Features - Part 48

June 18, 2015 by The Young Leader

What to Do When It Rains While You’re Traveling

There you are: Sitting on the beach in a beautiful seaside town when suddenly the weather turns for the worse and your sunny vacation has turned into seemingly endless days of wet, gray slosh. Vacation ruined, right? Wrong. A kink in your plans can turn a vacation into an exploration. (Trust me, I’ve been in Cancun during the rainy season.)

Remember that little café you saw just off the beach? Try ducking in there for an espresso or to experience other local fare. Do some people-watching. Find out where to grab an umbrella and get back out on the town.

How about visiting the local museum? Almost every town has a museum of some sort – even if it only tells the history of the town. What better way to really get to know the place you’re visiting?

Or, better yet, talk to the locals. What do they do when it rains? Where do they like to hang out? What are their recommendations? The people who live in your vacation spot know the off-the-beaten path places most visitors miss – and where daily life happens. A little stumbling around and chatting can make you new friends and put you in places the vast majority of vacationers miss out on because they’ve only taken the opportunity to swim, surf and sun themselves (not that there’s anything wrong with that either!).

Instead of ruining your vacation, a little (or a lot of) rain could be just the thing to make your trip memorable – by getting you off the beach and into the cafes, museums and other interesting places that make up the real fabric of your vacation spot. Rain gives you the perfect excuse to turn your vacation into an exploration. Grab the opportunity by the horns.

Contributed by William Pate

June 17, 2015 by The Young Leader

5 Travel Adventures Teens Will Enjoy Just as Much as Adults

There are many ways to go about traveling. Many ideas that adults throw out there for traveling may sound unappealing at first; but if you can do something like these five ideas below, you are bound to enjoy it just as much as an adult.

Connect with the great outdoors. Whether you are going on a guided tour or exploring on your own, getting out in nature is something that is fun for everyone. Consider exploring the Outback in Australia and seeing kangaroo hop across the desert and finding spiders the size of your hand. Also, a backpacking trip into the wilderness where you can scale challenging mountains or traverse long plains can be so enjoyable. Even an organized safari in a place like Africa will be exciting for you and everyone you are with.

Pack up for a cross-country road trip. The United States is massive and has an enormous amount of diversity in people and scenery. Hitting the open road means you’ll be challenged along the way, laugh at the inevitable mistakes you make, and be amazed at the interesting places you find. The great thing about cross-country trips is that they are enjoyable with friends or family.

Give back by volunteering. One of the most rewarding travel experiences is volunteering in another place. You may or may not think you have enough life experience to share with other people, but volunteering is about passion and a desire to give back. You can express this passion by teaching people English abroad or taking care of precious and threatened animals in a country like Costa Rica. Consider volunteering abroad, whether it is for 2 weeks or 2 months.

Relax on a cruise. Who doesn’t love chocolate covered everything at the buffets! Although cruises are very prearranged and organized in advanced, they can still offer a lot of spontaneity because of the variety of things offered aboard ship. Also, there are excursions offered off the ship while docked; these include fun things like snorkeling, rafting, horseback riding, or zip-lining.

Immerse yourself in the culture. There is something incredible about meeting people from new places. When you go to Peru, you’ll meet the locals, descendants of the Incas, who live on the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca. When you go to Jordan, you’ll meet the locals Bedouin people and partake in their famous group camping trips in the desert. Although other cultures may seem so different, traveling and meeting them can teach you that the essence of people is good.

Contributed by Kristin Melody

June 15, 2015 by The Young Leader

The 8 Best Places To Take an Outdoor Nap This Summer

Have you ever felt an urge to take a summer nap outside, yet there doesn’t seem to be a place as comfortable nor as scenic to your liking? Try any or all of these simple suggestions and you’ll have the desired lazy summer we know you’ve been craving.

1. Buy a Hammock

Who doesn’t love to lounge in a hammock? You can tie one up almost anywhere for the perfect mid-evening nap. Most people find the slow, calming rocking motion of a hammock to resemble a parent rocking their child in their arms until they fall into a deep reassuring sleep. Inspired by this notion, a few Swiss scientists decided to examine the idea of rocking a person to sleep. Sophie Schwartz, a neuroscientist at the Sleep and Cognition Neuroimaging Lab at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, observed a faster transition to sleep with the simple swinging of a hammock. Not only does rocking motion make us fall asleep more quickly, but she found it also makes people sleep more deeply throughout the nap.

2. Lawn Chair By The Pool

A solid lawn chair at your local pool can help you enjoy those comforting quiet evenings, as well as the raucous afternoons filled with splashes and laughter of your friends and family. It’s the perfect way to relax in comfort and style.

3. Place a Towel on the beach

A towel on the beach may not seem like much, yet the feel of the warm, malleable sand through the cloth of your towel will send you dozing off.

4. Take Your Bean Bag Chair Out on The Lawn

Bean Bag Chairs provide a unique nap experience. While they may not rock back and forth, they’re more maneuverable than traditional lawn chair or public bench.

Because of their adjustable shape, bean bag chairs are great for dragging out into the sun for a long nap.

5. Floating Lounge Chair

Rather than sleeping in a lawn chair neighboring the pool, why not actually rest while floating ontop? The Floating Lounge Chair is perfect for any poolside relaxation and perhaps a bit of sunbathing. Producing a similar rocking rhythm the hammock provides, the lounge chair will buoy yourself to a comfortable, tanning sleep.

6. A Few Rocks By The River

While perhaps not as snug as the locales listed above, river rock crevices are remarkably comfortable. Warmed by the sun, river rocks provide a sauna like feel to your slumber. The continual, rushing movement of the river is soothing to listen to as you gently close your eyes.

7. Porch Swing

If you don’t own a porch swing, nor have a friend with a porch swing, I would highly recommend investing in one. Easy to assemble and surprisingly convenient, the porch swing offers a lovely see-saw motion, as well as protection from the sun. Similar to the hammock, the porch swing resembles something of a soft, swinging couch.

8. Google Naps

If you’re unable to find any of the above, try go wrong with Google Naps! Google Naps is a crowd-sourced map project that will point you to the best places in your city to take a nap, as submitted by other locals. The World is your living room.

Contributed by Sophie Emigh

June 15, 2015 by The Young Leader

5 Ways to Get a Head Start on a Career in Education

You don’t just want a career; you want to educate and inspire others to learn. This is often a daunting thought, but don’t let all the information about education careers overwhelm you. Here are five ways that will motivate you to get a head start in your future in education!

1) Learn about your passion. You can’t become a doctor and know nothing about medicine. It’s the same for a career in education, so study up on your dream profession! Research what you’re interested in; learn about what it takes to enter that job. Discover what your state’s requirements are to become a teacher. From lecturing on molecular biology to inspiring first-graders, there is a specialized path for you, so dive in and learn about what you love. And don’t forget to keep working hard in your current studies, too!

2) Become a tutor. Tutoring is a fantastic way to gain some teaching experience. If you’re interested in tutoring, check to see if your school can help get you started. Eventually, you could even branch out into your own small tutoring business. You’ll be helping others, and getting some great on-the-job experience.

3) Audit or watch a class. Many teachers/professors will be excited that you are interested in education as a career, and several schools have ways for you to become a teacher’s aide and audit a class. You’ll get to experience different teaching methods, classroom procedures, and you may even get to assist the professor in grading and lecturing. Needless to say, this kind of experience will be promising for your future career.

4) Help with summer education programs. Volunteer at your library and read stories to children. Or become a camp sponsor at a fun summer camp! Try to find one that has educational programs you’re interested in, like an arts and music camp or a science camp. You will get to work with what you’re passionate about, and have some summer fun along the way.

5) Volunteer abroad. Traveling will immensely broaden your knowledge about education and teaching. Global Leadership Adventures has an awesome opportunity that will whisk you to Costa Rica. You’ll discover the wonderful Costa Rican culture and participate in several activities that involve education, from teaching to serving and learning how the children study at their schools. And you will leave with a deeper appreciation for education and first-hand experiences with educational activities.

A career in education may sound difficult to enter at first, but you can get a head-start in it. So stay passionate about your dream and let it motivate you to educate! What about you? What ways have you pursued to start your career journey? Tell us in the comments below!

Contributed by Addie Davis

June 9, 2015 by The Young Leader

10 Items You Never Want to Forget Before You Travel

“I forgot my______!” A phrase I’m sure we’ve all caught ourselves yelling out after hours and hours of travel. Nothing is more valuable than your time and comfort, especially when on the move. So, to save you some valuable time and comfort during travel; here’s a list of ten items you never want to forget before traveling.

Portable USB battery – It’s easy to get caught up in the sights and culture of the areas you’re traveling to and forget to charge your electronics. A USB battery is perfect for travel as it adapts to almost any charger base and can fit easily into a front pocket or backpack.
Destination List – Listing your destinations and their distances can help you efficiently group your excursions, saving you both time and money as traveling any distance can run up the toll on your time abroad.
Carry-on clothing – You never know when the airlines are going to make that monumental mistake and loose your luggage. Plan ahead and pack a few outfits in your carry-on.
Exercise clothing – Be sure to bring your exercise clothing if you plan on getting some reps in at the hotel gym or getting a few miles under your belt before hitting your destinations.
Toiletry bag – Having a toiletry bag not only keeps all your toiletries in the same place, but also keeps them from getting all over your other luggage. Just don’t forget to watch out for the limits on those liquids when carrying them on board.
Power Converter – Most of us don’t consider living standards in other countries, even when traveling to them. You’re going to need a power converter almost anywhere outside of the United States.
A Book – It never hurts to pack some light reading material to pass the time on your flights. Stuff happens, especially to our technology. It always helps to have a non-electronic form of entertainment to rely on when your tech dies and you’re stranded.
Phone – Most people are so used to having their phone on them that they automatically assume they have it. Always double check for your phone before leaving for the airport. Who knows when you’ll realize it’s missing?
Headphones – everyone loves music, but you can’t exactly blast you phone speakers for clear, high definition music at the airport. Never forget your headphones, unless you enjoy background noise at the airport.
Glasses (both) – If there’s one thing you don’t want to forget when traveling, it’s your ability to take in the beautiful sights of the amazing countries you are visiting. Even if vision correction isn’t necessary for you, don’t forget those sunglasses.

Contributed by Joshua Schwartz