<\/em><\/p>\n

The fourth\u00a0installment of our series\u00a0 \u201cThe Expeditioner\u2019s 2010 In Review\u201d comes from co-editor Maria Russo. Ever insightful, Maria acknowledges her <\/em>Eat, Pray, Love influence, encourages us to read any “Top Ten” travel articles you can find, and can’t wait to visit the largest shopping mall in Kuwait. Or was it the opposite of that . . .
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Where’d you head this past year? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Costa Rica, Thailand, Washington DC, and the Catskills, NY. Oh, and I flew into Narita, Japan to and from Thailand for a short layover — does this count? (Editor’s Note: Nope, unless you’re Sarah Palin.)<\/p>\n

What possible travels do you see on the 2011 calendar?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hopefully Guatemala to volunteer at Luke\u2019s nonprofit organization (GodChild.org<\/a>) and to visit Lake Atitl\u00e1n. I\u2019m also thinking India and Bali over the summer, which, I swear, was my travel projection long before I saw Eat, Pray, Love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What\u00a0tips have you learned in your 2010 travels?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every person you meet along the way of your travels is a teacher, so listen to the lesson and learn from it. During both my trips this year (Costa Rica and Thailand), I was in \u201cjournalist\u201d mode, working on piecing stories together, so I went out of my way to meet with people I would have never thought to talk to, and pushed myself to partake in experiences I would have otherwise passed-up. Because of this, I saw and experienced things that — sorry if this sounds clich\u00e9 — but were truly life-changing.<\/p>\n

What’s\u00a0on your radar for the upcoming year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m liking the wave of philanthropic-related pieces, remote village stories and features on anything but the largest shopping mall in Kuwait (sorry National Geographic) that have been cropping up in travel publications this past year. My hope for 2011 is that the travel writing world will begin to steer away from the \u201cTop Ten\u201d pieces (sadly, I\u2019m guilty of writing these pieces as well), and continue to see the importance of a journalistic approach to telling a story about a destination.<\/p>\n

There are so many global issues that need to be talked about, unveiled, and analyzed. We, as travelers, have the power to expose injustices, credit organizations that are changing things for the better in developing nations, and tell the stories of people that need to be heard — whether it\u2019s though the spoken or written word. So in quoting the lyrics of a powerful ballad from the late Michael Jackson, let\u2019s \u201cHeal the world; make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race.\u201d Ok, so that was a little over the top, but you get the point.<\/p>\n

[Photo of\u00a0\u00a0Tubkaak beach in Krabi, Thailand, by Maria Russo]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fourth\u00a0installment of our series\u00a0 \u201cThe Expeditioner\u2019s 2010 In Review\u201d comes from co-editor Maria Russo. Ever insightful, Maria acknowledges her Eat, Pray, Love influence, encourages us to read any “Top Ten” travel articles you can find, and can’t wait to visit the largest shopping mall in Kuwait. Or was it the opposite of that . […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":9373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,2561],"tags":[1988,2013,2008,1326],"yoast_head":"\n