I’ve been doing a bit of planning for 2010, including planning an exciting new project, and I’ve been trying to set some travel goals for next year when I came across this ad in the brand new travel magazine called AFAR.
More Experience than Escape
I love this magazine and have just become a subscriber. Too much travel literature is about escape or simply checking places off a list. This is nothing like that…
Their mission is “to inspire and guide those who travel the world seeking to connect with its people, experience their culture, and understand their perspectives.”
This is a thinker’s travel magazine! It’s engaging and focuses on the experience and the connections created rather than merely escaping the humdrum of everyday life. The stories that I’ve read in their first two issues cover topics ranging from food (making baguettes in France) and culture (experiencing the nightlife in St. Petersburg) to a country’s economic situation (the Seychelles). Of course, there are articles about specific attractions and destinations, but they’re done in a nontraditional way.
I had no idea how much I wanted a magazine like AFAR until I discovered the first issue on the magazine rack at Whole Foods. Now that I think about it… It’s arrival is long overdue. When popular culture spreads seamlessly across borders as it does now, establishing communication and respect among cultures is imperative.
Promoting Time Abroad
Americans need to change how we think about travel, and we need to travel more (another post entirely!). The AFAR foundation was established in 2008 prior to the magazine, and it looks like they have a lot of great programs in the works with the goal of promoting “cross cultural exchange by sponsoring international travel and study for students who cannot otherwise afford to experience another part of the world.” An important goal.
I credit the experience of studying and living abroad for who am I today and for much of my personal and professional success. It changed me and how I think permanently. I continually seek new opportunities for travel and recommend the experience to anyone who will listen! :)
So, what do you think? Are you culturious? How do you choose to travel?
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Disclaimer: I have received no compensation from AFAR and am recommending the publication based solely on my own opinion!
If you liked this post, please help spread the word! Thanks, Angela
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We’re honored, Angela, that Afar is speaking to you. Thanks so much for the glowing review. I hope the magazine continues to impress. Please let us know what you do and don’t like in the upcoming issues. -Jennica Peterson, Associate Editor, Afar
Will do. I’m excited to see the upcoming issues. Thanks for visiting, Jennica!
Thanks Angela
I too felt my heart leap off the shelf of the mundane when a little slip of paper with an ad for Afar came in the mail. I got on line to check it out and found a vision I could identify with and people who understand my passion. I cant wait for my first issue to come in the mail.
To answer you question… how do you choose to travel? My hubby and I try to understand the culture and get to know the people which really sounds weak when you just put it on paper, but its like there is this burning inside to get out of myself and see the world through someone else’s eyes, to “get” what life is really like is some PLACE so different from my own. And yet to see how people are so much the same everywhere. Its amazing how you can laugh with someone who doesn’t speak your language.
anyway, I wont ramble, I am just doing a little bursting.
Thanks again
Hi Laura! I love your description of how you like to travel. The culturious approach is hard to describe at times, but it’s really just the curiosity and an open beginner’s mind in seeing new things, people, and places that you described. It’s as easy as choosing to get a further away from the tourist spots, taking extra time somewhere before rushing off, or even just asking an open ended question… Some of my best travel memories are of those times and the laughter and broken conversations with people I’ve met along the way who speak very little English!
Thanks so much for coming by! I love your site. Let me know your Twitter handle, if you get a second!
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