Thursday, April 15, 2010
"I just flew in, and boy are my arms tired."
The other day, I was making some plans with other folks on my Habitat team. I can't wait to meet them all. I think they're awesome people and we're going to have an amazing adventure together.
And as we were arranging schedules for post-build excursions and talking about visa requirements and all sorts of other details, something occurred to me.
I can't walk to South America.
(Okay, well, I could, but I'd need to leave last week.)
(And I'd need to get a few basic supplies...food...water...machete...)
So, anyway, I have to get myself a plane ticket.
Buying a plane ticket to South America is an interesting task. It turns out, there are a lot of countries down there in the southern hemisphere. And, apparently, there aren't direct flights from Los Angeles to Paraguay. Go figure.
Which means I have to fly through another country or three first.
That's just fine with me since there has been talk of side trips to Brazil and Argentina. It's WAY cheaper to fly to Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro first. Which is cool because they are both countries on my list of places to see, preferably before I die.
Dozens of websites promise to find the lowest possible airfares for any place you want to go. While there is a bit of a range of prices for getting to Paraguay, the average seems to be around $1300, if I go through Buenos Aires or Rio first.
And then I found one flight for $539 round trip.
Amazing! I could actually afford that one!
All I have to do is fly through Mexico City and change airports. All alone. By myself. In Mexico City.
What could possibly go wrong?
My amazing luck with travel has been well-documented, of course, and after careful consideration, I thought maybe this isn't exactly the best plan.
Which means I'm going to have to do the somewhat pricier flight instead.
Since I don't have the stress of trying to find the money for the trip fees, all I have left to worry about is airfare. So I've been working on a list of ways to raise some cash. I've crossed out the ones I can't do for various reasons.
get a second job- pole dance
- send emails to everyone I know and let them know that I have a large inheritance I want to transfer to their bank accounts if they'll just send me the account information
- marry one of those Nigerian princes that keep professing their love to me
win the lotteryhold a bake sale- ask Congress for a bailout for writers that can't seem to get around to finishing their novels
- sell everything I own on eBay and Craig's List and still be short about $900
have a car wash- ????
As you can see, I have all sorts of options.
But, if anyone out there has any other suggestions, I'd really love to hear them. Because, apparently July is kind of soon. Go figure.
Seriously, though, if any of you know of any ideas of how to raise some funds for a trip like this, or any businesses that sponsor these kinds of worthwhile activities, or travel companies that can work out some discounts, please let me know.
And if any of you have had similar experiences with "voluntourism," etc, I'd love to hear about them!
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You crack me up. Pole dancing is certainly a winner...especially if you vlog it.
ReplyDeleteHere's my list of ideas:
ReplyDelete-sell a kidney on the black market. You might actually be able to do this during your layover in Mexico City!
-start your own vajazzling business. I hear celebrities pay big bucks for that.
-marry an old, dying billionaire.
-write a novel about a sparkly eunuch that falls in love with an obnoxious high school girl.
No real ideas. But I've been to Mexico City airport and it's not bad at all!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were doing this - so cool!
ReplyDeleteI vote for the vajazzling business suggested above.
Karen, thanks so much for visiting my site! I have absolutely no travel experience - can't help you, there. I liked your "meme" post, and plan to heist it for the future. I'll be back to visit :-) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteKaren, thanks so much for visiting my site! I have absolutely no travel experience - can't help you, there. I liked your "meme" post, and plan to heist it for the future. I'll be back to visit :-) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteDon't get kidnapped!
ReplyDeleteHow fun! I hope it all works out for you. I say go for the Nigerian Prince! Just don't take mine! We've been e-mailing for months and I've been sending him a lot of money. He's saving it for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I know of a national brand that is sponsoring people just like you to do stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteI would seriously pay money to watch you pole dance. Maybe you could do a fund raiser to pole dance?!?!?! I'll even help you find the right music....
ReplyDeleteI say fly through Mexico :-) I'm also pretty cheep though.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could do a fund raising walk (like 5 miles) and have people donate to the cause. That seems to work well with big organizations and they are pretty popular right now. I would donate and do it:-)
I wish you the best of luck. I wish I was rich because I'd fund it for you. Unfortunately, it's another year without a tax return. :)
ReplyDeleteIf you tell me where you're pole dancing, I'll come throw quarters at you.
ReplyDeleteI vote for the pole dancing, maybe we could arrange to have it be a ward fundraiser activity. :)
ReplyDeleteYou could swim or row :)
ReplyDeleteHi! I found you on SITS. Good luck with your trip it sounds amazing!
ReplyDelete