The following is the third installment in a 4-part series written by Sophia Michelen, a Global Exchange Reality Tours participant who was on the delegation to North Korea last September 2010. In this series, she reflects on her experiences in North Korea.

“A Rare Flower” by Sophia Michelen
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One lone female college graduate, on a plane to Beijing, then another to Pyongyang, meeting a group of passionate travelers, where the closest female companion was several decades my elder.

That was me.

I did not expect to take my North Korea adventure as a sort of high-school chaperoned trip, but I did imagine that there would be a fairly high chance of meeting another young female professional in the group. I know plenty of adventure-loving females, so why would this trip be any different? There just had to be someone who would be on the trip that I would be able to have age-appropriate discussions and conversations with.

I absolutely cherished the individuals traveling with me to North Korea. However, I found it a bit peculiar that there were no other female 20-somethings jumping at the opportunity. Nonetheless, my gypsy-like travel routine did not make me dependent on a travel buddy.

The night before departing for Pyongyang, our American-South Korean travel guide who would accompany us for the remainder of the trip, briefed us regarding our North Korea schedule and our tour guides. We would have two male guides and a male bus driver. This gendered specification was not surprising, for we were told that it is they, the males, who are most educated in the society – they who are given the opportunity to leave the country, visit Europe, pick up a degree or two, and learn second and third languages fluently [one of the two male tour guides would even be conversing with me in French!]. Our South Korea tour guide, after dinner, pulled me aside asking me why a young female like myself would be so drawn to visiting North Korea. I explained my decade-long curiosity and former Korean language tutorial; and how it felt the time was right for the trip. He happily listened and eagerly told me that on this trip, on a rare occasion, we would be having another tour guide – a young female guide, training to become a senior guide, and, best of all, that she was my age! I would never have guessed that the travel companion I so sought for would be a North Korean – a perfect cultural insider.

Once we landed in North Korea, our guides were waiting for us to pass custom. As normal for travelers visiting the country, they took our passports and mobile phones. Ms. Lee, the lone female guide, greeted us with a friendly smile, comported properly but seemingly excited by the prospect of showing a group of foreigners her country. “We have a lot to show you,” she would say. Getting on the bus, introductions were not lagging. Our South Korea guide said loud and proudly – “Ms. Lee, this is Sophia – you can practice your English with her and you can teach her North Korean culture. She is your age!” We laughed, and that’s where we began.

At our first stop, the Arch of Triumph, Ms. Lee and I conversed naturally, talking initially about the basics– place of birth, family, siblings, schooling, why I came to North Korea, why she became a tour guide. Language was also a topic of conversation – how and where I learned some Korean and why she decided to learn English. She proudly mentioned her previous travels – just a couple countries outside of North Korea, including China.

Moving throughout the sites and meals of our itinerary, Ms. Lee would respectfully sit with the elder guides. We would continuously invite her to sit with us, but politely she refused. But later in the trip she would warm up and she would be like our own private North Korea Wikipedia site. I would start by asking specific questions regarding our current location, before quickly diverging into other questions on my mind– from instruments [she plays the accordion], to friends, social events, TV shows, music [no she hadn’t heard of Lady Gaga],and growing up in North Korea. I was thirsty to know more about her insider’s perspective out of the world from North Korea, despite already knowing how the outside world may view her country.

My questions and these conversations lasted until the bus ride to the airport for our departure flight. However, my most memorable moment was at the demilitarized zone. We visited the old, very desolate and empty meeting room where delegations from both our countries met decades ago to sign the 1953 Armistice. Even the air smelled old. Everything was left intact – except for the Plexiglas casing over the table-top flags during the singing. Other than that, everything was original – original table, chairs, even the turf-like, green table covering was there. I must say I was surprised that these historic artifacts were not better kept or in a more “hands-off” environment, but passionate about original experiences, I treasured being able to interact with these objects in such a way.

As we walked around the zone together), Ms. Lee and I linked elbows and discussed potential change for our countries’ political relationship. Here we were, two citizens, females at that, with our country still technically at war with one another, having a peaceful conversation about future changes – near and distant- for our generation. She discussed how she longed to see the peninsula reunified – where both her people (North and South) would be able to merge again as one, learn from each other and be reunited with lost family. She still desires and hopes to travel abroad, and have some freedoms like her American counterparts while still keeping her strong and proud Korean identity. Not once did she insult or discriminate my country – not once did she impose any of her potential negative views of the States. We both know what is said about the others’ country, but there was no need to rehash the obvious.

At this point in our small walking tour, Ms. Lee and I find ourselves standing behind the actual table where the treaty was signed. We were so busy chatting; we barely realized the flow of the group. As we rushed for a photo-op before the next site in the zone, I paused to appreciate the moment – the rarity of these two individuals, from these two countries, discussing these topics, in this location. As Ms. Lee scurried to the bus, I walked behind the others, took my time, taking in the color of the grounds – a white and violet-petal, growing on a single flower amongst the overgrown grass. So peacefully swaying, I looked and smiled to myself, grateful for the moment. For the unique ability to experience this instant and the conversation I had just had with Ms.Lee. Just like the rarity of the flower amongst the weeds, the symbol of this small flower growing in the tensest boarder on earth reminded me of the unique moment with Ms. Lee, my friend, my peaceful North Korean companion, the fellow female counterpart I imagined having on the journey.

Join the Next Delegation to North Korea!

Come back here tomorrow to read the next installment in this 4-part series.

Interested in traveling to North Korea? We have a Reality Tour delegation coming up at the end of August, and other trips planned after that. Find out the details here.

The following is the second installment in a 4-part series written by Sophia Michelen, a Global Exchange Reality Tours participant who was on the delegation to North Korea last September 2010. In this series, she reflects on her experiences in North Korea.

“We are not crazy!” By Sophia Michelen
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Most people, or rather the few that ask specifically about bus rides in North Korea, wonder how moving between regions with constant supervision could have been any more enjoyable than a lengthy car ride through a consistently monochrome and silent scenery. For our group it was nothing of the sort. At the beginning, everyone – age and generational differences aside – comported themselves in the best, most politically correct way possible. Thank yous, compliments, careful bows and nonexaggerated remarks abounded what our North Korean guides did, we did. We learned by following the cultural norms, carefully selecting conversation topics, and praising the sites we visited. So, with this [unspoken] code of conduct between both sides, our group moved through meals, visits and lengthy bus rides as we travelled throughout the DPRK on our tour.

I was not expecting my mannerisms to change or heavy political discussions to occur while on this trip. I knew that there were boundaries and I agreed to the standard set for me as a visitor to the Hermit Kingdom – their hermit kingdom. However, on the eve before our visit to Panmunjom, better known as the 38th parallel, after a day’s visit to the most anti-American museum I have ever seen or really, could have imagined, our silent bus ride because a high diplomatic meeting of sorts.

On this sunny afternoon, the silence was broken when Rob, our comedian and priest-in-training from the Midwest asked our guide, Mr. Kim a question that little did we know, would trigger a powerful and productive discussion. Rob prefaced the question in stating that this question was asked on all his trips, so he wanted to ask our new North Korean friend.

“Mr. Kim – now, I usually ask many people I meet while traveling this question, so I’d like to ask you: If you were live on American national television, what is one thing you would say to our country?”

A bit shocked but gently and sincerely smiling, Mr. Kim picked up the 1980s bus microphone looking as if it had been snatched from a vintage karaoke bar. Hesitating a bit while he gathered his thoughts to a question never asked of him, Mr. Kim faced us in it uniform composure and said:

“We are not crazy!!”

Bill and Mr. Kim

We could not believe it – the bus laughed. Not expecting such an out-of-character remark from our head guide, Mr. Kim continued: “I would tell America that we are not crazy.” This was the first time we saw any emotion or relations mentioned between both dueling nations. The most fascinating part of our discussion was the door that this question opened. Mr. Kim decided to, in turn, ask each of us what we were proud of. He commenced the dialogue by mentioning that he was proud of “Being Korean – of speaking Korean.” He handed each of us the mic and one by one the comments began: pride of being first generation, of immigrating to the U.S., of everything America has given us, of seeing the [US] form over the decades and seeing a country grow before technology. Even the driver commented, adding that he was proud of being a North Korean.

The dialogue was profound and brought us all closer – such open, judgment-free personal remarks brought down the invisible wall between our North Korean counterparts and ourselves. We were all equally human and felt the tension disseminate a bit more – ironically before entering one of the tensest latitudes on Earth at the DMZ.

With a more personable dynamic amongst us, we were circled around the back of the bus, nearly off our seats like children around a school teacher’s skirt hem – eager to be next to ask a question to Mr. Kim – holding onto every remark and trying to quickly capture every word. Adrenaline and excitement was our caffeine on our nearly coffee-less trip.

We asked questions regarding the recent Cheonan sinking, the Obama administration and U.S – DPRK politics. We asked questions regarding the Korean war and future potential positive relations between North Korea and America, about the Bush administration, the famine (although a denial was given as an answer), about DPRK citizen knowledge regarding understanding of their own country’s politics. More interestingly, we asked about 9/11. Mr. Kim paused a bit – what seemed to be in a way to figure out the most and more polite way to say it: some citizens do not even know it occurred. We were a bit perplexed, but not completely shocked. Mr. Kim continued in earnest saying that some people in the country thought it was not terrorism, but rather an American ploy, while others think it’s merely science fiction. Mr. Kim said he only found out because he happened to be in Europe, surrounded by German tourists at the time, when on the television in the background, the Germans yelled that the towers fell! Mr. Kim did not understand exactly what was happening, but the instantly panicking German men apparently quickly discussed an escape route off the European continent.

This ended the open conversation, but our amazement flooded us with exhaustion. It was such an intense and interactive discussion that the rest of the trip ended as it started – in silence. Here we were, freely conversing with the quintessential “enemy” of the U.S., in discussion that seemed like amongst friends. We were all human. We respected, we shared. While our nations were in constant and continuous tensions, here we were – a small group of a citizen delegation understanding the other side, while on their side, on unknown territory. This was a real-world high meeting. This was the way to fully understand the differences and appreciate the similarities.

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Join the Next Delegation to North Korea!

Come back here tomorrow to read the next installment in this 4-part series.

Interested in traveling to North Korea? We have a Reality Tour delegation coming up at the end of August, and other trips planned after that. Find out the details here.

The following is the first in a 4-part series written by Sophia Michelen, a Global Exchange Reality Tours participant who was on the delegation to North Korea last September 2010. In this series, she reflects on her experiences in North Korea.

A first-generation American, Sophia Michelen has had a passion for travel and photography from a young age. With work from the illegal gold mining industry in Ghana to the hidden lives of North Koreans, the world is anything but foreign to her. After graduating from college, Sophia lived and worked in the Middle East with an international NGO office based in Dubai, UAE. Now, Sophia is continuing work in public health and international health policy research in Boston, MA, while preparing for her next trip and photography project.

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Run-Away Crab Needed to Enter North Korea by Sophia Michelen

When most think of celebrating their 23rd birthday, eating out, nights on the town, or a weekend trip to a relaxing beach treat might come to mind. However, my 23rd was to be different – a secluded celebration with a trip to North Korea. Reflections, acquired wisdom, aspirations and new adventures often accompany another year of one’s life; so, to bring in my new year, I strictly started with the later of these – an adventure! Having just arrived back from several months living in the Middle East, I wanted to start my 23rd year with an adventure to a place I, like many Westerners, felt to be light years away (or rather, behind,); to a place I have been fascinated with for over a decade, to a place where very little is understood – North Korea.

You can imagine the shock of family and friends to my proposed trip, alone, to the DPRK. Just days after arriving back to the United States, I would be heading east again. No one really understood. With the Cheonan having been sunk just months prior to my trip, and with tense foreign relations between my country and theirs, many tried to dissuade me. They continually mentioned that North Korea would be there tomorrow and that there would thus be other opportunities to travel there. However, I knew for me the time was now – I wanted to experience a Soviet-style way of life that never existed in our Western world. So, on September 9th, 2010 I flew east – first stop, Beijing.

I am an avid traveler, fearless in all respects of flying. I am thrilled at being thousands of feet in the air – where time seems to stop, where my books, my journal and my mind are best friends; where iPhones and the internet are paused for these certain hours of your life, where everyone around is going to the same destination – despite nationality, age, language or race. These strangers become your friends and the plane, your home. However, out of the hundreds of flights I have taken, this plane ride felt different – my thoughts were uncertain as to what to expect. I was a young woman traveling alone to the other side of the world, to tour with people I had never seen in a country that few understand. Except for a few passages regarding North Korea in my Lonely Planet “Korea” book, even my usual companion of a guide book was not available this time. I was about to enter booming Beijing, only to quickly leave and enter primitive Pyongyang. I had plenty of time –literally – to ponder and assess just what I was getting myself into. However, even I was yet to fully understand my motivation for traveling to North Korea.

I landed in Beijing and within minutes of searching for the unknown face of my guide, I was approached by my smiling group leader. This was step one of starting my adventure into the DPRK.

After the rest of the group assembled at the airport, we headed downtown. Before soon, the infamous Beijing became apparent. We passed modern and ancient buildings, bikes, scooters and cars. However, I was unable to appreciate my surroundings in China – I was still waiting to move forward into North Korea. We settled into our rooms, familiarized ourselves with the schedule for night one, and soon headed to dinner nearby.

At the restaurant we sat in a private room at the end of a larger dining room where, as would be the norm for the remainder of the trip, food was brought to us without ever opening a menu– the meals would always be pre-chosen for us. The food was tasty and the camaraderie from the rest of the group was welcoming. Our Chinese guide was reviewing our Beijing itinerary with us while questions regarding North Korea were directed to our American group guide. In talking about trip formalities, the conversation was soon interrupted by a crab – which loosened the mood through a roar of laughter.

Our Chinese guide, mid-sentence, jumped after a live crab that had escaped the kitchen, tried to crawl up his leg. I just could not believe it – it literally felt like it was out of a movie. The crab kept crawling around the room until one waitress finally caught it… with chopsticks! Needless to say, I have never had an experience like this. But it was the after-dinner chit-chat that made me realize just how unique this trip would be.

No longer was I just going to enter a new country, but I would be entering North Korea with several unique individuals. Being the youngest, with over eight decades of history collected between the nine of us, I found myself surrounded with some of the most interesting people I had ever met – our guide, an Italian human rights activist from the Bay Area; a teacher from Jersey, having lived in Venezuela for years and having travelled the world to over 100 countries to date; a retired corrections officer that remembered the Midwest when horses were still tied to posts outside shops; a Chemist who migrated from the Philippines, now living in California; a pastor from Chicago, once one of President Obama’s neighbors; a 6-foot-four programmer, freelance comedian who is studying to become a priest; and a Chinese-American economist who moved to the U.S. when she was very young, now working for the World Bank. And then the real character of the group – an 82 year-old ex-Navy pilot who still flies his plane across the country and travels worldwide, whose stories mesmerized me as I listened for hours on American history– from the Great Depression, to the war, to life in South Boston before technology, and who would end up teaching me the samba and tango in the middle of a Pyongyang hotel lobby.

It was at this dinner that I realized that my trip had begun – that part of the adventure I had been searching for was transpiring through meeting these fellow Americans that, under any other circumstance, would be rare to meet. With this dinner, my trip to North Korea began.

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Join the Next Delegation to North Korea!

Interested in traveling to North Korea? We have a Reality Tour delegation coming up at the end of August, and other trips planned after that. Find out the details here.

Lots going on in Cuba travel news. A few New York Times articles recently covered Cuba travel changes (and Global Exchange!), the Associated Press spoke with Global Exchange’s External Relations Director, and tonight the Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations is in Cuba.
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For more than 20 years now Global Exchange‘s Reality Tours program has promoted important people to people ties between North Americans and Cubans.  Our professional delegations, exchanges and licensed educational tours are again increasing in number after the Obama Administration eased some of the travel restrictions and authorized eight new U.S. Airports to offer charter flights to Cuba.

Our External Relations Director Malia Everette was recently interviewed by the Associated Press about the increasing demand for “People to People” Cuba tours that Global Exchange is experiencing for the article US issuing licenses for increased Cuba travel.

A recent New York Times article described one Global Exchange Reality Tour to Cuba:

A hot June sun glared over the Arroyo Arenas organic vegetable garden at the edge of Havana where Ms. Slezak, a 68-year-old retired social worker from Long Island, and 16 other Americans were visiting as part of a “food sovereignty” program organized by Global Exchange, a human rights organization, and Food First, a policy institute.

She and the beans were partly shaded by netting slung over the long trough-shaped beds, but it was hot, damp and sticky. She paused now and then to wipe her forehead.

Sweating in a Cuban field is not everyone’s idea of relaxation, and it is a far cry from the decadent gaiety that drew Americans to Havana before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. But trips like this are one way of getting to see Cuba, and have just become accessible to most Americans.

Yet another New York Times article described the travel policy changes taking place:

Thanks to policy changes by President Obama earlier this year designed to encourage more contact between Americans and citizens of the Communist-ruled island, the Treasury Department is once again granting so-called “people-to-people” licenses, which greatly expand travel opportunities for Cuba-bound visitors. The new people-to-people measures make it easier for United States citizens who do not have special status as working journalists or scholars to visit Cuba legally, so long as they go with a licensed operator.

What continues to motivate Global Exchange Reality Tour trips to Cuba is how our participants return inspired by their Cuban counterparts and educated first-hand about the tenacity, ingenuity and integrity of the Cuban people. Yes, Global Exchange is also committed to challenging our government to normalize relations with Cuba, but also to build long term relationships between US and Cuban citizens based on respect and real engagement.

In fact this year, Global Exchange is organizing over 20 delegations and have customized another 30 trips to Cuba thus far!

If you’d like to read some insights shared by a recent Cuba Reality Tour participant check out this article written by Linda Slezak which originally appeared in the Slow Food East End newsletter.

Tonight on the Travel Channel: Anthony Bourdain in Cuba!

The premiere episode of the latest season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations finds the show in Cuba. Here’s a sneak peek at tonight’s show, this part all about baseball:

Organizations & Institutions: Consider Partnering with Global Exchange
Perhaps you may get inspired tonight after watching the travel channel. As a licensed travel service provider, Global Exchange welcomes working with other organizations and institutions that have their own licenses and would love to develop new partnerships to customize journeys. Email malia@globalexchange.org to get started.

Now is THE time to Travel to Cuba!
With new flights recently cleared for lift off, now is the perfect time to plan your trip. We’d love for you to join us on one of our Reality Tours to Cuba.

The best time to go to Cuba? People who have gone on a Global Exchange New Years trip to Cuba come back…different. In a good way. Like they just went on a trip of a lifetime. To learn more about our New Years trips to Cuba this year, go here.

Save $150 on Cuba Trip: Global Exchange Reality Tours is offering a $150 DISCOUNT when you register for one of our Cuba trips by August 15th, 2011. Simply mention this blog post to receive your discount.

So what are you waiting for? Cuba awaits you.

Havana Farmers' Market

Though many people associate the island of Cuba with rum, tobacco and rumba, one Global Exchange Reality Tour participant discovered that Cubans are also enthusiastic and accomplished organic gardeners and growers.

Linda Slezak, a leader of the Slow Food movement in Glen Cove, New York recently returned from a Global Exchange/Food First research trip to Cuba. Linda described her experience as “the most memorable trip I have ever taken – I am still talking about it to everyone I know.”

We’ve got a similar Cuba trip planned…Global Exchange and Food First will team up again January 12 – 23, 2012 to examine sustainable agriculture practices in Cuba. This time, participants will travel by bus from Havana to the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba and will spend four days getting their hands dirty on Cuban organic farms. Learn more about the trip and how you can join the adventure here.

In the meantime, here’s an article written by Linda Slezak about her recent trip to Cuba, which originally appeared in the Slow Food East End newsletter:

“Local Slow Food Leader Visits Cuba on Food Sovereignty Tour”

Linda Slezak, Slow Food East End treasurer, recently visited Cuba as part of a Global Exchange Reality Tour group of 17 people from all over the States.

The group spent 10 days learning about the major structural changes that have taken place in Cuban Agriculture since the advent of the “special period”, a euphemistic way of talking about the severe food shortages that took place after the fall of the Soviet Union. Linda provided the following observations about her experiences in Cuba.

Cuba is a case in point about the unsustainability of monoculture farming. During Colonial times, Cuba was a plantation island providing export crops such as sugar cane, tobacco and coffee. Food crops were largely imported and during the years between 1963 and 1989, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were heavily relied upon for agriculture. It was only due to the losses sustained by not having access to imported food and chemicals to grow their own, that Cuba “went green”.

Going green is another way of saying that Cuba’s agriculture underwent a major overhaul. Land has been redistributed and crops are being cultivated using natural and organic methods with sustainability as the goal. The farmers that we met at both large and small farms (urban and suburban plots are the newest form of community based agriculture) were so proud of their farms and their organic methods.

Most of these farmers have developed their own innovative solutions to their climate and terrain challenges. Raised-bed farming, digging wells for water, terracing and covering fragile crops with black, overhead netting to provide shade are just some of the many solutions the farmers have devised.

Farming cooperatives are another model that helps farmers to share equipment and help each other.   One of the major differences evident here is the support and participation of the government in training, providing land grants and economic incentives to prioritize sustainable agriculture as a country-wide goal.

A phrase that we heard many times was “political will”. The Cuban government displays the political will to create the changes needed for sustainable food production. While still in the beginning stages, people do have enough food and there is food security in the form of government rations for all. Certainly, there is a way to go as all of these changes are relatively new, but since returning from this tour, I have been thinking that with all of the resources that our own country has, the only thing lacking to create food security for our own population is “political will”.

So far, it seems that even in the most unlikely places I travel to, Slow Food has made its mark. There’s an “eco-restaurant” in the Cuban country side called El Romero whose chef and creator Tito Gudas’ wall proudly displays a beautiful hand-crafted snail and a photo of the 2010 Terra Madre Convivium in Turin, Italy. The food, of course, was marvelous.

–Linda Slezak

JOIN THE NEXT TRIP!
CUBA ORGANIC: Revolution & Evolution
January 11 – 22, 2012

Here’s the next in a series of posts written by Alexa Stevens, a Tufts University student who is one of seven delegates currently traveling (and writing) in Iran with the Citizen Diplomacy Reality Tour trip:

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Stone-Cold Truths

Sometimes I wonder if all travel isn’t some variation of escape. An escape from somewhere or to something I’m not sure, but a deliberate action of leaving what is known to surround one’s self in the unknown. We had our conference call last week, where the seven of us met each other, over the phone, for the first time. Allow me to explain–our trip is organized by an NGO based out of San Francisco, Global Exchange, and I am one of seven delegates of this tour to Iran.

Everyone spoke of their preparation–Patty, a fund-raiser from Columbia, Maryland, joked about the difficulty of finding a loose-fitting top that would be conservative enough for Iran yet tolerant enough for the heat (highs of 102ºF, lows of 80ºF next week); Rebecca, a freelance writer from Washington DC, talked about the voracious reading she had undertaken, ranging from ancient Persian history to the poetry of the greats–Hafez, Rumi, Ferdowsi–while Tom, a retired attorney from Houston, spoke not of the intellectual preparation he had done, but rather how he was waiting to take it all in once we got there. I spoke of my studies, my scant knowledge of Farsi, and my excitement.

We were all urged to catalogue our preconceptions; write down a few questions we were hoping this trip would answer, or a few hypotheses we would confirm or disprove through the empirical evidence we were sure to gather on this fact-finding mission. This trip, though veiled in the same cloth as a true tourist venture–complete with bilingual native tour guide, bright orange tour bus (or so I hear), and of course us, the American tourists equipped with our guide books, cameras and useless currency–was also supposed to serve as a first-hand educational field guide, footnote to our intellectual conclusions and perceptions.

I get the feeling that in two weeks, upon our return to the US, we are expected to bring back not just souvenirs but true gems of knowledge, which will illuminate our world views, focus our political inclinations and refine our identities.

But I don’t know what my preconceptions are, what I’m hoping this trip will answer, and I’m not quite sure that I’m going to Iran entirely to discover the Iranians and their country. You see, I’m truly hoping to discover more of myself through them. I want to know these people, see this country, connect our worlds, of course–but I’ve invested so much of myself in the study of Iran, what if all my columns of curiosity come crashing down? Truth be told, I’m a little terrified of disappointment; not in Iran, but in myself.

The most common question I get leading up to my departure is the incredulous “Why?” Why would you go to Iran?” And I can’t ever seem to give a coherent answer. I suppose the easiest reason I cite is the default one: oh, its what I’m studying, I’ve been interested in the region for years, I have a few close friends from the Middle East. But I know there must be more to it than that. No one commits them self to studying the foreign if the familiar is truly… Familiar.

Here, in the West, I’m lost. There are so many possibilities–these days, the pressure to be something, to fulfill a professional aspiration, is waning in favor of the pressure to be someone, an intellectual-philosophical-socio-existential aspiration to find yourself and follow your dreams to personal fulfillment. And the prospects are terrifying. There are too many options, too little guidance, too much space, not enough time… We make it far too hard on ourselves, us twenty-somethings on the verge of completing our schooling and venturing into the real world.

So, when I started school I did what I thought was best–I picked something so foreign, so different, I must be defined within it. Studying the Middle East was a way to find myself, to see which truths could be translated across the map and still come back pure. But what if it was all in vain? What if my romantic notions of a country that I already identify with, that I am already enamored with, reveals itself to be like the gems it is famous for (turquoise, in particular is quite prolific in Iran)–beautiful, but impenetrable? There is an element of safety in studying the dissimilar. In conversations with well-intentioned relatives and inquiring friends, the conversation always turns to restrictions, to all the stone-cold realities of Iran today.

I feel protective of the image I’ve built of this place in my head, of what I’ve imagined from books and films–I suppose my perceptions are those of someone who, already committed, begs and pleads that reality confirm her dreams–because if not, she not only loses her knowledge of a place, but of herself.

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Stay tuned. More updates from Alexa coming soon right here on our Reality Tours blog.

My journey does not boast military might nor invasive power; rather, I travel simply with the hope of bringing back knowledge. —Alexa Stevens
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What happens when an American young woman visits Iran for the first time? You can find out as you follow the adventures of Alexa Stevens, a Tufts University student majoring in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic who is en route to Iran. Alexa is one of seven delegates traveling to Iran with the Citizen Diplomacy Reality Tour trip June 26- July 10, 2011.

Citizen Diplomacy delegates on this Iran trip will explore topics such as:

  • Is the threat of war the best response to Iran’s nuclear program?
  • Is the US media’s portrayal of Iran accurate?
  • How do Iranians feel about the US government and people?

To learn more about this trip, visit this Reality Tours web page.

Alexa will be blogging about her experiences throughout her journey in Iran right here on our Reality Tours blog. As she explains on her own blog, “I always have a story to tell.”

Alexa’s First Post: “Excited and Expectant”

It’s comic how fast fear and anxiety dissipate entirely once routine and order is introduced. Yesterday our itinerary arrived, bringing with it descriptions of the sites we will see (Persepolis, The Friday Mosque, ect.), promises of the smells and tastes we will experience (shay under a 4,000 year old cypress tree, fesenjoon and bademjan in the bazaar) and the alluring dreams of people we might meet.

I can’t tell you just how anxious I was in the weeks between the time I mailed off my passport and yesterday. I had no time to be excited and expectant, instead I pragmatically researched what it might mean for an American to visit Iran.

The preparation for this trip really started a year or so ago, when my newfound interest of the region was strengthened with history books, pop music, a class aptly titled History of Iran—all of this information was gathered sporadically, from a myriad of sources, to help me understand Iran. And so it happened that I fell in love with a country I’d never seen.

But here’s the thing about those conventional courtships, where snippets of information are devoured with the utmost excitement—as the eventual meeting date grows closer, one begins to question just what exactly their enthusiasm has gotten them into.

About a month and a half ago I bought my ticket, and started to focus not on understanding my elusive paramour, but rather to prepare myself to meet it. I scanned the paper, researched the realities of the legal system, mulled over blogs and travel websites, and began to realize that even the most well-intentioned of tourists don’t always follow the rules of the Islamic Republic. I began obsessing, wondering just how much of me–my past, my thoughts, my opinions, my body–was now a public entity.

I’ve travelled far and wide, but I’ve always maintained the luxury of practically complete independence and autonomy, just as I do at home. I felt pathetic, like I was playing into the stereotypical fears of an ignorant, unaware tourist who assumed and generalized without a care in the world. I know better than this—after all, I had already proclaimed my infatuation with this remarkable place! How could I be wavering on the eve of my trip?

The truth is, I’ve never had to reconcile my somewhat romantic dreams of this country with the concrete realities of travelling there. I never thought I’d have to, so I tucked away my illusions of turquoise tiles, the soft, pleasing sounds of Farsi and mouthwatering kabob, along with my knowledge of the dress code, the awareness that the social is the political and the political is the social, and that the privilege of finally meeting that which I’ve fantasized will make reality better than dreams.

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Stay tuned. Tomorrow you’ll find more from Alexa here on our Reality Tours blog.

Paul Taylor Hess is participating in Global Exchange’s upcoming Environmental Protection
and Sustainable Development trip to Cuba. Below Paul shares some of his thoughts as he prepares for this adventure.

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“I’m Going to Cuba…to Study Business” by Paul Taylor Hess

Over the previous two years as part of my MBA in Sustainable Business program at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI), I’ve studied many things pertaining to both business and sustainability. We’ve explored management principles, methods for getting the most out of collaborative teams, principles of sustainability, the Natural Step, the Triple Bottom Line, issues of social and environmental justice facing corporations and communities, finance and accounting, quantitative methods, organizational change, systems thinking and the list could go on.

It has, up to now, been a good mix of theory and practice.

In the hopes of upping the ante on the ‘practice’ side of the equation, BGI students are now in our second year of traveling abroad to see how sustainability works on the ground in other places. So, with one year to go in the program before I walk the MBA walk, I will join about two dozen of my classmates on a two-week study tour to Cuba beginning later this week. We will visit with governmental officials, educators, medical professionals, urban (and rural) farmers, permaculturists, and especially many new entrepreneurs.

We’ll be traveling with the amazing people at Global Exchange, who’ve been traveling to Cuba for about 2 decades and connecting people from the US with people in Cuba in ways that break through the rhetoric (on both sides) and establish deep bonds that promote real understanding.

I’ve already been asked – and will probably be again – why a business school would travel to Cuba in the first place. I mean, aren’t they communists there?

Yes, they are (technically, sort of), but they are also people living in a system essentially up until now devoid of what we in the US would call a “market economy” encouraging people to go into business for themselves for the (theoretical) benefit of the wider economy and society.

This is changing rapidly in Cuba, as evidenced by the 2010 report that 500,000 state employees would be laid off in 2011 and encouraged to start new business ventures and help grow and diversify the economy. This represents just part of the tectonic shifts taking place in Havana and throughout the island as the Castro reign, seemingly, draws to a close.

We travel first and foremost to learn, to establish connections, offer our own insights to Cubans, deepen our understanding of the Cuban people’s different perspectives and the lessons they’ve learned in a starkly different culture and economic system than our own, and (hopefully) begin an ongoing dialog about what makes a business both successful and sustainable, in terms of its own financial survival and its connection to the community that supports it in ways that transcend only financial concerns.

Personally, I am curious about the cultural components of Cuban society that will support (or discourage) new entrepreneurs to step up, roll the dice and take a chance on something new.

How does a system with no history of (X) begin doing (X)? In what ways will the government interact with these new ventures? How will the emergence of an entrepreneurial class change the culture of Cuba? How will the culture (and economic system as it exists today) alter what we in the US expect of entrepreneurs and their start-up businesses? What can we learn about and improve upon in our system when compared closely to Cuba’s?

Stay tuned for more (later in July) about these and other topics.

Go to the bottom of this post for an update  about flight information added on 6/21.

SF Gate, home of the San Francisco Chronicle, recently reported this exciting news about traveling to Cuba:

San Francisco Bay Area organizations offering education-based trips to Cuba will now be able to fly out of Oakland International Airport, which has been approved as one of only 4 charter flight gateways to the Caribbean island.

Airport officials announced today that Oakland received authorization by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to offer nonstop charter passenger service to Cuba. Before this, the only other airport with the authorization to do that were Miami, Los Angeles and New York’s John F. Kennedy.

Before you get too excited, however, it doesn’t change the rules about who can travel legally to Havana and under what circumstances. You still have to go through an authorized education-travel operator, or person-to-person programs, such as Global Exchange or the Los Angeles-based Cuba Travel Services. This approval only makes it easier for those organizations to offer direct flights.

Read the complete article here.

Another news article, this one from Contra Costa Times, issued this warning about the news:

Travel restrictions requiring that the trip be for academic, religious, humanitarian or newsgathering purposes will still apply. However, these restrictions were loosened earlier this year by the Obama administration as part of an ongoing effort to make Cuba travel easier.

Read the complete Contra Costa Times article here, and this blog post Change in U.S. Cuba Travel Policy: What Does this Mean for You?

Traveling to Cuba may not be as simple as say, hopping a flight to Disneyworld, but this new development will make it easier for us here at Global Exchange to bring many folks to Cuba. Visit our website to learn more about traveling to Cuba.

Flights from Oakland to Cuba are tentatively set to start in December 2011, but possibly sooner. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Travel to Cuba with Global Exchange: Now is the perfect time to plan your trip to Cuba, since it’s getting easier for us to organize trips.  We’d love for you to join us on one of our Reality Tours to Cuba.

The best time to go to Cuba? New Years! Hopefully Oakland flights will be up and running by then. Everyone I have ever known that has gone on a Global Exchange New Years trip to Cuba has come back…different. In a good way. Like they just went on a trip of a lifetime. To learn more about our New Years trips to Cuba this year, go here.

Save $150 on Cuba Trip: In honor of this recent exciting new travel development, Global Exchange Reality Tours is offering a $150 DISCOUNT when you register for one of our Cuba trips by August 15th, 2011. Simply mention this blog post to receive your discount.

So what are you waiting for? Cuba awaits you.

Update Added on 6/21/2011: Since this blog post was published, there has been an update about flights to Cuba….Just announced: flights to Cuba from Los Angeles will begin in mid July. Know what that means? Our plans for Reality Tours New Years trips to Cuba are moving forward as planned. Yippee!

Picturesque Hawaii

Global Exchange recently announced Hawaii as its newest destination for socially responsible travel. The trip is called Aloha ‘Aina: Militarization, Ecology and Hawaiian Self-Determination.

In 1959, Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state, but to many native Hawaiians, the islands’ annexation and statehood violated both international law and their right to self-determination.

From December 16 – 23, 2011, Global Exchange’s Reality Tours program expands our socially responsible, educational adventures to Hawaii to explore the issues rarely mentioned by the media, the travel industry, or the local government itself.

The islands’ tropical climate and natural beauty make them a popular destination for tourists, sportspersons, and scientists from around the world, but visitors seldom hear about real issues affecting the island’s fragile ecology and native people.

Makua Beach in Hawaii

This Reality Tour will reveal the history and struggles of the native Hawaiians, the impact of the heavy U.S. military presence on their daily lives and fragile island ecosystems, and the vibrant indigenous culture of a people who never had a voice in becoming part of the United States.

Global Exchange Reality Tours are based on the idea that travel can be educational, fun, and positively influence international affairs. Our trips provide individuals the opportunity to understand issues beyond what is communicated by the mass media and gain a new vantage point from which to view and affect US foreign policy.

Hawaii Trip Itinerary
Here is a rundown of the tentative itinerary for this new and exciting trip:

The trip begins with an “alternative” tour of Honolulu, including a visit to ‘Iolani Palace and other important cultural sites, an appreciation of the natural beauty that the island’s tourism industry is built upon, and a discussion of Hawaii’s history, resistance, and militarization. The latter is highlighted in an alternative tour of Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial.

The program further diverges from the usual tourist clichés with a visit to Hanakehau Learning Farm, a project that offers a model for converting former military zones to peaceful and productive uses by restoring farming in the wetlands on the shores of Ke Awalau o Pu’uloa (Pearl Harbor). The tour then travels to Ma ka hana ka ike to help restore traditional agri- and aquaculture, and to Wai’ahole to meet representatives of local environmental organizations.

The next day focuses on traditional Hawaiian culture and cosmology, with a visit to Lihu’e and the Kukaniloko Birthstones, one of the most significant cultural sites on O’ahu, to learn about the area’s historic and religious importance. From there participants travel to Mt. Ka`ala, the highest peak on the island of O`ahu, whose flat-top is a familiar sight to island residents.

A hike through the forest ends with a visit to an organic farm project to learn how it is improving food security and the economic and social realities of marginalized communities by “growing food and empowering youth”. The day concludes with a visit to Makua Beach and a briefing by locals on how Hawaiian culture and the role of nature in their cosmology and day to day lives.

The ecological theme continues with a visit to Paepae o He’eia, a non-profit group started by a group of young Hawaiians dedicated to preserving the ancient He’eia Fishpond located in He’eia, Ko’olaupoko, O’ahu, for the community. Participants then learn how the revival of traditional canoe voyaging helped spark a Hawaiian cultural renaissance, and experience it first-hand by paddling before meeting with community activists dedicated to ocean stewardship through education and advocacy.

 

MORE INFO ABOUT THIS TRIP

Aloha Aina!