posted July 02, 2014 04:14 PM            

That Must be the Class to take.

posted July 02, 2014 11:52 PM            

That's what a whole year of college and part time work will make you feel. I am tired of working. This whole year all I have been doing is studying and working. Every day all I see are customers with tantrum problems & a supervisor that screams & is unstable. Then I wonder why do I keep up with this...oh yeah for the money -.-

posted July 03, 2014 01:00 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by MillyX:

I have this sudden urge to...Break free. Quit my job. Meet up with the crazy guy. Party,drink, laugh, dance & just have FUN. Explore, adventure, travel.

That's what a whole year of college and part time work will make you feel. I am tired of working. This whole year all I have been doing is studying and working. Every day all I see are customers with tantrum problems & a supervisor that screams & is unstable. Then I wonder why do I keep up with this...oh yeah for the money -.-

My moon is progressing to sagittarius soon...This might be the reason why I'm feeling this sudden urge to break free...Not to mention that grand cross in my solar return. FEELING REBELLIOUS.

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I know how ya feel.

Have you ever heard of or looked into couchsurfing, wwoofing, or staying at hostels to travel?

To try to sum each up:

All of these options include free housing (which is great because it eliminates costs for hotels and depending on your host you can stay for long periods of time and possibly be provided food). Plus there's always a possibility of meeting cool people from all over the world who travel or have travelled and who doesn't like meeting people with cool stories of how they were on a volcano or about their hard but rewarding journey rafting down a river?

Couchsurfing: is a community that bridges the gap between travelers and people that are open to hosting travelers in their homes. The perks of this is that you're not exactly travelling like a tourist but instead your host will show you around the area they live and you get a different perspective on seeing where they live. Depending on who your host is, you may also have free meals but from what I've read if the host does not provide food free he/she is just likely to ask for you to pitch in for food that you wish to eat (which isn't bad at all imo).

Hostels: another easy way to travel cheap and in some cases get paid too
(depending on the hostel). Many hostels are always in need of some help around their property whether it's checking people in, cleaning, etc. and in exchange for your help, they provide a free room. Food arrangements are on a hostel to hostel basis, you'll have to ask about that when you contact them.

Wwoof: which is basically "World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms". Now, this may not be everyones cup of tea (working on a farm) but I personally think it would be a great experience to see life in a new lense and take a breather from city life and such. All Wwoof members provide free housing AND food in return for your work. Depending on your farm host, you'll be doing anywhere from 3-6hrs a day for a few days a week and farm work can range from picking weeds, sweeping, feeding animals, picking fruit, etc. depending on your farm. I've also seen some farms offer free wifi/internet (if you can't be without).

Now although the hostel and wwoof options require some work, you won't be working all day or anything like that. You'll have plenty of time to explore your destination and sight see. The only thing with wwoofing though is that since it is on a farm and 9/10 in a rural-ish area, transportation may be slim. In the cases I've seen or read about though hosts are usually willing to let travelers borrow their cars or the travelers used others means of transportation such as longboarding, bike riding, or hitch-hiking, etc.

www.couchsurfing.org
- Free to sign up and 25$ to get verified (although optional I'm sure it helps chances at someone accepting you into their home). You make a profile and search other profiles of hosts to see which you like best, contact them and wait to see if they accept your request (kind of like a dating site lol).

Which also brings me to another small point, I have read in some cases that some people deal with some rather annoyingly insistent people (usually men) that will keep messaging you offering a place to stay. Just ignore/block them and move on. I've read that this is more common when people are looking for places where the atmosphere is definitely more male centric(if I'm making sense here). And, I've also read of one guy (gay) having trouble with male hosts trying to fulfill some s*x*a* fantasy or make subtle hints that they want s*x. From what I've read I guess it's more prevalent for gay men but I still think it's just important to add and look out for (if you use cs). Just be careful and get to know your potential host as much as possible, trust is a two way street with cs. Not only are they trusting that they're letting a sane person into their homes but you're also trusting that they aren't going to make you uncomfortable or make you feel threatened.

Which brings me to another point lol (and this applies to all 3 options) Do your research and get any promises or living arrangements on paper (or email) so that you have 0 risk of being hit with a switcharoo. Thoroughly read profiles and look to see what other people have said about the host/hostel/farm if possible.

http://www.hostelworld.com/
and http://www.hiusa.org/volunteer
- You can use the first link to find hostels in the area you wish to visit and ask if they need help in exchange for a room.
- The second link provides hostels in areas in the US that you can volunteer at. *Edit: they actually do not participate in work/trade so if you do volunteer, you still have to pay for your room.

You can also just do searches yourself on google in the areas that interest you and call around.

http://www.wwoof.net/
- Cost depends on which country you decide to be a member of/wish to travel in. US is $30 (not sure how long access is but it's always at least a year) and Canada is $50 for a 2 year access for example so it's pretty cheap and it gives you plenty of time to find a farm/farms to travel to.

So basically these are 3 cheap and alternative ways to travel that pretty much require a plane ticket and extra money for emergencies or food expenses/shopping/etc. Although it is rather inexpensive in comparison to traditionally buying a plane ticket, booking a hotel, and renting a car, etc. it does take a lot of time and planning in order to securely establish things for where you wish to go. I guess like the saying Time=Money, when it comes to these 3 options the money you save is time spent making sure everything is right with your living arrangements.

Google also has a new updated (and I may just be late to this) way to check flights and it provides a range of prices on it's calender to see which is the cheapest during the month/year (cuts down on having 5 tabs open from travel site). It's a great tool to use and it can help gauge which days are cheapest and best to travel on for your destination.

I don't know if this interested you or anything but if it did and you'd like me to link more info I've come across about this way of travelling, feel free to let me know!

posted July 03, 2014 01:09 AM            

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Originally posted by Randall:
He was talking about how great of an organization it is.

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I was just joking.

They really are. All the kids want to work there, they pay well.

All those Shriners patronize them.

They wash, cut and fry the potatoes right before your very eyes.

They leave the peelings on.

They have a very basic menu, decent prices.

We all love them. There's one on 505 we always stop at when traveling, as well.

posted July 05, 2014 12:12 PM            

My Sun in 4th is really starting to show the older I get lol. I might just be the next Julia Child

posted July 08, 2014 10:35 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by MillyX:
Those are great suggestions Chiemi I have heard about hostels, me and a friend wanted to do that for our new york trip however she has strict parents and she has to first find a job to move out get her own place and be free to do what she wants to do. The couch surfing thing seems interesting because I do not want to follow a tour guide that will bring us to the boring touristy sites...I want to experience the real places

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Glad I could help!

And I'm sorry to hear that about your friend! Have you ever thought about solo travel?

Couch surfing usually has meetups and events too that you can find in (or close) to your area or in the area you're planning to travel where you can meet other travelers and possibly have someone as a future reference to meetup with when you're travelling.

I'm actually planning my first solo trip to Canada for 2 weeks during May ! (Toronto & Ottawa)

posted July 09, 2014 02:51 PM            

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posted July 12, 2014 03:25 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
Same here! But I have finals to worry about now.

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Good luck!!!

I just had the one test for the college of my major.

posted July 13, 2014 04:21 PM            

I guess I can't really complain though because it's a good thing when I'm older, but it still sucks at least at this age.

posted July 15, 2014 12:59 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
The grass is always greener...

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