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September 27, 2005
Get Lost Event
I wanted to thank everyone who joined us at Get Lost Books on Thursday, especially Lee Azus who gave us the opportunity to put this event together.
We had four speakers who talked about their different experiences teaching abroad. Dan Gould went first and told the audience about his three years teaching in Spain and how he showed up with no teaching experience or housing and found these two pretty easily. He even met a girl there and they are now married. I, Helene, remembered my days as a Business English teacher in Japan. Amy Belden taught in Versailles, France and told us how she managed to live in Paris on a teacher's assistant salary. And Greg Greunke talked about teaching in Taiwan and Japan.
The upstairs room was packed with friendly people--a lot of new faces which was great to see--and the Q&A session we had after the speakers was a lot of fun. People asked some great questions such what kind of opportunities (outside of teaching) there were in the countries we had taught in. A lady was interested in pursuing her singing career, another wanted to start writing for magazines, etc.
I probably wouldn't be able to go over all the questions asked that night but if anyone is thinking about teaching abroad, let us know, we'd be happy to help. Send me an e-mail (editor@insideoutmag.com) or post a question in our forums.
And if you couldn't make it to this one, be sure to join us at Get Lost on November 3. We'll be talking about volunteering abroad.
Posted by insideoutmag at 03:32 PM
September 21, 2005
Teaching Abroad: Fact or Fiction?
We're inviting you to join us at Get Lost Books in San Francisco, on Sept. 22 at 7 pm
If you ever wanted to teach English in foreign lands, come on by to hear from people who have turned the dream into reality. Amy Belden, Daniel Gould, Greg Greunke, and InsideOut Travel's founders Josh Krist and Helene Goupil will be there to tell you how they did and what they'd recommend if you want to do the same.
1825 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-437-0529
See you there!
Posted by insideoutmag at 02:57 PM
September 17, 2005
Peace in Golden Gate Park
I know this is last minute but I forgot this was happening this weekend. If you're in San Francisco and have been meaning to check out Peace Corps opportunities, here's your chance to meet some of the people who've returned from missions abroad.
The 2nd Annual Peace Corps Cultural Festival is taking place in Golden Gate Park today from 11 am to 5 pm.
The event will include:
Tribal villages, each representing a region of the world, will feature displays, crafts, demonstrations and activities highlighting cultures from countries where Volunteers have served.
Live performances and activities including dancing, martial arts, cooking lessons, and story telling.
“The Peace Games"; a multiple-event competition of skill, stamina and humility where teams representing regions of the world race against each other in performing tasks unique to various cultures.
World beat music played by "World One Radio" DJ Cory Mason.
Global Scavenger Hunt…and other fun events!
Posted by insideoutmag at 10:22 AM
September 16, 2005
Paris The City That Never Sleeps
The City of Lights is living up to its name on October 1st. As part of the "White Night in Paris" festival, the city's museums, cultural centers, and art galleries are leaving their lights on all night and inviting you to join in on the fun.
"White Night" started in 2002 and has since expanded to other cities around the world. Participants can follow a suggested itinerary on foot, rollerblades, or on a bicycle they can borrow from one of the check points (France Telecom and the City of Paris are lending the bikes free of charge for the night). For people who would rather see Paris by night on a boat, a Batobus ride is available for approximately 5 euros.
Posted by insideoutmag at 02:40 PM
September 15, 2005
Seasonal Jobs Can Take you Places
The skiing season is right around the corner and looking at job offers in ski resorts around the world, it looks like it would be a good way to get yourself abroad.
I've recently come across Season Workers, a website that lists seasonal job offers and was impressed by the number of jobs listed. In their most recent e-mail, they included information on ski resort jobs. It's something I've never personally done but I've always thought it would be fun to work a season in Colorado, the Alps or wherever else.
Click here to see ski resort jobs
Here are some interesting numbers on seasonal workers in Colorado from the Colorado Department of Labor:
31,000 Number of seasonal workers hired by Colorado ski resorts for the ski season
8,000 Number of seasonal workers hired by Vail Resorts' five areas
1,400 Number of foreign workers hired by Vail Resorts through the government's H-2B visa program
66,000 Cap on the number of H-2B visas granted each fiscal year
The H-2B program allows US employers to hire foreign workers (skilled or non-skilled) for a temporary employment time frame of up to one year. All occupations under the H-2B program are nonagricultural. Employers filing under the H-2B program must demonstrate that there are no qualified or available US workers to fill the existing job opening. Part-time employment does not qualify for temporary labor certification.
If you've worked a seasonal job, let me know (editor@insideoutmag.com), I'd love to hear what you did and how you found work.
Posted by insideoutmag at 12:55 PM
September 14, 2005
I got five pounds of bananas yesterday for a dollar ... and they're real!
While writing the guidebook on San Francisco, I started reading San Francisco blogs on a regular basis and always found SFist to be an interesting read, so although this isn't really travel-related (well, it does give you an idea of what a bus ride in the city can be like), I wanted to share a great weekly column that the writers at SFist have started posting. It's called Yvesdroppings and it lists overheard conversations in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chronicle has published similar conversations but so far I've found SFist's selection funnier.
This Week's Yvesdroppings From SFist
If you missed last week's column, here is part of it:
Transvestite with pitbull: Don't give him wine. That's all we need is a drunk dog.
Man giving pitbull wine: Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Dude on cellphone: Hey man, I hear you've been having a great time down there. [A pause.] Oh, you got electrocuted? That's lame.
--5 Fulton
Posted by insideoutmag at 02:28 PM
September 12, 2005
Underdog Nation
We had the pleasure the other day of meeting Joshua Davis, author of Underdog Nation: How I Survived the World's Most Outlandish Competitions, at a backwards-running race he put on, and participated in, at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. Josh is in the red shirt and is wearing a white pad on his head in case he falls down backwards.
Doing his best to prove that gumption is the better part of valor, Davis has traveled around the world doing what should be the impossible: Throwing his 130-pound frame against professional sumo wrestlers; sneaking into Iraq to cover the war; competing in the world arm wrestling championships; nearly boiling himself alive in sauna soaking competitions. And then, of course, there's the running backwards race in Italy.
Classify under "absurdist travel" on your book shelf. Joshua's book not only details the more obscure sporting events but details the roads less traveled in this mad, mad, mad world.
We asked him about the sumo wrestling, and he detailed his unconventional technique: "I grabbed the guy right under his flabby breast and tucked my hand right up in there. He was so surprised I was able to push him out."
Posted by insideoutmag at 04:56 PM
September 11, 2005
Straight From InsideOut's Forums
There's been some interesting posts on our forums lately (thanks "Massage London UK"). From new travel gear to pay-what-you-can hotels, here are some of the ones we liked:
electric backpack a must?
« on: Sep 9th, 2005
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a biologist at the University of Pennsylvania has led the development of a backpack that can generate around 7 watts of electricity, without solar cells, and actually providing a more comfortable backpack in the process.
Seven watts is sufficient to power a handful of electronic gadgets at the same time, including a cell phone, an MP3 player, a handheld computer and a water purifier
Taking advantage of vertical motion, much like some wave generators, the backpack harnesses body movements while hiking. The spring mechanism involved appears to ‘cushion’ the movement of the backpack on the wearer, leaving those who have tried it saying it is more comfortable then standard gear.
The net weight gain of the device only appears to be a few ounces.
Click here for more information
flying hotel?
« on: Sep 9th, 2005
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Click here for more information
fully reclining seat and far more freedom to move about even for the cattle class passengers - all this without losing aircraft passenger-capacity or increasing airfares significantly.
pay-what-you-can hotel opens in a park in Austria
« on: Today
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Click here for more information (german only)
DasParkHotel is a series of single-occupancy rooms in Linz, Austria.
Tourists can book the rooms online, and pay whatever amount they can. As the hotel has no facilities beyond sleeping rooms, guests should plan to use facilites like nearby showers in the public pool, and bathrooms in museums (the web site has a map of local facilities).
The intent is great, but the open hole in the top of the cylinder raises the question of how to keep out unwanted intruders (human and animal), rain, and bugs ...
new species at London Zoo - humans
« on: Today at 6:13am »
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Click here for more information
if you get bored with Notting Hill Festival you can head for some enjoyment to London Zoo - the coming weekend some 8 volunteers will stay in the monkey compound wearing nothing more than fig leaves and eating bananas.
they might stay there longer to preserve human gene pull - just in case the rest of the humanity exterminate themselves.
Posted by insideoutmag at 07:38 PM
September 06, 2005
We're Back!
Ah, summertime (and vacation) is over, and we're now back in San Francisco, hard at work. The summer in France was a sunny dream come true, and the curent San Francisco weather is a rather cool reception, we think. Our return isn't all bad though; we have a lot of things that we're looking forward to in the next few months.
Most exciting, we have a guidebook, "San Francisco: The Unknown City," coming out in October. We recently saw proofs and we're excited to see the finished book. You can read a description of it on the Arsenal Pulp Press website, and for those who want to get it as soon as it comes out, Amazon lets you pre-order it.
We're also excited about an event on teaching abroad we're curating on Sept. 22 at Get Lost bookstore in San Francisco (click here for details).
If you ever wanted to teach in a foreign country, here's your chance to talk to a few people who have done it (including myself, Helene). Find out what they did right and what they wished they would have known before making the plunge. We'll answer your questions about contracts, credentials, pay, and the merits of various countries. If you live in the Bay area and have taught in Europe (the program is a little Asia-heavy at the moment), and would like to share your tips and experiences for ten minutes in front of travelers, and then answer any questions, drop us a line at editor@insideoutmag.com.
Posted by insideoutmag at 05:34 PM