*****

I’ve been extremely fortunate to be able to travel the globe over the course of the last few years, and there is no question that traveling has absolutely changed my life for the better on multiple fronts. In short – I’m absolutely hooked and certainly have no plans to stop seeing the world anytime soon. As any backpacker will tell you — once the travel bug hits, it’s extremely hard, if not impossible, to get rid of it. And before I get started with this post, let’s be clear about one thing — traveling WILL change your life.

Thinking of buying a new car? Don’t. Spend that money on traveling instead — I can all but guarantee that your outlook on life will be better and you’ll certainly be a more confident person. To everyone who has not traveled abroad, I think you are doing a huge disservice to yourself by confining yourself to your comfort zone and not experiencing all the world has to offer. Don’t accept not knowing what else is out there. Don’t be fearful of the unknown. Ever wondered what the beaches of Thailand were like? Go experience them! Ever wondered what a dreary spring day in London is like? Go find out! Ever want to see how children can enjoy themselves even though they own literally nothing? Go see with your own eyes.

My international endeavors began right after graduation from the University of Washington when my buddy and I decided to hit the trail and backpacked throughout Europe during the summer of 2005. Going on that first trip abroad was easily the best decision I ever made; I was away for 2 months (my friend stayed 4) and I haven’t looked back since. Prior to that first trip to Europe, I had no idea how vast, complicated, and diverse the world really was. Sure, I had read books, seen images on television and pictures online — but there’s still no substitute for seeing something with your own set of eyes. It was a shock to see business owners who really didn’t care about growing their business and instead were perfectly content with the life they were living. Never before had I seen stores close from 2-6 everyday for siesta. I’m from Seattle where bars close at 2 am and there is no real club scene, so massive clubs with 7 dance floors in places like Spain open all night were certainly something new. Never had someone attempted to steal my wallet WHILE shaking my hand. Never had I been locked out of my hotel room on a balcony on the top floor of a 10 story building at 2 am with no way to communicate with anyone. Never before had I taken a ferry across the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean. Never had I sat in the middle of a shouting match between grown men where I couldn’t understand a single word (on the ferry to Morocco). I had never seen the streets of Tangiers, Africa and been to a beach where people were completely shocked to see two white people on the beach. The list of firsts goes on and on.

I believe it was largely as a result of that first trip to Europe that I’ve shed the materialistic mindset that controlled much of my thought process growing up and throughout high school. Raised by a single mom, I have never been rich, but – that said, I was surrounded by materialism (particularly when I got to high school) and, not unlike most teenagers, my extra spending money used to go toward a new stereo, chrome rims for my car, some DVDs, or computer parts. Nowadays, as a result of traveling and coming to the realization of how truly privileged I am, extra money goes towards traveling, going out and creating lasting memories with friends and travelers, and toward nonprofits such as Kiva, Mothers Fighting for Others, and Vittana.

It took me two years to get back out on the travel trail, but my next international endeavor was visiting my friend Kayla Villnow in the Dominican Republic in fall of 2007 (and again in 2008). There, I got my first up close look at poverty for an extended period of time and saw the impact microfinance has on real people below the poverty line in a gorgeous developing country. That first trip in November of 2007 got me completely hooked on microfinance and its ability to help raise people out of poverty. In 2008, I had the pleasure of backpacking through Southeast Asia for 3 weeks. Cambodia is easily one of the most amazing countries I’ve been to. The people there genuinely cared about me as an individual, whereas in Thailand and Vietnam, people were helpful and kind but seemed to just be after my money. The other highlight from that trip was undoubtedly going to the Hong Kong Sevens and watching rugby for the first time in my life. Since that trip to Southeast Asia, I’ve been to Europe twice again. Once in September of last year for Oktoberfest in Munich (the real one) and I’m residing in Santorini, Greece this summer.

Getting out of your shell and experiencing the world is the single best thing you can do for yourself in you want to live life to the fullest and with meaning. If I had stayed in my shell and never experienced other cultures, I most certainly would not be as avid a supporter of microfinance and other philanthropic work as I am today. The combination of my 2007 Dominican Republic trip and this email from Kayla are the two primary reasons myKRO.org exists, and hence a huge reason I’ve met so many amazing people from the microfinance industry. Without traveling and the impact it’s had on me to live a more meaningful and full life, I wouldn’t have met amazing people such as Sloane Berrent (who certainly needs no introduction here), Casey Wilson at Wokai, Ryan Calkins at SeaMO, Sammie Rayner of Lumana, Kushal Chakrabarti of Vittana, and many other passionate people accomplishing amazing things on a daily basis all over the world.

My travel experiences have led me down the path I’m currently taking traveling the globe and working from my laptop, and I’m loving every second of it.

Don’t just THINK about traveling. Do it; the world is waiting for you.

*****

Drew Meyers in co-founder of OhHeyWorld, a multi-author blog focused on backpacking and travel for Generation X & Y that advocates voluntourism. He is also the co-founder and managing editor of myKRO.org, a blog devoted to exploring the world of microfinance. He worked 4 and a half years for Zillow.com. He currently serves as the marketing manager for Virtual Results and YouReach Media in the real estate vertical and does social media consulting for small businesses on the side. In his free time, he enjoys traveling the world and spending quality time with passionate people.

Twitter | Personal blog

“Ideas Are Sexy Too” it says, a photo of a body-builder with the head of Albert Einstein, on a house in the Bywater district of New Orleans. It’s amazing to me how the art in their neighborhood is shown on the outside of homes. Most houses in most neighborhoods in most cities in America have the art, the photography, the creative details on the inside of the house. Yet, in the Bywater, a working class neighborhood in between the Marigny and before the bridge to the Lower Ninth Ward, the art is on the outside.

I’ve asked around, but I haven’t figured out why that is. It definitely shows the personality of the person living inside, but is it more than this? Is about a cultural or historical reference I don’t know about? The marks from Hurricane Katrina I do know are a source of pride (or in the case of brick homes a way of life – and almost impossible to remove).

For the photos is it a long and windy story told through the time? Or is it just because the outside of the house is falling apart and putting art up is a good way to distract the eye from the falling paint chips? Regardless of what it is, I’m finding myself drawn to these examples of “everyday art” and the street art that follows.

I love so many things about New Orleans, and so many things drive me crazy. This, they say, is what it means to truly love New Orleans. One of the things I love is how no matter where I am, my head is always turning. “Look at that,” is a phrase I often say. And that can refer to a gorgeous uptown home with rocking chairs on a picturesque porch just beckoning to be rocked in, sazarac in hand. It also refers to giant empty plots of land, or buildings still not demolished, or houses condemned and neighborhoods still struggling to recover in a post-Katrina environment. I’m always looking around, always curious to my environment and because of my constant connection to the environment around me, I’m also constantly thinking of ways I can contribute and give back.

Often, my relationship with New Orleans is just me and her. We have conversations, I’m ok being alone and getting to know her as I go. As I recently told someone, this is not an experiment, this is my LIFE. And so it goes. Here are some photos I took on a recent bike ride through the Marigny and Bywater neighborhoods. A good reminder that I have to get out and do this more often – take in the environment and not get wrapped up in my head, my clients, my projects and remind myself of why I’m here, to be connected to a greater good, a cause bigger than myself, and continue to put the pieces together of my own journey.

As I set off to explore New Orleans this weekend, I first was looking through old photos from my first few weekends here and thinking about how much has changed. Not only have I moved from the Lower Garden District to the French Quarter, but I’m a bit more worn around the edges. The core is the same. The same adventurous spirit. The same desire to get out and see all there is to see.

The difference?

In my definition of “all there is to see.” After all, last year this time, as I had just arrived in New Orleans, I wanted to do and see it all! Every festival, every fair, every opportunity to get out there and absorb New Orleans and her environments for all they were worth. This year, I’m a little bit more guarded. I want to spend time with me, I don’t want to give away all my energy. I want to explore on my own, or with a few friends, instead of going where the masses are.

As I kick off this weekend, I’m reminded that is ok. It’s ok to hold back and do the things I need to do for me. I’ll be out and about in the same way I’ve always been, just taking it in now as a local instead of the eager-beaver tourist of the days of yore. It feels good to grow and change within my environment. We all deserve to mold and change into where we are. Wouldn’t you agree?

You can see more of my photos on Flickr and adding me as a contact HERE.

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After five glorious years living there, I want to go to all my old haunts, hike my favorite trails, shop my favorite vintage stores and drink PBR in my favorite indie rock haunts and most of all do it all with FRIENDS!

Let me add girls brunch and geek bbq to the list. So let’s start the bidding at…KIDDING…I’m going to pack it all in tight but really really really excited. It’s been too long and I want some of that sunshine California sun on my face.

Dates: March 4th – 11th (then to Austin for SXSW!)

Updated to WHAT I’ll be doing exactly to come, but please drop me a comment, note, a text, anything to put something on the books to catch up. You know who you are!!!

Can’t wait to see you, wrap my arms around you and SQUEEZE!

Love,
Sloane

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While at the World Economic Forum in Davos, I walked by the Hub, a central meeting place for the Wall St. Journal writers and also where the Hub was interviewing Young Global Leaders, CEOs and social entrepreneurs about Davos and their experiences. They were gracious enough to ask to interview me and readers of The Causemopolitan might remember that I’m only now growing into liking myself on video. I’m being honest! It’s the third medium that I’m adjusting to (after writing and photos). Submitting the MySpace Journal video was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, it was really putting myself out there and without the help and support of friends here in New Orleans I don’t know that I would have had the courage to do it.

That said, big thank you to Edie Lush and Hub Culture for the interview above and for all you New Orleans readers out there, check out the interview starting around minute 3 where I really get into WHY I love New Orleans and what is of the most value in being here and being part of the community.

From The Hub’s Introduction:

Sloane V. Berrent, Founder of the Causemopolitan, is the winner of a contest through My Space and the Wall Street Journal to be a citizen journalist in Davos. She spent her time in Davos interviewing and blogging to her audience at Causemopolitan. Sloane also talks about her social entrepreneuship web show in New Orleans. Hub Culture journalist interviewed her at the Hub Pavilion in Davos.

For those who might have missed it, here is my MySpace Journal award-winning contest entry video:

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Continuing the thread about what an amazing opportunity it is to attend the World Economic Forum, see the highlight reel above from WEF’s YouTube channel featuring some of the biggest names in global leadership and governance in the world today.

The biggest names are heavily guarded with security and usually being whisked away to one room or another, but approachable if you can get their attention for just a moment. Walking down a hallway I’ve passed rooms where French President Sarkozy is meeting with the CEO of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab. I walked into a room yesterday with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in a briefing with BBC Correspondent Nik Gowing about his ambitions for his G20 leadership and his vision for South Korea’s future. I stumbled upon a seating area where I was looking to rest for 10 minutes in one open chair and instead entered into a conversation about nuclear proliferation and how to work with governments in developing countries to stop making nuclear weapons with the Founder of Space Adventures, Eric Anderson, the Founder of Operation Hope, John Bryant and the Crown Prince of Norway, Prince Haakon. I grabbed tea with the CEO of News Corp and then we, together, scoped out and finagled ourselves into the second row of a session where Former President Bill Clinton was speaking on the state of Haiti.

And that list only goes to about 4pm!

Each day is like that here. A glorious amount of over-information that I imagine will continue to permeate and sink in for months to come. Tomorrow is the final “official” day of panels. It’s hard to believe it will soon be over and I’ll be back in New Orleans, telling everyone about all the good New Orleans gospel I’ve been spreading to anyone who will listen about all New Orleans has to offer. But not yet. No sir, no yet. For now, I edit and upload videos, I edit and upload photos, I write and hyperlink blog posts to share with all of you. I sleep (barely) and eat (sometimes) and buck up to soak in all the Davos has to offer working through the exhaustion and the wall and the feeling that as much as I’m absorbing is as much as I’m missing.

I’m already plotting my return for 2011.

Don’t forget to watch my video interviews of some of the best and brightest leaders of today and tomorrow on the MySpace blog.

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We did it! Thanks to ALL OF YOU and my many other supporters, you have helped me win the opportunity to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as the citizen journalist for MySpace and the Wall Street Journal.

You were the sixth judge. Every vote you cast, helped me with the community vote. The other judges were the CEO of MySpace, CEO of News International, Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Head of Communications for the World Economic Forum and the winner from last year. You’re in good company.

I’m on a jet plane TODAY for Switzerland and I’ll be there all week representing all of you and meeting world leaders, global thinkers, CEOs and activists. Where can you catch all the blogging goodness? So glad you asked!

First, all posts (blogs, photos and video) start on the MySpace Journal page. Those will also be syndicated on The Wall Street Journal online.

After 24hours on those outlets, I will repurpose some of the content on my blog and you might see it around the web in other places too. And I’ll continue to blog and write about my experiences when I’m back. And of course, you can catch my up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter where I’m @sloane and will be using the hashtag #wef. Let me also recommend following @davos and their awesome Twitter list of WEFMedia.

If YOU were attending Davos, who would you want to meet? What question would you ask of our world’s leaders?

Ask me and I’ll do the digging and reporting for you. It’s going to be a whirlwind, but I can handle it. Don’t worry, I got this! Can’t wait to share my experiences with you.

Davos Bound,
Sloane

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Meet the MySpace Journal 2010 Winner
January 20, 2010

To attend the World Economic Forum in Davos is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. I would like to thank MySpace, the Wall St. Journal and the World Economic Forum for offering me this opportunity. I’d like to thank the judges, especially the 6th judge – YOU. So many amazing people in my online network voted for me and I wouldn’t have this opportunity without your support. Thank you.

As I talked about in my video entry for this contest, my life has changed dramatically this past year. I went from working in a technology startup in Los Angeles to traveling the world as a global volunteer, discovering my own online voice on my blog, The Causemopolitan and eventually, at the end of my travels, relocating to New Orleans to be part of a vibrant social entrepreneurship community and continuing movement to rebuild one of America’s greatest cities.

All of this has happened because I believe in humanity and I believe that we all have the power to make the world a better place. There is a mantra I have, “Every day inspire others and be inspired.” For each person who reaches out to me to say that they’ve been motivated to create change in the world, so too do I reach out to be mentored, inspired simply better overall each and every day.

It’s something I call “the cause-filled life.” Which means that everything I do, I work to incorporate cause. Whoa. I know that can seem like a huge step for most people who don’t know where to get started. So you know what I say? Start small, start anywhere, get involved with a cause or nonprofit and let it grow organically from there. Someone who is out of shape can’t go out and run a marathon without easing their way into it. And that starts with putting on walking shoes and walking out the door, down the driveway and to the end of the block. Cause is like that too. Make a $10 donation to support a friend’s fundraiser, volunteer one Saturday with your family. Time waits for no one. I believe people, for the most part and with the best intentions, talk themselves out of getting involved because they feel like they don’t have enough time or money to really make a difference. I make it my goal to be the voice that says; “Do it! Try it on for size and see where it goes!”

People ask how I could travel last year without making money. I say it’s not about what you make but what you spend. By cutting down on everyday costs and giving up the big things like a permanent address, I was free to volunteer and travel. It’s not for everyone. A year as a nomad was not an easy journey. As the year progressed, I realized there was so much to share and wanted to let people feel like they were volunteering with me in the Philippines, or canyoneering in Ecuador, or visiting temples in Burma, so I used social media tools to share my stories, and the stories of people I met to get the word out.

It’s not about being an expert in social media. It’s about understanding how online tools can bring people together and being willing to pick up and try new technologies. It’s finding the conversations happening online connecting with people on a personal level. It’s actively cultivating my networks and connecting others.

I wish I spoke a second language fluently. The superhero power I always say I would want is the ability to have a conversation with anyone in any language. Since I don’t have that skill, when people ask me how I managed to travel alone without incident, I simply say, “I speak people.” I believe that conversations are 80% tone and 20% language. If I can infer the tone and body language of someone, I’m doing ok and I can play it by ear from there.

To be a great citizen journalist, it’s not about being an expert or having the best equipment, and it’s not about being in the right place at the right time though both of those things help. Capturing stories is about humanity. Being a humanitarian used to sound like a big scary goal, then one day I realized that a humanitarian is someone who brings back humanity to people. That, I decided, was something I could do and so I try to write, take pictures and shoot videos that compliment that ethos. Partnering those intentions with story telling is what I think makes a good citizen journalist.

It’s important to be open to the experience. Coming from a place of “yes” can get you a lot further in life than being skeptical. It takes a certain amount of quantity to get to the quality and so not every experience is going to be great nor is every person. You have to take a little bit of both to get to the sweet spot. Once you realize that’s what life is really about it’s a lot sweeter.

In the past year I was a Kiva Fellow in the Philippines for 3 months, launched a campaign called Cause It’s My Birthday to celebrate birthdays as a chance to give instead of get and raise close to $20,000 for malaria nets in Ghana, and moved to a city I that I fell head over heels in love for, New Orleans. I launched a weekly newsletter (with two fellow former digital nomads) to help keep New Orleans fresh called NOLAlicious and am co-organizing a Crisis Camp New Orleans for this Saturday to help with the technological response to the devastating Earthquake that struck Haiti. I’m very involved in community organizing because I believe community is like family and I want to do right by my family and stick up for them and have them be willing to go to bat for me.

I believe actions speak louder than words. In all that I do, I think about action.

I am honored to go to Davos as an unofficial Ambassador for New Orleans have the opportunity to continue sharing my experiences. I’m deeply passionate about how economic development policies shape both the developing and the developed world combined to break the poverty cycle. I want to take the pulse of global leaders on how they feel about the future of the world economy after such a tough 2009. I’d like to hear more about how new technologies, like mobile, have the ability to change the way we do commerce and drive opportunity to build a more vibrant global middle class. I’m there to listen and to share as much information as I can with you so that from wherever you are, you feel like you’re there too and learning and coming on the journey with me.

What do you want to know? Who would you like to meet? Let me help make your dreams come true. Leave a comment in the forum here, connect with me on twitter at @sloane and tell me what you would be most excited about if you could attend Davos.

There is much more to come. I hope you’ll check back and stay tuned in for all the latest developments from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland January 27-31, 2010.

Virtually yours,
Sloane

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Guess what? I’m the new MySpace and Wall Street Journal citizen journalist. To attend the World Economic Forum in Davos is truly the opportunity of a lifetime. I would like to thank MySpace, the Wall St. Journal and the World Economic Forum for offering me this opportunity. I’d like to thank the judges, especially the 6th judge – YOU. So many amazing people in my online network voted for me and I wouldn’t have this opportunity without your support. Thank you.

From the press release on the MySpace Journal blog:

LOS ANGELES – December 18, 2009 – MySpace today announced that Sloane Berrent, a 30-year-old resident of New Orleans, is the 2010 winner of its second annual “MySpace Citizen Journalist” competition. Berrent, who was chosen from a pool of contestants from the United States and the United Kingdom, will travel next week to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland as a special correspondent for MySpace, The Wall Street Journal and the World Economic Forum.

Berrent will join the Davos press corps and use the MySpace platform to report on conference news and interview world leaders about issues relevant to the global MySpace community. She will document her Davos experience via blogging/vlogging on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/myspacejournal), and on The Wall Street Journal online.

“It has been a lifelong dream of mine to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos,” said Berrent. “It’s an incredible opportunity to report on world leaders and the future of the global economy. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, I’d like to focus on the world’s role in the recovery effort. I’d also like to explore how economic development, specifically, microfinance and educational opportunity, play a role in changing the face of world economies and helping to break the poverty cycle.”

What do I get? What happens next?

As the winner of the “MySpace Citizen Journalist” competition, Berrent will receive:

· Invitations to the Young Global Leaders opening conference and various media events
· Attendance at private meetings with editors from the Wall Street Journal and News Corp executives
· The opportunity to document the experience in written and video blogs on MySpace and the Wall Street Journal online
· Syndication of her MySpace blog via WSJ.com

Much more to come, can’t wait to share my experience with you.

Your Causemopolian,
Sloane

P.S. Going to Davos? Know anyone who is? Leave a comment or email me at sloane (at) thecausemopolitan (dot) com.