Changes in Latitude Travel Store - September 2002 Newsletter

September 2002 Newsletter
Changes In Latitude 2002 Expedition Summits Kilimanjaro!
Every year approximately 12,000 trekkers attempt to climb Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. About half don’t make it. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to summit Mt. Everest, suffered from acute altitude sickness during his ascent of Kilimanjaro and had to be carried down. Astronaut Neil Armstrong didn’t make it, and neither did the cast of the IMAX film. But all 13 members of the Changes In Latitude 2002 expedition made it to the top. In addition to climbing the mountain, they visited Arusha and Serengeti National Parks, the Ngorongoro Crater, and Zanzibar.

The following is an excerpt from expedition member Hughes Moir’s trip report.

“…We were a group of 13, 5 women and eight men, ranging in age from 33 to 72; the median age was 60. We set out from the Machame Gate about noon on July 19; we had a group picture taken at the top when the sun came up at 5:30 am on July 24. In those six days, each of us achieved our collective and individual goal – the top of Africa. When we came down to the Marangu Gate, we had hiked about 65 miles, climbed through five geographic/climatic zones, froze our fingers at below-zero temperatures on the summit, and sweated in shirtsleeves on the humid, sunny slopes. We witnessed the sun rise and the moon set from the roof of Africa.”

“Several expedition members said it was the hardest thing they’d ever done. Before we left, when people would ask me why I was going, I’d think of my knees and my age and say, ‘Because I can.’ When I think seriously about the question, in addition to the adventure and the challenge, I know it’s because I wanted to prove to myself that I could. As Sir Edmund Hillary said of Everest, ‘It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.’”

To read Hughes' full report, click on Hughes Moir's Kilimanjaro Report.
Fall Travel Program Schedule
All shows start at 7:30 p.m. and are free unless otherwise noted.
For more detailed descriptions, visit our website at www.cil.com.

September 18   Peru – Hike the Inca Trail
September 25   Nepal
October 2    Color Your World Packing Clinic
October 9    Panama
October 16    Chile
October 23 Tanzania: Climb Kilimanjaro/Safari in the Serengeti
October 30 Travel Tales – Your “Scariest” Travel Adventure
November 6 Thailand
November 13 Around The World in a Year
November 20 Colorado's Hot Springs
November 27 No Show - Happy Thanksgiving!
December 4 Women's Travel Clinic
December 11 Ski Norway
December 18    Holiday Open House – Customer Appreciation Night
Anniversary Celebration – September 18-22
Come in and help us celebrate our anniversary…(yes, we’re still here!)…and register for GREAT PRIZES. Watch for SPECIAL SAVINGS and look for a fun new section of travel gifts. We hope to see you!
Packing Clinic
Plan to attend our next Packing Clinic on Wednesday, October 2. There are some exciting new product and color changes that you will love. (We can’t tell more…you’ll have to wait for the surprises!!)
New Products
Fall has arrived and we have received lots of beautiful new sweaters, skirts, shirts, and jackets. Our clothing is unique in style, made from easy-to-care-for fabrics, and is great for trips, work, or just hanging out in town. Stop in and check out it out.
Language Classes
Traveler’s Italian class – Starts Tuesday Sept. 10, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. and runs for six weeks. The cost is $79.95 and class size is limited, so call (303) 786-8406 or stop by the store to reserve your place.
Solo Women Travelers (excerpted from "Transitions Abroad" )
Women face unique challenges while traveling abroad. While it’s exciting to meet new people, personal safety is also an issue. Understanding cultural differences in the areas of gender roles, verbal and non-verbal communication, and the reputation of foreign women can be empowering for women traveling abroad.

American women are taught to be adventuresome, independent, and eager to meet people. They are used to being active: talking to people they don’t know, making friends quickly, going out at night. Yet, in many parts of the world, the role of women is to stay home. Friends are made through family ties, not at a night out in a bar. There are often strong differences between how women are expected to act in public and in private. Dress, behavior, activity, eye contact, and topics of conversation are shaped by unspoken cultural norms.

Traveling alone or in groups, making eye contact with men, going out at night. The non-verbal messages being sent may surprise us. Media messages of Madonna and Dallas have created powerful, lingering stereotypes of American women that follow us around the world. When we jog in the streets of Cairo, wear shorts in Kenya, and smile at people in the Paris Metro, we reinforce those stereotypes unintentionally.
Respect the Culture You’re Visiting
Despite our personal beliefs about what women should have the right to do around the world, we need to reach a balance between maintaining our identity and respecting the culture we are visiting. We might want to slow down and consider what we could gain by packing away our jeans and wearing a sari in India, staying at home with the family instead of going to a club in Tokyo, or taking the time to talk to the grandmother selling flowers at the local market.

By balancing our sense of adventure with an awareness of cultural differences, we can gain personal power and break stereotypes as we travel internationally. Here are a few tips for gaining cultural sensitivity as women traveling abroad:

• Research the country. Find out what the dress code is for women, which locations and situations are best for women to avoid, what non-verbal messages such as eye contact send, etc. Talk to women who are from that part of the world or who have traveled there.

• Get to know the women of the country. Read books by and about women from that area of the world. Hook up with local women’s organizations and families. While men and male-dominated activities are often more visible, take the time to reach out to women. Involve yourself in women’s work, play with the children, stay at home with your host family, and talk to your “mother.”

• Observe. We can learn a lot about roles, attitudes, and customs by watching. How do women carry themselves in public? What is the role of women in the host culture? What is the reputation of foreign women?

• Honor the customs. We travel to other countries to learn, so we need to make the effort it takes to show them respect. That might mean dressing like the locals or toning down our behavior.

• Be aware of cultural differences. Male-female relationships may not be culturally accepted, nor may it be appropriate to wear revealing clothing.

• Learn the language. Whether you’re in a country for a few days or a year, you will make a stronger connection with people by at least trying to communicate with people in their own language.

• Learn to trust your instincts. While we need to make efforts to adapt to a new culture, we also need to pay attention to what feels comfortable. When we are in a situation that makes us feel uncomfortable as women, we need to follow our instincts and leave.

• Express yourself and the difficulties you experience to someone who can understand or in a journal. We all need an outlet.

While the most visual things we take with us abroad is our nationality and our gender, one of the best tools we can also take along is cultural sensitivity. With this type of knowledge backing us up, we have a big world out there to explore.
Ask the Experts
How do I get back to the hotel?

When traveling to an unfamiliar place, especially to another country, keep a business card or matchbook or a piece of paper with your hotel’s address and phone number on it. If you get lost or separated from your friends or end up on the other side of town, you can show a taxi driver the address and be whisked to your hotel safe and sound. This is particularly helpful to those in a foreign country with little or no foreign language skills for that country.

E-mail your travel questions to travelquestions@cil.com and we’ll try to answer them in our subsequent newsletters.
Just For Fun
Heard on Southwest Airlines just after a very hard landing in Salt Lake City: The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, "That was quite a bump, and I know what y'all are thinking. I'm here to tell you it wasn't the airline's fault, it wasn't the pilot's fault, it wasn't the flight attendant's fault... it was the asphalt!"
Website Changes
The Changes In Latitude website has a new look. Our Web designer, Wayward Tortoise Designs, has worked very hard to redesign our website, making it more exciting and easier to use, so check out www.cil.com.
Newsletter Subscriptions
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Please visit our website at www.cil.com.
"Traveling is like flirting with life. It's like saying, 'I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.' ”
- Lisa St. Aubin de Teran
Happy Travels!

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Changes In Latitude 2525 Arapahoe Boulder, CO 80302 USA
phone: 303-786-8406 fax: (303) 786-8408
e-mail: adventure@cil.com

www.cil.com