There aren’t many things I would do different in my life; however, if I could go back to my 18th year, I would change one thing. I would have paid more attention in my high school history class. Mr. Durham wasn’t the best history teacher in the world - but I honestly didn’t have any passion for the subject a that time either. If I would have had some passion for history, then maybe I would have actually taken an American history class in college - but I didn’t and I opted for history of American Jazz instead.

I am one of the many Americans that knows very little (ok - nothing) about American History. Don’t evern get me started on World History…one thing at a time please. Therefore, before I started on my around the world journey, I decided that I better make up for lost time and try to educate myself a bit on American History. As I was searching around the internet, I found my answer…a History podcast!

Berkeley University has successfully moved into the technical age and is offering podcasts of class lectures to the world for free. Now - if I were a parent paying college tuition for my kid to attend Berkeley - I’m not real sure how I would feel about this development. However - as a freeloader - I loved it! I downloaded the complete lectures from American History 7B - Civil War to the Present and I took off for my big trip in September of 2006.

On flights or bus rides, and sometimes on runs - I would listen to the History Podcast as if I were a student again. Professor Jennifer Burns had passion for her subject and a great style of teaching. It amazed me at how much I learned. It made me wonder how much more I could have learned in University if I had just had simply paid more attention and enjoyed my classes.

I highly recomend this podcast for anyone - but specifically for travelers. It will provide you a basis for how the world see Americans, why we were involved in various global conflicts, what our stance was on various issues and why, and most importantly - it helped me understand how the US became who we are today and why we act the way we do globally. Now - I didn’t say that I agreed with it all, but it sure did provide me the context and knowledge I needed when I was frequently asked questions about my own culture, politics, and history from other international travelers.

If you are looking for some entertainment for the road - then consider getting educated while being entertained - I promise you that you won’t be sorry!

You can download the podcasts from the Berkley website and listen to them on your computer at this website.
http://webcast.berkeley.edu/course_details.php?seriesid=1906978276
or you can download them from itunes. Just ltype ‘jennifer burns’ in the itunes search function and you will find it.

When I was 28 years old I was working at a big corporation in Minneapolis. Twenty-eight was a good year. It was the first time I was making money and could start to travel, and live comfortably. I was young, had a ton of energy, and was single so I was also able to soak up the night life until the wee hours in the morning, and roll into work with a hangover and still function successfully. (I must admit – that’s always been a talent of mine and I was still doing that 8 years later!) I was living it up and somehow holding down a job. My co-workers were about 7 years older than me and had more family lives, mortgages, kids, parent-teacher conferences, and responsibilities – all of the things that I wanted nothing to do with. They always said that they were living vicariously through me. We would sit and discuss what we did for the weekend (or simply on a Wednesday night), and I would regale them with stories about my night out. They would ask me tons of questions soaking up my extensive social life. They used to say, they wanted to invent a ‘Sherry-cam’ so that they could follow my adventures more closely – they wanted to know my every move and live the stories as if they were there with me.

If we only could have been entrepreneurial enough to take that ‘Sherry-cam’ idea and put it into a website business plan – we’d be rich right now…we would have beat YouTube to cyberspace! The concept of blogging and podcasting could have been incorporated into our business plan and I could have built an empire around this voyeuristic social idea that we are so accustomed to today. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. How was I to know that people actually DO want to see and hear what ‘normal’ people are doing in their everyday lives? I’m still surprised that people want to read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch personal videos of strangers…but I’m grateful for it because just like back in Minneapolis 10 years ago – I love to share my life with whoever will listen.

For those of you who have been reading my blog and travel stories, you can now have the opportunity to hear my voice again. I was recently interviewed on the Indie Travel Podcast by Craig and Linda. Craig and Linda are from New Zealand and have been traveling for 2 years now. They both teach English and have evolved their blog/travel website into a fabulous travel podcast! I have listened to it many times while on the road – utilizing their travel tips, and enjoying their stories that come with the craziness of long term travel! I think I have let you all know that I am addicted to podcasts…I believe they are essential for a traveler to have while on the road. See my post entitled “Someone wants to Interview Me?!” They are informative, entertaining, educational, help to fight off boredom of long bus rides and airport delays, and they come in handy in a language crisis. Plus an ipod is very light in your suitcase – much better than lugging around a big travel book that covers just one country!

I met Craig via cyberspace through my blog. Craig has been an avid reader of my blog now for 8 months…hard to believe I’ve been able to hold someone’s interest that long! He has been a contributor to Ottsworld often leaving comments on the site. Through that we developed a friendship. I was excited to find out that he and Linda are actually successfully living out my ‘plan’ for the future; traveling long term, making some money teaching ESL, living in different countries, and maintaining a blogging/podcasting audience. See dad – I’m not crazy for thinking that my plan will work – I have proof now!

Craig recently asked me to come on the Indie Travel Podcast to talk about my re-entry experience. Most people quit blogging/writing once they finish their trip…but he was impressed that I have kept writing and sharing my experiences about coming home…the ups and downs.
It is very easy to listen to the interview on the Indie Travel Podcast website.

Click on this link www.indietravelpodcast.com
Look for episode #52 – Home and Away with Sherry Ott
Click on the orange ‘play’ button under the title and sit back and enjoy my voice. Well…I actually think I sound like my mother…but I promise you it is my voice!
If you have trouble finding the episode – simply type ‘episode 052’ in the search box in the upper right hand part of the screen, and click search – it should find it right away.

Feel free to leave me a comment on what you thought about the interview – I love to hear form people! If you like what you hear - you can subscribe to the Indie Travel Podcast in itunes or through the Craig and Linda’s website.

I may have missed the boat on inventing blogging, Youtube, and podcasting – however, I can at least utilize them still to meet new people and share my stories with anyone out there will listen!

Jump for Joy

Podcasts – An Essential Traveler’s Companion
For those of you who have never heard of podcasting - it is NOT:
An alien life form that has come to take over Earth
A new type of fly fishing technique
A new type of vegetable from the pea family
A new type of reality TV show
A new way to cast a movie
It is simply an audio recording of someone sharing information about something. Think of it as a weekly or daily radio show…and it’s free.

Why do I care about podcasts? Because they are a fabulous long term traveler’s companion! Even though this last year has been full of amazing experiences, it’s also been full of a large amount of waiting. Imagine yourself on a 6 hour local bus ride through Morocco. Imagine waiting in an airport in Jo’berg for a delayed flight for a 4 hours. Imagine an overnight train in Vietnam. Imagine sitting in the smelly, hot Indian Embassy in Rome for hours waiting for them to call your number. Imagine a ferry ride in Croatia or an 11 hour car ride in Egypt. Having something to listen to besides music or the person next to you is a wonderful solution to these common travel situations. Podcasts are typically educational and they connect you with the rest of the world. This is how I came across the Amateur Traveler Podcast www.amateurtraveler.com I was searching on the internet for podcasts about travel and I found this gem. A 40 min. weekly show about travel news, travel locations, and online resources…perfect! Before I went to a country I would often go through the archives of the show to see if they had any info relating to that country that I could listen to. I simply downloaded these episodes/shows to my ipod and could listen to them any time picking up information about places to go, things to eat, and tips that the guidebooks don’t tell you.

I have learned Italian, Arabic, and Hindi from podcasts (ok - not fluently, but enough to get me through hello, thank you, and how are you). I have learned about world, technology and entertainment news. I have learned all about digital photography through a podcast - The Digital Photography Show Podcast. I have learned grammar through podcasts - Grammar Girl Podcast. Ok – I know that many of you are wishing that I paid more attention to the Grammar podcat! I even listened to a complete recorded lecture from UC Berkley on American History 101 from the Civil War to Present – it was just like being in college all over again minus the exams and the kegs. It’s such wonderful entertainment that I normally feel guilty that it’s free…I feel like I should be paying for such a service.

After listening to some of my favorite podcasts regularly during my travels, I decided to do something that I never normally do….I decided to become a full-fledged groupie and actually contact some of the hosts from my favorite podcasts to just tell them that I enjoy their show and that they are keeping me entertained and educated while on the road. That’s how I ended up being a guest on one of my favorite podcasts – the Amateur Traveler. I emailed the host, Chris Christensen about my experiences listening to his show during my long term adventure, and sure enough – he bit.

I was a bit hesitant at first at the thought of going on a show and talking about travel. However, one thing I have come to realize is that I know a lot…and that’s not an easy thing to put down in words…in fact, I kind of cringe when I type it. However – deep down, I know that this extended travel has actually educated me tremendously about the travel industry in general. So when he suggested that I come on the show and talk about my travel as a solo female traveler – I thought – why not?! I’m not going to lie…I was pretty excited about this…as if I was back in college and Bon Jovi had asked me to personally join him on stage.

How do I go about getting one of these fabulous free podcasts you ask?
There are a few ways to download podcasts to your computer or your ipod (or similar music player) The easiest way is to go to Itunes Music Store (if you have it) and then click on the Podcast section on the left hand side – start to browse through the massive selection of podcasts that you can download to your ipod. You can also go to Itunes and simply search on a specific podcast and you should find it. Don’t have an ipod – no problem – then you can normally go directly to the podcast’s website instead and listen to the show – just do a Google search on the show’s name and podcast – you’ll start to get some hits. You can also simply browse around the Podcast Network website and see what they have to offer.

If you want to listen to my interview…and of course you do…simply click on this link!
Amateur Traveler Podcast - Episode #107 - Solo Travel As A Woman

Now – I’ve armed you with one of my big travel secrets…how I am able to waste large amounts of time without losing my mind…go forth, podcast, and enjoy! Oh yeah…don’t forget to listen to me on the Amateur Traveler Episode #107– I feel like such a star! And please, please, please drop me a comment and let me know what you think!