WANTED: MUSIC FOR SERIES!!

Hello again!

I just wanted to let all the inner-Bob Dylans and Celine Dions out there know that Will and I are looking for lots of original music for our series! If you would be willing to share a YOU-creation with us, we can't promise any financial rewards, but we will give you credit in the episode.  And who knows, maybe it will pay off in the end... :) If this is something you might be interested in, you can email us at fastenyourdreambelt@gmail.com! All genres welcome! 

xx Emily and Will


 

Don't Lose it over a Pickled Burger

Well, our plan to get back to Lyon didn’t quite work out as planned.  We left LAX at 11:05pm Friday night, hoping to connect in Montreal, and move right along to Athens, where we would then get a plane to Lyon…connecting in Munich first though of course.  Where did things go wrong? Stop number one: Montreal.  Long story short, our flight was delayed/canceled, meaning that we would missed all following flights.  We tried to sweet way our talk into getting onto the next boarding flight, which was conveniently destined for Paris, yet apparently the baggage guys couldn’t get our bags off of our original flight fast enough, so now we have a security hazard – aka, we couldn’t board the flight.  Instead, we ended up waiting in the airport for a grand total of thirteen hours before getting vouchers to head over to the Quality Inn – just three long lines, a crowded van, and a semi-heated argument with the waiter who said the kitchen was already closed, just as we sat down to redeem our free $10 meal, later.

On the up side, we DID get to sleep in until 2pm the next day, and we DID avoid having to take two extra flights by going directly to Paris instead.  So, now that I am comfortably flying over the Atlantic Ocean with many-a-movie at my disposal and a cute French-English man next to me, I decided to reflect on our big day the Montreal airport and begin writing my first blog post!

I suppose in many ways, we both got a taste of what lies ahead…  being in a situation that you have absolutely no control over.  For the moment, we’re both still working on the whole “power of positive thinking” thing to get us through the next “Montreal airport” disaster.  I’m guessing it will come in handy this next year.  Must keep practicing.

While it’s easy for anyone these days to complain about airline services, let’s face it – for an economy traveler, it sux….   As Will and I prepared our angry rant, nearing the front of the line to get our vouchers, I became impressed by the very people I wanted to attack.  Looking to my left and right as an extremely unhelpful woman told us to call an 888 number, I heard the dozens of people next to me full on yelling at the airline people.  Now when I say “full on yelling,” imagine a 3 year old screaming-crying for a cookie…ok now put that high-pitched noise into a 50 year old, 60 year old, etc. body,  change the cookie to a flight, and you basically have an idea of what was happening.  It was pretty embarrassing.

Hopefully, by seeing that play-pin up close, we were able to handle ourselves with a bit more class – though I can’t say for sure, as the last few hours at that airport are a bit hazy from the Burger King intake and lack of sleep.  My point probably makes sense to anyone who has ever been a waiter/waitress and gotten yelled at because the chef accidentally added pickles to the wrong burger.   You just gotta smile, apologize, and try to help the evil person who is basically telling you you don’t have a brain…for something that wasn’t even your fault.   So while I know that you, me, everyone that has a delayed or canceled flight has the right to complain…be outraged…ask for “YOUR supervisor!”, I do hope that no one reading this blog will ever completely loose it over a pickled burger.  

Before I say au’revoir, I’d just like to say thank you to all our friends and family that have supported our trip, our project, and us!! I feel very lucky to have so much love and encouragement surrounding me as we take off for this crazy adventure! Thank you to everyone who has read this…for reading it, and I can’t wait to fill these virtual pages with more stories from the countries we’ll be visiting!  Big hugs and kisses to everyone! First stop: Mauritius.  Xx Emily

Drink Responsibly

The Story of Bottled Water 

A bottle of iced (I found out Americans adore their ice - quite frankly I'm starting top love it too) water is just priceless in the summer heat! It sounds so much more refreshing and healthy than that old tap water!
But is it?
You might want to think twice about buying that mega pack of single serve water bottles. In this video are a few facts that might get your juices flowing...

Watch The Story of Bottled Water

Klean Kanteen

Now if you feel like that pack of plastic isn't your cup of tea, and you are looking for a sustainably produced, health safe product, I discovered a great american invention you might already know about:

The Klean Kanteen. It is usable, reusable, plastic free,cheap and comes in all different shapes, colours and sizes! And you can use it as a kettle to make it your cup of tea...

Buy your KleanKanteen now!

Nika Water 

Your other option is called Nika Water...and yes, it's bottled water! But hear this out if you or some of your friends and relatives aren't convinced yet, maybe this is a first step you'll be willing to take! It's not quite your typical water bottle company...

CarbonFree: After an expert assessed how much carbon one bottle of Nika produces, Nika took an ongoing pledge to cancel out there carbon footprint by planting a tree for every 98 bottles sold.

100% Recycled and Recyclable: Nika bottles are made from recylced plastic (an FDA approved process) so when you drink it, you don't create more waste. And all you need to do when you're done is throw away the cap in the trash and recycle the bottle with you plastics!

Healthy: Nika water delivers less than 20 parts of per million of contaminants making it one of the top 10% of tested waters in the US.

Ethical: NIKA donates 100% of its profits by investing in water projects through three world-class non-profit organizations: Free the Children, Millennium Promise and Project Concern International.

Order your pack of Nika Water online!

Now doesn't that taste better ?

What, Where and Why ?

Hi guys,
This is Will writing our 1st post and welcoming you to our blog.

In case you are still unaware, Em and I are going around the world for a year. When we made this life changing decision, leaving our cat and shoes (that was harder for some people) behind we asked ourselves what do want out of this unique opportunity.

Of course we didn't want the same things, but soon decided we could clench both of our thirsts for adventure and relaxation (Guess who wanted what...) !

Where?
We will be travelling for 12 months from Paris to Johannesburg through Namibia & Botswana. We will then head for China, South East Asia & India where we will spend Christmas & New Years 2011! Next is Australia & New Zealand where we will explore Melbourne & Sydney as well as the more arid Western coast.

When?
We will leave on Sept. 1st and will roughly be in Africa for 2 months, Asia for 3 months, Oceania for 2 months and South America for 3 months. We will then spend 2 months in California meeting more activists, experts and volunteers and editing the series.

What?
The Fasten your Dream Belt Series will be composed of about 10 episodes that will be uploaded to our YouTube Channel during summer 2011. We will be meeting people along the way to see firsthand and try to understand the challenges our generation is facing.

We will be travelling in the search of 2 things: Knowledge for we are conscious that even if we watch 5 documentaries a week (yap we're dorks), nothing beats meeting the people and listening to what they have to say; And Bewilderment since we firmly believe taking a stand for something you are passionate about is not a reason to stop being amazed!

Some of the issues we will raise are: Oceans & Marine Life, Alternative Energy, Water Sanitation, Malnutrition, Human Rights, Cultural Differences & Education.
We will get back to you very soon with our website and our 1st post from the road.

Take Care
 
Will and Em