The Travel Curriculum

Join Allyson Clark and Nishant this week for a discussion on tourism-based pollution in India. Growing up, Nishant had the opportunity to travel and live in several parts of his home country, India. Throughout the past decade, he has noticed some changes in his favorite sites, including pollution. Him and Allyson discuss the root of the problem, and what some parts of India are doing to create a positive or net-zero impact tourism industry. 

Allyson Clark and Luna Ernst get together to talk about Luna’s experience in Jordan earlier this year. Despite negative prejudice facing Muslim nations, Luna wanted to travel to Jordan with a friend of hers to prove something to her friends and family in Germany. Luna sheds some truth on the country and culture of Jordan, telling stories of the people’s hospitality and lands beauty. Her perspective on something few of us see and advice for travelers is priceless!  As promised at the end of the podcast, extra pictures of Jordan can be found on The Travel Curriculum blog if you click here or go and explore our newly launched website, thetravelcurriculum.com   

Allyson and Natalia get together to discuss her experiences in Morocco as both a traveler and a volunteer. Natalia has made 3 visits to Morocco and discusses how each experience gave her added perspective, helping her to better understand the country. Natalia discusses several problems facing tourism based economies like the ones she visited and gives travelers advice on how to act consciously and have the best experience, both for themselves and the communities they interact with. 

This week join The Travel Curriculum Tribe Leader, Natalia Jones and Taylor Hooper as they discuss Taylor’s semester at sea. Taylor is an American student and discusses the impact which mutual exchange had on both her and the locals which she connected with, even when she was only in cities for short periods of time. Many find that gaining a genuine understanding of a culture is difficult when they only stay short periods of time in a country. Taylor offers a variety of examples from countries and communities all around the world where she was able to make friends and deepen her global perspective. 

This week Allyson interviews Lukas Kahlau, a German native with extensive and diverse travel experience. After realizing that he had spent a large amount of time and money on partying in Indonesia, Lukas made some big changes to his travel habits before leaving on another big trip. In this podcast he compares and discusses his sober and non-sober travels. He also sent the following note to the listeners:  Hey guys,In this interview I will share my experiences of travelling and “party travelling” with you. Don’t get the idea that I’m trying to tell you not to enjoy a couple drinks every now and then. It is about not forgetting the actual purpose and goals of your travel!;-) I got to add here, that I don’t regret any of my travels lead me to becoming the person that I am. SO make your own experience and maybe you can learn a little of my experience. If you enjoy this podcast and find the content interesting, share with your friends and follow us on Facebook at The Travel Curriculum.

In this episode of The Travel Curriculum Podcast, Natalia, a member of The Travel Curriculum team, speaks with Nico, a traveler from Chile who views travel as a lifestyle. When traveling, he stays for extended periods of time in order to know the culture, learn the language, and meet locals - even when traveling in groups of friends he has found a way to have authentic experiences. He speaks about his experiences here and gives tips to other travelers who want to make the most of the time traveling. To see more of his adventures you can follow his blog, Larutadispone.blogspot.com . 

En este episodio del The Travel Curriculum Podcast, Natalia, un miembro del equipe de The Travel Curriculum habla con Nico, un viajero de Chile que viaja por estilo de vida. Cuando viaja, él se queda por un tiempo para entender la cultura, aprender el idioma e encontrar locales. Cuando él viaja en grupos con amigos, él tiene una experiencia autentica. Él habla sobre sus experiencias y da consejos para los otros viajeros que quieren hacer el mejor de sus tiempo viajando. Para aprender más sobre sus aventuras, puede seguir su blog, Larutadispone.blogspot.com .

On this podcast Allyson gets real and discusses the reality of tourism’s impact, starting with the traveler’s mindset. She touches on how travelers can use the same gut reaction/voice which encouraged them to travel to also make smarter and more sustainable decisions once they have reached their locations. The ideas in this podcast stem from her experience, speaking engagements, and discussions she has had with other travelers since starting The Travel Curriculum. 

Welcome back! Join Allyson and our Colombian friend, Sebastian, as they discuss Sebastian’s experience working and traveling in Australia in 2013. Sebastian explains how working while traveling was essential to his understanding of day-to-day Australian life and played a key role in his experiences as he traveled Australia later on. Working and traveling simultaneously is becoming more common among travellers because it allows them to travel more and become integrated within communities. This podcast is great for anyone who has contemplated the idea of work travel or is looking to get a deeper understanding of the communities they travel within  

This podcast, Quan and Allyson get together and talk about how pushing his comfort zone when moving to Berlin totally payed off. Quan is like many people who travel, the idea of making friends and becoming part of the new community make him nervous. To him, hearing from outgoing individuals that the best way to meet people is to sit in a bar and talk to a stranger is a nightmare. Quan’s advice for shy travelers, and honest explanation of his experiences are invaluable, especially for those who may think they are the only shy one.  

Guigo Klinkerfuss and Allyson got together to experiment with our new concept for storytelling episodes, Listen Up. The Listen Up episodes are a little bit of travel inspiration mixed with a lot of wanderlust. Most importantly, these episodes are part of our initiative to foster intercultural empathy and understanding through storytelling. Guigo takes us on a journey to Nepal, where he traveled in 2014 and met some pretty amazing people. He reflects on one couple in particular who inspired him to start Couchsurfing and traveling outside of his comfort zone.   Let us know what you think of the new segment, and share your story with us via. email or Facebook. You could be the next Storyteller featured on our podcast  

This week’s guest, Lucas, is currently living in New York State and working as a teachers assistant for Portuguese language. Allyson and Lucas discuss his role as a teacher, but also as an informal ambassador for Brazil. He opens up about the difficulty of changing stereotypes and creating a holistic view of Brazil for his students. While Lucas’s experiences come in the form of teaching, we believe that any traveler can apply his practices into their experiences.  Go to The Travel Curriculum Facebook page for a funny “behind the scenes” story about Lucas and Allyson, as well as to find subscription links and all of The Travel Curriculum’s newest developments. 

Its me, Allyson! This podcast is a little different, I will discuss the importance of story telling in fostering community and understanding, while presenting a new aspect of the podcast series and challenging the listener to both listen and be heard. The ideas I express throughout this podcast have come together through a series of readings and experiences which I have had recently and which I believe will resonate with others. 

This week, Olivia Blondheim returns to The Travel Curriculum Podcast! Back from Belize, she is able to share with us her holistic understanding of eco-tourism and its relationship with conservation efforts made by the government of Belize. She also reflects on how the experience has helped her grow as a traveler and scientist. Her passion is contagious and we as The Travel Tribe couldn’t be more excited to watch her journey develop. Check out our Facebook Page for more pictures and behind the scenes. 

Join Courtney Jean and I as we reflect on her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya. Now working as a teacher, Courtney is able to look back at her experience and provide a very unique and humble explanation of her impact. Her retelling brings to question some fundamental aspects of voluntourism, while analyzing the actual impact of volunteer programs abroad. 

Join in on the conversation between Jill Cassells and I as we discuss “The Traveler’s Perspective”. Jill shares some of our favorite stories from her extensive travels, all of which relate to global networks, perspective, and her upmost authentic experiences. Jill is a well seasoned traveler and offers a unique perspective to those in The Travel Tribe who are just getting started or who haven’t yet reflected on their experiences.  Note: An extra picture of Pete (listen to the podcast to find out) will be posted on our Facebook page. He doesn’t look at all like we thought we would. We loved hearing the story again with the image. 

Listen to Guigo and I as we discuss his experience as a receiving host to travelers. He also touches on how he has created such a wide network of travelers. Guigo is a close friend of mine - so trust me when I say that his words are golden. You can find out more about Guigo’s adventures on his blog (there is also a cool story about the picture featured above). 

Join my friend Logan Muckle and I as we discuss his experiences with a host family in Colombia. Logan explains how the relationship with his host family has developed over the last few months, telling us about the first time he really felt part of the family. Logan is 18 and from the United States. He is currently living in Colombia and is expected to return to the USA this coming summer.

Join Olivia Blondheim and I as we discuss her upcoming travel to Belize. Olivia touches on the global and ecological effects of tourism, and gives her advice on how to travel smarter. 

Join Pauline Batista, Masters student in Latin American Studies, and I as we discuss UNESCO policy and the conflict of cultural preservation in her small, touristic, Brazilian hometown.