Is Travel Is Too Expensive? Out Of Your Reach? Think Travel Scholarships. Explore the World!

Tianna, (left) one of the 2016 Explore the World Travel Scholarships is surrounded by children during her 

visit to Capte Town, South Africa.

Not everyone dreams of travel but many who do dream of traveling to far away places believe their dreams are out of their reach financially. This is especially true of those in their teens and twenties. For many it is a choice between furthering their education or travel.  Not necessarily.

Explore the World Travel Scholarships from HIUSA offer financial assistance to young people from 18-30 to travel and learn at the same time.

In 2016, 81 scholarships were awarded. In 2017 they have upped the number to 98. (Consider donating to the scholarship fund and help them break 100 make in 2018)

Tiana during a trip to South Africa made possible by an 

Explore the World Travel Scholarship

One of the 2016 scholarship recipients was Tianna, a 23-year-old from New York City who traveled abroad for the first time in her life, teaching and volunteering at a daycare center near Cape Town, South Africa, in July 2016.

“This trip has opened my eyes to how small of a space I occupy in this world. There is so much going on outside of the United States…this experience has taught me how privileged Americans are to have education and all that it comes with.”

HI USA CEO, Russ Hedge believes in the adage "Travel changes you. You change the world." He has put his company behind making educational travel more accessible for young people. “The Explore the World travel scholarship program is designed to assist young adults in underserved communities in realizing their travel dreams.  And it changes the lives of people around the
world.”

Ngozi, on a side trip to Egypt after her Arabic course in Jordan

Ngozi, a student at Howard University studying Political Science with a minor in Arabic used her scholarship award to travel to Amman, Jordan where she took part in and intensive Arabic course. Her trip brought her knowledge outside the course work, “I was there during Ramadan, the holiest part of the year for a predominantly Muslim country. I really appreciate the experience to see how they worship and how they care about each other. They’re about peace and equality. My quest is to educate people in America about Islamophobia and this misunderstanding.”

Explore the World is administered by 167 volunteers nationwide who believe in HI USA’s mission and purpose to create a more tolerant world.

There are some specific eligibility requirements but is worth a look to see if you qualify.

Eligibility criteria:
·          18 - 30 years old
·          Current Pell Grant recipient, former Pell Grant recipient, or have a current income level does not exceed 300% of poverty line

·          Permanent, legal resident of the USA

·          Have a strong desire and motivation to experience other people and cultures through international travel

·          Plans to take a trip outside the US between now and August 31, 2018, that incorporates education, volunteerism or service learning.

Additionally, candidates must be a resident of or attend school in one of the following 14 metro areas: Austin, Baltimore Boston, Chicago, DC, Houston, LA, Minneapolis, NYC, Portland, Richmond, San Diego, SF, or Seattle.

Thirteen places I'd like to travel to - My Travel Wish List

My Travel Wish List

The working copy of my 2013 Travel Wish List looks very much like the ones from 25 years ago that  I secreted away in my desk drawer like an un-mailed letter to Santa Claus.  The main difference being I am sharing the 2013 #TravelWishList with the world. 

Why create a #TravelWishList? One of my main reasons: it is fun. The best part of travel is in its anticipation. The longer I live the more accurate this adage becomes. As a travel journalist my relationship with travel is enigmatic. I have come to dislike the act of transportation but I love to discover new places. I love being there. I dislike getting there. The cost of travel, the annoyance of air travel, the continued homogenization of the world, all serve to make actual travel more and more unpalatable. While virtual travel and more precisely, dreaming of new sights to see and places to be, is perhaps even better than it was 50 years ago. Certainly with all the travel bloggers canvassing the far reaches of every continent we are not lacking for information about the places we dream of being.

My reason for publishing my once "secret" travel wish list is more mystical. You can read about that in part one where I share background on my travel wish lists' from years past and list the candidates from which I selected my 13-4-'13.

My #TravelWishList posts: 

• Part one - The History of My Travel Wish List and The Candidates
• Part two - 13-4-’13 - Thirteen Places To See
• Part three - Six Islands I’d Swim To
• Part four - Six Places In The US That Are Calling My Name
• Part Five - Six Places I’ve Been But want to Go To Again
• Part Six  - My Favorite Places in Colorado And The Neighboring States 

Now it is time to reveal the thirteen places I'd like to explore, photograph, experience and write about in the next year.

My Thirteen

1. Antarctica 

This continent will likely remain on my travel wish list until I get there or finally despair of ever setting foot on the ice of Antarctica. Suffice to say it is a travel photographer's dream destination and on the list of most travel writers as well. Antarctica holds the number one spot on my list and remains the key to completing the Big Seven. Maybe by the time I reach the southern polar cap I will have learned how to spell Antarctica right on my first attempt without the aid of spellcheck.

2  South Africa

Africa is another perennial travel list designate. But South Africa is a first timer. SA has risen in my esteem greatly over the last couple of years both for the variety of the topography and the great adventures that are available at the southern tip of the dark continent. I have always enjoyed the South African people I have met, both in the United Sates and while living in New Zealand. They make good transplants and excellent ambassadors for their native country.

3. Kenya  

It is just time. It is time to see the animals before any more time passes.  

4. Bhutan

Bhutan is on most every travel writer's wish list ever created.  Bhutan was a staple of my wish lists early on but I eventual dropped it in favor of more attainable goals.  A few years ago while reading The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner Bhutan leaped back into my consciousness.  In the last few years I have had great conversations with travel people from this isolated kingdom that have revived my hope of one day seeing this very unique corner of the earth. 

5. Italy 

Italy is country that I put on my wish list every so often.  It is hard to believe I have not been there yet.  Sometimes I even think I have been to Italy because I read so much about Italy. Everyone tells me how wonderful it is while exhorting me with a dismissive, disbelieving jab "you haven't been to Italy! You simply must go."  So Italy this is your chance - help me live down my shame and allow me to eat laugh and love on your Mediterranean soil. They may pull my travel journalist ticket if I don't eat a meal on Italian soil soon.

6. Chile

A new country on my TWL this year is Chile.  When I have thought of going to Chile, I have wanted to go to ski.  Lately though I have noticed myself interested in visiting this slice of South America for other reasons, like wine, wilderness and adventure.  Chile has supplanted Argentina as my top wish list choice in South America.

7. Nepal

It has been a dream of mine to trek in Nepal since well before I filled out my first Travel Wish List over twenty years ago.  I used to read accounts of climbers braving the elements and altitude to reach the highest places on the planet.  I never fancied myself to be such an adventurer, even in my youth, but still the desire to reach above my present altitude record of 15K propels me to vista Nepal.  That and a culture I greatly admire and some of the most breath taking scenery in the world.

8. Portugal

Another new TWL country is Portugal.  To some degree Portugal like Chile has supplanted a neighbor on my list.  Portugal replaced its Iberian neighbor, Spain in my top 13.  The wine, the women, the food, the value and the fact that not many other people are talking about Portugal have piqued my interest. 

9. Turkey

I don't have precise or articulate reasons for putting Turkey in the top 13 - I just did.  A photo student of mine showed me their images from a trip to Turkey and since then I have wanted go make my own portfolio of Turkey.

10. Venezuela

The third new member of my TWL is Venezuela.  I want to see it before it changes too much.  And, I think it may be on the cusp of change.  Venezuela and Cuba have more in common other than capricious leaders. 

11. Kamchatka Peninsula 

Along with Nepal my desire to see this far eastern landscape predates my creating travel wish lists.  I read tales of hiking and climbing in the Kamchatka back in my days in Aspen, Colorado before I had ever left the boundaries of the Untied States. The Kamchatka is one of the many place in the world that I almost visited but in a stroke of misfortune my assignment to the Kamchatka was canceled. Woulda, coulda, shoulda.

12. Panama

The only part of Central America I have had the privilege to visit is Costa Rica.  I need to get a broader perspective on the bridge between North & South America before I make any decisions about this region as a travel destination.  Panama would provide that.

13. And  finally, Switzerland is my last designate for my #TravelWishList.

Why Switzerland?  It is tough to chose that final spot.  Many places were flitting in and out of my head. The space next to #13 on my legal pad notes is quite scuffed from erasures.  But, Switzerland it is.  Switzerland is my choice for the skiing, the chocolate, the precision, the mountains, the cities, the lakes … did I miss anything?  Part and parcel in choosing Switzerland are Austria and France.  Because when I go skiing I plan to zigzag around the Alps to compare the three locales.

So there you have my thirteen choice for places I hope to visit in the next year.  There were lots of tough choice and some great places that dropped off my list from past years and some new blood too. Now comes the hard part, making these wishes come true.

Did I hit any of your favorites?  Did I ignore some places that are on your personal TWL?  December will roll around all too soon and it will be time to pull the wish list out of my desk drawer and see how many spots I hit and missed.  Then it will be time to do it all over. The good news is I get one more slot next year, 14-4-'14.

I'll be posting the other sections of my TravelWishList over the next few days with breakouts for the 6 islands I want to explore and the 6 places in the United States I hear calling me.  I confined my travel wish lists to places I had yet to visit so I'll single out the 6 places I have already visited that I want to return to in another post.  The cherry on top of the wish list pie is I'll share some of my favorite places in Colorado and the neighboring states.  I hope you'll share your #TravelWishList with me here in the comments. 

#Antarctica #SouthAfrica #Kenya #Bhutan #Italy #Chile #Nepal #Portugal #Turkey #Venezuela #Kamchatka Peninsula #Panama #Switzerland

"Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage." - Regina Nadelson

My #TravelWishList posts:

• Part one - The History of My Travel Wish List and The Candidates
• Part two - 13-4-’13 - Thirteen Places To See
• Part three - Six Islands I’d Swim To
• Part four - Six Places In The US That Are Calling My Name
• Part Five - Six Places I’ve Been But want to Go To Again
• Part Six  - My Favorite Places in Colorado And The Neighboring States