Big Blue Marble Newsletter (No longer available.  Please read note below)

All the pathos and irony of leaving one's youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.
Paul Fussell

NOTE:

When I originally developed this business, I expected to write a newsletter about my travels around-the-world that would eventually become subscriber supported.  Over time, my business has evolved.  Now the bulk of the bueiness is dedicated to teaching seminars at dozens of schools throughout the US (primarily in the West).  This takes so much of my time that I have decided to stop publishing the newsletter.  However, I have decided to keep the past issues of the newsletters here because they provide useful information.  

I do, however, still have booklets available for sale at a modest cost that include a myriad of tips and stories like that included in the newsletters below..    

Arxhived Newsletter (please see note above)

September 2005

Part One: Lake Chapala 
My First Impressions of Lake Chapala 
Who Should Live in Lake Chapala? 
The Good and Bad of Life at Lake Chapala 
Advice for Living Successfully at Lake Chapala 

Part Two: Traditional Medicine Class in Cuernavaca 
Class Description
Feeling at Home in Xochicalco 
My Impressions of Traditional Mexican Medicine 
Dona Maty and her Daughters 
The Pied Piper of Cuantepec 

Final Word:
Lessons from the Road:  Missing Parts of My Life 

October 2005

Part One: Sea Turtle Conservation Work Camp in Colola, Michoacan
Program Description
El Pollito (The Little Chicken), Mr. Italy, and the Rest of the Gang of Merry Volunteers
The Reluctant Camper (or How I Found Happiness on a Wooden Slat Bed)
Life in a Small Mexican Village
The Turtles and their Keepers

Part Two: Lake Chapala Redux
More Thoughts on Expat Life in Lake Chapala
Making a Living as a Realtor (and Buying Real Estate) in Lake Chapala

Final Word:
Lessons from the Road: Learning Tolerance

November/December 2005

Part One:  Learning about Mexican Identity, Culture, and Politics in Tepoztlan, Mexico
Program Description
Life, Politics, and Culture in Tepoztlan
Thoughts on Celebrating the Day of the Dead in Tepoztlan

Part Two:  Studying Spanish (and Other Things) In Oaxaca, Mexico
Program Description
Interview with Liz Petter, Director of Solexico Language Schools
Cooking and Art Classes

Part Three:  Family Reunion in Loreto
Thoughts on Traveling with Parents
Going Back to Baja after 25 Years
Changing Loreto

Part Four:  Living with Mexican Families
Mexican Soap Opera (Telenovelas):  Separating Fact From Fiction

Part Five:  Lessons from the Road
The Value of the Middle

Other Sample Articles 

About my experiences:

• We Drink, We Smoke, No?
  
• Kindness of Strangers
  
• My Crazy Russian Teacher
  
• One of the Best Days of My Life
  
• Life on the Other Side of the Moon
  

Articles about people who I encounter while traveling:

• Meet the Stevens: Experienced Home Exchangers
  
• Interview with Judy King about Living in Mexico
  
• Interview with Barbara Winter about Ways to Support Your Wanderlust
  
• Brad Olsen: An Open Suitcase of Relief (Tsunami)
  

My tips for traveling more safely, inexpensively, comfortably, joyfully, and purposefully:

• Courier Travel Tips and Realities
  
• Youth Hostels Aren?t Just for Youth Anymore
  
• Language Learning Tips
  

My reviews of great travel-like-a-local experiences:

• Spanish Language and Tango Schools in Argentina
  
• Reality Tours: What a Concept (Global Exchange's US-Mexico Border Reality Tour)
  

Future articles

As a rule, I do not post my newsletter until it has been available to subscribers to my FREE newsletter for a couple of months.  If you'd like to get the newsletter in a more timely manner simply sign up in the indicated box on the left side of this website or send me an e-mail.

When I am busy teaching, I will be sending out monthly postcard with one or two article each included in the newsletter. (During 2006, I will be teaching until December.)  Some of the articles may include: reflections on issues and experiences of women travelers (guest written), interviews with experts on living in Central America and Europe, and a review of a Passport in Time (a US Forest Service volunteer, archaeology program) dealing with oak tree woodland interpretation in Monterey County, California. 

During times when I am traveling, I will send out a bi-monthly newsletter with more articles, similar in tone and content to the sample newsletters for September, October, and November/December 2005 (included in the sample newsletters section above).   I plan to spend two to four months traveling in Central America and/or Thailand from mid-December 2006 to February or March 2007.

The Origins of the Name: The Big Blue Marble

The astronauts said that the Earth looked like a big blue marble from outer space. In keeping with this spirit, The Big Blue Marble Newsletter promotes travel experiences that break down barriers between people. I believe that once people learn about each other, the world will become a Big Blue Marble rather than a patchwork of artificially imposed borders.

Want more information?  

* Find out more about the author of this newsletter, Paul Heller
* Send an e-mail.