Best of the Rest – The Weekly Roundup

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This Santa might love xmas just a little too much

It’s almost time for the jolly fat man to make his appearance and the Christmas planning is going around the clock. We have bought almost all of our gear for travel and even bought gifts for the entire family. We cannot wait for all of the good food, loud games, and excellent movies to come this next week!

For those of you overseas and away from your families for the holidays, we hope you are at least in a warm place enjoying some exciting foreign locale… and if not, well, then just enjoy these great articles from the past week:

• If you didn’t know who Christopher Hitchens was before he passed away this past week, you might want to learn. Opinionated, incredibly well-spoken, and always thought provoking, his point of view will be missed. For those of you already on a career sabbatical or thinking of taking one, Hitchens’ contrarian streak will probably ring true to you and hopefully give you some comfort and inspiration. Just because society at large doesn’t agree with you, doesn’t mean you are wrong… sometimes there is magic in thinking different.
• Curious about world, travel but afraid to make a move? Try these… Records are set by the people who said fuck your limits and found their own.  3 reasons to never take another job. The birth of self-guided education. Use the Force.
• Poor Katie has hit the famous travel wall… 100 days into travel and she’s just not feeling the magic anymore. “The wall” is fairly common among long-term travelers, but maybe the 12-step program mantras that Lauren Quinn used in Cambodia could help?
• Amanda gives her loves and hates about New Zealand (short hint: the loves greatly outweigh the hates!) and does the impossible… make me want to visit New Zealand even more!
• Because we’re fat kids at heart… 5 great foodie spots in Chicago.
• Part of our research before we set out on our adventure has been to figure out the best ways to manage our finances. We’ve settled on a Capitol One Venture Reward Card (1 of only 2 cards that don’t charge a foreign currency conversion fee) and are eyeing a Charles Schwab checking account (refunds international atm fees). Just be safe when using an international atm!
• Chaya has been traveling with her daughter Petra since she was 2 months old… wow. From now on I’ll think twice before feeling like I won’t be able to pack everything I need for world travel. Just look at some of the extra stuff Chaya needs with a toddler in tow!
• I’m a big sucker for great quotes and find them to be an easy resource for a little inspiration. One of the most over-used, but never over-rated, is from Mark Twain:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore! Dream!! Discover!!!”