» 2010 » January
I will be traveling on this journey alone. So if you have any friends, family, colleagues or contacts in or around any of the places I am visiting, send them my way. I would be delighted to meet them for a cup of coffee, a hot meal, a place to stay or a night or two or for a free tour guide. If you know of any arts, poetry, community or missionary groups in those places, that would be great too.
I may not make it, but I really want to go to Istanbul and Cairo if I can, so if you know folks there send them my way. I do not yet have contacts in Italy, Tokyo, Beijing, Bangkok and Lima (Peru).
» 2010 » January
Hello All,
Welcome to the Poetic Justice Travel Blog. This will be your source for news and updates while i am away and you can also get some insight into what has to happen to plan an around the world trip. If this actually comes to fruition, it will probably be one of the most memorable things I do in my life. I hope to be truly transformed, become a real live poet and inspire others to at least try to make their wildest dreams a reality. Stay tuned, but there are just a few insights into the life of trip planning:
Around the World Tickets – There are travel agents and companies like Airtreks, Airbrokers etc, that specialize in around the world tickets. Basically they get a consolidation deal and you get one way tickets (usually going in the same direction). Most of my quotes have been around $7,000-$8,000. I hope to buy at least my first leg (Central and South America) by the end of February.
Trip Insurance – Again there are companies that specialize in this. You can get a combination of trip insurance (for trip cancellation/interruption), to emergency medial insurance which covers things from emergency room visits to air lifting you home if you get stuck in the Amazon or having to ship your body parts back.
Packing List – I will be traveling for 9 months straight so everything i need needs to fit in a backpack and that backpack should not weight more than 20-25 lbs because i will have to carry it everywhere. A backpack alone is about $250. I will probably have a few pairs of pants, shirts, first aide kit, special travel shoes, a money belt (that holds my $$ and passport etc) among other things.
Sell everything you own – I will be selling my car, computer (i need to buy a smaller and lighter one), misc things and the rest i will pack up and store in NY or with friends. I dont have alot of stuff. I guess this is a good thing for a trip like this.
Vaccinations – Check this, how many shots will i have to get to not catch a foreign disease? 10 This includes: hep a, hep b, typhoid, yellow fever, polio, MMR, meningitis, tetanus and a few others i can’t remember. I will also have to take Malaria pills and anti diarrhea pills. So much fun. And of course my lovely health insurance will not pay for this. They would rather me go overseas and catch a disease and have to pay for it when i get back.
Ok that is enough for now. More insight to come. Oh and please be warned I am a BAD speller and the queen of typos…..
I’m Going……
I’m going for those who have gone before me that had to swallow their dreams because they were bogged down by the burdens of reality
I’m going….
I’m going on a trip around the world to hear the poetic voices of disadvantaged communities, impoverished children and abused women and girls
I’m going…
I’m going on a journey to become a prolific poet on the wings of metaphors, painting stanzas across the sky, looking doubt in the face and faith in the eyes
I’m going….
I’m going to be fabulous, beautiful and courageous… capturing dreams and visions out of sight. I’m packing my bags with wisdom and purpose and leaving on a midnight flight.
I’m going…
I’m going to conquer my fears, to swallow my tears, to enlighten my eyes and cultivate my ears
I’m going…
I’m going for the future visionaries that will find hope and encouragement watching the visions of others come into being
I’m going…
I’m going to highlight the stories of the voiceless and the muted, for the oppression and the injustices that have gone undisputed
I’m going
I’m going to countries overseas… to experience the culture and creativity of our fellow citizens to saturate my imagination’s breeze
I’m going
I’m going because words have power and creating poetry is the focus of my current hour
I’m going
I’m going because perhaps you can not, but I can give you a view of the natural wonders of the world…its people, the center of this poetic plot
I’m going
I’m going on a journey to make this dream a reality
I’m going
» 2010 » January
No donation is too large or too small. Become a Traveling Companion and give as little as $5 and please give more if you can.
I suggest $25, $50, $75, $100, $250, $500, $750 or $1000+ .
One Time Donations
» 2010 » January
SPONSPOR A SEGMENT
Those who would like to see your donations go to a specific segment of the trip are invited to sponsor a portion of the trip (from equipment, program costs, activities or plane tickets) with costs ranging from $5-$10,000. Sample costs are below or click here for the complete budget.
| Apprx Cost | Trip Segment(s) |
| $5-$20 | Bottled water for a week/toiletry items for my backpack/A money belt |
| $25 | One week of my personal costs in a developing country/An Australian visa |
| $50-$75 | A vaccination/Daily cost in a developed country like Italy |
| $100 | An expensive vaccination/one way ticket within Europe/A week at L’abri Australia/Scuba diving in Australia |
| $150-$200 | Chinese or India Passport/A week of volunteering in Lima, Peru/A one way ticket from Lima, Peru to Cuzco, Peru |
| $200-$250 | A flip camera or digital camera |
| $250-$300 | A week in Costa Rica, Peru (Cuzco) or Kenya/My travel backpack/One way ticket to a country in Asia (i.e Bangkok to Beijing) |
| $350 | A month of Spanish lessons in Costa Rica/ A Internet notebook/ One week in Cuzco, Peru/ Passports (total)/One way ticket to Costa Rica from NY/China Daily Cost |
| $500 | A month of program costs in Thailand, India or Kenya/A South African Safari /Spanish Lessons in Peru (5 Weeks)/Daily Costs in Japan |
| $600 | Hiking Macha Picchu (Inca trail in Peru)/Ticket from Costa Rica to Peru/10 days in Spain |
| $700 | 6 weeks in Kenya/3 weeks in Costa Rica/All of my vaccinations/Tickets from South Africa to Kenya /Daily costs for 10 days in Italy, France or London |
| $850 | 6 weeks in Peru/Total cost of volunteering in Kenya (program and living costs) |
| $1,000 | Trip & Medical insurance/ Tickets from South America to Europe, Europe to Africa, Africa to India or Australia to New York/Tickets from SouthAfrica to Kenya |
| $4,000 | Total Volunteer Program Costs (6 months) |
| $8,500 | Total Plane Tickets and Ground Transportation |
| $10,000 | Total Daily Costs (Entire Trip) |
One Time Donations
$25 Recurring ($300 Total)
$50 Recurring ($600 Total)
$75 Recurring ($900 Total)
$100 Recurring ($1,200 Total)
» 2010 » January
I invite you to become one of The Friends of Poetic Justice and donate $150 or more to this effort. Friends are able to give a one time donation or in 10 recurring payments of $15.
The Friends of Poetic Justice
ONE TIME DONATION – $150
RECURRING DONATION (10 months/June – March)
$15 Recurring ($150 Total)
» 2010 » January
I made a list of all the places I might wanted to visit in each region of the world. Then I tried to find inexpensive volunteer opportunities or contacts. So for the most part I am traveling to countries where the International Volunteer Headquarters has placements (recommended to me by a friend) and where I have contacts. Initially I had a list of 25 countries but had to eliminate a bunch due to cost. I still want to make it to Istanbul and Cairo and will add those if time and money permits.
» 2010 » January
It developed over the fall of 2009.
A friend of mine called me up and said he going to go on an around the world trip. When I hung up, I thought it was something I should look into. I am single, with no children and relatively free from responsibilities that would bog me down (a lot of debt, mortgage etc). So I said why not travel the world. Then I decided to mesh this idea with a few other things what were budding in my life.
- One of my lifelong goals is to visit at least one country on every continent
- From organizing the WordSmith Poetry jam, I have been moved by the power poetry has to give voice to everyday people to express our hurts, ideas, passions, experiences etc. I thought it would be great to create mini poetry jams along my travels to give those who are often voiceless the same stage. Its a merger of my growing passion for art and my professional desire for community development.
- I have been inspired by the poets that perform monthly to begin writing poetry myself. Since I have only been writing a few months. I thought pushing myself to write on this trip was a great idea. Poetry is a great way for my followers to see the world through my eyes. The beauty and ugliness I see will be great subjects to write about and help me reflect on my travels and communicate what I am seeing and experiences to my friends, family and supporters.
» 2010 » January
» 2010 » January
Charlottesville, Virginia, is a great place because of Ebony Walden. She’s leaving, though, to travel the world. You can track her progress here.
» 2010 » January
An around the world adventure to:
- Travel to 14 Countries
- Write Poetry about the World’s Beauty, Cultures and Injustices
- Volunteer at Orphanages, Schools and Community Centers
- Organize Poetry Events that give Voice to the Voiceless