The Spirit of Christmas in Guatemala

It has been exciting to return back to Guatemala from our inception of Cultural Embrace’s H.U.G. project exactly one year ago. What is our H.U.G. project? In 2010, I wanted to establish a way to offer support on a more personal and corporate level, so we may work together to Help, Understand, and Grow select local and global non-profits. Cultural Embrace will continue to connect our participants with the best suited local placement for our volunteer, teach, intern, work, and travel programs, but I wanted to have a more meaningful commitment to causes that personally touch my heart.

In 2010, we sent 52 individual and group volunteers to Guatemala to support our H.U.G. project. Our participants have built a library, pharmacy, garden, helped build a new home for a family, painted seven homes in the village, created a jewelry-making co-operative, and spent hundreds of hours tutoring their school work, and being positive mentors.

We wanted to throw a party to start the Christmas holiday weekend right. On Thursday, my niece, Alexa, and nephew, Michael, picked out two piñatas that we filled with candy, and we bought little toys and presents for the kids. There is something so special about the H.U.G. children, as there is a sense of family, love, and togetherness.  The older children would look after the younger children when they sang songs and danced for us. The children that grabbed more candy from the piñata would share it with the other children.  One of the boys handed Michael a lollipop without anyone requesting him to be generous. But isn’t that the true spirit of Christmas? To laugh, care, share, and give back to others.

Back in Guatemala for the holidays

Hola y Feliz Navidad! I’m back in Guatemala enjoying another Christmas in one of my favorite cities, Antigua. I decided to return back this year to check out our H.U.G. (Help Understand Give) Guatemala project, and to share this beautiful country and holiday season with my family and friends.

Although I usually travel alone or have a friend meet up while I check out or create new business developments for Cultural Embrace’s program, my oldest sister, Ann, brother-in-law, Bill, and 12 years-old niece and nephew, Michael and Alexa wanted to go on a meaningful vacation during the holidays. They currently live in a town right next to San Mateo, California (near San Francisco), so they thought it would be fitting to spend the holidays sharing it with children from our H.U.G. project in San Mateo, Guatemala (near Antigua).  So this is a rare, yet very special treat to have my family join me on this holiday adventure.

I have customized this trip a bit from our typical Volunteer in Guatemala week program, or our popular requested Group Travel itinerary, so we can have a family fun-packed week.   We are spending the first 5 days in Antigua…one of the most charming cities in the world. It is foreign-friendly city, with cobble-stone streets filled with delicious restaurant, cafes, shops, and hotels; yet it still maintains the local Guatemalan culture (indigenous and modern) and charm.

Most of our participants take 4 hours of one-on-one Spanish lessons with our partnering language school in Antigua, and I was thrilled when Michael and Alexa agreed to take lessons during their ‘vacation’. We enrolled them for two hours of Spanish a day for the past three days which is perfect for younger children and their attention span…and they had a blast! I loved hearing that they had more fun and learned more Spanish in the first two hours than all the years that they have been learning Spanish since age 3 at nursery, elementary and now middle school.  To be honest, their attitude and confidence in Spanish showed immediately after their first class, as they were trying to speak Spanish to the locals.

Ok, I can go on and on, but it’s 7pm on Christmas Eve. I certainly don’t want to miss a meal in Antigua, as the restaurants and cafes are delicious and beautiful. And then we will join the locals and celebrate Christmas by attending a service at the Cathedral located in the town square.  Feliz Navidad to you and your loved ones!

Discover China

I'm rounding the corner for my final stretch in China, and heading to Shanghai before my return back to the States. I just spent the past 5 days in one of my favorite areas of China—Guilin/Yangshuo area. This is one of the most aesthetically beautiful parts of China that provide inspiration to many artists, poets, and is printed on the 20RMB Chinese currency bill. Yangshuo has been known as a backpacker and adventure travel haven for years, and the infamous West Street has developed even more to be a hub for bars, cafes, restaurants, vendors, and discos to appeal to the Chinese and foreign markets alike.

The beautiful Guilin/Yangshuo area

The reason I came out here was to meet up with and check on our Discover China – Travel, Volunteer, and Cultural Exchange program. Cultural Embrace has partnered with a local non-profit to provide a wonderful blend of Chinese cultural, educational, adventurous, and humanitarian aspects in the area. We have created weekly programs to offer a diverse opportunity to experience the 'real' China, allowing our participants to: integrate within the local village, learn more about the Chinese culture, including several ethnic minority groups that live in and near the area, embark on some fun and adventurous recreational activities, and give back to the communities.

Our local coordinator, Isabella, is a delight, one of my favorite coordinators that we work with around the globe. She is a former English teacher in the Northern region, and genuinely cares about the community, participants, and village people. Plus, she's fun, adorable, and has the most pleasant 'hao de' (translated okay or alright) and smile that will make anyone reciprocate her happy demeanor. My brief description does not give justice to the a la carte week options you may choose, so go see for yourself, to gain a better understanding and experience of fascinating China.

Isabella!

Cultural Week: Participants will fly or take the train in to Guilin. You will be met by a local representative, and depending on the time of arrival, you will either overnight in downtown Guilin, or go straight down to Fengyan village. The gender divided bunk bed accommodations is a highlight of the Fengyan experience. Our base is home to an ancient building, over 100 years old, that has been recently renovated to include wi-fi, Western toilets, and hot water, yet preserves the ancient old ambience. All meals are included and cooked by a private chef and served family style. This cultural week orientates the traveler with Chinese culture, basic and essential Chinese phrases, social habits, and expectations of our participants in China. The week is filled with sight-seeing excursions, such as: Confucius and Buddhist temples, farm lands, ancient Chong Shen village, Li River cruises, and much more. Participants will get a chance to have tea and visit local homes and families, and a chance to meet local farmers, students, and decide what type of work they want to do if they are on the volunteer week.

Yangshuo Adventure & Travel Week: As I mentioned earlier, Yangshuo has been a backpacker and adventure traveler refuge in China. Rock climbing, mountain biking, white water rafting, tubing and much more are available during this weekdays, and your evenings are at leisure to relax your muscles, or check out the hip nightlife scene of Yangshuo. Our accommodations in Yangshuo are upgraded dormitories in a local private school. All of the foreign participants are situated on the 3rd and 4th floor of a hall, and have wi-fi, Western toilets, hot showers, and included meals.

Trekking Week: Three hours North of Yangshuo is Long Cheng, home to the Yao minority, and a spectacular area for trekking and hiking. We include a week-long trek, led by local minorities to maintain sustainability within the local community, and they will take you through farmlands, local villages, and the backroads of China. These spry older ladies, aka as Longhair villagers, will wear their minority clothing (not sure how they don't get hot), skipping along the steps without catching their breath. These ladies are also known as Longhair minority, since they do not cut their hair after 18 years old, and wear their floor-length hair in an unique bun. Every day's trek ranges 4-8 hours of leisure-paced hiking. You will overnight in comfortable, clean and conveniently located hostels/hotels each night, with all meals included.

Me with a Longhair villager

TaiQi/Kung Fu Week: There are two kungfu and tai qi academies located near Yangshuo district. Participants that want to learn, practice, and discover the beautiful art form and disciplinary workout will love this opportunity. Be the "Karate Kid" during your time in China, and learn from nationally praised kungfu masters. Participants will live on site in clean, comfortable, and Western friendly accommodations, with all meals included and instructions in Chinglish.

Volunteer Week: Giving back to the community is a major part of our mission and passion at Cultural Embrace, and we provide several opportunities for our participants to volunteer in China.

If you wish to stay in the Yangshuo/Fengyan area, you may opt to:

1. Tutor and teach basic oral English at public elementary, middle, or high schools (depending on your age preference)
2. Help local villagers and farmers during their harvest season (seasonal). 

I recommend joining our Teach in China program http://www.culturalembrace.com/4444669_24622.htm if you are able to commit 14+ weeks, as we may be able to offer you a paid stipend for your longer-term teach placement.

If you wish to spread your wings and visit other parts of China, we have a fantastic opportunity for you to work at a Panda Conservation Reserve in Chengdu, and help at a local orphanage in Henan Province. There is a local coordinator in each destination that will inform you of your duties, schedule, and expectations, and assist with all ground transportation, language translations, etc. Both sites have shared clean and comfortable accommodations for the foreign volunteers with all included meals.

All of these weeks are available throughout the year, and you may choose the weeks and types of travel and program you want to do. Come and join us to Discover China!

Greetings from Beijing, China!

Ni hao! Greetings from Beijing, China! I have been here for exactly one week, and FINALLY feel like my brain and body are working on the right time zone. I attended a 4 days conference for the youth travel industry, and will spend the next two weeks visiting our site projects for our Teach, Intern, and Volunteer in China programs, and work on some new business development. I’ll definitely share more details and insight of my experiences here, and how I hope this visit will improve our programs and services to this fascinating destination.

I am giving the ‘touristy’ things to do in Beijing amiss, as I have been to Beijing numerous times, either as a tourist, or having lead group tours. So now, I get the pleasure to sit back and embrace the local culture. Ironically, I am sitting in a Starbucks, in the HouHai district, which is in the heart of Beijing’s Lake District. I know, Starbucks isn’t really a ‘local’ thing, and in fact, I avoid the green and white chains back in the States, but not only is this one of the only places that offers free wi-fi, but it’s everywhere in Beijing, and dominated by Chinese and foreign people alike. In fact, I’m sitting next to three local young Chinese girls, sitting around their netbook watching videos, giggling, bopping their heads, and singing along to Eminem and Rhianna. At a table across from them, there are three young Westerners peering over each other’s shoulders, looking at a Mac screen with earphones on. Do you think they could be listening to the same thing? Who knows, but for me, at this moment, this coffee shop is a true representation of how we continue to Discover the Similarities and Share the Differences. Whether through food, coffee, music, people and ways to spend a lazy, chilly, Saturday afternoon…that’s no lie.

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might...Have the Wish I Wish Tonight

Since my early twenties, if anyone ever asked me where my dream vacation would be, Seychelles would always come to mind. I’m not really sure why-I never met anyone from there, or any visitors for that matter. It sounded so exotic, because it’s located so far far away…and that’s what dreams are supposed to be, right?

Well, pinch me...because I just returned back from visiting Seychelles! If you recall my earlier introduction to Liz & Dex, Liz works at the Four Seasons, and wanted to use her employee benefits at their Seychelles resort. Seriously...on this trip...which meant I got to go to Seychelles! And my accommodations were taken care of...suh-weeeet!! So off we went, Liz, Dex, and I bought round-trip tickets from Johannesburg, South Africa to Seychelles, to experience four-nights on a slice of heaven.

It's sad to say, we didn't see much of the island besides the drive from the airport to Four Seasons resort, which was located on the Southern tip of the Mahe Island. I know, I know, I own an experiential and immersion travel company that focuses on humanitarian and cultural aspects of a destination...so how could I have stayed in one of the world's finest hotels and not explore and embrace the natural beauties of the rest of the island?

Um, take a look at the photos attached, and you will see why I didn't leave the resort...

Need I say more? After four straight years of not going someplace or doing something that involves Cultural Embrace (in fact, come to think of it…it was another trip with Liz, when she invited me to a Four Season's award trip to Hawaii...man, I have the greatest friend!) 'shutting' off for four days on a remote island in a luxury resort, without an agenda, meeting, or schedule, was justifiable, or more importantly, a necessity.

I have to admit, I fell short of my goal to not check my emails and reconnect with the 'real world.' But I proudly did not turn my netbook on, and discovered the library with two computers and internet access, I mean, c'mon, I had to try all of the facilities this resort had to offer, right? But my days consisted of hanging out at the beach, catching up on several books that had accumulated beyond piles back in Austin, snorkling, swimming, turning before I burn, ordering fresh mango coladas, and joking around with the resort staff. I think the hardest decision of our time there, was whether to wade in the resort pool, or return back to our private pool in our villa.

I often write and set goals for myself, sometimes a bit far-fetched that they should be defined as dreams. But for me, goals are essentially dreams with deadlines, and you never know, like my visit to Seychelles, dreams do become a reality!

City Girl Meets Wildlife Cheetah Conservation Project

I was born and raised in the outskirt burbs of Washington, DC, so I'd consider myself more of a city girl. So, working on a farm, tracking animals, or cleaning feed stations never really ranked high on my priority list of things to do. However, there is something about being in Africa’s bushland that makes me reconsider portraying Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa”.

Less than an hour outside of Johannesburg, Cultural Embrace has partnered with a local wildlife rehabilitation center, that is home to over 40 cheetahs (including a king cheetah), wildogs, honeybadgers, storks, blue heron, meerkat. The farm is over 120 hectares (~300+ acres) filled with love, passion, and dedication to rehabilitate, breed, and DNA-tested the animals to ensure inbreeding.

Today, I met with Craig, a former naturalist at Kruger National Park, who will be the on-site coordinator with Cultural Embrace’s volunteers. Craig energetically described how many of the cheetahs were rescued as injured cubs from the bush or from other farms. The center tracks, researches, breeds, and cares for cheetahs and other endangered animals. Some of the animals are bred for zoos around the world.

Volunteers will work with Craig and the center’s staff to clean and maintain the cheetah enclosures, attend school presentations to teach about wildlife conservation, put up and maintain fences, feed the animals, and assist the researchers with recording information and tracking the animals.

Volunteers start their day around 7:00am and work for ~2 hours, and then have a half hour breakfast break. Then they work until noon, with a two hours lunch and siesta break. There is internet access in the volunteer’s room at the center to connect with friends and family back home. Then they continue on at the center for another 2-2.5 hours until about 4:30pm. Then the group of volunteers will return back to their lovely volunteer house, located down the road from the center. About twice a week the group will go in to the city to shop for groceries, and to connect with 'civilization'.

All meals, housing, and ground transportation are included with our program, that is available all year round for a minimum of two weeks. It is a fun and wonderful way to interact with the animals, as well as make friends with staff and other volunteers from around the world. All of the volunteers cook and eat dinner together, and share a wonderful family-communal setup. Craig usually lights the barbecue pit up at least once or twice a month for a typical South African braai. There  are plenty of fun and social activities to do during the weekends, from going to Sun City, Pretoria, Johannesburg, or the Elephant Research Center, hiking, mountain biking, and so much more.

After I spent the morning with the cheetahs, I fell in love with Scarlet—an 8 years old cheetah who acts more domesticated than my cat at home.  Perhaps the land of Robert Redfords, cheetahs, and South African braais aren’t so bad for this city slickette.

Cultural Embrace's Volunteer in Eastern Cape, South Africa Projects

 I spent a few days meeting with my partners from the Eastern Cape area. If you have been following my blogs, you will know how awe-struck I am of how GORGEOUS this region is. Although the Eastern Cape is considered to be the poorest province of South Africa…I find it rich with amazing topography, rugged coastlines, surfable waves, green valleys and meadows (even with a three year drought), good international food, laid back and friendly people.

You can fly in to East London (quick 1-1.5 hours from Capetown and Johannesburg respectively), or do what Liz, Dex, and I did on this trip and drive up, or take one of our partnering hop-on, hop-off buses, which takes you along the breath-taking Garden Route and Sunshine Coast. Cultural Embrace’s local coordinator, Mike, and his crew will pick you up from the airport or bus station, and take you to your volunteer lodge. Housing is included, yet varies depending on the project, occupancy level, and season, but are clean, comfortable, and exceeds my expectations. All meals (delicious by the way, with plenty of fresh fruit) are included, and are able to meet special dietary and allergy requests. Private ground transportation is included to transport volunteers to and from your project site and accommodation, as well as any cultural and social activities that volunteers opt to do over the weekend. However, many volunteers choose to walk to their project sites since it allows them a chance to exercise, walk on the beach, and it’s very safe. I visited each project’s sites and housing, and they are awwwesome! I’ll write a brief description about the volunteer and housing arrangements in paragraph form.

Schools Projects-we are working with three local schools to help fundraise and facilitate a computer literacy program. Small computer labs have recently been built, and Mike (who has degrees in education and English) has created a full curriculum to teach the students computer skills matched with life skills. If you are fond of sports, there is an Interactive Sports Development project, where you will train, coach, and play with the children at school. We are trying to encourage health, nutrition, and exercise at a young age. Group sports like football/soccer, basketball, and other team-building games are taught. Creche Projects are equivalent to at-need nursery schools and preschool education back in the States. Many of the local crèches are not meeting the standards enforced by the Ministry of Health (usually because no one is enforcing them), so we need individuals and groups to volunteer in maintenance, renovations, painting, gardening, cleaning, playground building, and other fun and rewarding physical work. All volunteers will live in a lovely volunteer home that overlooks the water. Double and triple rooms are available, with shared bathrooms, kitchen, patios, living and dining room. Self-catered breakfasts and lunches are included, and family style dinners are prepared daily.

Wild Life Conservation Project provides volunteers to work on a private game reserve to help local rangers to track and preserve cheetahs, lions, birds, and insects. Positions are rotational, so you will never have a dull moment of feeding the animals, cleaning the stations, removing snares (barbed wires that poachers put up to trap the animals), track and monitor wildlife and fauna cycles with conservationists, and much more. Experience and background skills of animals and fauna are helpful but not required. There are super skilled conservationists that train and be with the volunteers at all times.  Housing is located on the private reserve in a shared basic tented camp. Meals and social areas are located not far along a trail in a large platform tent. There is a barbecue pit and bar area for the volunteers to relax and enjoy the stars at night. 

If you like horses and interested in working at a Horse Trail & Rehabilitation, a local farm is home to over 40 abused horses. Volunteers will assist with feeding, mending, and visual medical check of the horses. Volunteers from the horse rehab project will be living at the volunteer’s lodge with the School Project volunteers.

If you are interested in any tourism, hospitality, wildlife, and environmental interested opportunities, Cultural Embrace and our local partners offer a Field Guide Training Course.  This one month nature and field guide training course is available for personal or professional development for FGASA (Field Guide Association of Southern Africa). You will live, work and learn under the professional tuition of Dennis Taylor as your lecturer. Dennis is walking encyclopedia of every animal, plant, and fauna species, and will train you for FGASA Level 1’s accreditation. Who knows, you can always take the Field Guide exam to be a safari naturalist, environmentalist, work at a lodge, or improve your personal wealth of knowledge in a fun and educational environment.

I can go on and on as far as fun and recreational things to do in or near Chintsa. There are some of the most beautiful beaches that I have seen on this planet, people from all over the world flock to this area to learn and catch killer waves for surfing. Paragliding, kite-surfing, canoeing, tubing, cliff diving, and hiking are just a few recreational activities available in the area. And chances to spot dolphins, whales, and a wide variety of fishes are prevalent.

I encourage you to take the plunge to Volunteer and Travel in South Africa. Chintsa has a lot to offer to serve children, communities, and the wildlife; as well as provide ample opportunities for you to have an exciting and memorable experience in a beautiful setting.