Train-lovers unite - Episode 194 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about journeys on the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia. This will always be one of my favourite trips, and it's such a pleasure to chat with other travellers who've also experienced the many ups and downs of crossing Russia by train.

First up, I chat with Catherine Marshall, who decided to take the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Vladivostok with ten of her favourite relatives to celebrate a milestone birthday. The problem: her date of birth meant they ended up traversing Russia in the depths of winter!

I then speak with Cindy Siano who took the Trans-Siberian train back in 1995 - although (spoiler alert) it's particularly intriguing to me to hear that not altogether that much has changed in the ensuing years.

Links:
The ever-changing landscape of the Trans-Siberian - https://www.notaballerina.com/2013/02/trans-siberian-train-ever-changing-landscape.html
Catherine Marshall - http://catherinemarshall.com.au coming soon!
More from Catherine and friends at Time to Wander - http://www.timetowander.com.au/ 
Cindy Siano - Life and Times Video - https://lifeandtimesvideo.com.au/
Patreon - get bonus content and support the podcast - https://www.notaballerina.com/support 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/193

Train-lovers unite - Episode 194 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about journeys on the Trans-Siberian Railway across Russia. This will always be one of my favourite trips, and it's such a pleasure to chat with other travellers who've also experienced the many ups and downs of crossing Russia by train.
First up, I chat with Catherine Marshall, who decided to take the Trans-Siberian from Moscow to Vladivostok with ten of her favourite relatives to celebrate a milestone birthday. The problem: her date of birth meant they ended up traversing Russia in the depths of winter!
I then speak with Cindy Siano who took the Trans-Siberian train back in 1995 - although (spoiler alert) it's particularly intriguing to me to hear that not altogether that much has changed in the ensuing years.
Links:
<ul>
<li>The ever-changing landscape of the Trans-Siberian - <a href="https://www.notaballerina.com/2013/02/trans-siberian-train-ever-changing-landscape.html">https://www.notaballerina.com/2013/02/trans-siberian-train-ever-changing-landscape.html</a></li>
<li>Catherine Marshall - <a href="http://catherinemarshall.com.au">http://catherinemarshall.com.au</a> coming soon!</li>
<li>More from Catherine and friends at Time to Wander - <a href="http://www.timetowander.com.au/">http://www.timetowander.com.au/</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Cindy Siano - Life and Times Video - <a href="https://lifeandtimesvideo.com.au/">https://lifeandtimesvideo.com.au/</a></li>
<li>Patreon - get bonus content and support the podcast -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.notaballerina.com/support">https://www.notaballerina.com/support</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/193">https://notaballerina.com/193</a></li>
</ul>

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle is a show for travel lovers. Each episode is packed with travel stories from fellow travel addicts on topics like using foreign languages, meeting the locals, getting lost and what we learn from our travels.

Tales from travel-lovers about why we travel and what we learn from it.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

The Thoughtful Travel Podcast with Amanda Kendle - established 2016 - helps travellers think about how our travels can be good for us and good for the world. We talk about how to make ethical decisions on our trips, sustainable and regenerative tourism, bringing back what we learn from the people and cultures we meet to improve our lives back home, and share the most memorable stories from travelling: fun, scary, educational and more. Most episodes include extracts from conversations with three different guests, centred on a particular topic, but you'll also hear occasional deep dive interviews, recordings from the Thoughtful Travellers Book Club, and Amanda's own experiences from travelling past and present.

194 Trans-Siberian Train Journeys

Learning other languages can be really hard - especially if you're sitting in your home country trying to learn from a boring textbook. The guests in this episode all decided that they'd learn another language - Thai, French, Polish and Welsh - by travelling and immersing themselves in the language, in varied and interesting ways.

First up, I hear from Paddy Jenkins about his experience of learning Thai - in fact, teaching himself Thai - while he spent six months volunteering in Chiang Mai. Spoiler alert: yes, he would literally take his notebook and dictionary even if he went to the pub or a nightclub! That's dedication.

Next, I speak with Tracy Collins who was told by her French teacher she would never be able to speak French, but proved her wrong when she moved to France to work as an au pair. She also was lucky to be working for a family that helped her out in some perhaps unexpected ways.

Love is often a reason for learning another language and this was what took Thomas Swick to living in Poland. I did laugh when he was explaining the grammatical complexities of Polish, although when you're leaning it you're more likely to cry, I think!

Finally, Pam Petro decided to make the effort to learn the lesser-spoken language of Welsh. She went through some hardcore learning and even took some surprising travels in her pursuit of Welsh fluency.

Links:
Thai Talk with Paddy https://www.youtube.com/ThaiTalkwithPaddy/
Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning https://uktravelplanning.com and Global Travel Planning at https://globaltravelplanning.com - both also podcasts
Thomas Swick - https://www.thomasswick.com/  - and his new book, Falling Into Place 
Pamela Petro - https://www.pamelapetro.com/
Pam’s book The Long Field - https://amzn.to/4bt7TGq
Episode 277 Languages and Connection  https://notaballerina.com/277
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/323

Learning other languages can be really hard - especially if you're sitting in your home country trying to learn from a boring textbook. The guests in this episode all decided that they'd learn another language - Thai, French, Polish and Welsh - by travelling and immersing themselves in the language, in varied and interesting ways.
First up, I hear from Paddy Jenkins about his experience of learning Thai - in fact, teaching himself Thai - while he spent six months volunteering in Chiang Mai. Spoiler alert: yes, he would literally take his notebook and dictionary even if he went to the pub or a nightclub! That's dedication.
Next, I speak with Tracy Collins who was told by her French teacher she would never be able to speak French, but proved her wrong when she moved to France to work as an au pair. She also was lucky to be working for a family that helped her out in some perhaps unexpected ways.
Love is often a reason for learning another language and this was what took Thomas Swick to living in Poland. I did laugh when he was explaining the grammatical complexities of Polish, although when you're leaning it you're more likely to cry, I think!
Finally, Pam Petro decided to make the effort to learn the lesser-spoken language of Welsh. She went through some hardcore learning and even took some surprising travels in her pursuit of Welsh fluency.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Thai Talk with Paddy <a href="https://www.youtube.com/ThaiTalkwithPaddy/">https://www.youtube.com/ThaiTalkwithPaddy/</a></li>
<li>Tracy Collins - UK Travel Planning <a href="https://uktravelplanning.com">https://uktravelplanning.com</a> and Global Travel Planning at <a href="https://globaltravelplanning.com">https://globaltravelplanning.com</a> - both also podcasts</li>
<li>Thomas Swick - <a href="https://www.thomasswick.com/">https://www.thomasswick.com/</a>  - and his new book, Falling Into Place </li>
<li>Pamela Petro - <a href="https://www.pamelapetro.com/">https://www.pamelapetro.com/</a> </li>
<li>Pam’s book The Long Field - <a href="https://amzn.to/4bt7TGq">https://amzn.to/4bt7TGq</a></li>
<li>Episode 277 Languages and Connection  <a href="https://notaballerina.com/277">https://notaballerina.com/277</a> </li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a> </li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/323">https://notaballerina.com/323</a></li>
</ul>

323 Language Learning Through Travel and Immersion

Although I never studied abroad myself I have no doubt at all that I would have loved every minute of it - and my three guests today certainly remind me of all of the many ways a study abroad experience can be life-changing.

I start off chatting with Pam Petro who studied a graduate program in Wales, and not only learnt something from her course but began a lifetime obsession with all things Welsh.

Next, I speak with Brandon Miller who studied abroad in France. He has now co-founded the Too Fly Foundation which helps students from under-privileged backgrounds access experiences like study abroad programs, as he recognised how valuable and life-changing they are.

Finally, I talk to Alex Zeringer, who was a student I met while he was studying abroad here in Perth at Murdoch University, where I teach (among other subjects) podcasting - it was so great to catch up with him now that he's back at university in Ireland.

Links:
Pam Petro - https://www.pamelapetro.com/
Pam's book The Long Field - https://www.amazon.com.au/Long-Field-Presence-Absence-Memoir/dp/1956763678
Brandon Miller from the Too Fly Foundation - https://www.tooflyfoundation.org/
Alex Zeringer - LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/
Episode 233 Studying Abroad notaballerina.com/233
Episode 248 Studying in Other Countries notaballerina.com/248
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin
Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com
Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/322

Although I never studied abroad myself I have no doubt at all that I would have loved every minute of it - and my three guests today certainly remind me of all of the many ways a study abroad experience can be life-changing.
I start off chatting with Pam Petro who studied a graduate program in Wales, and not only learnt something from her course but began a lifetime obsession with all things Welsh.
Next, I speak with Brandon Miller who studied abroad in France. He has now co-founded the Too Fly Foundation which helps students from under-privileged backgrounds access experiences like study abroad programs, as he recognised how valuable and life-changing they are.
Finally, I talk to Alex Zeringer, who was a student I met while he was studying abroad here in Perth at Murdoch University, where I teach (among other subjects) podcasting - it was so great to catch up with him now that he's back at university in Ireland.
Links:
<ul>
<li>Pam Petro - <a href="https://www.pamelapetro.com/">https://www.pamelapetro.com/</a> </li>
<li>Pam's book The Long Field - <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Long-Field-Presence-Absence-Memoir/dp/1956763678">https://www.amazon.com.au/Long-Field-Presence-Absence-Memoir/dp/1956763678</a></li>
<li>Brandon Miller from the Too Fly Foundation - <a href="https://www.tooflyfoundation.org/">https://www.tooflyfoundation.org/</a> </li>
<li>Alex Zeringer - LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-zeringer-532728130/</a> </li>
<li>Episode 233 Studying Abroad <a href="http://notaballerina.com/233">notaballerina.com/233</a></li>
<li>Episode 248 Studying in Other Countries <a href="http://notaballerina.com/248">notaballerina.com/248</a> </li>
<li>Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a></li>
<li>Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a></li>
<li>Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a> </li>
<li>Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/322">https://notaballerina.com/322</a></li>
</ul>

322 Life-Changing Study Abroad Experiences

For travellers like us, knowing a tourism business we are about to use is properly thoughtful, taking into account the impact we will have on the community and the environment, is important. But with an industry full of greenwashing and unsubstantiated eco-credentials, it's sometimes difficult to know what we can trust.

Over the past few years now I've had a growing awareness of B Corps but was very keen to dig deeper, so this podcast episode is here to satisfy my own desires to know more, but also to help my listeners understand what makes a B Corp so they can make decisions about their travel with care.

My first guest is Jonathan Coleman from Untours. When I chatted with Jonathan last year, he explained to me that Untours was, in fact, the very first B Corp back in 2007, and learning how this came about was the impetus for me to find some more people to talk to about this important topic.

I speak next with Narelle Wilson of Volta Consulting, who knows a lot about the process of how a business applies to be certified as a B Corp, and explains it clearly! 

Finally, I talked to Aurora Expedition's Chief Marketing Officer, Hayley Peacock-Gower, about Aurora's recent B Corp certification. She gives some interesting examples of some of the improvements Aurora is making as part of the continuous improvement that the B Corp movement encourages.

Links:

Jonathan Coleman from Untours Foundation - https://untoursfoundation.org/

Narelle Wilson from Volta Consulting - https://voltaconsulting.com.au/

Aurora Expeditions - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/

Aurora’s journey to becoming a B Corp - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/blog/our-b-corp-journey/

Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers

Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - https://notaballerina.com/linkedin

Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com

Show notes: https://notaballerina.com/321

For travellers like us, knowing a tourism business we are about to use is properly thoughtful, taking into account the impact we will have on the community and the environment, is important. But with an industry full of greenwashing and unsubstantiated eco-credentials, it's sometimes difficult to know what we can trust.
Over the past few years now I've had a growing awareness of B Corps but was very keen to dig deeper, so this podcast episode is here to satisfy my own desires to know more, but also to help my listeners understand what makes a B Corp so they can make decisions about their travel with care.
My first guest is Jonathan Coleman from Untours. When I chatted with Jonathan last year, he explained to me that Untours was, in fact, the very first B Corp back in 2007, and learning how this came about was the impetus for me to find some more people to talk to about this important topic.
I speak next with Narelle Wilson of Volta Consulting, who knows a lot about the process of how a business applies to be certified as a B Corp, and explains it clearly! 
Finally, I talked to Aurora Expedition's Chief Marketing Officer, Hayley Peacock-Gower, about Aurora's recent B Corp certification. She gives some interesting examples of some of the improvements Aurora is making as part of the continuous improvement that the B Corp movement encourages.
Links:
Jonathan Coleman from Untours Foundation - <a href="https://untoursfoundation.org/">https://untoursfoundation.org/</a>
Narelle Wilson from Volta Consulting - <a href="https://voltaconsulting.com.au/">https://voltaconsulting.com.au/</a> 
Aurora Expeditions - https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/
Aurora’s journey to becoming a B Corp - <a href="https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/blog/our-b-corp-journey/">https://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/blog/our-b-corp-journey/</a> 
Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers">https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers</a>
Join our LinkedIn group for Thoughtful Travellers - <a href="https://notaballerina.com/linkedin">https://notaballerina.com/linkedin</a>
Sign up for the Thoughtful Travellers newsletter at Substack - <a href="https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com">https://thoughtfultravel.substack.com</a> 
Show notes: <a href="http://notaballerina.com/321">https://notaballerina.com/321</a>

194 Trans-Siberian Train Journeys

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