Conny's Corner

Shoestring issue # 6 out now!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:13:00 +0000

The latest issue of my travel magazine Shoestring is now online! Check out the entire magazine on Shoestring Travel Magazine

What do you have to do to get a job?

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:49:00 +0000

Here's the thing: I graduated with a really good degree. Since 2004 I've been doing work experience as reporter and photographer worlwide. I speak 2 languages fluently, two more on a more basic level.

I can write stories, take quality photographs, can do audio and video reports and have never misquoted anyone to my knowledge.

My final grade in my degree was better than that of a few (working) journalists I know.

Yet, I can't seem to find a media outlet willing to give me a go as either reporter or photographer.

I'm beginning to think that this is a racial issue or gender discrimination. I know my qualifications and my previous experience are good enough, and I doubt I would have nearly as many problems in Germany as I am facing in the UK.

No, I don't have any NCTJs. But I know many journalists, including editors, who don't have all of them either. Journalism has only in recent years become a profession you need a degree for. Whatever happened to talent and learning on the job?

Besides, I have done media law but wasn't allowed to sit the exam. If you want to know why my degree wasn't NCTJ accredited, please take the issue up with the University of Cumbria. I still wait for an answer.

Meanwhile I am being used by media outlets who never pay for all the work I give them but then don't hire me when I come to apply for an advertised job.

I just wonder how much more I need to do to deserve a break?!?

I heard a radio interview someone did who got one of the jobs I applied for... She kept interrupting her quite famous interviewee and it didn't sound professional at all... At least I know how to interview someone.

I just got another rejection letter, for a job as press photographer that didn't even require previous press experience.

My photo subjects include Barack Obama. How can that not be good enough??

I would like to know what else I need to do to get a chance to be a journalist!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lang lebe QUEEN!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:22:00 +0000

„Früher gab es noch richtige Musik!“

Dem kann ich nur zustimmen. Ich halte nicht viel von synthetischen Melodien, Boybands, Girlbands und Popstars. Für mich muss eine Band ihre Instrumente selber spielen können und ihre Songs selber schreiben. Sänger müssen Charisma haben und geborene Entertainer sein, die selbst das größte Stadion rocken können.

Playback bei Live-Auftritten gibt es nur wenn wirklich nicht anders möglich, synchronisiertes Getanze gibt es nur in Ausnahmefällen und auffällige Bühnenoutfits sind ein Muss. Echte Bands spielen Gitarrensoli, und wenn dann doch mal live ein Patzer passiert wird darüber gelacht und weitergemacht.

Leider gibt es solche Bands im Zeitalter von Lady GaGa und Justin Bieber viel zu selten. Für mich hat niemand Rock so verkörpert wie Freddie Mercury, der legendäre Frontmann der britischen Rockband Queen.

Am 5. September 2011 wäre Freddie, der 1946 als Farrokh Bulsara auf Sansibar geboren wurde, 65 Jahre alt geworden. Doch leider wurde Freddie nur 45. Im November 1991 verstarb der bisexuelle Sänger an Aids, einen Tag nachdem er sich öffentlich zu seiner Krankheit bekannt hatte. Berühmt für seine grellen Bühnenoutfits und seine Tenor-Stimme, die 3 ½ Oktaven umfasste, erreichte er schon zu Lebzeiten mit Songs wie We Will Rock You und We Are The Champions Kultstatus.

Aus seiner Feder stammen unter anderem Bicycle Race (I want to ride my bicycle), Don‘t stop me now und vor allem Bohemian Rhapsody. In seinen letzten Videos war ihm seine Krankheit deutlich anzusehen. Doch da er immernoch singen konnte, nahm er selbst da noch so viele Songs wie möglich auf, damit seine Band auch ohne ihn weiterleben konnte. Bands wie Queen hielten sich wochenlang in den Charts, hin und wieder sogar mehrmals mit der gleichen Single.

Ihre Songs sind weltberühmt, ihr Auftritt bei Live Aid 1985 im Wembley Stadium ging als bester Live-Auftritt aller Zeiten in die Geschichte ein. Wer ein Musical für und über seine Musik geschrieben bekommt, der hat es geschafft.

Das Musical We Will Rock You ist ein internationaler Erfolg. Wie sehr die Musik von Queen ganze Generationen beeinflusst hat sieht man, wenn das Publikum von 15 bis 75 Jahren textsicher und tonsicher jeden Song mitsingen kann und am Ende ruft: „Freddie, wir werden dich nie vergessen.“ Das sollen Deutschlands sogenannte Superstars erstmal nachmachen.

What did you do 10 years ago?

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:16:00 +0000

11. September 2001.

The day the world seemed to stop for a while. It has been 10 years today that the World Trade Centre collapsed and buried almost 3000 people underneath it. I'm usually not great at remembering what I did a week, a month or a year ago. But for the last 10 years, I have always remembered what I did that day.

It all started pretty out pretty normal. I was home from school that Tuesday, aged 14 and doing homework in my dad's office. I had a computer, but no TV.

Around 3pm, my friend calls me on my mobile, telling me that the World Trade Centre was in flames, she had just seen it on TV. I laughed it off, thinking there must be a new disaster movie out, probably starring Bruce Willis or someone of equal calibre. A few minutes later, my dad also called me (he was out at the time), saying he had heard the news in the radio and was urging me to turn on the TV.

I ran upstairs to the flat and turned the TV on just as the first tower began to fall. I couldn't believe it. It was on the main news, and they kept repeating that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Centre towers. I was gobsmacked when I saw them zooming in on objects falling out of the second tower. Objects, that turned out to be people jumping to their certain death because they were trapped in the tower. I remember one man with a red tie who was falling head-first. The photo would go around the world.

While I was still trying to come to terms with it, the second tower started to fall. This was New York City, something like that was not supposed to be happening. There was a dust cloud, and then the screen went grey until the dust started to settle. I remember people on the street running in to help, strangers comforting each other in the streets of Manhattan, tears streaming down their faces. I kept watching the news, which then started to show repeats of the events - the planes flying into the Twin Towers, the panic in the streets, and the towers coming down.

Eventually, I got a call from another friend. She said that she had friends or relatives (I don't remember exactly) in New York who worked around the WTC and she had not been able to get through to them. The news coverage was driving her mad and she was very worried. She needed a friend, and something to take her mind of things. We decided to go to the cinema, away from mobile phones, radio, TVs and the internet, where nothing could remind us of what was happening in the world.

We watched Bridget Jones' Diary. On the way back home, we came past the newspaper house, and they always put out the latest edition in their front window, so people waiting for the bus could read it. And there it was: Front page, a picture of the debris of what used to be the World Trade Centre. At home, my entire family spent the night watching the news.

To this day, I have a copy of my hometown's newspaper from 12. September 2001.

A class trip shortly afterwards was rearranged, so we could lay flowers outside the American Consulate in Düsseldorf.

I can't believe it's been a decade, but I can still remember it as if it was yesterday.

For Freddie

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:27:00 +0000

Happy 65th Birthday, Freddie Mercury!

We will always remember you!

Confessions of a multilinguist

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:22:00 +0000

I've always been somewhat of a linguist. Therefore my latest decision should not come as a surprise: I want to learn more languages!

Next to my native language German, I currently speak English fluently, and basic French and Spanish. But that's not enough for me!

My plan is to learn as many languages as possible. Not because it would look impressive on a CV. I do this for the fun of learning something new, and I am not giving myself a deadline. As a travel journalist, I have always tried to learn at least some basic phrases in the countries I visited, out of respect for the locals.

I also find it interesting to see how a language developed, and compare it to others.

My love for languages had quite humble beginnings, though.

Aged 5 I asked my parents what simple phrases meant in English, so I could impress my godfather who was on a visit from the USA. I learned "how do you do?" and "what's the time?" and was mighty proud.

Then in primary school Yorckstrasse in Solingen, Germany, I had a British classmate for a while. Her name was Susan and we became close friends. If I had lunch at her house after school, her mum would make us count to 100 in English before we got our food.

I haven't stopped speaking English since. In fact, I liked English so much that I started courses for primary school children in Year 4 - back then, you only started learning English at school from Year 5 onwards. I became fascinated with English; so much so that when my secondary school, grammar school Gymnasium Schwertstrasse Solingen decided to offer a bilingual stream from 1997 onwards, I was one of the first to volunteer.

My entire grammar school career (9 years in total, from 1997 to 2006) I was taught bilingually. We were guinea pigs in many respects. None of the teachers had taught bilingual classes before, so being among the very first 60 bilingual students wasnot always smooth sailing.

For the first two years at the Schwertstrasse, we had 7 hours of English per week instead of 5 in the regular classes. In those extra hours, we read about history and geography, and we even wrote and performed our first plays, including Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood. My big advantage was that our English teacher was Scottish and therefore a native speaker. Everybody else learned from German teachers - and some of those teachers used to think that they were better than native speakers.

In Year 7 we started geography classes in English instead of German - History and Politics soon followed. The Year 7 class trip saw us staying with hostfamilies in Canterbury. At the beginning of Year 7 we were given a choice as is usual in German schools: we had to pick a second language and could choose between French and Latin.

I decided to study a language I'd actually be able to speak. So for the next four years, I had French lessons on top of all the English I already did. But unlike English, French was only taught in 2-4 hours a week, compared to over 10 hours (including bilingual lessons) of English.

Unfortunately, my school did not put emphasis on French. Although I sat and passed the TELC / DELF A1 exam, my French course never really gave us practice in reading or speaking the language. While I was reading The Lord of the Rings in English aged 13 (one of the first books I read in English cover to cover), I struggled to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone in French aged 16.

My first Spanish lesson came in the same year as my first French lesson. Together with my best friend, I signed up for beginner's classes at the community college. However, this was short-lived, as we kept mixing the two languages which had a negative impact on our exams at school.

When I turned 16, I moved to New Zealand for a year to be an exchange student. I would have loved to attend Maori and Japanese classes, but I arrived in the middle of the school year down there and was not allowed to join these language classes as I would have missed too much. But especially Maori intrigued me!

Within weeks of arriving in Auckland, I was able to sing the national anthem in Maori thanks to my friends, and one classmate made it her personal mission to ensure I knew all the words to the Ka Mate Kapa Haka (All Blacks rugby challenge). When I saw Italian classes offered at my school for night classes, I signed up and completed the 14 week course.

Returning to Germany, I found my English had improved while my French had suffered. A weekend trip to Paris revealed what I already expected: I would not be able to continue my French classes, if I wanted to skip Year 11 completely and go straight to Year 12. In retrospect, that would probably have been the better option.

Ever since Year 5, my plan had been to start learning Spanish and Russian in Year 11. Because I went abroad, I was not able to learn these languages at school, so I opted to fully concentrate on my bilingual classes, taking Geography, History and English all the way to A-levels.

It was my mum who saw an ad in the paper, offering lessons in various languages including Spanish and Swedish. I figured this could be a safer combination than French and Spanish, as there would be more of a difference between the languages.

The courses were great! Small classes, individual tutoring. For a while I made good progress. But then the Swedish classes got cancelled because the other students stopped showing up. And Spanish? There was only 1 other student, and he missed a few classes. But because of that, we kept repeating lessons that I had mastered weeks ago, and didn't proceed past lesson 5 in the book. I didn't sign up for more classes after that.

After graduating from grammar school, I went on a Gap Year. In Accra, Ghana, I learned to ask my way around in Ewe and Twi. In South Africa, I was amazed how easily I picked up Afrikaans. As a native German speaker, I can usually understand and read Dutch. But Afrikaans was even closer to my hometown's dialect. When I asked my dad to send me Maeck on Moer (Max und Moritz) in Solinger Platt, my hosts were able to read and understand it.

Travelling through East Africa, I picked up a few words in Swaheli, and learned standard Arabic greetings in Dar es Salaam. But the biggest challenge was Ecuador: I had to stay with a family that did not speak any English.

On Isla Isabela, one of the Galapagos Islands, I worked as the photographer for the Parque Nacional. My Spanish improved quickly - I had forgotten most of it when I arrived, and was limited to Hola, que tal. By the end of my 7 weeks there, I had worked as a substitute English teacher at the local Colegio, which meant I had to conduct my lessons in Spanish.

My Spanish is still not the best, but when I returned to Quito at the end of my stay in Ecuador, a friend commented that my pronouncoation had become Galapagueno.

While travelling I made the decision to study fulltime in the UK. I had always thought that a degree in a widely spoken business language would give me advantages.

During my studies, I took more language classes. It all started with British Sign Language. We got quite a few deaf customers in the shop I worked at part-time, and I figured a beginner's course in sign language couldn't hurt. I learned the Cumbrian accent, and soon noticed that the customers came to me for help and they also increased in numbers. Word that I'd be able to understand properly must have made the rounds.

During my second year at university, I got ambitious and signed up for evening classes in Mandarin Chinese and Russian. I am determined to learn languages that use different alphabets and signs. But after three lessons each, I fell very ill and was unable to leave the house for 7 weeks. This means I missed all my classes and because the new starts were only offered once a year, I had missed my chance.

Now I work in a multinational and multilingual company. Every day I hear my colleagues speak English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. I get to practise my French and Spanish again and have made the resolution to be at at least TELC level A2 if not B1 by the time I turn 25 in July next year.

There are many more languages I want to and will learn at some point in my life. These include, but are not limited to: Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Turkish and Latin. Yes Latin. As it is the basis of so many languages, I figured it can't hurt to know it. And yes, the way it looks at the moment, they will be self-taught.

At some point, I would like to be able to speak and understand all these languages at level B1 at least. "No chance" some of you might say. "perfectly achievable", I say. Give me some time and I will prove it to you!! Just don't expect it over night.

An important decision

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 11:39:00 +0000

Yesterday I have made a decision that could really help me to further my career. At least that's what I hope.

I have just signed up to do a Diploma in Freelance Journalism at the British College of Journalism, Oxford. It's a short course by distance learning, aimed at those who want to make a career as freelance writers.

Now, being a full-time freelance is not my ultimate career-goal, but I hope to gain useful contacts from this course, and get published in a wider number of publications. The decision wasn't easy, though.

I wanted to get my NCTJ qualification. However, the NCTJ itself only offers a complete Diploma in Journalism, in which I'd have to start from scratch and would basically have wasted the last three years doing my B.A. (Hons) degree. And there was no way to just do the modules I needed. Besides, I don't really agree with having to do extra studies and spend money for something I should have been provided with while I was studying towards my B.A. at the University of Central Lancashire. The course is quite expensive, and I already have all the books. So what I'm going to do instead is study for the NCTJ's by myself - luckily my boyfriend has done all the modules, and can help me when I get stuck - and apply to sit the exams when I'm ready.

But until then, I'm doing the British College of Journalism course, which will give me a tutor from the field of travel journalism (FINALLY!), help me pitch to everything from local weekly papers to national magazines, and provide me with useful contacts, all aimed at getting published and paid for it! I'll have my articles published on the International News Syndicate website, get the INS media pass and they guarantee that I'll have my course fees back within my first three paid assignments or they'll refund the difference!

Distance learning will be tough, no doubt, especially as I have to fit a full-time job, creating Shoestring and study sessions for the NCTJs into my week as well. But the British College of Journalism is based in Oxford, so I'll have this reputable city on my CV. It's not the University of Oxford - I could not afford to do a proper Master degree from Oxbridge or any university for that matter, although I'd really quite like to - but it's based in the same city, and, as we've learned, perception is a powerful thing.

Bad press for UoC

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 13:50:00 +0000

The university of Cumbria got some bad press in the News and Star today because of me.

Four months after graduation, I still don't have my degree certificate!! They sent the wrong one at the beginning of November, as that said I'd studied Travel Tourism instead of Travel Journalism.

I don't know why they used my coursemate's picture ... I didn't even give them the name, but at least the story is published now.

UoC can obviously afford bad press.

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/cumbria-university-issues-wrong-degree-certificates-1.783863?referrerPath=home

Shoestring Issue #2!!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:01:00 +0000

The second issue of my travel magazine Shoestring is finally online!
Read it here, enjoy it, be inspired and please leave feedback!

"Where we're going we won't need roads!"

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 23:27:00 +0000

I'v been to the movies tonight. But instead of opting to see one of the newest releases, I went to see a classic. Well, a modern classic. The 25th anniversary, digitally remastered version of my favourite film Back to the Future!!

For the first time, I've had the chance to actually watch it on the big screen, at the volume it is meant to be played at. It's been 25 years since Michael J. Fox became Marty McFly, travelling through time in Doc Emmett Brown's DeLorean Time Machine.

At one point at the beginning of the movie, Doc mentions he'd like to see what the place would look like in 25 years (later this is changed to 30 because it's a "nice, even number"). And then it struck me - he was imagining THIS year! 2010! And Back to the Future II is set only 5 years from now! What was the future back then is the present now. What a weird thought.

Laptops mit Latte Macchiato gefällig?

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 21:54:00 +0000

Meine Kolumne über Laptops, die man ins Café mitnimmt um dort zu arbeiten und gemnütlich einen Kaffee zu trinken, wurde heute im Solinger Tageblatt veröffentlicht!

Laptops mit Latte Macchiato gefällig?

Add Link to Shoestring

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:13:00 +0000

As you probably know, Shoestring travel magazine has its own website by now! If you haven't done so already, please have a look at www.shoestring-magazine.com and tell me what you think!

I've divided the links into different sections, to make it easier for you to find the relevant link. These sections are: Friends & Contributors, Networks, Gap Year Advice, Travel Companies, Books & Gear and Useful Info.

Please let me know whether you have a website you want to see included, from professional website to your own travel blog!!

I'd really appreciate your input!!

Joining the NCTJ debate

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:30:00 +0000

A massive debate has sparked in the world of journalism in the UK: It's about the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and whether their examinations are really still needed, as leading colleges and universities drop the NCTJ modules from their syllabus.

And rightly so. The UK is the only country to have journalists trained at university coming out with degrees that are worthless unless top-up exams (read: NCTJ preliminaries) are being sat and passed.

My own degree did not provide me with full NCTJ qualification. The only exam I was allowed to sit was News Writing, and I see this as the most important exam. If you can't write at the end of a journalism degree, you chose the wrong profession. Simple as that. This should be the one exam that matters to editors... if they take somebody on who can take notes very quickly but cannot write a decent story, they simply picked the wrong employee.

Law was only briefly touched upon in my B.A. (Hons) Travel Journalism degree, the title itself a bit misleading, as it was Journalism and Tourism Management, rather than Travel Writing. However, due to the title, potential employers now think that I'm not up to gathering hard-hitting news.

No, editors would not be able to send me to court right away. But I do have the book, (I even dished out for McNae's instead of going for one of the cheaper ones that cover exactly the same) and these things can be learned. They do not necessarily have to be taught. Then again, where I come from, there are dedicated court reporters, and those that cover other local news.

In Germany, where I come from, you don't even have to study journalism to become a journalist. In fact, a pure journalism degree is frowned upon. All you have to do is get a Bachelor's degree in a subject of your choice. This is meant to provide the journalist with insight and expertise in one topic, and also shows editors that they are determined. Once you have a Bachelor's degree, you start as a trainee and you learn on the job. There is no better way of learning than learning by doing.

Work experience is the keyword here. But the NCTJ and UK editors are equally discriminating against foreign journalists who try to get a job in this country. When I tried to hand in my portfolio, my cuttings from a German daily newspaper which I work as a freelance for, were not accepted by the NCTJ. And that's after I translated it all into English. It's not the foreign journalists' fault that people in Great Britain tend to be rather ignorant when it comes to living abroad or learning another language. Just because the cuttings are in another language, doesn't mean they are not newsworthy! Besides, translating them in a way that still makes them clearly written, grammatically correct and newsworthy in English is quite a skill. Work experience abroad is meant to be a good thing. Shows that you can adapt, that you can write in a different language and that you tend to have a wider general knowledge because of your experiences.

I have studied journalism in the UK for three years. I have done work experience in Ghana, South Africa, the UK and Germany. Most of it in Germany, though, because I used to spend my semester breaks in my hometown. Which means, I applied the skills learned in England to journalism in Germany and guess what? It worked just fine. The NCTJ's excuse that the systems are not compatible is a lie, and even so: Some of the best books on journalism are written in America... surely their system is different too.

The one skill everyone keeps going on about is Shorthand. No other country relies on shorthand as much as the UK does. The way I see it: If you didn't learn to take notes in your own longhand or your own abbreviations during at least 16 years of education (college + at least a Bachelor's degree) then even shorthand won't help. You only need it for court. Plus, it is much easier to prove what you have written if you don't have to transcribe it first. You could show me a piece of shorthand and then tell me what it means - I won't believe you. I can't read it, the shapes don't make sense. I believe what I can see. "You need to have passed 100 words per minute". Rubbish. I have never misquoted anyone. And if they speak so fast that you would really need over 100 words per minute there's a simple solution. It's called a dictaphone! Voice recording. Even my mobile phone comes with the software. The easiest way of proving that somebody actually said it, is to play it back to them. I did an interview in 2008 with German comedian Ralf Schmitz, who is known for talking at approximately 220 words per minute. Even with shorthand, there would not have been a chance to keep up. So I took an audio recording and took down some notes to remind me of what questions I need to ask and the really important quotes. I managed to write the interview up in the way Ralf Schmitz really talks, because I had it all, word for word.

Try your shorthand at this:

Some editors I have spoken to do not have or do not use their NCTJ skills. Why do they then insist on their employees to have them? Surely they are meant to set an example?!

I have survived in the world of journalism in Germany just fine without any NCTJ's. In fact, the local news editor for the daily Solinger Tageblatt asked me twice to continue working for the Tageblatt, gave me a pay rise thanks to the quality of my work (yes, in Germany, even work experience is paid!) and all that without Shorthand, PA or what they're all called. And why? Because quality of work, professionalism, a sense for news and the ability to work to a tight deadline still matter there.

Let's face it: I am less likely to get a break in journalism, because the university did not provide me with NCTJ qualifications. I'll have to pay another GBP 400 just to do the course (which covers a lot of things I already learned in my GBP 9.500 degree) just to have a paper to show that I have skills that I could either learn on the job or teach myself through books.

The NCTJ qualifications are overrated. A strong and diverse portfolio should be what matters. A wide range of publications and a wide range of topics covered to show that you can deal with anything that happens in your patch. If what matters most to editors are your NCTJ scores then stop doing (unpaid) work experience right now!! It might look good on your CV, but in reality, it's worthless!

Shoestring's own website!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:17:00 +0000

SHOESTRING Travel Magazine now has its own internet home and can be found at http://www.shoestring-magazine.com/.

The website is hosted by Blogger, which means that anyone with a GoogleID (including Twitter, Yahoo, Blogger etc.) can become a follower of SHOESTRING Travel Magazine in seconds and get all the latest travel news directly to their dashboard as soon as the site is updated!

Shoestring-magazine.com has been designed to host news and reviews to keep travellers up-to-date. As the magazine is going to be published quarterly (Issue #2 is due out in October!), news that happen between publications would not get a mention otherwise.

The new site also hosts a forum called "Community" which is free to sign up to. Here, travellers and readers can share and exchange experiences and tips and maybe even find travel buddies! You can even share travel photos and videos, and who knows, maybe you'll even inspire a SHOESTRING feature or get to write for the magazine yourself!

The Tips & Tricks section contains the advice pages from the magazine, such as "How do you plan a Gap Year?" This valuable advice is always accessible, and even if you can't open the link the see the full issue of SHOESTRING, as this section will conatin the pages in jpg format. This means, that for most of your travel queries, this section will become a one-stop-shop and the pages can be printed out so that you can take them away and refer to them whenever you need them.

Next to all this, the website will also be where the next issue of SHOESTRING will be published! The issues will be downloadable and printable and you can bookmark and share the site on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Digg, Technorati and Google.

The little red sign on the left of the website shows how many visitors are online at the moment, while the map on the right shows where SHOESTRING's readers are from.

Please become a follower on shoestring-magazine.com and on Facebook (search for Group SHOESTRING Travel Magazine), and help turn SHOESTRING into an international backpacker magazine!!

My Family's Crazy Gap Year - Channel 4

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:28:00 +0000

The idea behind Channel 4's latest travel show is simple: A British middle-class family goes around the world and tries to get well out of their comfort zone.

In tonight's programme, the Willmott family travelled through India, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and South America, in an attempt to educate the kids - two boys, aged 13 and 9, and a girl, aged 6 - all the while filming their adventures.

Mother Raffia, a bhuddist, does not believe in conventional medicine, and puts her family at risk when they depart for the jungle without any of the recommended vaccinations or malaria prophylaxes and only homeopathic remedies in their bags. Although the family stays with host families in remote parts of India to interact with the locals, My Family's Crazy Gap Year soon turns into a dangerous ego trip when Raffia decides that she just has to meet the Dalai Lama. Head over heels, two cars are organised to drive them 200 miles into the Himalayas to get a chance of meeting His Holiness. On treacherous mountain roads, one of the cars looses grip and rolls twice, with the kids in the back. The Willmott's finally meet the Dalai Lama, and the kids summarise the experience with the words "It wasn't that important to me."

Somehow, the family then ends up on the Mongolian plain (how exactly they got there is any viewer's guess), staying with Nomads in gers (yurts). Within hours, they have to help herd yaks, horses and sheep, and look on as their breakfast is slaughtered before their eyes. While the father of the family has to pitch in, mum looks away in disgust although she claims that they had told the kids "where their food comes from." Only the boys seem to be getting really into it, tucking into breakfast without problems and they even herd the yaks by themselves at the end of the stay.

For some reason, the family then backtracks to the Mount Everest basecamp, before ending up in the jungle of Papua New Guinea. Here, the family seeks out a remote tribe that has never met a Western family before. Next to abandoned huts, the family and their guide set up camp, just to be surrounded by tribesmen armed with bows and arrows as soon as they are finished. Although they are then invited to join the tribe, and the kids definitely seem to be making good friends, the one constant in this episode is the lack of communication between the family and their hosts, most of which do not speak any English at all. But the family only seems to pick up a few words in their hosts' languages throughout the programme. Unfortunately, the viewers only get glimpses of the Willmott family gap year. Huge parts are skipped or only explained with one sentence and one picture, which leaves the viewers wondering: "What happened and how did they get there?" And the whole issue about travel health and homeopathic is not touched again throughout the programme - without medication or vaccinations, I doubt that the entire family managed to travel around the world for a year without any illnesses whatsoever.

The immersion idea is a good one. It definitely takes them all out of their comfort zones and into the unknown, where they have to live like the locals and work like the locals. The children learn not to take things like running water and flushing toilets for granted, and even try insects as snacks offered by the Papuan tribe. Children should learn about these things first hand, make new friends in faraway places, hear different languages, eat different food. The more they learn, the more tolerant towards other people and cultures they will become.

Channel 4's show has left some questions unanswered, though. What kind of luggage did this family take with them? Suitcases or backpacks? When did they get the idea of going around the world and how much planning has gone into it? How much did it cost? Where did they get fitting local dresses upon arrival from? How did they pick the places, and, most of all: how did they arrange all these host family stays?

It's a good show, if you are interested in one family's travels, or want to see middle-class Brits getting back to nature. But from experience, I can only say that meeting the Dalai Lama and living with a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea are not your average Gap Year experiences, nor do these exploits, as down to earth as they might be, sound like they were planned on a budget.

My Family's Crazy Gap Year, Mondays 9pm, Channel 4.

Conny's actual corner...

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:24:00 +0000

Yep, folks, this is where I work on this blog and try to create Shoestring Travel Magazine! Just out of shot is the printer and my old laptop which has the publishing software on it (the version I have only runs on XP...). But that's about it!

I'm hoping to expand my work space a little when we move house, probably in a few months, get a proper desk to spread stuff out on and get the rest of my books sent over from Germany... The books I've got here are only journalism related. All the travel books, guidebooks, wildlife books, Almanachs are still at home. Oh, and my souvenirs! They're still in Germany too!

One day, I want to be able to have shelves stacked with topical travel books, have my world map with pins of where I've been back up on the wall and souvenirs dotted everywhere. A proper travel writer's work space, if you like. I know that won't happen for a while yet, though.

Help spread the Shoestring word!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:51:00 +0000

I have a favour to ask.

As you might know, I'm busy planning my travel magazine Shoestring, and I am still looking for contributors.

I have designed for Shoestring and would really appreciate it if you could print them and distribute them around university notice boards, halls, student bars or community centres. One of the flyers is in English (below), the other is in German (above). Although the magazine is based in the UK (due to me living here), the authors can come from around the world and talk about every country on earth.

I'd really appreciate your help in getting the word about Shoestring out!

Thank you!

Last day at easyJet

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:16:00 +0000

Drinks with the team at the Lady of Mann pub in Liverpool, after the contract working for easyJet's German customer service at Arvato Services came to an end today.

It's been great working with you guys, and, after 3 years I really enjoyed being able to speak German in England! Keep in touch!

Southport Summer Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:11:00 +0000

Join Shoestring on Facebook!!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:16:00 +0000

To promote Shoestring magazine, I have set up a Facebook group at SHOESTRING Travel Magazine

I'm looking for writers and readers, and want to give everyone the chance to discuss story ideas with like-minded people and get published.

So join me on Facebook if you think that Shoestring sounds like your kind of magazine, want to find out more or even contribute to it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My new job on suite101

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:06:00 +0000

Here are the first three articles I've published as a freelance for suite101.com.

The first article is about new World Heritage Sites just inscribed into the list, which are as diverse as Shrines and nuclear testing sites.

Then there are the basics of Air Passenger Rights when it comes to European Air Travel. And then there is a little bit about the phenomenom that is Couchsurfing.

Seven New Sites On UNESCO World Heritage List

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 21:43:00 +0000

Seven New Sites On UNESCO World Heritage List

My First Suite101.com freelance article has just been published!

Mini marriage

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:29:00 +0000

Southport and Ormskirk Mini Owners Club made a real commitment at this years' Woodvale Rally in Southport. Two Minis, called Ursula and Woofer, were married by a member of the club on Woodvale airfield earlier today.

While the groom was sporting a bow tie and top hat, the bride wore a veil and pearls around her rearview mirror. The owners read their cars' wedding vows, vowing to drive side by side on motorways as long as their engines may run. Marriage certificates were signed, keys exchanged, the champagne was passed around, and the Mini owners cut specially-made wedding cake. At this time it should be pointed out, that the CARS got married... NOT the owners!!

My Summer Song 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 21:44:00 +0000

Eliza Doolittle - "Pack up"

Soooooooo catchy! And that guy is an awesome singer! (The girl's pretty good too though)

Be a Shoestring contributor!

noreply@blogger.com (Conny Kaufmann) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 07:41:00 +0000

If you have read this blog before, chances are you've heard about my final project, travel magazine Shoestring.

Open publication - Free publishing - More australia

I have decided to continue it as a proper online magazine, bigger, better and for a wider audience.

To achieve this, I am currently looking for travel savvy writers who would like to contribute.

Shoestring is a travel magazine aimed at the 18-30 year old student and gap year travel market. Next to experiences and suggestions for the next trip, I want it to cover advice as well. This can include everything from photo tipps to the best backpacks.

I want to introduce an "as the locals see it" section, where twenty-somethings introduce their hometowns and suggest hip places to hang out, cheap thrills, beauty spots, the coolest new bars - that sort of thing. So if you want to introduce a city that you know well, get in touch! At the moment I'm looking for such places like Barcelona, Milan, Rome, New York, London, Sydney, Cape Town and Auckland but I'm open to suggestions. I'm also always looking for simple (and I mean fool-proof), tasty recipes from around the world.

Shoestring should also feature outdoor stories, active stories, including extreme sports - but on a travelling angle. This could for example include travelling to New Zealand to bungee jump from the bridge where the sport was invented or crossing China on a pushbike. There are no real limits, as long as it has to do with travelling and is of interest to the target readership. Stories exploring different cultures are also welcome!

Have you recently read a really good (factual) travel book? Seen a great documentary? Tried a new travel app on your phone? If so, I'm looking for short reviews.

As you see, Shoestring is still in the planning stage, but I want it to be a one-stop kind of magazine, that offers all the info relevant and of interest to the readers.

So if you have stories you want to share with like-minded travellers, please get in touch with me at Kaufmann.cornelia@gmail.com or leave a comment on this blog. I can't offer any money but your story will be published under your own name, so this could be a great way to extend your portfolio. If you know anyone who might also be interested in contributing, please spread the word any way you see fit!