I walk on a solid floor in my house each day without a single thought. My kitchen is tiled and my bedroom is a sturdy, oak hardwood. I admit I take my floor for granted. Until I took a Fathom cruise to volunteer in the Dominican Republic, I didn’t realize how important something as simple as a solid structure […]
Impact Travel
Bringing Clean Water to the Dominican Republic
Frank has to store his water in a big tank because water is turned on only three times a day where he lives. He knows tap water is not well-maintained in the Dominican Republic and just hopes that it will pour out cleaner than the day before. Forget collecting rainwater. The metal-sheet roofs the rain trickles down from […]
Social Impact Travel with Fathom
I’m the first to admit, I’m not your typical cruiser. Beach-hopping is relaxing yes, but resorts rarely get you out of your comfort zone and the “all-inclusives” are designed to make you feel like you never left home. Typical cruises and resort life give you little insight into local living. Fathom, I discovered, is not your typical Caribbean cruise. […]
Supporting Refugees and Thai Freedom House
Last year, the UN reported more than 110,000 refugees living in Thailand. Escaping from ethnic conflict, many of them flee for Bangkok but most of them settle along the Thai-Burmese border to the north. As refugees, they face a lot of obstacles. The legal means of staying in Thailand are dependent on employment but many refugees don’t have the […]
Courageous Kitchen
A place normally filled with kids learning to cook, it was a bunch of new travel friends and expats on a Saturday night getting together, nomming over tasty South East Asian recipes and talking about an uneasy topic. Dwight played Chef for the night. Chopping, slicing, mixing, stirring. But this is not your traditional cooking school. Two years […]
Haiti’s Girls
Will I see you tomorrow? Yes I think so. A sigh of content from me. Sheri was one of two female students in our class of 10 males where I was volunteering with English in Mind. Not many girls stay in school in Haiti. I was hoping Sherri would. It’s one of the challenges of the education system in a […]