Traveler Profile: jgbrandt

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Ecuador or Spain??

This user hasn't written any guides yet.

Screen name:

jgbrandt

Age:

Gender:

Male

If you must know:

I'm single

Hometown:

Boston, MA

Currently in:

Amherst, MA

Expert Sevilla, Spain

I lived in Sevilla for almost five months and immersed myself in the culture as much as possible. Everything from the nightlife to a nice spot to relax and read or write is up my alley. If you have questions on Semana Santa or Feria, just ask. I'd be more than happy to share my knowledge of this great city. I've also got some good information on the little things, like where the cheapest and best tapas are, and hidden Flamenco clubs for free.

Favorite places I've been:

Sevilla- my home for 4 months, Prague, London, Sicily, Dublin..basically anywhere in Europe, Israel, Cozumel,

Places I want to go to:

Argentina, first and foremost. After that, everywhere else. Notably, Thailand, China, Vietnam, South Africa, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, India

About me:

I'm a senior at UMass Amherst, double majoring in journalism and history. I love to travel, write, and go out at night. I lived in Sevilla, Spain for 4 months and have adopted some of the Spanish styles. In September I'll be moving to Ecuador for a year to teach English.

Profile URL:

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/jgbrandt

Read more about jgbrandt

Tunes I rock out to:

I love most music, but some of my favorite bands include Minus the Bear, Radiohead, Built to Spill, and Queens of the Stone Age, just to name a few.

Travel style:

Backpacking with good friends. You gotta be able to deal with the bad things in good humor, and can't be too high maintenance. I understand saving money while traveling, and I'm not opposed to living off of sandwiches for a week in Paris instead of getting gourmet meals every day.

Quote:

"In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and blunt the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dull and know I had to put it on the grindstone again and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had something to write about, then to have it bright and shinning and nothing to say, or smooth and well-oiled in the closet, but unused." ~Ernest Hemingway

Sports I do:

Baseball, Basketball, Football

Favorite artist(s):

Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson

Favorite books:

Fight Club, 1984, Catcher in the Rye, anything by Hemingway

Who I'd like to meet on my travels:

locals, other interesting travelers

Languages spoken, other than English:

Spanish and very, very few words in French, Italian, German, Arabic, and Gaelic

I felt the most immersed in a foreign culture when:

I lived in Spain. Drinking with locals is always another good way to immerse yourself.

Why I travel:

It's the best way to learn about another society and culture. Books, pictures, and anything else will never do enough justice unless you've been there and seen it for yourself. I think if we all traveled we'd understand each other a lot better.

Ideal place to watch the sunrise:

36,000 feet in the sky

Ideal place to watch the sunset:

3 miles from the horizon

Before I die I'd like to:

Write a book.

Let's collaborate:

I'm an aspiring travel writer.

My links:

http://jon-jonstravelblog.blogspot.com/
This is my travel blog. It's basically got the same posts I put on Matador, but there are a few others too.

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by jennylovesbikes | 2008/05/05

what a small world (thanks, Internet!). i will find out about the prague job within the next few weeks, and i'll probably apply for worldteach regardless, just as a backup plan. i already found one other person who's definitely doing worldteach ecuador. her name is martha and she volunteers sometimes in the ESOL class i work with here in columbus, ohio. i'm so excited for you to be doing that program, it sounds amazing.

by geotraveler | 2008/04/28

Thanks Jon!. Your piece and work in Uruguay was very inspiring.

by novoarte | 2008/04/27

Thought you might be interested in this article from today's NY Times:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/travel/27surfacing.html?em&ex=1209528000&en=83927d3335769617&ei=5087%0A

by Akmonki | 2008/04/20

Hello,
Thanks for commenting back. I arrived into Dublin yesterday and was welcomed by rain, puddles, and grey skies-- not too surprising, but I wonder if it ever lets up here.
I walked around downtown today: O'Connelly St., Temple Bar area... The historical buildings and statues are cool, but I'm not really sure what else to do. To be honest, I'm not really a beer drinker (but I'm scared to say that out loud here). So maybe I'll go check out some areas outside of Dublin soon.
Anyhow, thanks for the comment and enjoy sunny Spain for me--

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by novoarte | 2008/04/15

Hey-
Ben sent this e-mail today; thought you might be interested:

My good friend is working hard to slow the charging rhino that is the Chevron Corporation. A daunting task for even the most passionate and determined. I hope you'll take a second to read this email and forward the animated video to friends and family.

Thanks,

Ben

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdJ9W39HdDU

Dear Friends,

Chevron is in the midst of ramping-up a repugnant misinformation campaign here in the United States, directed at Goldman Environmental Prize winners Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza for their efforts to make the company clean up what experts believe is the world's worst oil-related disaster. The award for lawyer Pablo Fajardo Mendoza and community leader Luis Yanza comes just days after a court-appointed expert submitted an official damages assessment to the Ecuadorian judge recommending that Chevron be ordered to pay compensation of between $7 billion and $16 billion.

True to form, Chevron has responded by stepping up its PR campaign trying once again to hide the truth of their environmental disaster in the Ecuadorian Amazon and continued attempts to defame those working tirelessly for justice in this case. Amazon Watch, in support of Pablo, Luis and the 30,000 plaintiffs is striking back at Chevron's attacks by launching a new Mark Fiore flash animation today.

PLEASE go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdJ9W39HdDU

by novoarte | 2008/03/30

Here are some Ecuador-related recommendations about a wide variety of subjects related to E.--unfortunately, I'm not so steeped in Ecuadorean culture that this short list includes any home-grown recommendations, but I still learned a lot--especially about US effects on Ecuador--through the following:

-Confessions of an Economic Hitman: book by John Perkins. Perkins, who worked for the US govt. and corporations, describes how the US has propped up its own empire by exploiting resources in other countries. There's a lengthy, detailed account of how this has been done in Ecuador, and I consider it important because it will help you understand some of the infrastructure and environmental destruction in the country.

-Through Gates of Splendor: This is a documentary about a group of missionaries (five different married couples) who went to Ecuador in 1955 to "spread the word." I found this fascinating for so many reasons, not the least of which is that some of the missionaries were killed by a tribe, some of the missionaries integrated into that same tribe, and the whole scenario raises questions about how cultures intersect and what the consequences are.

-When Clouds Clear: Another documentary, about a community in Junin, Ecuador, where a mining company came in and wreaked havoc in the community: "Forced to take an extreme approach in their resistance to a foreign copper mining company, the town of Junín has managed to preserve their cloud forest and water sources. Much of the tradition and culture of the town is crumbling due to the economic pressures mining has introduced to Junín-- causing confusion, greed and irrevocable divisions. If the Company is allowed to construct the open-pit copper mine, the town of Junin will forever disappear. The town has banished those in support of mining and united against the Company. The main narrator is a 14 year-old boy from Junín who has continued his education in hopes that it will one day help in the fight. He remains youthfully optimistic that mining will never occur and that the fractured relationships between families will be repaired."
Trailer here: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2063601146

by novoarte | 2008/03/27

Great news about Ecuador!
Do you know what area will be your home base?
Want me to send you some book and film recommendations?

Peace,
Julie

by Tim Patterson | 2008/03/01

Hey nice! You should come to Punta del Diablo. I've enjoyed your blogs and it would be good to meet you. I'll be back in Argentina in early April before flying back to the States.

by novoarte | 2008/01/24

Hi-
No, I didn't make it out of Sintra, really; it was so lovely (and I feel headlong for a local guy) that I had no desire to explore elsewhere. I'd love to return in the future though and explore a lot more. Tell me about Lagos!

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The First Press Trip

By jgbrandt | Location: Grenada | 04/29/08 | Pics: 4

Today I was reading Laura Kammermeier's article on Matador about surviving your first press trip, and I couldn't help but think of my own first (and only, so far) press trip. It's a smart and interesting article that really examines the kind of emotions and challenges you have to face on a press trip....

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Crashing at James Joyce's House

By jgbrandt | Location: Ireland | 04/15/08 | Pics: 5

We were sitting in some small, off-the-beaten path coffee shop in the back alleys of this city that didn't care much for the morning after. The place smelled like over-cooked sausages and greasy egg Mcmuffins, but who were we to complain? After all, we smelled like last night, the night before...

4 comments | Send to Friend |

Where Are We Really From?

By jgbrandt | Location: United States | 04/06/08 | Pics: 0

Last semester I tutored/peer assisted with a new grad student to UMass. The student, Yiming Li, had just arrived from China and didn't have very strong conversational English skills. Since I was already thinking about teaching English abroad, I thought this would be a great experience. The experience...

5 comments | Send to Friend |

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