Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island

At the ripe age of 21, Peter Rudiak-Gould landed on Ujae, a remote atoll in the Marshall Islands that is 70 miles (by plane no less) from the nearest telephone, car, store, or tourist, and 2,000 miles from the closest continent. He turned to face a sea of 450 unsmiling brown faces who made up his Marshallese community for a year, while he taught English to the island’s school kids.

Peter’s integration to this new life is simultaneously hilarious and painful. Not remotely being what he expected, the learning curve was huge, and life was far from the exotic tropical paradise he had envisioned.

For starters, he immediately discovered that the last volunteer who had been there was much better than him. This was something the locals reminded him of multiple times a day, plaguing him with merciless comparisons.

He mused at his state of sanity in dreaming up this scheme to live on a faraway island for a year:

“What was it about islands that I found so alluring? It was this: islands are isolation, isolation is differentness, differentness is possibility, and possibility is hope.”

Integration and Identity

Despite his multi-faceted learning curve, Peter adapted to life on Ujae. He became fluent in their language, learned to fish (not very well by Marshallese standards mind you!), and painstakingly tried to teach the island’s children some English. His skin darkened a few thousand shades and his hair lightened the same. But as much as he integrated, he also realized something pretty important: that he is still Western.

“I had always fancied that I wasn’t, that I had somehow escaped the influence of my upbringing and emerged free-thinking and unburdened by cultural baggage. How wrong I was. I was Western – deeply and terminally so. I carried my civilization with me at every moment: my nervous efficiency, my emotional openness, my sense of individual entitlement, my war against the status quo….Living in another country had finally made me realize how much I was a product of my own country”.

How true! Don’t we as travelers tend to identify more with our upbringing and culture once we are removed from it? I can only imagine how stark this realization would have been living as culturally remote as Peter was.

Living in America….But Not

Peter discussed what it is to live in a country that is technically part of the United States, but at the same time is so far from it – both geographically and culturally. This hasn’t been helped by the fact that the Marshall Islands (Bikini Island in particular) was the major site of nuclear testing during the Cold War. The United States’ ongoing mismanagement of this little piece of “paradise” so far from the homeland was apparent to Peter:

“..Critics saw garbage piles and thought ‘irreversible devastation!’ when they should have thought ‘solid-waste management problem.’ They saw makeshift shelters and thought ‘abysmal deprivation!’ when they should have thought ‘housing shortage’. They mistook the country’s nuclear legacy for the obliteration of an entire nation, rather than the forced migration of several hundred people and the irradiation of several hundred others. These premature obituaries were based on a kind of cynical paternalism: the assumption that the Marshallese had no ability to solve problems or adapt to change. I had done my share of criticism too, but it was hard to reconcile these dreary descriptions with my own memories of men fishing on pristine reefs and women preparing for a feast.”

And towards the end, Peter painted a queer yet strangely familiar picture of the integration of American society into the old Marshallese ways:

“The people of Ujae ate instant ramen, but opened the package with a machete…They served Kool-Aid, but treated it like Perrier; at Spam, but savored it like filet mignon. They sipped their morning coffee, but sweetened as often as not with coconut sap. Some of the islanders could recite the medicinal properties of native plants and the hit singles of the Backstreet Boys with equal ease….it had been surreal to live here, with a people who were in equal parts hunter-gatherers and yuppies, in a place exactly halfway between jungle camp and New York City – a place where a man might spear fish for subsistence in the morning and play half-court basketball in the evening, a place where the same person who shared with you the ancient meaning of the colored lines on the back of a crab could also recite Snoop Dogg lyrics”.

The Island Life

There were other ways in which the customs and people of Ujae were entirely foreign to Peter too. I especially enjoyed how Marshallese society dictates that you’re never in too much of a rush to chat. As much as work needs to be done, the pace of Ujae island life was generally relaxing with regular conversations along the way.

On a sparsely populated island, marriage opportunities don’t come along every day. But during his year as a volunteer, Peter received a marriage proposal from a girl on a neighbouring island, and even unwittingly offered up a marriage proposal himself!

While on the topic of men and women, I found myself wondering how different the volunteer and living experience on Ujae would have been if Peter had been female. Men and women in Marshallese society don’t commingle much, and their set daily tasks (as well as the quantity of work to be done by each gender) vary drastically, usually in favour of the men. Peter observed that the women were constantly working, with little apparent down-time. And nobody – male or female – truly understood the meaning of privacy on the island.

My Two Cents

The book wended its ways into my thoughts and actions each day, while I followed Peter in his – at times – agonizing experiences and eventual cultural immersion (of sorts) to the Marshallese way of life.

I got right into the book and voraciously read the majority of it in a short time. I found myself giggling out loud at the humour and general semantic brilliance of various passages, reading paragraphs aloud to anybody who would listen. When I neared the end (as I tend to do with books I like), I slowed my pace so as to make it last as long as I could!

Although the book was written (at least in part) because the Marshall Islands disappearing due to global warming, it isn’t the primary focus of the book, as you might suspect given the title. Instead the theme of global warming is incredibly subtly hinted at throughout and formally introduced beautifully in the Epilogue, once the reader has already unwittingly fallen in love with both the author and the people of Ujae Island. Instead of the book being an environmental soap box as I had suspected, it was a true travelogue of Peter’s bizarre and enchanting experience on Ujae, with an environmental (and cultural) reality check at the end. And I believe that in presenting the environmental issues as he did instead of as a constant theme through the book, they will have a deeper impact on the readers. For that, and for so many other reasons too, I loved it.

Feel free to pick up a copy of Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Islandand see for yourself.

(Editor’s Note: I received a free copy of the book for review, and there are affiliate links in this post.)

Related posts:

1. Imagine: A Vagabond Story – Book Review
2. Queen of the Road: Book Review
3. X Marks the Spot: E-Book Review

First, the e-book. If you are planning a round-the-world trip, or just want to go backpacking for a while, this book will arm you with the essentials to do it in a graceful and (relatively) stress-free manner. (Because let’s face it, travel has some stressful moments, but it’s all part of the adventure).

Layout

With 18 Chapters, Brian covers the gambit of Round-The-World travel with the following topics:

• Why?
• Travel Myths
• Deciding Where to Go
• Cash and Credit Cards
• Choose your Method of Transportation
• Travel Insurance
• Passports and Visas
• Your Health – Shots, Needles, and Pills
• Your Safety
• Hostels
• Food
• Travel Tech
• Language
• Before you Leave
• Quick Checklist
• So What are you Going to do Now?
• Resources and References

The e-book is peppered with anecdotes, stories, and sidebars that bring the concepts to life and inspire readers towards the amazing things that can happen on the road.

The biggest chapter by far is about Hostels. You get an overview of what hostels are like, common myths are dispelled, and a huge array of selection criteria or questions to ask are provided to ensure each hostel fits your needs. Costs are addressed, as Brian shares his own cost of accommodations when he traveled.

Once you’ve selected your hostel, Brian explains hostel etiquette – like getting your gear for the next day ready the night before to save waking everybody in your dorm room up while you rifle through your belongings, or (heaven forbid) turn the light on!

The package includes a truly fearsome (in a good way) list of resources, audio interviews, and even how-to videos. Unfortunately, it entails a fearsome download size at 97 megs – zipped, so beware if you have a limited internet plan.

But that’s also where my involvement in the project comes in: I am one of the lucky audio interviewees! Brian chatted with me for 20 minutes about how to earn money while you travel, ways to get cheap/free accommodations, and how to conquer pre-departure anxiousness.

Highlights

Here is a sampling of the tips and subjects that the No Debt World Travel e-book covers:

• Good tips about using ATMs abroad, avoiding extra bank fees, and setting up your accounts. For example, carry a bank card that is associated with only one account; if your card is stolen or PIN number compromised, you won’t have multiple accounts at risk.

• A summary of the round-the-world flight carriers and their basic rules with links to good resources.

• Precautionary advice on topics like travel insurance, immunizations, and first aid kits, as well as street sense matters like not drinking an open drink (like a cocktail) unless you see it made, and how to avoid being a target for pickpockets.

• Overview on how to buy a backpack, (complete with sizing conversions between cubic litres and cubic inches)…and then how to fill it, with tips on what to bring, and Brian’s own packing lists and experiential advice.

• How to eat on the road and not go broke (hint: eating where the locals do helps).

• How to navigate the complex arena of technology and communication while you travel: laptops, netbooks, Skype, cell phones, and Twitter.

• Ways to tie up your life before you leave (which is, incidentally, at the end of the book)

• Checklists of things to be done, starting at 6 months before your trip and guiding you straight to your first adventure abroad.

Who This E-Book is For

“You’re reading this because you’re planning a trip of two weeks or more…or maybe you’re even scared to start researching”. (page 7)

If you want to try your hand a backpacking around the world but are daunted by the very prospect (from taking time off, to organizing it, to staying safe, to what to pack), then this e-book will gently take you by the hand and guide you through he process. You will be inspired, comforted, and empowered.

Limitations

While this e-book is helpful, it will only be helpful to those with minimal overseas travel experience and a lack of desire to figure it all out from scratch. Although the interviews were informative and inspirational, there was little in the e-book’s content that I didn’t already know. (Of course, I’ve been traveling for almost three years now, so I should hope so)!

This e-book will, however, be eye-candy to eager travelers-to-be, and might even have just the right stuff to get you there quicker than you had intended. It could also be a great gift to the wannabe-traveler in your life.

No Debt World Travel: The Ultimate Guide to Traveling the World – Even in an Economic Downturn, by Brian Peters

Pages: 80

Cost: $37

Included: Almost a dozen bonus interviews and videos with seasoned travelers (including me!) on topics such as solo travel, choosing a backpack, finding a hostel, couchsurfing, finding cheap airfare, teaching English, working abroad, traveling with children, etc.

Guarantee: If you aren’t satisfied, you can get a 100% refund within 60 days.

Editor’s Note: There are affiliate links in this post, and I received a copy free of charge. (I am IN it, after all)!

Related posts:

1. Our World Nomads Ambassador Trip Legacy
2. A Week-In-The-Life of Brian: No Debt World Travel
3. Roundup: June 1st-15th

The description on the back cover of Imagine: A Vagabond Story calls it “a memoir of sex, drugs, and Salsa dancing”. And let’s just say I don’t remember very much Salsa dancing.

But read a little deeper, and you’ll see the author making a journey that is more intangible and metaphysical than it is geographical (in only the way that travels can be for those who are open-minded and explorative).

After college (well, sort of; it’s a long story – read the book!), Grant buys a one-way ticket to Mexico, stuffs his pockets with a couple of hundred dollars, and takes off to live in and travel through Central America.

He works under the table at a few resorts before hopping in a van with some backpackers and driving down through Central America (final destination: Guatemala). In wending his own way back to Mexico, he volunteers in trade for accommodation at hostels, and meets a colourful cast of characters along the entire way.

Initially, I must say the book was not my cup of tea. As a more mature traveler myself (I’m all of 33 years old, but that makes me older than most backpackers), I don’t identify with the young party-hardy crowd as much as, well, younger people would, I guess. I haven’t done cocaine (which is a common theme in Imagine), and I don’t really drink unless I want to kill the entire following day cradling an inhuman and totally unfair hangover.

So although it was fun to live vicariously through Grant’s illustrious adventures, all my old decrepit paranoid mind could think about were STDs, foreign jails, and drug overdoses – despite the fact that none of these things actually came to pass in the book. So, Imagine made me feel pretty freakin’ old. (Or maybe just not part of the “hip” crowd – I’m not sure.)

Then again, what safer way to see the wild side than from the comfort of your living room and with your nose buried in a book?! Which is just what I did; for a brief moment, I threw all caution to the wind, got a one-way ticket to Mexico, and partied right there with the author, without worrying about all the stuff I tend to worry about. Armchair travelers and partiers will appreciate this tale.

Beyond the initial shock value of the party lifestyle, Imagine is a story of personal growth. Through his travels, Grant learns more about himself, defines his personality, and develops a foundation of self that no doubt has helped him to become a published author. He writes very honestly and without ego (a unique quality in an author), which allows the reader to follow along his journey and to learn his lessons too.

The book ends well, with one adventure closing and another opening, making you (or at least me) want to email the author and say “so then what happened?!” Which for me, is the sign of a fulfilling read. Imagine: A Vagabond Story hooked me in, and has me wondering what the author’s next adventure will be.

There is just one question that nagged at me most of the time I was reading the book: What on earth did his mother think the first time she read it??? (see? I must be old. Bah – humbug)!

For more information, please check out Grant’s web site at Imagine: A Vagabond Story.

Editor’s Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book.

Related posts:

1. Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island [Book Review]
2. Queen of the Road: Book Review
3. How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog: E-Book Review

Matt was there. He too made some of the mistakes that I made, and learned by trial and error how to eke out a living in an industry that is still being defined by its users. He now makes $3,000USD/month with his Travel Blogs and Web Sites, thus funding his perpetual traveling lifestyle in relative comfort.

Matt is not an IT genius. He simply wanted to find a way to fulfill his dream of being Nomadic Matt, and he discovered that although it is possible to make money with your travel blog, it requires a specific strategy to get you there. This e-book delves into that specific strategy, from the infancy stages of conceptually developing your travel Web Site, to the long-term plan of monetization and maintenance.

A random selection the interesting things I read about in the book include:

• Specific WordPress themes and plugins that are suggested to maximize SEO
• Various techniques for attracting new traffic, along with an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of each technique
• The finer nuances of Stumble Upon (although I have been a Stumbler in days past, I only now realize I haven’t even begun to maximize its potential)
• How to find advertisers of all shapes and sizes
• A huge number of services and systems that you can use to get links to your Site (henceforth: pagerank, henceforth: popularity, henceforth: advertisers, henceforth: money!)

What is the biggest determining factor in how Google ranks your Site? For the answer, read the substantial SEO section of the e-book, and you will learn everything you need to know (but not so much that it is overwhelming) to get on your feet and running towards your next travel destination.

Matt even offers a few deals to his e-book readers (leveraging on both his clout and existing monthly memberships) that can be very valuable for people serious about making money with their Web Sites. He will even hook you up with instant access to paying advertisers.

Although this e-book speaks to making money with your Travel Blog, the material is not limited to the Travel genre alone. The principles enclosed extend to just about any Web Site topic you might be interested in developing. Matt also shares how he makes money from his Web Sites and is quite frank about how much he makes, what works, and what doesn’t.

If you are hoping to turn the corner with your own Web Site or Travel Blog, then check out How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog here for all the pointers you need to do it yourself – from start to finish.

Editor’s note: There are affiliate links in this post

Related posts:

1. Imagine: A Vagabond Story – Book Review
2. X Marks the Spot: E-Book Review
3. Queen of the Road: Book Review

So when I “met” Lea Woodward (“met” being a loose term for the sort of networking that happens between people who are thousands of miles apart, thanks to the Internet) and learned of the ever-growing Location Independent community that she and her husband Jonathan are fostering, I had to look further into their experienced words of wisdom in their latest e-book: X Marks the Spot: The Indispensable Guide to Living and Working from Anywhere You Choose.

For somebody who is already living the Location Independent life, I learned lots of things in this 82 page book that made for an informative afternoon read. Most of the knowledge I appreciated revolved around specific applications or services that make living a nomadic life so much easier, such as:

• Global Wireless Internet Service
• Online Faxing service
• How to search for suitable accommodation from abroad
• Remote mailing services that give you a “local” mailing address. (They send you a scan of the unopened envelope, so you can decide what needs to be done with it from there. Who knew such a thing existed?)

But I also appreciated the dozens of other practical resources for applications and technology that Lea and Jonathan use (personal experience is always the best recommendation) to make their Location Independent lifestyle run smoothly.

For those who are new to the idea of Location Independent living, this book is fabulous. You can follow along Lea and Jonathan’s journey, starting with their “regular” and unsatisfying lifestyles in the UK, to making the decision to go and eventually hitting the road.

They provide practical tips for managing each step of the process, including creating a Location Independent income with business advice, dealing with the emotional effects of becoming (and staying) Location Independent, and the ever-important logistical steps to take in wrapping up your life and becoming nomadic.

As the reader, you share in their mistakes as well as their victories in their last few years of being Location Independent. Lea is very open about their cost of living on the road, so that you can make the most educated decisions for yourself before taking the plunge.

If you ever thought about creating a Location Independent lifestyle for yourself, then picking up a copy of X Marks The Spot is a great idea.

Editor’s note: There are affiliate links in this post.

Related posts:

1. How to Make Money With Your Travel Blog: E-Book Review
2. Queen of the Road: Book Review
3. Imagine: A Vagabond Story – Book Review

When I sat down to read Queen of the Road, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I should have: the cover of the book is quite explicit:

Queen of the Road: The True Tale of:

47 States,

22,000 Miles,

200 Shoes,

2 Cats,

1 Poodle,

a Husband,

and a Bus with a Will of Its Own

…pretty much sums it up, right?

This travel memoir is written by Doreen Orion, self-proclaimed Long Island Princess who counts among her life’s accomplishments, the accumulation of 100 pairs of shoes.

When her husband Tim (who earns the loving nickname of Project Nerd) reveals his “mid-life crisis” dream of traveling around the United States for a year on a bus, Doreen begrudgingly hangs on for the ride of her life. Being bus phobic, a homebody, and wondering how on earth she would fit 100 pairs of shoes (as well as the matching outfits) on a bus, this was not her idea of a good time. But in the spirit of compromise required for a successful marriage, she is finally lured in by the dishwasher and satellite tv that just might make this bus trip survivable.

With a creative and contextual martini recipe to start off each chapter, and a dose of self-deprecating humour to keep the tone light, this is a fast and fun read. More than once, I was caught in a public place, guffawing out loud at Doreen and Tim’s antics and adventures.

I find that many travel memoirs can be anticlimactic by the end, but Queen of the Road doesn’t disappoint. Lessons are learned, values are enhanced, and crises are averted. I closed the book at the end with a smile on my face, and anecdotes to share with my friends in recommending that they read Queen of the Road themselves.

Related posts:

1. X Marks the Spot: E-Book Review
2. Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island [Book Review]
3. Imagine: A Vagabond Story – Book Review