Photo courtesy of Taylor Davidson

I started this meme in 2009 and continued it in 2010. Thanks to Taylor for inspiring me to do this project – his meme of cities goes back to 2006. Unlike him, I don’t have a photo of all of the places I slept, but that’s certainly something to aspire to!

As in previous years, a city makes it onto this list when I’ve slept there so any day trips aren’t included. If I was in a city and slept in multiple places, that counts as it’s own entry – since it counts against the total nights away and not spent at home in my own bed.

The big thing this year was having ONE home. A home that started unfurnished – a huge step for me compared to 2009 and 2010! It was still a year of travel (both in the U.S. and then to Haiti, Mexico, Barbados and Portugal) but it was also a great year to sink into New York City and enjoy everything that this glorious city has to offer and start to build a home. It’s been a good year. Here’s where I was in the year that was…

January
New York City (homebase)
Miami (1)
Boca Raton, FL (2)
York, ME (1)
Boston, MA (1)

February
New Orleans, LA (3)
Port-au-Prince, Haiti (2)
Jacamel, Haiti (1)

March
Austin, TX (2)
Austin, TX (2) *separate place
Los Angeles, CA (1)
Los Angeles, CA (2) *separate place

April
Miami, FL (1)
Tecate, Mexico (7)
Fairfield, CT (1)

May
Asheville, NC (3)

June
Kittery, ME (2)

July
Barbados (4)
Manchester, CT (2)
Boston, MA (1)

August
San Diego, CA (3)
Pittsburgh, PA (3)
Luray, VA (3)

September
Hidden Valley, PA (3)
Boston, MA (2)

October
Chambersburg, PA (2)
Kittery, Me (2)
Santa Monica, CA (1)
Burlington, VT (2)

November
Wahington, DC (3)
Hidden Valley, PA (3)

December
Scarsdale, NY (1)
Pittsburgh (5)
Lisbon, Portugal (2)
Duoro Valley, Portugal (2)

Total nights away from home: 76 (20% of nights)

Where did you go last year (work/personal or both? Where are your travels taking you this year? To all the places you’ll go and beyond – happy travels!

Photo courtesy of Taylor Davidson

Through the years I’ve visited a great many more, including most of the parks in the West. All special, all wonderful. However for the last year and a half, the one I’ve been lucky enough to visit again and again is Shenandoah National Park. Taylor’s parents live at the base of the park just about Luray, Virginia – and it’s the most amazing getaway. We go and hike every day, kayak on the river, cook dinner every night, and sit on the back deck listening to the creek and on occasion watching the “light show” – the thunder and lightening storms that are so perfect to watch in the wilderness of the East Coast.

My favorite part? Using our National Park Pass. This trip ours had expired and it wasn’t even a second thought at the front gate of the Shenandoah’s that we would buy another. The pass is $80 annually. Some parks charge $30 for a 3/day pass, so if you want to get technical, it’s “worth it” after only a couple of visits.

But it’s well beyond worth it even if you just visited a park once a year. The National Park system is part of my American dream. Preservation and protection to forests and the animals that live in them. When we visit, it’s always a mystery what wildlife we’ll see and that’s part of the fun! And usually something comes over me at some point and I just stop at a big tree, wrap my arms around it and SQUEEZE.

When’s the last time you felt that passionate about nature? It’s really an incredible feeling!

It’s so easy to buy a park pass, for more info look HERE. Looking forward to seeing you on the trails!

Above is a slideshow of my first day in Haiti with the Fairwinds Trading and the #heartofhaiti bloggers. What’s amazing is that each picture tells a story. A photo is really just a moment in time and from the second before to the second after everything changes. It captures how you feel just then.

So when I was thinking about Haiti and the difference in the experience for me versus some of the other women bloggers who haven’t traveled as much to the developing world I couldn’t help but have an important revelation.

I process it differently now. Developing countries have a different affect on me now than before.

I’m still struck from the moment we land at how different the developing world is from the developed. And I’m still in awe at the differences. But certain aspects I see differently. I still see the trash on the streets and the lack of infrastructure (old cars, building falling down) but now I see past that a lot more quickly.

My eyes now focus on the kids playing, the laughter of women gathered on a street corner, the way people are helping each other cross the street and carry heavy loads.

People ask me what draws me to the developing world and what I say is that it sets me straight. It reminds me of what’s important in this world – people. And I simply love experiencing new places, my senses alive and taking in every moment, every sight and every smell. I like testing my internal compass, I like finding a way to connect with people when I don’t speak their language. And I love being able to debunk myths of what traveling to developing countries is like to people when I get back.

When you look at the photos above, I hope you see the life in them. I hope you see the hope, creativity and progress. There’s more than the ruins, you just have to look beyond the obvious. In other words, process it differently.

When I was in Haiti last week for the #heartofhaiti blogger trip, we were touring around on the Saturday morning and pulled up in our van to the Palace (their version of the White House). As many people have seen in the news, it completely collapsed. So did their National Cathedral and Congress building. Ruins, rubble, dust, trash and in general disarray are everywhere you look. Directly across from the Palace is one of the biggest tent cities in Port-au-Prince. It’s a lot to process.

We step out of the van to take photos of the palace and suddenly a marching bands starts. The national marching band for Haiti was in procession to the flagpole and played their national anthem as they raised the national flag.

It was one of those moments of perfect timing that you couldn’t have planned if you wanted to.

While I was filming I looked over my right shoulder behind me and noticed an odd quiet. Everything had stopped in its place. Men were half stride, cars had come to a complete halt, women washing dishes or clothes had stopped, even kids running around were paused.

Everyone and everything paused to pay tribute to their country. It was one of the largest acts of patriotism I’ve ever seen.

So the video above is the view straightforward but imagine for a moment what it was like with a 360-degree view.

I have returned from the most moving trip to Haiti. It’s really truly amazing what happens when you dive into an experience with your whole heart and soul. I am going through photos and videos and will be posting as much as I can over the next few days.

I want to give a huge shoutout and thank you to my digital sisters that shared in this experience with me. Without them, this trip would not have been the same. We bonded in a way that is hard to describe, in part because we had the opportunity to share with each other and in part because we were all really open to sharing with each other.

I created a Twitter list called Heart of Haiti to keep these digital sisters connected and also to let more people follow along with the goodness they are creating in this world.

Our inspirational leaders!

• @willashalit: Social entrepreneur, Fair Trade activist, artist, merchant, mom, knitter, traveler. http://www.fairwindstrading.com

• @danicakombol: Everywhere Communicator, Catalyst, Pie Baker, Partner in Social Media Marketing Firm, Everywhere, Guinness Record Holder for #beatcancer. http://www.beeverywhere.tv

Who are these inspiring women? Let’s see…

• @anandaleeke: Yoga + Creativity + Internet Geek = Ananda Leeke. Innerpreneur. Author. Artist. Coach. Yoga Teacher. Her next book is @DigitalSisterhd, a memoir (12/11). http://www.anandaleeke.com
  

• @prtini: Social Media • President of Geben Communication • #pr20chat co-moderator • Love reading, nachos, wine, sports & my iPhone • heather@gebencommunication.com. http://gebencommunication.com
  

• @JohnicaReed: Travel tastemaker, writer & twentysomething entrepreneur with a passion for curated experiences. Bringing you destination inspiration from around the globe. http://johnicareed.com
  

• @msciocia: Professional Ghost Tweeter. http://www.lauraciocia.com

And the partners that helped make this possible:

• @BeEverywhere: We blend digital, social, experiential, and traditional marketing tactics and solve problems for our clients. Social Media Guinness Record holder #beatcancer
  http://www.BeEverywhere.Tv

• @CBHaitiFund: At the request of President Obama, we are partnering to help the Haitian people reclaim their country and rebuild their lives. http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org
  

• Heart of Haiti
  

• @brittont13: Digital Coordinator and Social Media Specialist living in Atlanta GA. Passionate about food, fashion, and fun!

A special shoutout to the non-Twitterers of the group: Deana, Juliana and Chad. It was amazing to spend this time with you. Thank you for sharing yourselves and making this trip so incredible. Many thanks also to Natalie and Pascale, the program directors in Haiti for Fairwinds, you both were simply amazing. Your passion and dedication to your culture within Haiti was an inspiration. And another hello to Taryn who had planned to join us but couldn’t at the last minute. You were there with us in spirit.

Here’s to creating special bonds with amazing women. Willa said on the trip that so many people have asked her about Haiti and her work in Haiti. She told them, “Come to Haiti and see for yourself.” Until this past weekend, no one had gone. The biggest success of the whole trip? THAT WE WENT. That we made the trip. That we said YES. That we broke through our own barriers and made room in our busy lives as professional women to make this trip come alive. That is the most magical part of all. Thank you to all you incredible, beautiful women for joining me in Haiti. #onelove

“What is the one thing we can take back from Haiti with us to tell people?”

That was the question I asked people while in Haiti over the weekend. For there is a lot going on. A lot of sadness. A lot of frustration. A lot of violence. Struggles to reconstruct, rebuild, take a country that was already the poorest in the Western Hemisphere and have it come back better than before.

“Tell the good. There is positive happening here. The (traditional) media only tells the stories of hardship but there are a lot of positive stories coming out of Haiti too.”

And indeed there is. Smiles and laughter. People helping each other. Community leaders stepping up. International aid organizations committed to helping in the reconstructions. Houses are being built. Schools are in session. A presidential election is right around the corner.

So that’s what I want to do. I want to honor the wishes of the people I met in Haiti. I want to tell stories that haven’t been told 100 times. It’s important for us – us in the privileged developed country – to remember that in the aftermath of a natural disaster most other countries don’t have the option to cleanup like we do.

Sanitation is often argued to be the number one indicator of how developed a country is. Second is infrastructure in roads and the ability to get from point A to point B. Haiti is obviously behind the U.S., so is there trash in the streets and piles of rubble? Yes. But I expected that.

What was amazing was the bright colors! The creativity of the Haitians. The way they are embracing art as a means of expression. They are struggling of course, but there is hope in Haiti. There is hope for the future. That is humankind, that is what makes us resilient. Hope.

I hope you’ll remember that when you think of Haiti, if nothing else.

I’ll be sharing more of that perspective of Haiti in the coming days. In the meantime, I’ve just started using Cinch to record audio messages to share. Below is a message I recorded today about Haiti and storytelling.

If you have specific questions about Haiti, please let me know. If I don’t know, I’m happy to help find someone who would. And for more information on the Heart of Haiti campaign visit Fairwinds Trading or follow the hashtag #heartofhaiti on Twitter.

I have exciting news…and a bit of a story to tell you.

First up, I’m headed to Haiti! I’m leaving early this Friday AM (just a few days away) and will return very late on Monday night. I’m really excited to be part of a small blogger team going to Port-au-Prince to meet with local artisans who are a part of Fairwinds Trading and capture Haiti in a post-earthquake environment.

How did this come to be? Join me on a journey…last year, while living in New Orleans, I was asked by the amazing folks at Everywhere to help organize an event for the Pathway to Peace event. This was sometime in December of 2009. Pathway to Peace is an initiative by Macy’s to support women artisans in Rwanda. I clearly remember Tamara from Everywhere telling me, “We can’t pay you to help with this event, but it’s such an amazing campaign, and I know you’ll love it. We’ll find another way to make this work and work with you in the future.”

Lesson 1: Sometimes you do things for money. Sometimes you do things because you believe in them. Sometimes you ask for something in return. Sometimes you do something simply for gratitude. Know the difference between these scenarios, but make sure at some point in your life you do one of each.

I did help with the New Orleans event. And I did work more with Everywhere on other campaigns for Macy’s. As a digital strategist on the Culinary Council initiative by Macy’s, I worked with Everywhere on how to engage local bloggers in a series of in-stores appearances around the U.S. featuring some of the most well-known chefs in the country.

And I’ve worked with Everywhere throughout 2010 on other clients and campaigns providing digital strategy for product launches and influencer events. I love them, their passion for their clients and their amazing attitude to push for the best of the best and to get the job done.

It’s through Everywhere I learned about Willa Shallit and Fairwinds Trading. It was while reading about Willa, that I was so moved by her story to I wrote a blog post about Heart of Haiti just a few weeks ago. I shared the blog post with Everywhere and they wrote right back and said they were helping put together a trip to Haiti, if they could help find me a sponsor would I go?

Lesson 2: Write about the things you’re passionate about. Then share them with the people you are writing about and those who you think would be interested. You never know what will come from it. Be open to the possibility that something amazing can happen around any corner. Be ready to say “yes” to the experience.

Well, I actually didn’t practice what I preach in this case. I said I didn’t know if I could make it. I have too many clients and projects I said, I can’t get away.

I asked for details anyway.

Turns out it was only for a weekend…give or take. And that it was with a small team of amazing female bloggers and Willa herself would be there. Three days later, I had a sponsor and my flight was booked.

Sometimes things happen fast like that and you have to go with it and worry about exhaling after the decision has been made.

It helps (no doubt) that I’ve traveled a lot of places and I have all my shots, a current passport (everyone should have this) and a healthy knowledge of Haiti from my experience with CrisisCamp New Orleans and friendship with some incredibly Haitians in New Orleans.

Lesson 3: Value your relationships. You never know where they might lead, where the path might go, and when paths might cross in amazing and unexpected ways. Social media and technology are tools to stay in touch and communicate with the people in your life. Use them that way to make the most out of what technology can do for you.

It’s hard to know where to begin to describe Willa because she’s THAT AWE-INSPIRING. Instead of a normal bio introduction, here is an excerpt from an article on her in Oprah’s Magazine:

Willa Shalit has been put on this earth, I think, to allow the rest of us to pretend that our most grasping, selfish impulses are actually noble. Through her company, Fair Winds Trading, she has managed to make shopping meaningful—a way to load up on gorgeous, exotic objects de lust while furthering peace and justice, not to mention improving lives around the world. Bless the woman.

A pioneer in a growing social-entrepreneurial movement whose mission in part is to provide unique products to U.S. consumers—and, at the same time, sustainable wages to the Third World artisans who make them—Shalit has been collaborating for the past five years with the women of Rwanda. As a result, Fair Winds Trading now imports their handwoven baskets, African-gemstone jewelry, textile bags, and table linens, and this fall will branch out with products from Tanzania, Cambodia, and Indonesia.

And a bit about Fairwinds Trading:

Fairwinds Trading is a for-profit company that uses business as a strategy for economic empowerment of people, especially women, in the Majority World. The Majority World is where two billion of the world’s three billion people live, in poverty. Our focus on women as a preferred partner is based in part on our history, in part on our leadership as a woman-owned firm, and in part on evidence that raising the standard of living for women has the greatest positive multiplier effect within families, communities and cultures.

The company’s philosophy and business model embody a new paradigm for global economic empowerment. They recognize that compassionate aid, needed in moments of crisis, becomes culturally destructive if continued too long. They demonstrate that cross-cultural business partnerships, rooted in mutual learning and growth, can bring sustainable economic power to women around the world.

Our mission is to connect cultures through business, art and understanding.

I’m really excited to meet Willa and the Fairwinds artisans and have the opportunity to meet and connect with the other bloggers as well. This is an incredible opportunity to spend a few days on the ground with local artisans and hear first-hand about their experiences and see Haiti with my own eyes. For those who have been following me for awhile or reading my blog, you might remember that I produced the first CrisisCamp New Orleans in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

I have passionately been following, giving my time and donating my resources to helping Haiti and this opportunity to go in person absolutely astounds me. I will share more about the trip in the coming days and once I’m back next week. I’m also looking to sell a few stories/posts to blogs and publications to help pay for the part of the trip that I’m paying out of pocket, if you know of any that you think I should reach out to, please let me know!

Full disclosure: While Fairwinds products are sold in Macy’s stores, this trip is completely independent and not sponsored by Macy’s. While Macy’s has been a client in the past, it is not currently a client and I have no obligation or requirement to Macy’s on this trip.

I haven’t been as good at keeping this meme as some others I know, but nonetheless, starting in 2009 I kept track of the cities where I traveled and wanted to continue that list for 2010.

I had spent 2009 without a permanent location traveling and volunteering so one of the biggest things I wanted this past year was continuity. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself a meager 5. The key is that while I FELT more at home, I physically still traveled quite a bit. Sometimes I loved it, ok, most of the time I loved it. One of my mottos is after all “have passport will travel!” Still, I did crave little things, like the ability to know where I would be one week to the next. The ability to take a four week tennis or sushi-making class and attend each week (that never ever could have happened in 2010). At the same rate, I traveled almost exclusively for work and for fabulous professional opportunities and for that I’m eternally grateful to be at a place in my career where my expertise is requested and valued in different markets. Plus a few trips were for weddings and birthdays with friends and experiencing those special days with those that I love was amazing. Last, there was an annual trip with my mom and little sisters (this year we went to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador) that always brings a smile to my face and the start of an annual humanitarian trip that Taylor and I are going to be taking (this year was Ghana).

All in all, an amazing 2010 of travel. The phrase we coined at NOLAlicious is “heart of a native, soul of a tourist.” Truthfully, I feel that way about most places I am. I’m always curious to go and see and explore no matter if I’m at home or in a brand new place. Without further ado, my cities for 2010:

January:
* New Orleans, LA (as a homebase, I’ll only mention it here in January. I do want to add that I moved apartments in New Orleans March 1st so I have two places to count as my own).
World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as the MySpace & Wall St. Journal Citizen Journalist.

February
Why leave New Orleans? Election, Super Bowl, Mardi Gras!

March
Austin, TX (RISE Austin and SXSW)
Los Angeles, CA (Spoke at CalTech)

April
Pittsburgh, PA (Received award from my high school)

May
Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
Chattanooga, TN
Luray, VA

June
New York, NY (Spoke at Philanthropy Day NY)
Pittsburgh, PA (My grandpa’s 90th birthday!)
Palm Springs, CA

July
Seattle, WA (SummerMash)
San Francisco, CA (SummerMash)
Alexandria, VA
Washington, DC (World Bank Synoposis & SummerMash)
Luray, VA

August
New York, NY (SummerMash)
Chicago, IL (SummerMash)
Milford, CT
High Falls, NY
Brooklyn, NY

September
Bloomington, IN (Spoke at The Combine)
Brooklyn, NY (Clinton Global Initiative)

October
Kittery, ME
New York, NY
Luray, VA
Dublin, Ireland (Spoke at Dublin Web Summit, Founders and taught workshops with ezetop

November
New York, NY
Accra, Ghana (Delivered malaria nets from Cause It’s My Birthday Series)
Atorkor, Ghana
Late Bosumtwi, Ghana
Kumasi, Ghana
Cape Coast, Ghana
Pittsburgh, PA
Hidden Valley, PA

December
New York, NY
Pittsburgh, PA
Luray, Virginia

What a year! Here’s to an equally fantastic 2011. What is on your 2010 cities list? Where should I visit this year?

“I’m always doing things I can’t do. That’s how I get to do them.” – Pablo Picasso.

Sometimes, man, time just passes us by. Even with the best of intentions to-do lists get longer, email inboxes fill, and we find ourselves short on time, short on getting behind the eight ball and all seems like a big hopeless mess.

I’m no different. And often, when I feel my online self slipping it’s because I’m juggling a lot in my offline real world self. Or I have a lot on my mind. Or I’m incubating projects, working with clients and neck deep in new business development. But there is one more scenario to consider. Enjoying the day, celebrating with friends and getting out from behind this computer screen that is often both my saviour, source of information but also, at times, takes me away from that real world self that I so crave.

This past month has been just such a scenario. I went to Ghana for two weeks as I blogged that I would, delivering malaria nets through Infanta Malaria for Netting Nations, visiting tech companies in Accra to learn about the economic development opportunities around technology in Ghana (and Africa at large, spending time with the Millennium Cities Initiative as part of The Earth Institute and let’s not forget meeting the Kiva Fellows currently serving in Ghana and going back to my own Fellowship memories by accompanying them on borrower visits and group meetings.

Taylor and I have so much to share, and we’ll be rolling it out in a variety of ways. We have pieces soon to be published in other outlets online and off and can’t wait to share those with you. We did share some limited updates while we were gone, but we really wanted to live the experience fully. Be in Ghana (which let’s face it has limited connectivity) and not obsess over having to be online. We did check in with clients and our parents, but beyond that we allowed ourselves to relish in the experience and the now appreciating the trip for what it was, a very special and unique experience that we put a lot of heart, soul and planning into.

Now that we’ve returned and I’ve dug out of the black hole of email and catching up on all of my responsibilities, I can focus on what brings me joy – this blog. I feel like I do things all the time that people say are impossible, or out of the box. Why? Because why not? I want to share it all, lay it all on the table for all the world to see, but sometimes I do need to ruminate on things for awhile and consider exactly what I want to say and how I want to portray my thoughts. I’ve been having an internal struggle over some of these issues. I have a lot on my mind and I’m not sure if by not sharing it here I did a disservice to myself or a favor because I let it sift and filter out in my journal and in conversations with close friends giving me greater clarity to put it all in writing. But at the end of the day, The Causemopolitan is a huge part of who I am and I can only step away for so long until I miss it and it beckons me back. I think things we love are like that, they fill our soul in ways we can’t always define. For that, I’m hopeful to find the words within myself to share here with everyone. So here’s to celebrating my time offline, it was a welcome break to return to center and come back better and stronger than before.

The big news continues! Last week I relaunched The Causemopolitan and can’t tell you how much it means to me the incredible response I got from people all across the globe.

This week I am excited to announce a trip that has been in the works these past few months and has finally all come together.

I’m headed to Ghana!

My partner-in-crime Taylor Davidson and I have talked a lot about the way we want to contribute in the world, and we know photos, videos and stories can have a huge impact. I also have a connection to Ghana because of the Cause It’s My Birthday series from last fall and then also Kiva has a presence there and from my time as a Kiva Fellow I have been wanting to visit other countries and field partners.

My friend, Drew Meyers, who I first met through microfinance, helped with the birthday series and is just an incredible friend and like a brother to me, is going to be in Ghana in November with his friend Dan. They are volunteering for the microfinance institution Lumana Credit as part of their around-the-world journey.

With Drew there, the connection to Lumana, and a little bit of malaria nets left to deliver from Cause It’s My Birthday, it’s just too much coming together and too big an opportunity to pass up!

Taylor and I will be joining Drew and Dan in Ghana from November 8th until the 20th. We’ll be leading a few malaria net drops with local charities and NGOs, planning a “tech day” visit around Accra including Google’s office there and few startups we found through BarCampAccra and BarCampGhana, visiting a few cooperatives, exploring the countryside and making the most of our time there.

We’re always looking to make the most of our travels, and certainly my trip to Ghana is no different – and here’s where we could use your help!

• People to connect with — Are there people in Ghana – whether they be techies, social entrepreneurs, or just amazing individuals passionate about what they do — that are “must meets” while we’re there? If so, I would love an introduction to see if we can coordinate something with them.
• Connections at technology companies based in or near Accra – As I mentioned, on the November 11th, we’re looking to organize a few “tech visits” in Accra.
• Tips, tricks or otherwise about Ghana.

I can’t wait for this trip, and to share much of it with you during and after with the content we create. I’m also going to be writing about what it takes to set up a trip like this (which has been a ton of work believe me)! If there are other things I can do to help YOU, as always let me know.

Here’s to Ghana!