If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? And what if money were no object? THEN where would you go? Soon, you could be in a place you never even imagined existed. Or in a place you thought it would take years to see. And living alongside people you didn't even know exist. Where and how would you begin to make this happen?

Wish you weren't here! "Live like a local" is a term you find everywhere these days. It's what we say we're going to do to rationalize renting an Airbnb or Home Away for a few days. "Live like a local" has over 6 Billion listings on Google. No wonder it's just something we "willy-nilly" throw out there that we're going to do next time we travel. Living with a carefully screened host family (free room and board) for 1, 2 or 3 months shows us what it's like to live there. Renting an Airbnb does not. Host families eager to learn English don't decorate their homes (usually) with Airspace. They are full of family, clutter, kids, parents and all of their friends! You're not getting that at Airbnb. Tutoring English to a host family in Spain, Italy, France or Germany comes with a lot of experiences. Over at Airbnb you have to buy their new Trips packages. And those won't get you a birthday party with the extended family out in the French countryside. Or a family weekend at the beach in Italy. Or a week of skiing in the Alps in Germany. That's living as a local. As over-tourism, housing crises, and income inequality continue to define urban life in many popular destinations, it appears that tension between “traveler locals” and actual locals has only just begun. “Maybe it shouldn’t be about ‘sustainable tourism,'” she writes. “Maybe what it should really be about is ‘sustainable culture.’ How do we sustain cultures without letting tourists overrun them?” “As a slogan, I’ve found ‘live like a local’ frustrating. Was the intention ever to live like a local? You were there for five days—I don’t know if that can ever be achieved,” Stone said. “On a personal level, though, I’ve found locals to be very kind to me, especially if you take the time to say ‘tell me more’ I want to better understand, tell me about your history family wherever you are.”

We're celebrating Nick Fradiani Day here in Guilford.  Who is Nick?  Well, he's made it into the final four of American Idol ... and he's from Guilford, just like GeoVisions.  We'll be posting photos and video all day as all the schools in Guilford celebrate with a parade up Whitfield Street and then an American Idol conference directly across the street from our office on the historic Guilford Green.  Check our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter channels to stay up to date with this really fun day in Guilford.  This photo is of some of our staff celebrating the start of a really fun day here in Guilford.

This post was written for GeoVisions by Brielle Sydor of Elon College.  Brie was one of our counselors in 2012 on the Italy Summer Camp program and will be returning to Italy this summer to live and work. While I was happy to find that many of the Italian stereotypes were true—amazing food, beautiful architecture, cute boys—there was one that was definitely less amusing: theft. Every guidebook and travel website out there will tell you to “guard your possessions with your life” while traveling through Rome or Naples, and I certainly wish I had listened to them. On not one, but TWO occasions, I had my iPhone 4 stolen from me and didn’t even realize at the time that it had happened. Those thieves are tricky; so if you are unlucky enough to have your smartphone swiped while living abroad, simply follow my (unfortunately tried-and-true) recovery plan to get yourself back to the cellular world. Before You Leave:

Posted by Anni on Friday, August 10th, 2012 at Journeys for Good.  This Blog Post is used with permission. GeoVisions note:  Terri Wingham started her "incredible journey" with GeoVisions in Vietnam. This post is an interview done by Journeys for Good regarding Terri's "incredible journey." Welcome back to our new interview series, The Ripple Effect. The Ripple Effect explores the emotional impact of volunteer travel and its lasting effect on people’s lives. Today we’re speaking with Terri Wingham, a truly inspirational woman. As a cancer survivor, Terri has been through one of life’s greatest challenges and has come out the other side, vibrantly alive and passionate about to helping others. She has found hope through volunteering.