens, had first asked me to do a workshop on journaling.  "Lori," I confessed. "I have never journaled in my life." So we came up with the writing-a-memoir theme.

I have to admit that I was nervous. Not about talking in front of a couple of hundred people. I do that all the time, and I'm totally comfortable. I can talk about my life any time, anywhere....without advance warning. I'm passionate about inspiring people to get out into the world and discover their freedom and our shared humanity. (If your speaker cancels, call me!!) But I'm not a writing teacher. I just write!! Anyway, before I left Oregon, I prepared an agenda for a workshop, with the help of some library books and my friend, Nancy Lamb's, Crafting Stories for Children, and it went well. There was a good crowd. The day before I left there was a brunch that the hospital arranged and a meal with a wonderful Amish family, friends of my wonderful hosts  Pat and George Desmond. There was also a high school talk squeezed in.

One of the serendipitous highlights of my Lancaster visit was Saturday night at Bright Side Church. I love the way it happened. When I arrived at the airport in Harrisburg, I was greeted by John White who was standing next to a stretch limo and holding a sign with my name. He opened the back door and suggested that I stretch out. But I knew that the drive was more than an hour and I decided that I'd rather talk and get to know my driver. So John cleared the passenger seat for me. (I learned that the stretch limo belonged to the Charles Snyder Funeral home who had donated the trip....I'm pretty sure that they emptied the body before they sent the car to the airport, but I didn't look or sniff.) Anyway, an hour is a long time and John and I talked non-stop. He told me about his grandfather, who was a slave, and about his parents, who made sure that all their children graduated from high school...and more. I asked a lot of questions and John answered. I talked too. By the time we got to the Desmond house, John and I were good friends. He invited me to a dinner and a play at his church. I went, of course. And after church, I went to his house and met his wife and 13-year-old son, Lawrence. I loved meeting the family and the people at the beautiful, new Baptist church.

On the 18th I flew to Valdosta State University in Georgia. (It's where I am now; I leave in a couple of hours.) Deborah Hall invited me. She teaches Creative Non-fiction Writing and she put together my visit here. I participated in two of her classes that were "workshopping" class papers. (I had to read around 15 papers to do that! The assignment was to write a "braided essay." I'd never heard the term before and I'm not going to explain it here. If you're curious, try Googling it.) Editing and commenting on other people's writing is not one of my strengths, I'm not sure my contributions were significant. But I did get to talk to some of the students in one-on-one meetings, and I gave a writing workshop (my Lancaster memoir-workshop-preparation came in handy!) and, on Wednesday night I talked my talk. Also had a nice dinner with some faculty and friends before the talk.

At this moment I'm in the lobby of La Quinta Hotel, waiting for a ride to take me to the bus station. I'm headed to Gainesville, FL, to visit my cousins, Sharon and Andy. I'm looking forward to doing nothing for the next few days....just hanging out with people I like a lot. On the 26th I fly to Portland and on the 27th I drive to Seattle. Whew!   Coming up:  Bellingham, WA; Fort Collins, CO; and Houston, TX.   Ciao for now.

Love, Rita

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March 19, 2011

Whee! I finally made it to Seattle last night.....after a lot of talks, dinners, and driving. It's great seeing daughter Jan and her husband Bill.....and going out for sushi!  Today I met Rebecca and Misty, two readers, for lunch at Tamarind Tree....a great restaurant. We shared a rice noodle soup, a vegetarian crepe, a papaya salad, and a yellow chicken curry.

Now I'm going to work on the 501(c)(3) application, something I have been successfully avoiding for more than a year. Over lunch I discovered that Misty has experience with nonprofits and she's coming over to help. Let's Get Global has been and still is A Project of US Servas, Inc. It's a perfect fit; have a look at their website:. www.usservas.org. If you're a traveler, belonging to Servas is like having friends all over the world. 15,000 hosts who can't wait for you to visit them. Servas has been around for 60 years. We will continue to be with Servas until we have that independent status.

I return to Bandon on the 26th. If you're in the area, come hear me talk at the library on Monday, the 28th, 7 PM.

OK. Time to look at the e-mails that are waiting for answers.

By the way, it's absolutely gorgeous out!

Love, Rita

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March 12, 2011

Bandon, OR

Hello Again,

Well, I've been living in this great house since December 2nd and last night I finally met Suzy and Ed who gifted me the house while they were in New Hampshire. Suzy read my book and we've e-mailed a bunch, but when she offered me her home, we'd never met. It's been great. While they are here for the next ten days, I'm taking off (see my schedule above). But when they decided to spend some time here, we decided to overlap for a few days. (I'll be back for a couple of weeks on March 26th.) We talked a lot last night.

I planned some fun meals for their stay, several out of the Female Nomad and Friends book.  Charred sugar-crusted salmon last night. Larb Gai, Vietnamese spring rolls, and green curry shrimp tonight, and ho mok on Sunday or Monday, with a couple of Chinese dishes. Cooking and eating are fun....especially when there's a team working together.

On Tuesday I drive the five hours to Portland where I'll be meeting with two, maybe three book clubs at the same time.. Suzanne Younge set that up. She and I met a couple of years ago on a shuttle bus out of Boulder, both on our way to the airport....and we talked non-stop until we arrived. Connecting with strangers is an important and wonderful part of my life. The possibilities are endless....so are the interesting people in this world!!  So what are you waiting for. Go out and meet a stranger!!

Before I leave on Tuesday, we're going to a community-sing in North Bend! We discovered this morning that we all love to sing. Oregon is a fun place to live!

                                                                                      Love, Rita

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February 24, 2011

Hi All,

The sun is setting across the lake, but I am looking through a fierce hail storm and the water is popping. Weather here in southern Oregon is amazing! Those of us on the ground experience whatever the particular cloud overhead wants to give us. Sometimes I drive the six miles into town (I live south of the town and in the woods.) and experience rain, sun, fierce wind, and sun again...just depends upon which cloud I'm under. There's something very independent about this coastal community.

Yesterday I met Skeet, the town busker, in Bandon Coffee Shop. I haven't heard him play (guitar), but I've had a fondness for street entertainers ever since I served in Nicaragua as Juggler's assistant....and became friends with a family of musicians in Bali. I wrote about them in TOAFN. I'm going to meet Skeet tomorrow back at the coffee shop and we're going to try to figure out how to use his talents to serve LGG.

I also had a four-hour meeting with Colleen Showalter who educated me about Apps and insisted that LGG has to go the App and YouTube route with our marketing. We're already working on a Facebook campaign. I'm willing to go with anything that will spread the word about the Gap Year! I agree that our marketing campaign has to be technologically very sophisticated.

I'm struggling with the fact that everyone thinks I should be making YouTubes....I can't imagine that potential Gappers really want to see me in those videos. Well, if I did absurd things, maybe. But a more or less true me with some interesting stories....I'm not so sure. I'm not exactly a teen idol.

I've got a ton of talks and visits in the next month and a half. In OR, WA, PA, and GA. I'm even being auctioned off twice....once as a guest at a brunch in Lancaster, PA, and a few weeks later at a dinner in Bellingham, WA. The dinner will consist of recipes from my books! It's kind of fun being an auction item.  A little like being a Starbucks cup (Tall Cup #31). Neither is something I aspired to as a young woman. But hey! I'm proud to be an auction item and a cup!

Gotta go have something to eat. I'm going on speakerphone with a book club tonight.

If any of you know any philanthropists or if you have any contacts at corporations, foundations, or organizations that might like to support the cause of Let's Get Global, send me an e-mail and I will follow through. A lot of major companies have foundations that only give to causes recommended by employees. I do need names and ways to contact the people. I mean, it's not enough to tell me I should contact Angelina Jolie.....I need to know how to get to her.

Thanks.  Talk to you again soon.        Love, Rita

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January 26, 2011

Hi All,

The good news is that I am working with Shirl Mendonca on the Let's Get Global project and we are making progress. We do need volunteers and funding.... and highly organized and passionate people to help out. As you know, I am not one of them. Please send me an e-mail (rather than a Facebook message) and I will forward it to Shirl. If you are a believer, join the movement. Here's the beginning of the website we are building. (If you clicked on "passion" above, you've already been there.

I'm still working on (avoiding?) the 501(c)3 application. I confess that I do like being "a project of US Servas." They're a great organization with similar goals. If you don't know about them, do check them out. It could change your life! But everyone seems to feel that Let's Get Global has to be independent (including Servas). That means we need non-profit tax status and the advice and services of lawyers and accountants, and a powerful board that has scheduled meetings and reports. None of those things are my style. Happily I am going to have a teammate with Shirl onboard.

I am convinced that a Gap Year between high school and the next phase of life dramatically changes the "gapper." Young people who return from an international experience have a new perspective on what the world is all about. They are more focused, more confident and far better prepared for the social, academic, and professional challenges they are about to face. And, given today's global economy, an international experience on a resume is a major plus.

When we have a US population that has interacted across cultures, we'll be a stronger and better country. It's never too late to learn respect and understanding, but that year after high school is a perfect extension of education. And so many young people need a break; that lockstep pattern needs to be revisited. Education in today's world cannot be limited to the classroom.

I've said it before but I'll say it again: it's hard to drop bombs when you realize that all those people out there are just like us. And the joy that comes with connecting, sharing, learning, giving....is fantastic. When a gap year is a cultural norm in the US, we will have a different country and a different world. I invite you to come on board. Thanks.

Ciao, Rita

PS If you have any advice or suggestions about funders or fundraising, please let me know. We are not sponsoring any program, there are lots out there. We just want to stimulate interest among young people, educators, parents, corportations.....and help find scholarships for those who are interested....via Back a Gapper projects in communities and schools around the country. We hope you'll be our representative in your community. Please join us! femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com

Thanks. Together we're going to change the world!

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January 12, 2011

Hi All,

If you are not a college student or over-60 or a US resident, you might want to skip this. It’s pretty much for the young and the old!! 

I spent yesterday drafting a letter/application to Nicholas Kristof. He's a columnist for the NY Times and has often written to encourage young people to have international experiences. I've never met him, but I agree with just about all of his political and educational views. His book, written with his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky, is a must-read for anyone interested in women's condition in today's world. The book possessed me for weeks. I couldn’t let go of the images. It's currently in paperback and on the best-seller list; do read it.

The reason I'm writing to Kristof is to apply for the opportunity to join him on a trip to somewhere in the developing world in the spring. For four years he has taken a university student into the developing world; this year he wrote:

"… for this fifth anniversary trip, I’m going to take not only a university student, but also someone over 60. Seniors, dig out your anti-malaria mosquito netting now...

"While one aim of the win-a-trip contest is to focus attention on global issues, another is to encourage Americans to travel in the developing world. That’s why I started with young people: arguably, the single biggest failing of American universities is that they are parochial and don’t adequately expose students to the one-third of the world that lives on less than $2 a day."

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Does this sound like me? I'd love to go with him on the trip and see the world through his eyes and through the eyes of a university student. And I'd love to write and speak about the experience when I get back. It certainly is a perfect fit for my passion to create a U.S. population that has crossed borders and shared lives. The fear and intolerance that is so much a part of today’s news would dramatically change if we could get people to connect, face to face. So, when I read the column, I decided to enter his contest.

If any of you over-sixties want to enter, check out his column. Google: Kristof, Now Grandma Can Win a Trip Too. The deadline is January 18th. Don't worry, I can handle the competition. Who knows, he may not like my resume, my age, my over-qualification in the travel department. So go for it. 

And if you are a university student, check it out for yourself. You have to be available late this spring!!! Hey, if he chooses you and me, we'd get to hang out.

Good luck.

Love, Rita

Nicholas D. Kristof: Official Rules: 2011 Win-a-Trip With Nick Contest

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January 5, 2011

Well, I didn't finish the 501(c)3 application by the end of 2010. I hardly even looked at it. So now it's got to be a new year's resolution. Let me explain.  I am living in a beautiful home with cedar ceilings, heated floor, a fireplace with stacks of wood in the basement, a gorgeous staircase made of hand-hewn split logs, and everything else practically new! The ceiling-to-floor west-facing windows look through about thirty feet of tall cedars at a lake that ripples in the gentle wind, puckers into concentric circles when the duck (only one) dives, breaks into waves when fierce winds sway the trees, and reflects the sky and the trees on clear sunny days.

Tonight, the sunset was fuchsia and the sky was striped with tree trunks. I ask you, how am I supposed to work?

How did I find the house? Well, in August, one of my readers, Suzy McDonald, sent me an e-mail (we had corresponded a bunch of times before) which she concluded with, "By the way, my home is empty Nov. 1 -April 15th. Need a place to stay?"

That's a dangerous thing to say to me! When I found out that the home was in Bandon, on the beautiful southern  coast of Oregon, I got excited. I love this coast. So.....here I am. I moved in on December second. I had no idea what the house was like. It's beautiful, practically new, and the setting.....What can I say?

I've still never met Suzy.....we're going to meet in March when she comes here for a week or so; we have a plan to overlap.

I love almost everything about the place. There are only two things here that I don't like:  the black, glass-top stove (do not ever buy a black glass-top stove) that is constantly calling me and screaming, "Ha, ha. I'm smudged again." "'Oh, no. You dripped. Just try and get that off!" I have never in my life spent so much time polishing a stove! If you buy a black glass-top stove, be prepared to have it control you!

The other absolutely awful thing in the house is a tall magnifying mirror in the bathroom. It magnifies a face a million times. When I look at it, I see things I had no idea were there. Truth is a virtue, but not when it is showing you things you really do not have to know.

Bandon is also the friendliest town in the world. Everyone smiles a lot. I have been invited to book clubs, dinners, parties, coffees. Yeah, it helps that I wrote some books.....and the fact that I am totally accessible also helps. But I've lived lots of places in the US. This is definitely the friendliest. There are only around three thousand people in the town. I can't believe how many I know after a month. A lot of them are because another reader, Bonita Clarke, has shepherded me around. A bunch more live on my wooded road. And others are in book clubs that have read my books. What fun!

So, how about my Let's Get Global project?  I'm still at it, but it's not moving as quickly as I want. If you are one of those friendly people in Bandon, and you want to be on my team (I'm not so great without a team.), send me an e-mail with your phone number. I need you.

It's a new year. My resolutions:  send in that 501(c)3 application, write funding proposals, hire an executive director, keep smiling.

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December 12, 2010

Fort Collins over Thanksgiving was a lot of fun with 6-year-old grandson Cris and his parents, Mitch and Melissa. I read a few of my kids' books to Cris's class, but mostly I just played.

My trusty Subaru Forester rode on a giant carrier from DC to FC and I flew. After Thanksgiving, I drove across Colorado to Frisco, about three hours away, where I visited Tara Kusumoto who had arranged a talk at Next Page bookstore. It was kind of fun talking to a roomful of people most of whom had read Tales of a Female Nomad. They nodded knowingly when I talked about people in the book and adventures they remembered. I talked a lot about the new anthology, Female Nomad and Friends (41 authors and 33 fabulous recipes), and my passion to bring the Gap Year to the US (www.letsgetglobal.org).

(If you're reading this in time, the anthology is a great Christmas gift and all the author royalties are going to send kids from the slums in New Delhi to vocational schools. It's a great read and a double gift!!)

I took off from Frisco and headed west. What an amazing and beautiful country! The snowy peaks of Colorado are pictures in National Geographic, and the vast expanses of Utah, Nevada, northern California, and Oregon are overwhelming. Really vast. Miles and miles of open or forested or craggy land. It seems to me that we have plenty of room for any immigrants who might want to enrich our culture with their presence! If we set our minds to welcoming them and creating communities where they could learn English, train for jobs, share their wisdom and skills, we'd be carrying on the traditions that our ancestors enjoyed! What a gift it would be for the next generations to welcome, learn from, and interact with people from all over the world. What an extraordinary learning experience for all....the incoming and the already in.

I drove through a few snowstorms that prompted me to check into a couple of motels that I hadn't planned on, but mostly I stayed with readers whom I met for the first time when they e-mailed me their invitations. Got a $72 ticket in Nevada, when I drove out of a gas station at night and forgot to put my lights back on.

And now, I'm in a beautiful house in Bandon, Oregon. (Thanks, Suzy and Ed.)The house is two years old; it's in the middle of the woods, surrounded by huge trees and at the edge of a lake. What a contrast to DC, where I was surrounded by people, museums, sirens, helicopters, traffic, buses. I loved it there too...wonderful people..but now I'm in the middle of nature!! I haven't seen nature in years!! I've been here more than a week and I'm almost ready to think about working. It's hard to drag myself away from the ceiling to floor windows through which I can watch the wind ripple the lake and sway the trees.  I just lit my first fire in the fireplace and it's a bit smoky in here (I know the flu is open; maybe I have to push the fire back a bit.).

Bandon has been welcoming. I've met Elaine and Jim and Bunny who live on my unpaved road, and MaryAnn and Bonita and Bob and Karen, and the people in the bookstore and the couple who own Mother's (he and I know some of the same people in Antigua, Guatemala), and Donna from Spirit of Oregon (she has clothing made in Bali for her store; I'm sure we must know some of the same people as well). I'm here until mid-April.

I'm off to Elaine's for dinner in a couple of hours; she's about half a mile up the dirt road. It'll be our third meal together.

Now then....I managed to write this, which is a beginning. Maybe this means that I will be able to write and work here. Next on the agenda:  I have to finish my 501c3 application (with business plan and budget). I'm hoping for some advice from one of my new Bandon friends....and another I haven't met yet but heard about. I've got a good start from my DC volunteers. Time to finish.   An announcement:  I will be finished by the end of December!!  OK. I've said it. That means it has to happen. Right?

Love, Rita

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October 16, 2010

It's been great for me to have Janet Wurtzel at my side for the last week. She's brought a business perspective and processes for presentation of the Let's Get Global movement to potential funders. She'll be advising me and sleeping on my couch until mid-November when we hope to have our grant proposals in the "mail." Anne Grace Nimke has been on speaker phone with us more than once....from Wisconsin. Anne put together a first draft of a business plan; she and Janet are conferring on a final. And Kelli is still in the mix.Barb Cool arrives on Monday. I feel so lucky to have this crew of face to face volunteers.

Kelli is still working on volunteer coordination. You'll hear from her, I promise. When it's better organized. Janet is helping there too. There's a crisp way of thinking that Janet has brought to the mix. And thinking about LGG as a business is a new concept in my thinking. We're getting there. Any comments are welcome.

Love, Rita

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October 4, 2010

The Servas conference was, as expected, filled with interesting, well-traveled guests. I had a great time. Everyone in the organization is looking for ways to attract young people. Just one trip out of the country, staying in Servas homes and connecting with families around the world, creates travel addicts forever. What a glorious addiction! I'm hoping at some point in the near future Servas designs a special program for young travelers (I think that gap year is the perfect time......though as of now, you have to be 18 to travel without a parent or surrogate parent.....it's worth waiting for.) There are Servas hosts all over the world just waiting for you. Check out the organization.

usservas

I fly back to DC tonight...red eye...yuck. That takes care of today and tomorrow!  Somehow I couldn't make it work any other way. On Thursday Janet Wurtzel is coming to stay with me for five weeks as a volunteer. We are going to work on fundraising and getting an infrastrucure for the organization. If you have experience in either, please write. I want your help. Please e-mail me before you forget!!!!

Love, Rita

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September 28, 2010

I’m in Seattle heading up to Port Townsend for the Servas conference on Friday. I hadn’t planned to speak, but someone dropped out and they asked if I would fill in. My talk on Saturday will be about “stepping outside the box” and living a more adventurous life….even if it’s just to take a different route to work.  If you start breaking patterns, it begins to feel like a game and you never know where you’ll end up!  We’re all hard-wired from childhood to do things in a certain way……but if we stick to the rules, there are so many ways that we never experience. I’m big on breaking “rules,” overcoming inhibitions, and discovering new paths.

Also I’m looking for a room in DC for a woman volunteer for Let’s Get Global. Do you have a guest room you’re willing to contribute to the cause? For five weeks beginning October 6th?  I’m leaving DC around the 20th of November (for 4 ½ months in Bandon, Oregon) and there’s so much to do. The volunteer, Barb, would be happy to talk to you on the phone; I know you’ll like her. We met last week. I’ll be feeding her so she won’t have to use your kitchen.

And finally, I’ve been invited to deliver a paper on LGG at a Summit in DC, sponsored by US Center for Citizen Diplomacy and the Department of State…on November 18th. They just wrote that they would give me a display table….except I have no display.  If you are graphically talented and want to volunteer to design something, let me know. Out-of-the-box would be fine. I'll put up your personal ad. Let’s talk.

I still haven’t written any grant proposals…..but I’ve got a start on the research. Besides being organizationally challenged, I’m not too speedy. That’s what the five-week volunteer is all about. I have one person who will be sleeping on my couch as well. And a loyal volunteer, Kelli Shewmaker, who comes often and walks me through a lot of technical stuff. She’s also organizing volunteers. In case you are interested in volunteering and haven’t filled out the form, go to:  http://bit.ly/LGGvolunteer

Hope to hear from you about a room, a display, and any funding ideas you might have.

I'm also thinking hard about getting communities across the country to "Back a Gapper" from their local high school. Haven't figured out how to structure and set it up, but I'm pretty excited. I talked in a bookstore the other day and the manager offered to organize a "Back a Gapper" program in her community!  And I never even asked.

I think it's an idea that has tremendous potential....and of course, like everything else, there are a lot of components to organize. Levels of backing (summer programs, semester, year), chosing the kids, chosing the programs to back, where does the money go, who oversees it, approaching the schools, getting volunteers in every community.

If the idea appeals to you and you want to help set it up, send me your thoughts. It's definitely an answer to the question, "But who will fund the kids who can't afford it!!" Groups of individuals can pool their money, parent organizations can Back a Gapper. Local businesses, Rotary clubs, chain stores, individuals!  There could be two week service programs for just a couple of thousand dollars, academic programs for around five thousand, college credit programs for lots more money.. 

This could be huge!!! Think about it for a couple of days and you'll see what I mean. The ideas just burst out!

Think about becoming or discovering a Gapper Backer.

Love, Rita

PS  My son-in-law, Bill Smith, is responsible for the "Back a Gapper" name. I was talking about "Support a Gapper" over dinner the other day and out popped, "Back a Gapper." Yesss. I knew immediately that he'd found the perfect title.  My daughter and I sat around after that, fooling around with words.

Clap for a backer.

Rap for a gapper.

Help a gapper strap a pack on her back.

Bad back, don't pack. Back a Gapper.

Make way for the gapper.

OK for the gapper.

All the way for a gapper.

Hip Hooray for the gapper.

What a day for a gapper.

Clear the way for the gapper. 

                                                    Goodbye from a rapping gapper backer.   rg

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September 13, 2010

I'm in the mood for personal confession.

I know there are people out there who were born to be organized. They can see the tops of their tables and desks. They do not forget where they have stored vitally important information inside their computers. And they know what is in each of those notebooks that are lined up on the shelf and all the folders in their Documents.. I am not one of them. Things like Google Desktop have been created for people like me.

I have also heard that there are people who do not wait until the last minute to write their papers, meet their deadlines, pay their bills, plot their activities, make reservations, and send those important e-mails. Not I. Yet,

given the state of my Inbox, overloaded and unanswered, I can't stop myself from writing things on Facebook or here or to my listserv that will elicit dozens of new messages. I love the connecting. I love my virtual community and I can't control myself.

I have solved many of the problems that go with my deficiencies.

                    Most of my bills are paid automatically.

                    I have no furniture, no linens, no trays, no books, no tools to lose or ruin..

                    I own no house that I can defer maintenance on.

                                                                          And very few clothes.

                                                                          I've learned to like going it alone and face whatever surprises come along.

                                                                          I have a literary agent who worries about my professional life.

                                                                         And someone else who handles my money.

                                                                          I'm an extremely happy person...mostly because of the connections in my life.

But I have goals and passions that I know I can't realize on my own. I need a team.               

I am loaded with vision, creativity, ideas. I have no trouble stepping out of the box...even way out. I've freed myself from worrying what other people will say about what I do. And I know....I know for sure.....that when I take something on, I'm in it for the long run.

But above all, I need that team. I want to work with people who can take ideas and turn them into action. People who believe as I do that we can make a better country, a more peaceful world, and stronger, more confident citizens if they simply cross borders and share lives. If you can complement me, I'd love to have your help. Ideally I'd like you to sit across the table and tackle each segment of Let's Get Global.

We need to get things organized. A business plan set in place, grants researched and written, volunteers contacted and put to work, our independent 501c3 application filed, website completed, marketing and PR set in place, our Board invited and signed on. And when we have gotten the money, a  paid Executive Director with at least one paid staff.person..a Social Network/Volunteer coordinator....and if possible, a second staffer who can do everything needed.

I'd love it if one of you reading this would commit to full-time work as a volunteer for a month and a half (from October 6th to November 15th). You can stay with me, I'll feed you, entertain you, and.give you a meaningful cause to work on. So, wherever you may live, come to DC and move in with me..

Two would be better than one, but I can only fit one more person in my apartment. One of our two volunteers would have to be a DC area resident who comes to work every day.

I keep thinking that a retired non-profit executive would be perfect. Someone with experience, passion, and  strong "organizational" skills. How great it will feel when we've succeeded in bringing that Gap Year into the lives of our kids. It will dramatically change their future.............and your present!

If you qualify, please write and say you'll come! Let's Get Global needs you. I need you. I'm only asking for forty days. What a difference you could make! I know it's not your plan....but are you feeling fulfilled as things are?  Just do it!! femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com  We'd have a lot of fun and I'm a good cook! Let's talk. 

Love, Rita

PS  We can even do an hour of stretches and exercises every day. You will go home spiritually, emotionally, and physically fulfilled!!!

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September 7, 2010

Piles of papers should be outlawed. They sit on my tables, my desk, my chairs...taunting me. Thousands of vitally important words, typed, printed, crafted, jotted, dashed....and they're all laughing at me and daring me to do something with them!!

Well, tonight, I am planning to face them down. I will turn on the news and Jeopardy and House and CSI Miami and Ghost Whisperer, if they are on, so that I won't notice that I'm organizing things. I have to sneak up without realizing I'm doing it.

One of the big problems is what to do with all the information. Oh, I have notebooks, folders, even a drawer in a filing cabinet....but I want everything to crawl back in my computer (which is where a lot of it came from in the first place). And that's the next problem....all those folders and e-mails and word files laughing at me from the screen. Wherever I click, there they are, very important files, just poking each other behind the screenl.....and laughing!

See you soon. When my tables are clear and my computer is unburdened, I will work on my head!!

                                                                                                                      Love, Rita

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September 3, 2010

I just got a wonderful invitation from a reader to house sit in Bandon, Oregon. I've been to Bandon and that coastline is one of the prettiest drives in the US. I'm not 100% positive, but I think I'm going to do it.

So, my plan would be to leave Washington, DC in mid-November, drive across the country (I haven't thought about the route), talk in bookstores and at Rotary meetings and visit schools as I go, and end up in Bandon until April. Yay! I'll feel like a nomad again.

I'm thinking that I might want company as I drive...but I'll deal with that later! Maybe I could do something like organize "serial drivers."

My year in DC has been great, but I haven't been away from the computer for more than 10 minutes. The Bandon house doesn't have an internet connection, a TV, or a land line. I can get e-mails on my phone.  And if I have to go to the library to write, it'll get me out of the house and I'll meet more people. It'll be interesting. Another adventure. Hooray.  Hmmm. I wonder if I can still write with a pen!!

I got an e-mail the other day from my friend, Wayan, in Bali. You met him in the nomad book. He's a professional guide and he wrote about the healer from the Eat Pray Love movie:

"I went to see the healer Mr Ketut Lier 3 times in his house with my clients to have their palms read. He read me also. I think  people abused him, he looks worn out, sittng in pain and fueled by money; he charges Rp. 250.000/person (around $25.00) for about 20 minutes of reading. I think he got problem with his prostate.
One day 3 of my clients sat together in front of him and he read them one by one. The guests were disappointed because the reading was almost simillar. He would say; "Your lips is sweet like sugar, You have wonderful eyes, you would live over a 100 years old, etc...." 

Interesting and sad. It's why I don't really want a movie out of TOAFN.

Don't get me wrong. I want all the people who have seen or read EPL to buy TOAFN....but I would not want to send a film crew into the villages and jungles of my life. The anthropologist in me knows what that can do to a culture.

More later this week. If you haven't seen the post below about the Servas conference in Washington state, check it out. I'd love to meet more of you and reconnect with those of you I've already met! And I love connecting with Servas people. It'll be fun.

Ciao,   Rita

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August 28, 2010

The main reason for this post is to let you all know that I just decided to go to the 2010 Tri-National Servas Conference (Canada, Mexico, US) in Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, Washington. Everyone is welcome, member or not.

www.usservas.org/conference2010

How about joining me and around 100 other people who will be attending? I would absolutely love to see old friends and meet new ones at the conference. I might talk for a tiny bit about the progress of Let’s Get Global (Servas is our fiscal sponsor.), but I’m not one of the speakers. Mostly I just want to hang out with people who share my values and have a fun weekend. Connecting is what I’m all about and this is a great group to connect with.

I will arrive on Friday afternoon, October 1st and leave on Sunday, October 3rd.  I’d rather not have to rent a car, so if you decide to go and want a passenger in your car from Seattle, send me an e-mail.

(femalenomad@ritagoldengelman.com)

I’ve been to other Servas conferences. They’re fun, the people are always interesting, and the overwhelming sense that you are among people who care about peace in the world is powerful.

Servas members are a very special breed….they’re connectors. Servas members want to interact with people when they travel, and they like having international travelers stay with them when they’re in the US. (You can be a traveler, a host or both.) I’ve stayed in hundreds of Servas homes around the world. I’ve sung, meditated, danced, herded sheep, milked cows, and done a ton of talking and eating. Wherever I travel, I always carry a Servas host list.

A lot of you have written that you want to do what I do….so do it! Here’s your chance. What fun it will be for me to meet unmet friends and renew friendships with those of you I already know. Go for it….just do it. Worry about the money later!

I just made up my mind this morning!! I’ll already be in Seattle talking at a Rotary luncheon on Sept. 22nd. I had a flight back to DC on the 28th, but I changed my flight a couple of hours ago!! I’ll be flying redeye (ugh!) back on Oct. 4th. It was the only flight still available on Virgin America.

OMG, I’m so excited. I hope a ton of you choose to come. To update the last line in the Nomad book, “I can’t wait to see you.”

And remember, if you’re driving up, I’ll entertain you from the back seat!

Hope to see you soon.                             

                                                          Love, Rita

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