Ben Schafer
jbschafer
Ben Schafer
I grew up the oldest son of two parents who LOVE to travel. My father's job as an expert in world soils gave him opportunities to travel for several weeks at a time nearly every summer that I can remember. His stories (and slides) of numerous trips to China during the re-opening to Western visitors after the communist revolution, to both eastern and western Europe (including Berlin on the day/night that the former East Berlin rejoined the economic system of West Berlin/Germany) and African countries such as Tanzania instilled a wanderlust in me from a young age. While I have not had the opportunity to travel as extensively as he and my mother have, I still dream and look forward to each trip, even when it only involves a trip to visit small town Iowa.
The thing that has changed the most since dad's trips of the 70s and early 80s is the ability to communicate and share ones experiences with family and friends. When dad traveled, we might get two postcards over a three week trip. Today, email, digital photos, and blogs, can help people stay connected in a way that dad could have only dreamed of. I am excited to share my travel opportunities on travelblog.org