Maureen
Has anyone seen them in Target? Toys R Us? K-mart? Value City? Kohls? Walmart?
I see them on e-Bay but am hoping to find them locally, to avoid the shipping charges.
Have you seen them in any local midwest stores? Thanks!
Answer
A few weeks ago, when we were back to school shopping with the kids, I saw them at TJ Maxx. I'm not sure if you have that there, but they had a pretty big selection.
Also, amazon.com has some, and their shipping rates are relatively cheap.
A few weeks ago, when we were back to school shopping with the kids, I saw them at TJ Maxx. I'm not sure if you have that there, but they had a pretty big selection.
Also, amazon.com has some, and their shipping rates are relatively cheap.
How can I save up to backpack abroad and should I do it alone?
LMB
I'm a 22 year old woman and I just graduated college with a degree in journalism. I've always had a traveler's spirit and few things make me happier than exploring new places. I've always wanted to travel abroad, but the responses I am getting are split down the middle. Some older or settled people tell me to do it while I can and that they would have done it in a heart beat if they'd thought about it when they were younger while others( like my mother and father) tell me to start my career immediately.
I do want to start a career, but I'd prefer to travel for some months first. I've been reading some advice on how to do this and some suggest to get a job and save up before traveling. Can anyone suggest jobs that are useful for someone who simply wants to save up to go abroad? Once I'm abroad I would like to stay in a hostel and perhaps teach or do some other work. However, I am a girl and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to do this alone. However, I don't have any friends that I am sure would be able to join me. Any advice there?
Thank you.
Answer
Congrats on your graduation and welcome to the world of journalism. I am a journalist and was once in exactly your situation. I had actually studied abroad over the summer between my last two years of college and that served to sharpen my wanderlust.
My situation worked out nicely. I worked for four years after graduation, paid off some bills and saved and saved and saved, and then took off for five weeks and backpacked/Eurailed around Europe. I almost went with a friend. He and I planned and prepared right up until two months before departure. Then he had to drop out when his parents cut off his funding due to an untimely divorce. I was devastated and almost canceled my trip, but I decided no, I had been working toward this ever since I was a little kid saving up to buy ViewMaster reels of Europe with my allowance money while my little friends bought Hot Wheels cars. (Yikes, I just dated myself, didn't I?)
Anyway, traveling solo was the greatest experience and my favorite way to see Europe. Not having my buddy along forced me to interact with Europeans on the trains, at cafés, etc., where otherwise I might have been just chatting with my friend. Now I generally travel with a close friend. In the past I've actually parted ways with a travel companion while we took side adventures for a few days on our own, reuniting later.
To fund my first several trips, I took on a second, after-work job and all the money from that job went directly into my "Europe fund." Now I've reached the point where I just sock away money from each paycheck until the Europe fund is healthy again.
I have taken bunches of trips since that first, eye-opening, magical experience. I learned I need to budget my spending money better (I ran out with a week to go and horribly abused my credit cards), and found ways to get The Boss to approve me taking more than the company-allocated miserable two weeks of vacation so I can do a proper 3-4 week trip to Europe. I also learned not to skimp when it comes to buying my backpack. (The frame of my cheapo army surplus $26 pack was damaged before I even removed it from the baggage carousel in London. Later a dangling external structural bit stuck a lady in a crowded train corridor in Germany, who had quite a lot to say on the matter, and even though my German is nowhere near fluent, I knew precisely what she was saying.)
So...my advice is to go as soon as you can comfortably afford to go. Take no more than one friend with you, if you must, and know that friend well. (I was so relieved when a twit I thought I knew well ditched me in Hamburg without telling me, then resurfaced in Switzerland and expected me to pay for part of his hotel room when he misread our itinerary and got there two days early.) Going solo is not so bad for a woman traveler in most of western Europe. The farther east and south you go, the more sexist the culture and the more apt the menfolk are to stare, paw and pinch, but west and north is perfectly safe. Just take the same precautions you'd take at home, and as my friend Judy points out to our students, never carry more than you're able to run 10 blocks with when you're late for a train. (Jude, who only does solo, independent travel, also says not to carry any jewelry or anything else you don't mind losing.)
Oh, you asked about jobs for saving up for your Europe expenses. I have done all sorts of stuff, including ad layout for a weekly newspaper, and tons of freelance graphic design and writing work. Freelance is awesome because you can set your own rates and work hours. If you want to try working abroad while you're over there in Europe, visit the Council on International Educational Exchange's website, www.ciee.org, and look into their work abroad program. It's mostly service-industry type jobs (hotel maids, bartenders, etc.) but it's a great way to plunge into the local culture.
One other thing, once you start going to Europe, you won't be able to stop. My retirement account is pitiful and I have never owned a home. Every time I save up enough money, I go back to Europe for another three or four weeks!
Congrats on your graduation and welcome to the world of journalism. I am a journalist and was once in exactly your situation. I had actually studied abroad over the summer between my last two years of college and that served to sharpen my wanderlust.
My situation worked out nicely. I worked for four years after graduation, paid off some bills and saved and saved and saved, and then took off for five weeks and backpacked/Eurailed around Europe. I almost went with a friend. He and I planned and prepared right up until two months before departure. Then he had to drop out when his parents cut off his funding due to an untimely divorce. I was devastated and almost canceled my trip, but I decided no, I had been working toward this ever since I was a little kid saving up to buy ViewMaster reels of Europe with my allowance money while my little friends bought Hot Wheels cars. (Yikes, I just dated myself, didn't I?)
Anyway, traveling solo was the greatest experience and my favorite way to see Europe. Not having my buddy along forced me to interact with Europeans on the trains, at cafés, etc., where otherwise I might have been just chatting with my friend. Now I generally travel with a close friend. In the past I've actually parted ways with a travel companion while we took side adventures for a few days on our own, reuniting later.
To fund my first several trips, I took on a second, after-work job and all the money from that job went directly into my "Europe fund." Now I've reached the point where I just sock away money from each paycheck until the Europe fund is healthy again.
I have taken bunches of trips since that first, eye-opening, magical experience. I learned I need to budget my spending money better (I ran out with a week to go and horribly abused my credit cards), and found ways to get The Boss to approve me taking more than the company-allocated miserable two weeks of vacation so I can do a proper 3-4 week trip to Europe. I also learned not to skimp when it comes to buying my backpack. (The frame of my cheapo army surplus $26 pack was damaged before I even removed it from the baggage carousel in London. Later a dangling external structural bit stuck a lady in a crowded train corridor in Germany, who had quite a lot to say on the matter, and even though my German is nowhere near fluent, I knew precisely what she was saying.)
So...my advice is to go as soon as you can comfortably afford to go. Take no more than one friend with you, if you must, and know that friend well. (I was so relieved when a twit I thought I knew well ditched me in Hamburg without telling me, then resurfaced in Switzerland and expected me to pay for part of his hotel room when he misread our itinerary and got there two days early.) Going solo is not so bad for a woman traveler in most of western Europe. The farther east and south you go, the more sexist the culture and the more apt the menfolk are to stare, paw and pinch, but west and north is perfectly safe. Just take the same precautions you'd take at home, and as my friend Judy points out to our students, never carry more than you're able to run 10 blocks with when you're late for a train. (Jude, who only does solo, independent travel, also says not to carry any jewelry or anything else you don't mind losing.)
Oh, you asked about jobs for saving up for your Europe expenses. I have done all sorts of stuff, including ad layout for a weekly newspaper, and tons of freelance graphic design and writing work. Freelance is awesome because you can set your own rates and work hours. If you want to try working abroad while you're over there in Europe, visit the Council on International Educational Exchange's website, www.ciee.org, and look into their work abroad program. It's mostly service-industry type jobs (hotel maids, bartenders, etc.) but it's a great way to plunge into the local culture.
One other thing, once you start going to Europe, you won't be able to stop. My retirement account is pitiful and I have never owned a home. Every time I save up enough money, I go back to Europe for another three or four weeks!
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