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Save the World: Save the Elephants
Last year while volunteering in Cape Town, I learned that two of the volunteers there also volunteered back home at local Zoos. This inspired me to looking into the Zoos around Dallas. While I really wanted to be involved with penguins, I really wanted to be in an environment where it would keep me around people interested in animals and conservation. After a few meetings and a TB test, I was provided with my assignment of Elephant exhibit ambassador. This meant I would be around elephants for hours at a time, and I could still visit my penguin friends before and after my shift! Being around elephants so much influenced…
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Travel: La Sagrada Familia
The biggest reason I decided to go to Barcelona was to see La Sagrada Familia, but I only a few things about it namely: It was still under construction It had been under construction for a very very long time People said it was an architectural inspiration and marvel So with this little bit of knowledge I booked a plane ride from Madrid to Barcelona on AirEuropa, travel time approximately 1 hour. After packing all of my travel belongings I left Hotel Infantas early in the morning for Barcelona and a tour of La Sagrada Familia the same day. Most pictures I’ve seen of La Sagrada Familia are of the…
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8 Tips for Traveling Internationally
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Learn: Catalonia Independence
While taking a beautiful stroll through the medieval streets of Girona, I wandered upon a gathering of people in front of a building with a banner stating “Llibertat Presos Politics.” Later I would find out that it was a phrase asking for the release of Catalonian political prisoners from the Spanish government. After a few minutes of a person speaking to the group over a loud speaker the group started into a song and cheered loudly at the end as you can see and hear in the video below. I didn’t know it at the time, but that particular day I was in Girona was the first day of a…
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Born to Fledge
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The Greatest Penguin Mystery
A chilly wind swept through the island as a couple huddled closer and made eye contact huddled closer and stared into each other’s eyes. They were clearly a male and female pair, bonded for life, and their frightened expressions and tense body language suggested that they were worried about something beyond their control. “Did you find them?” she asked her husband. “No, I looked everywhere I could, and it’s just like the others. I can’t find them and no one knows where they went,” he responded. The numbers of missing were growing daily. Although they didn’t know it, over 165 had gone missing yesterday, and nobody knew where they were or…
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8 Tips for Traveling Internationally
The first time traveling internationally can be intimidating, especially if it’s a country off the beaten path. If you’re going with an organization, don’t be afraid to ask questions, and many organizations will have a packing list or travel tips specific to your program or trip for you. The most important things are health, safety, visa requirements and money. Other items will be more important based on where you are traveling to, such as malaria medication, hiking footwear or power adapters. It’s also very important to be flexible, especially when traveling to second or third-world countries. Your cultural concept of courtesy, being on time or socializing may be very different…
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Travel: La Sagrada Familia
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Born to Fledge
When two penguins meet and want to make a family, they perform a ritual called “pair bonding.” They start by looking at each other and turning down their beaks, which leads into a dance and ends with a cuddle. There is the back and forth of the two penguins looking at each other, while only taking a few minutes, it results in a relationship that could last a lifetime. The ritual reminds me of a tango, since both penguins spend time dancing on their toes. If they lay eggs successfully, they will have penguin chicks which are literally “born to fledge”, meaning they are ready to leave the nest right…
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Learn: Catalonia Independence
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Save the World, Save the Penguins
I fell in love with penguins years ago and that love has only grown over the years. I first met a penguin named Mitty on a layover to Tanzania while in Dubai where there is a penguin habitat ( http://skidubaipenguins.com/) in the mall. It’s in Ski Dubai which is a ski slope in the mall, this is an impressive feat but I was mostly interested in the penguins. While only into the 1st year of my volunteer once a year commitment, I started to think about how to get penguins into my volunteering plans. After returning to Dallas from Tanzania I met with a group of previous volunteers who worked with…
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So, you want to save the world, and travel too?
How to Save the World If you’re expecting a radical mathematical formula, or a process to give yourself superpowers, unfortunately, that’s not what this post is about. What I mean by “how” to save the world is really about how each of has something we’re passionate about or something that interests us, and we can use that to help the save the world. Each of us has our superpower in our own right, whether it’s adventurousness, curiosity, teaching, painting, lifting things, or compassion. If you’ve gotten this far, there is likely something, somewhere in the world, that occupies your daydreams or inspires you in a way other places or things…
