To rabbit hole...

"Would be nice if something made sense for a change"

-Alice

It's a sunny Sunday morning, no more than 10:30 am, and am sure the neighbours are waking from their Saturday night slumbers. My mind is a bit foggy at the moment, and not just from the one-too- many cocktails last night at a house party in the "up and came" Leslieville. As I sit cross-legged on the couch in the living room, I look around at the room. It's a not-so-organized chaos; odds and sods of second hand furniture, random art and wall hangings, even a velvet sitting chair of an unfortunate shade of mustard sitting ready at the kitchen table. The counter is askew with remnants from the housemates' late night, post-bar, gorge-fest...even the blender is making a cameo. Sipping peppermint tea in an attempt to neutralize the gluttony of food and drink from last night, I find myself "rabbit holing" for the catalyst for starting the Year of Passion (YOP).

to rabbit hole [rab-it hohl]: The active art of internet exploration, where one follows an unknown path of links and Google searches to uncover new sites, people, places and organizations doing noteworthy activities

Origin: Alice in Wonderland

The fruits of this search are emerging slowly, but am struggling with deciding on the criteria for the search. Where should I start? What should I do when I'm there? How much should I budget? Should I budget? Should I plan this, that, anything, everything, nothing? OR have the effects of a highly regimented, organized, planning-obsessed life complete with the 9-5 job stunted my ability and inclination to wing it more or less? mmmmm...

In any case, here are some of the contenders or sources for what the YOP catalyst could look or feel like:

a) WOOF (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms): "WOOF is a world wide network - It started in the UK in 1971and has since become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable ways of living. In return for volunteer help, WWOOF hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles

For the NZ branch, there are over 1,200 host listings and some include working at a surf camp on the south island, running a small B&B or backpackers, and of course, quite a collection of sheep farm work.

b) Idealist: This was a whopping product of rabbit holing. I came across this super helpful international job/intership resource (which has strong social cause twist) as a result from a really shoddy, barebones, out-dated library of adventure travel jobs links library. Essentially, "Idealist is a project of Action Without Borders, a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 with offices in the United States and Argentina. Idealist is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives

c) CIDA internships: International internships for graduates of uni in Canada - some super interesting opportunities such as this one: Eco-Tourism and Environmental Specialist / Spécialiste de l’écotourisme et de l’environnement in Peru: which I would be all over like rice on beans IF it didn't require "strong oral and written spanish" Somehow I feel my conversation Spanish wouldn't cut the la mostaza

d) Travel industry- Under this beautiful umbrella, there's working for the facilitator (Butterfield and Robinson, GAP Adventure Tours, TREK, etc) or travel photography or travel reporting or a beautiful mix of all of the above: Flight Centre's The Best Travel Job Ever...which of course made this short list.

GAH! And the search continues...