Excerpt Reprinted with permission from “Female Nomad and Friends” by Rita Golden Gelman. Copyright © 2010. Published by Three Rivers Press/Crown Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. BUY IT HERE

Being a part of Servas is like having family all over the world. It’s actually better than family. People join Servas because they want you to visit them when you are in their country. Not always the case with family.

interview. Servas charges a small annual membership fee, and travelers pay a deposit for host lists in the countries they want to visit. During the visits, however, no money changes hands.

My first Servas visit was with Gabi and Batsheva in Tel Aviv in 1988. Before the trip, I saw their names in the Israel host book; I wrote asking if I could stay with them when I visited.

They welcomed me as they would an old friend. They fed me, toured me, guided me, and shared their stories as I shared mine. I helped with the cooking and clean- up and bought a meal or a snack here and there.

After only one day we felt so close that we decided their single son, then living in the Dominican Republic, and my single daughter, then living in New York, should marry! Never happened, but we did have fun planning the meeting and discussing the wedding. It was wonderful getting to know them.

Their love for each other made being with them a pleasure. Gabi and Batsheva met in an orphanage. Their parents were killed by the Nazis. During and after the war, the surviving kids were taken from Europe to an orphanage in Palestine.

The two found themselves among the oldest children there and ended up working on the same projects and caring for the younger kids together. They fell in love. Batsheva had a sister, Tova, who was also in the orphanage. I never met Tova, but Gabi and the two sisters shared a special closeness as the only survivors of both families. The sisters meant everything to each other.

As we shared our stories, Gabi, Batsheva, and I developed a special bond. Servas is like that. A level of intimacy is quickly established, and you always leave feeling as though you have made a new friend— or extended your family.

Several years later I returned to Israel for my cousin’s wedding. I called Gabi and Batsheva. Gabi answered the phone. He was excited to hear from me, but he explained that Tova had recently died and Batsheva was devastated. He didn’t think she felt ready for guests. The two women had been incredibly close, he reminded me. I suggested that maybe this time I could take care of Batsheva. They talked it over and decided it was a good idea.

Rita Gelman

I didn’t exactly take care of her, but I did some cooking and a little cleaning; and Batsheva was able to share her happy Tova stories, as well as her pain.

On the second day of my visit, Batsheva received a letter from a Servas friend in Brazil. Claudia had heard about Tova’s death and written a sympathy note. She had included her e- mail address. I offered to write to Claudia on my computer.

In the e- mail I introduced myself to Claudia, and then Batsheva dictated her response while I typed. I left the next day, sad, but pleased that I had been able to help.

Four years later in Argentina, I once again connected with people through Servas. I was staying in my friend Gera’s home in San Miguel, outside of Buenos Aires, so I didn’t need a place to stay, but I wanted to meet people in Buenos Aires. I took out my host list and called a few people. The response was fantastic. Servas members invited me to share meals, parties, and excursions.

After I had met a number of hosts, they told me that a group of them planned on taking a boat across the river the next Sunday to meet Uruguayan hosts. Would I like to come?

Of course. Our two groups got together in the charming Uruguayan town of Colonia and wandered for a few hours before lunch. Everyone wanted to talk a little to everyone else, so two of us would walk and talk for a while, and then we’d switch. The fi rst two Uruguayans I met insisted that I come back as their Servas guest (which I did). I was able to converse with them in Spanish, although they both spoke better English than I did Spanish.

The third person I met asked me not to speak Spanish. “My Spanish is not very good,” she said. “My English is better.”

“But aren’t you from Uruguay?” I asked.

“No, I’m not. I’m from over the border in Brazil.”

It was at that point that we introduced ourselves. “My name is Rita. I’m from the United States.”

“Oh, my God,” she said. “I can’t believe it. I’m Claudia.”

Yes, she was that Claudia! We hugged like old friends. And cried. And a month later I was a Servas guest in Claudia’s house in Brazil.

If you’re a traveler and a connector, check it out. It’s an amazing organization: www.servas.org or www.usservas.org.

We invite you to join us on the Female Nomad and Friends virtual tour. The full schedule can be seen at. You can learn much more about Rita Golden Gelman and her work on her website.

Jen, Holly, and Amanda are at a crossroads. They’re feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones—scoring a big promotion, finding a soul mate, having 2.2 kids—before they reach their early thirties. When personal challenges force them to reevaluate their lives, they decide it’s now or never to do something daring. Unable to gain perspective in fast-paced Manhattan, the three twentysomethings quit their coveted media jobs and leave behind their friends, boyfriends, and everything familiar to travel the globe. Dubbing themselves the Lost Girls, they embark on an epic yearlong search for inspiration and direction. This candid and compelling memoir will speak to anyone who has ever felt the desire to spread her wings and discover the world with her best friends by her side.

There is of course a book Amazon Link

and a website www.lostgirlsworld.com

and a YouTube clip -

Karen Cooper’s Blog – Karen is  60 years and still riding

This Feb I will be 60 years old. I wanted to celebrate it with an unforgettable experience. As MJ would say “This is it” After 30 years of considering a long cycling trip, I signed up for a 2 month tour starting Mar 4 in San Diego and arriving in St Augustine, Florida on April 30.

This is a women’s tour with most of us being 50-60 years old. I will go as a Sag Driver and be able to ride 3 days and drive 1 day…..so I have a built in rest schedule. We ride 60 miles a day 6 days a week with 1 day off each week. It looks like I will have an extra day not riding each week and that is just fine with me, plus I received a 40% discount by working part time. 
Read more of Karen’s adventures

do these things sound like something you would like to experience? Well, read on, because your prayers have finally been answered!

As busy women we often have a myriad of (often feeble) excuses why we don’t do things for ourselves. But let’s face it: there is never an excuse good enough for not doing something positive for yourself – like taking a well-deserved short break somewhere!

Venus Adventures – Trips for Women – is now offering a range of short breaks within New Zealand (and Europe) for women who, well, just need a break! The breaks include anything from culture to adventures, and are always a lot of fun, and the website is a one-stop shop for short breaks for women.

The idea behind women-only trips is to help women escape their everyday roles and routines as busy mums, wives or workers, and to get away with the girls and have some fun!

“More and more women are realizing the importance of getting away from it all and letting someone else do all the organizing for a change”; says Julie Paterson, founder and owner of Venus Adventures Trips for Women. “Women naturally bond and network easily. Doing a trip which gets you out of your comfort zone a little is easier in a supportive women’s group. It’s a great environment in which to try new things. But, depending on the trip, we also indulge in fun things like spas and a little retail-therapy! Age also doesn’t matter as long as the spirit is there!”

All you have to do is get yourself to the trip starting point and all the rest is taken care of. So what are you waiting for? Your next adventure is just a mouse click away…for more information visit www.shortbreaksforwomen.com.

By Julie Paterson

Venus Adventures – Trips for Women

www.venusadventures.travel

www.shortbreaksforwomen.com

Haggling for rugs

OK, so have found yourself in a fabulous Arab bazaar in some hot, sandy and exotic country. It is a maze of twisting alleyways crammed with people and intriguing shoplets selling bright and alluring handicrafts: colourfully decorated carpets, lamps, clothes, leather and metalware.

Trapped in shopping heaven, you almost pass out with excitement. Sweet, musky incense wafts through the air, and as you saunter along in the heat, handsome swarthy men try to entice you into their shops with cheesey one-liners “Madame, can I ask you something…?”

Shopping in an Arab souq is something you have to be in the mood for. Patience and a sense of humour are a necessity or you won’t last 5 minutes. And if you don’t have your wits about you, you may find yourself limping back to your hotel under the strain of five carpets and no money to finance the rest of your trip…and wondering how that all happened when all you wanted to buy was a scarf. You had only asked out of interest how much that lovely rug was….and before you knew it – you had five!

Golden Rule No. 1: don’t ask how much something is unless you want to buy it. If you do ask, you are entering into a “negotiation”- commonly known as “haggling”. Your lovely salesman will enquire how long you have been in his country to see how green (stupid) you are, suss out how many gold rings you have on, and then name an extortionate price. Your jaw will drop and you will gasp in horror.

Golden Rule No. 2: ask yourself how much you might pay for this item back home, look at the quality, and then remember you are buying it at the source. It has not been imported and you are cutting out several middlemen. Think what you would be prepared to pay, and then name a lower price. Now it is your salesman’s turn to gasp in horror and act insulted. Game on!

Haggling is theatrics, and can be a lot of fun if you are patient. Have a mint tea and get comfortable! You will now negotiate with your man, he will try to force your price up with all sorts of sob stories about how business has been bad, how many kids he has to feed etc. You have to invent some of your own sob stories about how little money you have and you saved all your life to get here….remember, keep it fun and encourage humour!

Golden Rule No. 3: Stick to your guns! The Arab salesman always wants to win this game, even if only by a small amount, but if possible, by a huge amount! If the price gets beyond what you are willing to pay…walk away. Better to walk away than to regret it later. If your price was not fair, he will let you go. If your price was reasonable after all, your charming salesman will most likely come after you (he hates to miss a sale), drag you back to the shop, wrap your exotic treasure into a neat package, and relieve you of your cash.

And this brings me to the most important rule, Golden Rule No. 4: both parties should be happy at the end of the transaction – you should be happy with what you paid and the treasure that you bought, and the salesman should be happy with his sale. And thus you will get the lovely scarf you wanted and not five rugs.

By Julie Paterson

Venus Adventures – Global Trips for Women who Love to Travel

Are you a female backpacker or solo traveler?

The HostelBookers Blog offer the insiders route to budget travel – they know traveling as a woman alone can be trying at certain times – from worrying about safety to hostels without hairdryers, and we’re on a mission to find out more about what women travelers want. So they have set up a survey – asking women to “telling us about yourselves – share you travel stories, plans of jetting around the world, or top places to visit, in our biggest ever survey of female travelers!”

More on this

What is Bitchboards?

In honor of the outrageous fanfare during the first few months of snowboarding season in the land down under, August 10-28 will be the first annual BitchBoards® Sand To Snow Getaway!

We will travel from the world-famous Great Barrier Reef to the beautiful mountains of Australia and New Zealand in one trip! Exploring the sites, enjoying the tropical beaches, snowboarding on great mountains are all on the agenda but the trip will be focused around a fundraising effort Go Red For Women by hosting an event at Australia’s impressive Thredbo Snow Resort August 22.

We will even be making an appearance at the New Zealand Winter Games

Un incantesimo di luce si riflette su tutta la citta’ per il Patrono

The Pisans celebrate their patron saint, Saint Ranieri, with more than 70,000 candles which light up the palazzi, bridges, and towers along the Arno. Antique illuminations are placed on the Leaning Tower and along the crenellations of the city walls around Piazza dei Miracoli. The reflections of the candles in the Arno River is enhanced by floating candles which are lit on its surface.
location: Comune di Pisa
town: Pisa
period: 16 June 2009 – 16 July 2009

I have been sent this notice by a great network in Tuscany, Italy – Tuscany Welcomes Women – my friend Rosanna Capitani who runs Eliotropica tours for women is one of the key people in the network – and of course there is the world famous Women’s B&B in Florence to enjoy as well.  Rosanna can find you a fabulous apartment in any area in Tuscany and has some great local information and networks.

Article about Tuscany Welcomes Women

The Canal Du Midi was idyllic, a popular trip on the calendar of Australian company Bushwise Women. The five of us from New Zealand and Australia floated gently along the ‘Canal stopping at villages to buy fresh produce, taste the wine, and visit ancient sites along the way. It was simply – France, in all its glory.

It was to be a sabbatical of sorts – I had come to the end of one chapter in my life and it felt like time to dream new dreams – it was time to travel. I had scoffed at Liz Gilbert’s book Eat Pray Love: “we don’t need to go on some grand expensive tour to find ourselves, we can find ourselves anywhere.” But I did go on the grand tour, and Liz’s book Eat Pray Love became my constant companion and guide on the four month trip, as did the women I traveled with and met along the way.

In New Zealand we have several tour operators who cater especially for women travelers and as I am not a confident traveler, especially on my own, joining a small group of women seemed a great place to start. The Tour Calendar on the Women Travel NZ website showed a few tours that fitted my timetable and plans. I was soon booked in to Bike and Barge the Canal du Midi with Bushwise Women along with a two week Morocco Odyssey with Venus Adventures.

Morocco was something else – this trip took me right out of my comfort zone and it was worth it. In a country like this a great guide is a must – especially for women traveling alone. Julie Paterson our guide from Venus Adventures for Women made it safe for us to dive in and explore this ancient country. We entered into another world and we were given the tour of a lifetime – from shopping for carpets to riding a camel into the Sahara to sleep under the stars.

Our handsome local guide Adil proudly escorted our group of eight women. Other men asked him where the men were, and they looked at him enviously when he said “there is just me!” Guide Julie had warned us the shopping is irresistible, I said maybe a carpet… but of course no woman could resist. The bargaining began and by the end of the trip our bags were bulging, large packages had been posted home and we had contributed greatly to the local economies of every place we visited.

These two fabulous tours were the framework around which I built my travels. I wove in side trips with friends to Prague and Rome, stayed in the fabulous Women’s B&B near the Duomo in Florence, rented an apartment in Lucca through Rosanna Capatinin of Eliotropica Travels for Women and spent a week in the south of Spain in Diva Espana retreat for women. All over the world women are not only traveling, but women are offering accommodation and tours especially for women travelers. As a born networker I could not resist building a new website which connects these and so Women Travel the World was born. Now I have even more excuses to travel. Whoopee!!

First Printed in Tourism Review Magazine

Links: Women Travel the World Women Travel Blog Women Travel New Zealand Venus Adventures Bushwise Women

Wanderlust and lipstick

Beth Whitman of Wanderlust and Lipstick has written another travel guide for women – this time for women travelling to India. Beth has shared a lot of her special knowledge of travel on the Indian continent, and the two comments on Amazon say this book is a must for anyone travelling to India. Wanderlust and Lipstick have some great tours to India for women, and Beth’s blog contains lots of gems. Wanderlust and Lipstick: For Women Traveling to India

Also found another women’s guide to India on Amazon too – also good reviews A girls’ guide to India – a survivor’s handbook