Earnings Breakdown:

• Google Adsense - $342 - Boo to Google. I’m working hard at getting my living in New York site listed for my main keywords but it’s just not happening. The long tail search results are good, but as far as the major keywords, my site’s nowhere to be found. Once they kick in I could see my Adsense jump up by quite a bit… but I’ve been waiting for that to happen for months. Normally it’s just a waiting game but now I’m really putting a push on getting quality links.
• Affiliate Sales - $655 - My three travel insurance affiliates are contributing pretty evenly now which is what I wanted… now I just need to work at growing them all. I have a few ideas but it’s not a priority at the moment. I added a visa service affiliate to my working holiday visas website but I’m not sure yet if I made any sales. I’ll add them onto next month’s report and let you know how it does.
• Advertising - $2827 - Huge month! I rescued a $950 ad sale from the depths of my spam box which was pretty sweet, plus I had $950 renewal with another company. A few other sales here and some renewals there and all of a sudden I’m at my best month ever. Pretty lopsided in favour of the ol’ ad sales but I’m not going to complain.
• Ebook Sales - $273 - I think I did well with ebook sales this month due mostly to a mention in the HODR newsletter that went out to several thousand people who are both interested in volunteering and also in donating to HODR. Perfect match! I think they’ll mention me again in the next one with more of an emphasis on the fact that half the proceeds will be donated to them. A few reviews were posted on some popular websites which I think helped. I didn’t do any guest posting or spend any time on promoting the ebook myself, so it was a pleasant surprise to sell so many copies this month.

This is the first huge month I’ve ever had. When I talk about my earnings goals I’m always hoping for a steady $2500 so earning over $4000 came as a pleasant surprise. I do think it’s realistic to earn at that level consistently but I would need to have a pretty big renewal lined up each month. If advertising on the internet continues to gain in popularity like I think it will then this isn’t unrealistic. The lopsidedness makes me a bit uneasy but I’m encouraged to see my affiliate sales above $500 again.

I’ve abandoned the link building efforts for now and I’m working on a few fun things to keep my sanity. I’m finally getting my indie travel in Africa website started and I imagine I’ll start work soon on a local NGO’s site. I’ve also dreamed up a possible partnership idea which I think has a lot of potential and I’m waiting to see how that unfolds.

I’ve decided to stick around here until the end of October partly because I really want to get on top of things and also because I moved into a cheaper room in my house ($300 a month) and mostly because I’m having a good time here. I’m off to Kenya for two weeks in the middle of September to catch up with a friend, relax on the beach and maybe chase animals in the Masai Mara, so it might not be as productive a month. But I’ve been working a lot and I think I could use the break.

So that’s all from me. I’m really enjoying the work I’m doing now and excited to see that it is possible to pull off some pretty big numbers with this gig.

Every time I get into a conversation with anyone here in Kigali, I come away saying ‘wow’. I’m pretty sure every person I’ve spoken to so far has been supporting some sort of amazing cause or has started an organization of their own or are working in a job doing positive work for way less than they’d be able to earn at home. I have to say that I always feel a bit awkward when the ‘what are you doing here in Kigali?’ question comes up. My reply ‘um, I’m travelling in Africa and I stopped to, uh, work on my business building websites’ always sounds really lame in comparison.

One American girl I met is due to finish up her one year placement with World Teach in October and has decided to stick around afterward to work towards raising $60,000 to build a library in the rural community she had been working in. Another has started her own scholarship fund for Rwandan girls who otherwise couldn’t have afforded to go to school, raising money in her hometown in the US and also here in Kigali through some creative means. Then there’s the lady who works for As We Forgive (an NGO working towards reconciliation among victims and perpetrators of the genocide) seemingly in every possible role from public speaking to fund raising to training to organizing reconciliation workshops in the countryside. Or Meg, the Brit who started a school on her own that is currently educating 200 students who might otherwise not be able to go to school. Even my housemate, a former lawyer in the UK, is working as the manager of a school build for a non-profit agency when he could likely be back at home earning ten times the wage he’s currently on.

Then of course there are the countless Rwandans working hard at helping their own country. Jeanne (herself a victim of the genocide) started the Tubahumurize Association (I’m working on building them a website now) after a friend of hers was murdered by her husband. The centre holds counseling sessions for 300 women who are victims of domestic abuse, the genocide, rape, or have HIV (many suffer from more than one of these issues). It has grown to include classes on various subjects from economics to English to general health, a co-op producing quilts and necklaces, a sewing class for children who are heads of their household, a lunch program, and a community garden. This is a great cause aimed at helping some of the most vulnerable women in Rwanda (possibly the world) and I’m inspired by her efforts, despite all of the obstacles she faces in raising funds for her program.

Coming in direct contact with people working for so many great causes got me thinking about the way people donate money. I like to think that lots of people give to charity but I wonder how many put much thought into which charity they choose. My hunch is that most people give their money to the biggest players who probably pop into their head first when the time comes to make a donation. Often people are compelled to make charitable donations after major natural disasters and the Red Cross is where most of these funds go.

There are so many small organizations all over the world in desperate need of funds to run their programs. Donations to small organizations, I feel, go a lot farther with fewer admin fees and zero marketing budget to fund. I feel like if donors took some time to research where they spend their money, they could have more of an impact and could also even develop a personal relationship with the people running the program. Instead of your money going into a black hole of admin fees, your donation (or funds you raise) could feed 20 kids for a week, expand a micro-lending program to include more people, or even buy a new NGO a website. Spending your money on smaller-scale operations is more likely to result in tangible ‘this is where your money went’ results.

I’m curious about how you guys give. Do you research places to donate money or give to the major aid groups? Most of my charitable donations go either to friends doing fund raising (often running marathons for cancer charities although the charity is less important than supporting my friends) or to HODR because I know first-hand how the money is spent and how far it’ll go. So I’ve never taken an active role in searching out places to donate my money but I think I will in the future.

I’ve been here for about five weeks and I’m slowly getting involved in a few projects. I’m asked almost every day for advice on web stuff and I’ve been offered jobs weekly. I wish I could pop out Wordpress sites without wanting to pull my hair out and chuck my computer in the toilet but, unfortunately, I find tweaking themes to be one of the most frustrating things of all time. I have, however, become a bit of a Wordpress evangelist because of the ease of updating the site by people who might not know a thing about websites. I’m working at learning more about Wordpress (at the risk of a wet laptop) but it’s a slow process. At any rate, it’s opened my eyes to how valuable Wordpress design skills are and I want to keep learning. It also makes a great way to engage in a bit of location independent volunteering!

So far I’m really loving it here in Kigali. I admit that I’m trapped in the expat bubble, something I wanted to avoid. But I am getting a load of work done and still managing to get involved in some good causes so, for the moment, I’m ok with that (said as I order another iced mocha).

To summarize, Mike mentioned that he was beginning to get annoyed with long-term travellers and his perception that many have begun to belittle the folks who live so called stable lives with a full time job and everything that comes with it. The issue that has brought on most of the debate is that he linked to this article written by Nomadic Matt and singled him out as being ‘condescending at best and offensive at worst’ based on Matt’s article. I do feel like there’s a trend among lifestyle designer types (who often seem to live abroad) to slam people with ‘typical’ nine to five lives and I really hate that too. I think, though, that many of these people are aiming their possibly condescending posts at those who are living a life they’re unhappy in or working in a career they want to break free from. They’re trying to be inspiring but sometimes come across as being smug and judgmental.

Alisha’s post is more about travel writers (bloggers) specifically, pointing out some of their good and bad points based on her own experiences. The bad: they’re rude, egotistical and judgmental. Lots of juicy points! I haven’t been to any travel blogger conferences and the few ‘big name’ travel bloggers I’ve met in person have been amazing people (especially Dave and Audrey and Dan) so I don’t really have much to add to the conversation. There are know-it-all arseholes in every crowd and I like that Alisha has pointed out that maybe the travel blogging community isn’t as lovey dovey as it appears to be on the surface.

I was especially interested in the comments that Mike’s post generated, though. Loads of people have slammed us longer term travellers, questioning how me manage it financially (trust fund?), wondering what’s so good about it anyways, implying it’s not a ‘grown up’ way to live, that we don’t have anything else of meaning to be involved in or that we’re running away from real life. People seem to be defending their own choice of travelling in a different way or choosing not to travel at all by ripping on those of us who like to do it this way which seems like a strange approach.

These posts have caused me to think about when trying to offer inspiration to people crosses the line into outright bragging or being smug? Especially this comment by a guy called Spencer:

I’ve observed what I think is a change over the last few months where traveling and writing about it has become a lot more about who ranks where, who makes the most money traveling and writing about it, who gets the most hits … who has the most retweets and followers and blah, blah, blah.

I’m pretty conscious about this lately as I continue to post my earnings and as they continue to rise. Back when I was making $1000 a month, a wage that wouldn’t allow me to hack it in very many places, I wasn’t too concerned that I would be perceived as a show-off. As my earnings rise, my intentions are still the same but I wonder if they still come through in the same way. Plus my how to earn online blog has evolved more into a travel blog that it used to be and it probably attracts readers who aren’t necessarily as into the website-oriented stuff. I wonder what they think about my posts on the first of the month basically telling everyone how much (or little) money I’m making. Bragging or inspiring? Interesting or assholey?

I certainly wouldn’t call myself a travel writer and this blog has only really transformed into having a large number of travel-related posts recently. I do, however, love the travel blogging community and am happy to be a part of it. I’m also a web developer and I know the value in having a popular blog so I keep working at improving it and attracting more readers. I’m not sure whats really wrong with that. For some of us, this is a business and, for better or worse, we need to treat it that way to pay the bills.

In the end I think that @craventravel says it best (especially the first point):

After 30+ years in the travel industry, to 67 countries, 44 states, with 2 children and 1 wife, I have discovered:

1) People are more important than place.
2) Every destination has something special about it, even your home town.
3) Routine is the enemy, so wherever you are, mix things up.
4) There is no one “best” way to travel.
5) There is a lot more to a full life than just traveling.
6) No one on his deathbed ever said, “I wish I had spent more time in the office”.

I would love to hear people’s comments on this topic! Is travel just one big pissing contest? Do you feel like long term travellers are snobby and judgmental? Am I a complete jerk? Fire away!

I’d known about it for awhile and had heard great things but didn’t really do anything about it until my housemate lured me in. Hash House Harriers are a worldwide network of people who love running and drinking with a bit of a frat party atmosphere thrown in for good measure (or so I’m told… we don’t really have frats in Canada). They’ve been described as ‘drinkers with a running problem’ which sounds about right up my alley. Except for the running part.

My housemate invited me to join him last Saturday. Normally the runs snake around the streets of Kigali (or whichever city they’re in… there are 1913 hash groups across 1247 cities in 183 countries) but this time they arranged to have it out in the countryside. We met at a hotel and were divided into cars and made out way in a convoy to the run location. The scenery was stunning but pretty much everywhere in Rwanda is beautiful and it was great to be out in the countryside enjoying it instead of passing through on a bus being bombarded with dust.

I get the impression that Hash House Harriers has a lot of history and a lot of obscure rules and ceremonies. When we arrived the new people were pointed out and welcomed, songs were sung and then the main Hash guy, Rambo, gave a quick briefing on how everything works before the hares (the people who set the trail) gave an overview of their trail.

Basically the Hares come earlier to mark out a trail using ’shreddies’ which is fine paper shredded up. Piles of shreddies are left on the ground along the trail that they set and that’s the only way you know which way to go. There are also some tricks and fake trails thrown in to encourage teamwork among the harriers (I guess that’s what the runners are called?). The trail is usually anywhere from 5 to 8km long and it ends in a pub where the socialising beings.

I was surprised to see that most of the participants were locals… maybe three quarters. For some reason I expected it to be a big an almost exclusively expat thing so that was really cool. For the 2000 fee (about $3.50) we got brochettes (meat on a stick), pop and beer. Plus we were lucky because that day there would be a naming ceremony. If you’ve been to more than 10 hashes and also set a trail once, you’re given a hash name. I had already met ‘Sweet Tits’, ‘Ganja’, ‘Backyard Booty’ and ‘Juicy Pumpkin’ so I was curious to see what names the two girls would get.

After having a few questions peppered at them from the group, the person-to-be-named leaves and the group throws out some suggestions to Rambo who was acting as a sort of MC for whole thing. There were plenty of perverted suggestions. Fortunately ‘Pussy Farmer’ and several other dodgy names were rejected and ‘Pussycat’ was decided on for the first girl. The second name chosen was ‘Snake Charmer’ which was a vast improvement on ‘Goat F**cker’ which has also been suggested along with a few other perverted suggestions. I was surrounded by a bunch of inappropriate drunkards. Cool. The newly named girls were doused with beer and covered in red dirt from the ground before brochettes were passed around, beers downed, and dancing ensued.

If you’re easily insulted then you might not like the Rambo guy yelling at you to drink a beer or yelling at people to shut up and pay attention. I imagine it’s sort of like a mild hazing ritual type thing. Plus there’s loads of swearing and perversion. It’s probably not for everyone and one of the new girls sitting near me looked slightly horrified but if you like a bit of inappropriate madness (like me), you’d fit in well.

One the ride home things got pretty interesting. We had 12 people crammed into an SUV that had actually crashed on the way up to the run and had a nice dent in the door. The guy who crashed it was banished from driving so the aforementioned Pussycat took the wheel on the way home. Everything was fine (although I can’t speak for the six guys crammed into the back) until something went wrong with a disc (burnt or something… I know nothing about cars) and the car wouldn’t go anywhere. We were stuck about 20 minutes outside of Kigali in the pitch dark.Fortunately a small minivan type bus passed by and we were rescued only 10 minutes later.

I really enjoyed myself. It’s a great mix of outdoors, exercise, booze, meeting new people and bizarreness, if that’s even a word. I can see myself making it a weekly thing. Has anyone been on a hash run in their own city? They’re pretty popular and a great way to meet people in a new city so you should check it out, even if you’re only backpacking through a place.

I just finished a booked called All Things Must Fight to Live about the recent history of the DR Congo. It was most depressing book I’ve ever read - boy soldiers, war, terrible crimes, desperation and everything else evil and bad you can think of. So, naturally, I was pretty keen to visit.

My Belgian friend Karen, like me, enjoys a bit of chaos. I met her in Haiti as a volunteer the first time I was there in late 2008 and we were really expecting Goma to be a lot like Haiti with garbage fires blazing, cheap street food, curious but friendly locals and ‘bars’ consisting of a guy with a cooler selling beer on the side of the road.

We got the friendly locals but they were certainly used to seeing foreigners. The streets buzzed with NGO SUVs and I think every fourth car I saw was a UN vehicle of some sort from SUVs to tanks to giant trucks. The place is expensive and there are plenty of places that cater for the foreign crowd. Another shocker was the mansions down by the lake that looked like they were pulled straight out of a rich neighbourhood in Miami.

But lets back up a bit. Goma is at the north of Lake Kivu right on the border with Rwanda. The bus ride from Kigali is about three hours and, being so close, it would really would have been rude not to pop in for a look. The border crossing went well but as we had no idea where to stay or what to do in Goma, I got chatting with some Germans who were on their way out. They gave some advice on where to stay and when I asked the girl what they got up to in Goma her reaction was (with a bit of an agitated attitude): ‘You really want to know? Do you really want to know how we spent out day?’ Taken aback a bit by her somewhat abrasive response I said ‘Uh… well I’m not going to beg you but if you want to tell me… um, sure.’

As her story goes, two guys she was with snapped some photos in a market area in town and were immediately surrounded by about 10 men who demanded their passports, took their stuff off them (including their backpacks, money and their phones) and took them away to some police headquarters while the girls ran away. Eventually the girls tracked their friends down and they were put into a room with them for five hours while the police (or maybe military) demanded they pay US$1000 because they were in trouble for taking photos in a military-controlled area. Eventually they paid all they had, US$150, and were released.

This warning wasn’t exactly a warm welcome to the country but I was intrigued… getting arrested in the Congo is a hell of a story! My friend saw the crazy glint in my eye and demanded that I not get us arrested. I agreed, still secretly hoping to fall afoul of the law somehow. As it turns out, we had an amazing time with no dramas at all. We got a lift one night by a UN vehicle, discovered a takeaway place that sold amazing hummous, found a great local bar with grass huts (with a leg of a goat hanging over a BBQ in one of them) and a tennis court in the backyard (the local country club, perhaps?), and felt really comfortable and welcome.

We went for a huge walk all over the city on one of the days and came across a section of the lake where hundreds of people had gathered to wash their clothes. We got an amazingly friendly reception and it got us wondering whether NGO workers or UN soldiers really walk around the town at all or if they’re always cooped up in their SUVs going from place to place looking out the windows at the ‘dangerous’ locals.

There was a small hill near to the lake and I was keen to walk up to check out the view. The military guy on the hill also looked like a good lead for getting arrested. We wandered up and as we got closer he started walking towards us. We asked if it was ok to head up the hill for a look and he led the way. Eventually we were joined by another couple of guys and we started to think ‘hmm… is this the best idea?’ but they were just a couple of local guys who wanted to chat.

They were telling us about the boats below that head to the southern tip of Lake Kivu to a city called Bukavu. Karen and I looked at each other and were suddenly thinking about a spontaneous boat trip. We walked down for a closer look at the vessel and were given a tour by one of the crew members of the first class area which came equipped with a flat screen TV and plush leather couches. Suddenly our new plan was to boat it across the lake and come back up to Kigali through the south of Rwanda. Unfortunately for us (or I guess fortunately) my often absent common sense kicked in and I suggested we ask at the border whether our visa would allow us to leave through a different border. After the border guy laughed at us for awhile, we learned that our visa only allowed us to visit the Goma area. Oh well.

So instead we went out for a dance. After a meal we headed to a bar called Mambo something or other. We drank some wine, played some pool and hit the dance floor. We were chatting to people and everyone was telling us what a huge party town Goma is and that we’d have to come back to the bar on the weekend. When that place closed we headed onto another bar and that’s when the dancing really kicked it. The place was pretty empty but raucous enough to let loose. We invited our moto taxi driver in for a beer and by the time the night was over we had a gang of Rwanda and Congolese buddies all tearing up the dance floor while I danced badly alongside them. At one point I ended up in some bizarre dancing triangle with a Rwandan woman and the taxi driver where we were all holding hands and spinning each other around. I hurt my shoulder in Haiti and it kills when I move it in a certain way (I should probably get that looked at) and here I was having my arms nearly ripped off my a Rwandan woman who was spinning me all over the place. It was hilarious but I thought my arm was going to fall off.

Goma is a strange place. It’s got a lot of poverty and people living in shacks, but it also has some of the biggest houses I’ve ever seen, fancy hotels and expensive bars and restaurants. On our first night we went out for a meal and ended up in a mysterious place without a menu that charged US$30 for a plate of meat. Instead we went to a hotel across the road where most meals were $10. After a $4 wine we fled and found a takeaway place were we ate for about $6 each. We were expecting roadside BBQs and meat on a stick (brochettes) for $1, not pricey restaurants and bars.

The next morning we were both feeling extremely seedy and we left with some good memories of a bizarre city. Who would have known that Goma would be a party town? Not what I was expecting but it was a great couple of days!

Does anyone have stories of cities that were completely not what you expected in either a good, bad or totally bizarre way?

I’ve been in Kigali for a couple of weeks and it’s starting to feel comfortable. The weather here is perfect everyday, people are nice, and I feel like there are lots of different levels of the place to explore. I thought I’d write a post about life here in case anyone is curious or considering a trip to the city. It’s not a typical stop on the expat trail so the more I can share about it, the better for others who are heading this way.

Accommodation

I moved into a house a few days ago with an American chick, her Namibian fiance, and two British guys and they’re all really nice. My initial plan was to try to get my own place but that was before I realized how expensive that would be. Rent for a room in this place is US$400 a month and I didn’t even see ads for apartments but my guess it it would have cost me over twice that price. But I’m realizing that living in a sharehouse is good for the social life and I’m happy I’ve made the choice. It’s not quite the crazy days of sharehouse living in London, but that’s a good thing because I think my body would break.

My room is simple but the bed is comfy. There’s a huge lounge with a table that I’ve decided to sprawl my stuff over as a workspace. Two of the other housemates work from home a lot of the time too so that could be a new twist to the online working thing. It’ll be nice to have people around to have water cooler conversations with. Plus we’ve discovered that we all love creating salads and could end up taking turns making elaborate lunches.

The best part for me is the view. Kigali is super hilly and it seems like every restaurant I’ve been to has an amazing view over some part of the city. The school I was staying at when I first arrived also had a great view. But the advantage of this house is that there’s some grass to kick back on or some comfy chairs to lounge in to either soak up the sun or enjoy looking at the city lights at night. There’s a nice garden and I can keep myself entertained by watching lizards wrestle with each other. At least I think they’re wrestling…

Expenses

Kigali is an expensive place, especially if you like frozen mocha drinks and hanging out in cafes. My rent is $400 which is more than I would have expected to pay for a place in Africa if you had asked me before I arrived. First I learned that Africa was cold, and now that it’s expensive! Why didn’t anyone tell me this before?

I pay 41,500 Rwandan francs which is about US$70 per month (ouch!) for an unlimited internet connection through my USB modem (that I also had to buy for Rwf20,000 because my other modem couldn’t be unlocked). The connection has been terrible so far, only working well about 25% of the time, not connecting at all another 25% and half the time it’s super slow. I asked them about it and they said something about fiber optic cable being busted, satellite not being as good blah blah blah. I said I don’t care… just make it work. He sent an email and told me it would be better and, miraculously, so far it has.

Because my internet connection has been poo I’ve had to spend a lot of time sponging free wifi from expat cafes. Having a drink and a meal there can cost $10 to $15 which sort of kills my budget. Having a some wine at a bar costs about $4 a glass but a beer is only about $1.70. Groceries are affordable if I can stay away from Western goodies. Veggies are super cheap but ice cream is $20 for a 2L tub. Ice cream will be off the menu but I still had to stock up on some basics like balsamic vinegar and olive oil which took a bit of a chunk out of the budget.

While there are a lot of expensive options here, there are also a lot of cheap choices for eating and shopping. I’ll be heading to the market on Friday to load up on cheap veggies. Brochettes (basically meat on a stick) and samosas are both cheap options that are popular with the locals so I’ll need to find some good spots around me to grab a quick bite. I’m looking forward to cooking now that I’ve got a kitchen so, with the cheap veggies in mind, that’ll mean a lot of stir fries.

Social Life

It’s been great having my Belgian friend here for the first while because she’s adopted me and taking me out with her to some cool bars and events. Then another volunteering friend of mine was in town so that was a fun night out at dinner. And then one of my Aussie friends I went to the World Cup with swung by and we had a couple of days doing the tourist thing. Now with my friends gone or leaving soon, I’m all moved in to my new house and it seems like they’re a sociable bunch.

Expats here in Kigali all seem to have some interesting work they’re doing whether it be volunteering, NGO work or some business. I went to a weekly quiz night last night and we joined up with another team of older guys who were friendly and have all been in Kigali for years and all had their stories to tell. There don’t seem to be a huge amount of social gatherings for the expat crowd besides the quiz night but that’s probably a good thing so I don’t get stuck into the expat trap.

Do-Gooding

I really want to find an interesting volunteering opportunity while I’m here (or even an uninteresting one). I found out about a woman’s organization through this website and they said they could use someone with web design skills (there’s also lots of opportunities teaching English or playing with orphans, but that’s not really my thing) and I’ve gotten in touch. It doesn’t seem like they have a website at all so if I could help them by building one, I would love to do that. Plus I really like the idea of training one or a few people on how to update the site and make simple changes using Wordpress. They just emailed me back this morning and seem happy with my suggestion so I’ll meet up with them on Monday, hopefully.

Other Stuff

Rwanda is a really interesting place. Did you know that not only can you not get plastic bags anywhere… they’re actually illegal and if you’re found bringing them into the country you could be fined? Plus the morning of the last Saturday of every month is also set aside so that everyone can work together to clean up the streets. That explians why this city is so clean.

Then of course there’s the genocide thing. That. Besides going to the memorial (possibly one of the most depressing but important museums I’ve been to)and reading a bunch of books on the subject, I haven’t had any conversations with people here about it. I’m not really sure I want to… it’s such a huge, heavy, horrible thing and I’m not sure if it’s something people here discuss or if everyone just wants to forget about it and move on. I suppose I’ll find out if I can manage to make some local friends.

I’m heading off with my Belgian friend for a night or two in the DR Congo to have a look around Goma. It seems like an interesting place and I’m pretty fascinated by the Congo. Should be fun, speak to you soon!

I’ve been spending ridiculous hours working but I don’t think I’ve even seen the results of this hard work yet. A lot of my focus at the moment is on building links to my London 2012 Olympics site which I want to have very well positioned when the event finally rolls around. I’ll shift my focus this week to building links to some new sites in an effort to boost my Adsense earnings in the more immediate future.

Earnings Breakdown:

• Google Adsense - $355 - Steady as always, but I’m sick of steady. I want to get my Adsense earnings up to $500-600 per month by the end of the year and further up to $1000 by early next year. I’ve been saying this for ages but this time I have a plan and I think it can be done. I have two niche sites in particular with pretty lucrative keywords… I just need to drive traffic to the sites. Easy, right?
• Affiliate Sales - $1223 - My World Nomads sales came back to life this month to lead the charge but they were closely followed by the affiliates I have on Tradedoubler. My Clixgalore affiliates weren’t far behind, either. The affiliates I have on my moving to London site have been doing a lot better than I thought they would and I’m about to add a visa service program to my popular working holiday visas website so hopefully that adds a new revenue stream. I’m excited to finally have this area diversified instead of counting on a single affiliate like I used to. I’m not sure if this was just a freaky flukey good month or the sign of things to come but I’m going to aim to get affiliate earnings up to a steady $1500 each month by the end of the year.
• Advertising - $1395 - It seems like this revenue stream is one that I can start counting on. I have an impressive set of renewals almost every month plus there seems to be new interest each month too. It just seems to be a bit unpredictable because I can’t really come up with a plan of action to increase income in this area - it just sort of happens. I’m happy to ride the wave for as long as the advertisers are happy, though.
• Ebook Sales - $161 - I did a lot of promotion early in July which didn’t really result in too huge a month for my my ebook. I know that sales for ebooks are likely to drop off after launch unless new markets are found so I will be employing a PR type person who actually wrote and promoted her own book to find me some new markets and write press releases and stuff like that that I have no desire to do. She’s written for me in the past and I think she knows her stuff so I’m curious to see where this leads.

I got to Kigali on July 19th and I’ve pretty much been working non-stop since then with a bit of exploring and a few nights out thrown in so I don’t go completely insane. I have a clear plan of what needs to be done to kick this operation up to the next level and I’m ready to put the work in to get there. My average monthly earnings for the year so far is almost $2200 which is much better than the $1500 a month I’ve been floating around for as long as I can remember.

My goal is to be earning $3000 steadily by the end of this year. This time, instead of just throwing numbers out there, I actually have a plan to get it done. I have four websites (two Adsense and two affiliate sites) that have never been promoted so building links to them is key. Plus I will be putting a big push on promoting my living in New York site because I know that it can be as strong as the similar London site. Once I’m happy with the links I’ve built (I’ll probably spend all over August on this task… blah) then I’ll move onto my new project.

I’m motivated! I’m excited! I’m looking forward to… well, moving forward!

My First Post - Another Blog for the Pile

Back when I wrote my first post I didn’t have many expectations for this blog. The reason I got started with the whole blogging thing was to connect with other travellers and like-minded people. I actually hated the blogging platform at first and moved to it reluctantly. I’m happy I stuck with it, though!

The Post I Enjoyed Writing the Most - 24 Travellers to Inspire You

It was really fun listing off all of the travellers who’ve inspired me over the years in a lot of different ways. I found some amazing new blogs to read and I was certainly uber inspired by each of the 24 people in a bunch of different ways.

A Post With a Great Discussion - 10 Reasons Why the Olympics are a Better Event than the World Cup

This recent post about the World Cup vs the Olympics got a few people fired up and a pretty good discussion came out of it. (Olympics rule!)

A Post I Wish I Had Written - The Benefits of Selling Everything You Own

First, I’m not that into ’stuff’ so I love the topic of this post. Second, it’s a really, really funny read and I love a slightly warped sense of humour. It’s also nice to find someone else who’s slightly obsessed with their Macbook Pro.

My Most Helpful Post - How I Wrote My First Ebook

This post got a lot of positive feedback from people and it’s one of the few posts I write where I give a step-by-step sort of summary of what I’ve done. I couldn’t really find too much information at the time on writing, designing and marketing an ebook all in one place so I hope this post pointed people in the right direction.

A Post With a Title I’m Proud Of - Short Skirts and Learning to Say Yes

Titles aren’t my strong point but I quite like the title of this recent post. I usually write the blog post first and when it comes time to write the title, I just want to get the post online and don’t usually put much thought into it. I’m going to try to get better at my titles though. Starting on my next post…

A Post I Wish More People Had Read - This is Why I Love Travelling

I used to have this blog and another travel blog but I combined them last year. It meant that the posts from my unpopular travel blog got buried in the content of this blog and not a lot of people read them. I really love this post because it reminds me of the bizarre or uncomfortable moments that make travel great for me.

If anyone else has taken part in this 7 Link Challenge thing, post links to your own entries in the comments so we can all take a look. I think it’s a great way to get new readers up to speed so hopefully I’ll find some cool new blogs to read!

I’ve been in Kigali for less than a week and I feel like I’ve been here for ages. There’s something about this place the just feels comfortable. I had a good feeling about the country as soon as I boarded the clean, spacious, road-worthy bus at the Tanzanian border that was driven at a normal speed to Kigali. When I pulled into the city, I was met with rolling hills, beautiful views and friendly people and I knew I would like it here.

It helped that I had arranged to stay with a Belgian friend of mine who I met as a volunteer in Gonaives, Haiti. She’s been in Kigali for five months doing an internship at a school close to the city centre and had a pretty sweet room ready for me when I arrived. She’s been here for five months and is about to head off to do some travelling, but I can stay for as long as I need to. The school gave her a fantastic send off yesterday with singing and dancing, much of which was done by children and was slightly pornographic, but their parents were there, so I guess it’s ok? The only other time I’ve seen so much ass-shaking by a pre-teen was in Haiti. Thankfully, the Rwandan children kept the lap dancing to a minimum.

My friend has forged some great relationships through her work at the school which was obvious from the multiple gifts she received (my personal favourite was the set of six wine glasses - totally impractical considering her next move is to travel by bumpy bus to through Uganda and Kenya to Tanzania) and the tears that were shed. Schools and kids aren’t my thing but I feel like if I don’t get involved in some sort of volunteer work, I’ll be missing out on a great opportunity not only to help out a bit but also to meet some fantastic people, get involved in some interesting projects and learn about Rwanda from a more authentic perspective.

On the surface, Kigali appears have it’s shit together with good roads, nice supermarkets, internet access, and clean streets. Besides the occasional water or power outage, I feel like I could be anywhere in the world. I think the reality is a lot more sinister with people fearful of openly criticizing the government, people living in shacks in the valleys without clean drinking water, and all of the usual issues found in any developing country. It would be really easy for me to come here, work on my internet stuff, hang out at expat places, make a nice circle of expat friends and live a great life but I would really start to hate myself for it, if I did. It’s easy to get comfortable and to stay in the expat bubble but I’m going to do my best to get involved in the community through volunteer work and learn as much as I can about Rwanda.

I haven’t found any volunteering opportunities yet, but I have managed to get my act together a lot quicker than usual and have landed a place to live already. I had been in touch with a bunch of people but only looked at two houses before I made my choice. The first was a little out of town but it was a great place with a fantastic view, a nice kitchen, two bathrooms and a dog. Part of the rent went towards the NGO As We Forgive which seems like a great cause (and hopefully one I will be able to help out with). The second house, and the one I decided on, is a bit closer to town, a bit cheaper and it has an avocado tree in the backyard that’ll be ready at the end of August to feed me. How could I possibly resist an avocado tree? The people are nice and I actually found the place through a contact on Twitter and I’ll be staying in the same room as her. Small world.

I’m pretty excited about staying put for awhile and it looks like Kigali will be a great fit. Any city that has motorcycle taxis for me to zip around on and back yards with avocado trees is ok with me!

I needed to go from Arusha on the eastern side of the Serengeti to Mwanza on the western side. The recommended route is up through Kenya to Nairobi and then back down on the other side of the national park. I didn’t want to go through Nairobi and pay the visa fee for Kenya, so that was out. Then there was the straight through the park approach which sort of seemed appealing until I read that I would have to pay at least $50 in park fees and I wasn’t likely to see any animals as I would be hurtling past them at breakneck speeds. That left the third option, past the park on the southern side. Cheap and I didn’t remember reading anything bad about the route (although I don’t remember reading anything at all) so how much worse than the other routes could it possibly be?

I boarded a bus with three seats on one side and two on the other. It was pretty crammed but I was lucky to have a window seat. We got going at 6am on the dot and as I settled in I thought to myself ‘this isn’t so bad’. That’s about when the paved road ended and my hell began.

The dirt road was hard and full of bumps and potholes, but it was also covered in sand and red dirt which meant it was seriously dusty. Fortunately, it was cool enough to be able to keep the window closed. Unfortunately, once we hit the bumpy road the window took on a life of its own, violently shaking open with each bump. The latch was broken and the stiff window was too hard to close with my fingers. There were two holes where the handle used to be and every five minutes I would have to take out a pencil, stick it in the hole and use it to close the window. Sometimes I wasn’t quick enough (I might have left it for six minutes instead of five) and a truck would come thundering past, sending dust and dirt through the two inch space. By the time we reached the rest stop, my face was covered with red dirt.

The rest stop was another cause of panic! I didn’t think we were ever going to stop for a break. We must have stopped ten times in six hours with nobody on the bus making a move to get off… I was convinced everyone in this country has superhuman bladders. The journey was hellish at the start but when I got to hour five and thought I was going to pee my pants, that’s when things really got hellish. Fortunately for me, my pants, the person sitting next to me and the bus upholstery, we stopped at hour six for 15 minutes before being herded back on board to continue the journey.

After ten hours, a bruised ass, a possibly broken computer and camera, a face covered in dirt and a damaged bladder we were approaching a large city - Mwanza! Right? This is the final stop… right? ‘No, this is Shinyanza’.

This is about the point where I wanted to kill myself. Shinyanza, from what I could remember from the map I had glanced at, was only the halfway point. Did that mean that when the bus ticket guy said the bus would arrive at four, he meant 4am? Did that mean that I had another 10 hours of this hell journey ahead of me?!? PANIC. Nobody seemed to be able to give me an answer so I sat there, willing the bus to crash.

‘It’s not that bad. The road is paved again. I’ll just have a snooze and when I wake up, hopefully I’ll be there.’ Driving… driving… zzz… BANG!!! ‘What the f-??? BUH BANG!!!

Speed bumps! The fricking highway had speed bumps! And guess what? The driver didn’t slow down one bit. We took those suckers at full speed, launching us passengers in the back a foot in the air each time and scaring the living hell out of me. Going over speed bumps at 130kms an hour is LOUD.

So at this point, as far as I knew I had another nine hours of speed bumps and the sun was down so I couldn’t even read my book in between the bumps. Plus I had a splitting headache and I needed to pee again. I wasn’t sure what to do so I ate some popcorn and tried to zone out. BANG!!! ARG!!!

We arrived into Mwanza after four hours instead of the expected ten, so I guess I was relieved although all I felt was utterly exhausted and defeated. I’m not sure how I survived those four hours without throwing myself out the window. It’s probably because the window wouldn’t open the whole way, actually.

I shared a cab into town with a youngish Kenya lady (she had shown me the way to the toilets as I wandered around looking panicked) and her 71 year old husband-to-be from England who looked like he was about 100. How he survived that journey, I will never know. I passed out at about 9pm happy to be alive.

Anyone got any terrible bus journey stories to share?

The People Who Contact Me

I generally get contacted either by individuals like me who run some sites on their own, by the in-house marketing department of larger companies, or by SEO companies that are representing those larger companies.

The person who contacts me and the site they represent is important because I generally treat them in different ways. While I would like to charge top dollar for advertising on my sites, I don’t. If a small-fry like me approaches me then I’m not going to quote my highest price as it will scare them away. I know they’ve probably got a small budget and will try to work within it. Of course if I look at their site and it looks pretty successful, I might push that price higher.

Likewise, if I’m contacted by someone from an SEO company representing a major hotel chain, I know that hotel chain has set aside money not only to employ an SEO company but also to buy enough ads to justify it. I assume they’ve got a big budget and I’m going to quote my highest price and hope for the best.

How They Find Me

I asked one of my recent advertisers who works for an SEO company how he goes about finding links. He told me that one way is for them to decide on topics that are relevant (in my case it would be travel) and then start searching for authoritative sites on the subject and approach them to advertise. From there they can either look for further recommendations from the site’s owner (their online firends, sites they like etc.), or they can just follow the links on their page until they get to more sites of interest, and then contact that site’s owner.

Another way is to do what he calls ‘competitive backlinking’ where they will look at the site’s competition and attempt to get the same links. The idea here is that if one site has the same links as their competitor’s, they have a chance at achieving as high a ranking with Google. So if my site links to their competition’s sites, then they might get in touch with me to get a link as well.

What Advertisers are Looking For

When I’m contacted by potential advertisers they almost never ask about my traffic stats or my PR (a ranking used by Google that is popular for gauging the success of a website… look it up if you want to know more). I assume they figure out my PR before contacting me, but I don’t know this for sure. I think advertisers are looking for quality websites that are an authority in their niche. They don’t need to have a million readers or a high PR but I think they do need to have a strong focus and quality content.

I don’t think companies are interested in advertising on sites that were built to make money with Adsense or affiliate programs. Those kinds of sites do their thing and make money, but I doubt they have much appeal to advertisers. Quality content, a decent PR, and a focused niche, and a position as an authority are things that I think are important.

Of course it helps to be in a niche that has potential advertisers. Travel is a good one and can be broken down into all sorts of niches from specific cities to styles of travel to modes of transport or whatever. If you have a site that has information about obscure widgets that has a very small market, it’s less likely you’ll have advertisers knocking at your door.

Why I Do Well With Advertising

I think that I do well because my sites are of a certain quality: the information is good and well organised, the sites look pretty good, and they’re not spammy. Adsense and affiliate links are incorporated into my sites but they’re not plastered all over the place and it’s clear that the site hasn’t been created just to generate revenue through Adsense or sell a product. They’re there to give people information on a specific topic aimed at a specific niche and that fact that this is clear, I think, makes them appealing.

I’m also able to maximise my revenue through advertising because I have several websites across a small range of topics. I have city-specific websites for London, New York, Sydney and Beijing and these are very appealing to accommodation websites, I’ve got a few more general travel sites that seem appealing to lots of different advertisers and I’ve got a travel insurance site that sells ads because it’s in a competitive niche that people need links for. Plus I have Nerdy Nomad which (my only blog, all the rest of my sites are static) has a good number of readers and lots of links back from other related blogs which means that advertisers can find me easily.

Recommendations

I’ve had a few people recommend my site to advertisers and I’ve done the same when advertisers ask me for recommendations. One person in particular has sent several lucrative deals my way and I’ve tried to do the same. I tend to recommend sites that pop into my head first and these are usually owned by people I’ve dealt with over the years and formed a relationship with. Whether it be exchanging ideas on writing a travel website, advice on how to monetize it, general travel tips, tweeting each other (that sounds kind of dirty) or whatever. If I’m friends online with someone, it’s more likely their websites will be the ones I suggest to a potential advertiser.

This means that building relationships online is very important. I think I’m in a good situation because of the nature of my website. Nerdy Nomad has a combination on travel stuff and making money online stuff and I know that I’ve helped a lot of people over the years… whether it be with tips on travel or on how to build and make money from a website. Being transparent is important to me and I like to think I offer some good advice. Plus, I’ve been told over and over that posting about my monthly earnings is inspiring to people. So when they make it big, there’s a chance that my site will be one of the ones that sticks in their heads when it comes to recommending sites to advertisers.

Searching for Advertising Deals

If you’re not the type to sit around waiting for potential advertisers to find you and want to get more aggressive, there are a few things you can do. I don’t really do them so I can’t tell you how well they work, but here are some ideas.

Looking at advertising deals other sites similar to yours is a good way to find some leads. Head to any popular site in your niche and you’re bound to see advertising in the form of text links or images. They can usually be found in the sidebar and will always link out to another site. Look under headings like ‘recommended sites’, ’sponsored sites’, ‘friends’ etc. People often put links down in the footer as well. You will often see the same ad deals across many popular websites so if you think your site is up to scratch, you might have luck. The hard part is finding the right person. Often companies use SEO services which means getting in touch with the person who calls the marketing shots will be pretty difficult.

Looking through offline magazines in the same niche might also work for finding potential advertisers. You’ll have to do some cold calling and that’s annoying, but if you can get a few deals out of it then it’ll be worthwhile. As an example, for my moving to London site, I intend on looking for possible advertisers in TNT Magazine which is aimed squarely at the same niche. One of these days I’ll do that.

I’ve been contacted on occasion by people wanting to swap contacts with me. A ‘you give me that contact and I will give you this one’ sort of thing. but it’s not something I really like to do. It makes me feel a bit sleazy and I don’t really like giving my advertiser’s contact details out to people. But just because I don’t like to do it doesn’t mean that others won’t.

Some Final Notes

I think we’re in the early days of the online advertising game. I feel like more and more major companies will see the advantage in advertising on smaller, independent sites who are an authority in their niche, whether that be travel or something else entirely. I also think that, as more and more advertisers jump on board, the price us website owners can charge for our ads will go up and up. Suddenly we won’t be accepting every deal that walks on by, we’ll be a lot more choosy because more companies will be vying for our limited ad space. That’s the dream, at least!

I hope this article has shed some light on how those big advertising deals seem to appear out of nowhere for me just at the right time. They don’t actually come out of nowhere and I think it’s a perfect example of how a lot of work in the past is paying off for me now. I really do feel like this is the tip of the iceberg for the online advertising world and that quality, authoritative, popular websites on any topic will be able to sell advertising well into the future.

I would love to hear comments on this topic. It was fun typing this all up and putting all of my thoughts on the topic down on paper, so to speak. What are your experiences with finding advertisers? Do they find you, or are you more aggressive about making deals? If you have any questions not addressed here, ask away!

(Oh and one more small thing… always check your spam folder. I don’t know how many times I’ve looked in there to find either a new inquiry about advertising or a followup email sealing the deal.)

After my fantastic couchsurfing experience with Gabriel and his family I was ready to head up to Arusha to get my safari on. I bought my ticket at a manic bus station and was on the bus the next morning bright and early at 5:30am. I was happy to have Gabriel’s security guard help me find the bus as it was a pretty crazy scene, even so early in the morning.

A short while into the nine hour journey Muhammad, the guy sitting next to me, starting chatting to me with the whole ‘where are you from, where are you going, what are you doing, how do you like the weather’ spiel. He’s originally from Kenya but lives in London with his family and he’s in Tanzania for a wedding. His two brothers were sitting in the seats in front of me and after chatting for awhile they all insisted I come to the wedding party that evening at their family home in Arusha. Not having any plans for the evening… sure, why not?

Knowing that the party would be attended entirely by Muslims and not having anything that would cover my legs besides jeans, I was worried about what to wear. I asked Mohammed if a skirt that only went just a little bit past my knees would be ok. He waved me off and said ‘of course, no problem’. Sweet, I suddenly had an outfit.

The night started off with that awkward bit where nothing is really happening yet and everyone around you is speaking in another language. I got the occasional question aimed at me in English or curious look from across the room but for the most part I was staring off into space. Fortunately, the room was filled with colourful decorations and flashing lights that kept my interest for the 20 minutes until everyone arrived.

I’ve been to a lot of places where conservative dress is required, but since Tanzania has a mix of Christianity, Islam and a bunch of others, I thought dress might be a bit more lax than in places like Bangladesh and Indonesia. Well I rocked up and instantly felt like a knee-flashing floozy. I was ok when I was standing up (although that’s debatable because everyone else was covered up to their ankles) but when I sat down, my indecent knees suddenly became exposed and I suddenly became extremely self-conscious of them.

It didn’t help at all that I was sitting in a fairly central location and people were coming up to me all the time to introduce themselves. I wanted to shrink into the shadows but it wasn’t going to happen. Gifts seemed to be exchanged between every member of the family with each person taking a turn sitting in a chair at the front and having photos taken of every other person with them and their gift. Eventually the bride sat in the chair and the major gift-giving, congratulations-giving event began. At the end I was motioned to go up to the bride and congratulate her. Everyone else had already been up for the kiss on the cheek photo op and they didn’t want to leave me out, so up I went, knees and all. The bride was sitting on a chair at the front illuminated by a super bright spotlight for the video camera so there was no escape. I went up for my photo standing beside her holding her hand and then leaned over to give her an awkward kiss on the cheek. I think I might have flashed my boobs to the whole crowd as I bent over. Ah crap.

Later on we went upstairs to repeat the entire process but this time, with the groom. Gifts were given to the groom and then again to the same people that got gifts the first time around. This time they just happened to be in a different room. In this room I was led to a spot on the floor to sit. I love sitting on the floor and can sit cross-legged for a ridiculously long time with no problems. But I couldn’t really have pulled that off in my semi-short skirt so I had to fling my legs to one side and sit like that for about a half hour. I thought my legs were going to fall off after about 5 minutes but readjusting could have led to a possible flashing of the people sitting across from me. I couldn’t really move around subtly either because I was plopped down right near the groom with that same godforsaken spotlight on me the whole time. Eventually I stole some woman’s chair while she was up giving a gift to the groom. Yes, that makes me a terrible person, but it was that or sacrifice my legs in the name of decency.

My favourite part of the ceremony was when people would give a square of chocolate (I wonder if Cadbury’s know they’re a part of Indian/Swahili/Muslim weddings in Tanzania?) to the bride as some sort of ritual thing where she would eat a square. As they did it, they would be looking at the camera posing for the photo and not really paying attention to where the chocolate was going. It was obvious that the bride only wanted to bite off a small corner and it was funny to see her resisting the square with her teeth while trying to smile for the camera as the chocolate was continually smooshed in her face. Priceless.

Through the entire gift-giving process was pretty cool but what really sold me on the whole event was the singing. Damn there was some serious singing going on. Lots of praising of Allah and just really joyful songs that everyone seemed to know the words to. It would take a lot of booze flowing before anyone I know busted into song so ferociously! It was a really great family atmosphere at a special event and I feel lucky to be invited into that.

Something I think really allows people to have these amazing experiences is being open and not so quick to say ‘no’ to crazy ideas or invitations from strangers. I’ve never been too good at accepting generous offers of hospitality or invites. I think I’ve always been too scared of being put in an awkward situation and I think I have still a fear of encroaching on their private lives or of taking up too much of people’s time. I think people are very eager to share their lives and show travellers their country… I think it just comes down to us letting them.

What’s the most random thing that’s happened to you on your travels because you said ‘yes’ to a crazy idea or invite?

I’ve been a member of Couchsurfing almost since the website began but had only participated a measly one time when I was in China. It was a fantastic experience and I constantly wonder why I don’t do it more often and then still end up not doing it. Until last week when I found myself sitting in the lounge room of Gabriel Robert surrounded by his wife and his family of five young children. He lives in Ubungo, a suburb of Dar Es Salaam, the country’s capital city and I was there to Couchsurf for my second time.

In talking to Gabriel it’s easy to tell he’s a very ambitious man who sets goals and knows how to follow through on them. He seems to be a leader in the community and I witnessed him talking to his own children and kids in the neighbourhood about the importance of education and chasing your dreams. His oldest daughter, Mary, wants to be a pilot, his son Carlos wants to be an electrical engineer like dad, and his middle daughter, Glory, wants to be a TV news presenter. I’m not sure what his babies want to do yet but I’m sure they’ll be filled with ideas in no time.

My first morning was spent at a neighbour’s house chatting to the wife of his pastor. They’ve got a pig pen, a small chicken business, and ducks wandering around the property. The young boys were busy working on painting some window frames and we sat down and chatted over a couple bottles of Fanta. I had already spoken a bit to Gabriel about my online work, volunteering, living in the UK and we had also exchanged some ideas about business and I told him I have a business degree. He seemed to pass this information on to each friend he met up with while I was there, telling them all about my travels, work and education as they looked on with approval.

That same night, the pastor and his wife came for a visit and Gabriel showed them the beginnings of a website he’s been working on for their church. He’s been teaching himself HTML and was in the early stages but had managed to get off to a good start and everyone he showed his creation to were impressed. I was really happy to have an opportunity to give him a few tips and teach him a few more of the basics. Gabriel and his family have been ridiculously generous to me so it felt great to be able to give a bit back with my short lesson on HTML.

On the next day it was me who was the student as Mary, Glory and Carlos taught me a bunch of Swahili words on the front porch. Nothing really stuck in my useless memory but I think I grasped the spelling which I think impressed them. I doubt they would have given me a gold star for my efforts, though. But now I’ve got a notebook of words to study and practice with. Unfortunately Swahili seems to be a lot more complicated than Creole so learning even the basics will be a struggle for language-challenged me. When I get to a place with a better connection I’m going to buy Benny’s Language Hacking Guide. Help me Benny!

I attracted the curiosity of the kids when I opened up my computer but it seemed to disappoint with the lack of games. It doesn’t even have card games - the horror! But I did attempt to give a quick lesson in chess. Later when we were watching a Mexican soap opera dubbed over with English-speaking actors, Mary noticed they were playing chess in one scene and seemed a bit interested. I might have turned one of them into a chess geek. Sweet.

One of the more bizarre moments of my travel life happened while we were driving into town on afternoon. We were stuck in what I now know is Dar Es Salaam’s regular, everyday, at all times of the day, traffic jam when Gabriel mentioned that a big truck that was passing was a tourist truck. I didn’t really know what he meant, glanced over and saw a giant Kumuka overland truck complete with my two Aussie friends inside. One was fiddling with the window flap and sort of looking in my direction and I got her attention with the beep of the car horn. The look on her face was priceless. There I was in a car with an entire Tanzanian family in a traffic jam on the outskirts of a foreign city, hanging out the window to get her attention. It was pretty crazy to me that we were in the same place at the same time like that but I’m sure the whole scene is a bit more bizarre for them considering what on earth I was doing there.

I stayed with Gabriel an his family for four nights and they not only fed me and gave me a place to sleep, they also bought me ice cream. Plus, more importantly than the ice cream (yes, it’s possible), I got to hang out with them, meet some of their family and friends, have a bunch of interesting conversations and learn a lot of different things: from what exactly was going on in that Mexican soap opera to how much you can buy and sell a pig for at the market to the state of politics in the country.

I was really made to feel at home and I had an amazing experience. If the rest of my Couchsurfing experiences are anywhere near as great as this one then I will be very happy.

My first impression of South Africa came about 5 minutes after getting in a taxi on a journey from the Cape Town airport into town. There’s a section along the highway on the left as you drive into the city that’s made up of shacks similar to the temporary shelters made of scrap tin Haitians were living in after the earthquake. The difference is that, in Haiti, those structure are (or are meant to be) temporary. A bit further up the highway were some more respectable houses that were almost identical to the transitional shelters we were building in Indonesia. Again, a temporary measure in Indonesia but seemingly permanent in South Africa.

A few days later I found myself in a car with a couple of friends cruising down the Garden Route between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The scenery was beautiful but really struck me was the amazing houses along the way. So many huge places with fancy cars in the driveway surrounded by electric security fences. Then as we drove on, on the outskirts of each town… more shacks.

I spent couple of days in Durban walking around, one day I was searching for a specific cafe, and the other I was looking for a street full of cafes (I love my cafes!) Each time I strolled for about an hour, passing through some ghetto-looking areas with people passed out on the sidewalks or begging on the street corners. When I found my destinations, I was suddenly met with pristine little communities full of white people in SUVs.

I had a conversation one night with an English girl who was volunteering in a rural community inland. She was spending her time doing different kinds of work including spending a few days teaching in a local school. She said that some of the students were over 20, that they didn’t have desks and chairs, and that they were pretty well behaved because, if they acted up, they were struck with a stick that had thorns in it. The fact that a 22 year old, unqualified volunteer was asked to teach basic classes is also a bit alarming.

Then there’s the conversation I had in South Africa with a local Capetonian (is that the right word?) telling me not to take the minivans because they stink because ‘those people’ don’t have showers. Then there was the airport transfer guy who dropped me off about 10 minutes ago. He was telling me how the Durban waterfront used to be filthy and then went on to say ‘for some people, cleanliness is not an option’ and then immediately after that asked me if many blacks stayed at my hostel, and then went on to say ’some of them are good people.’ Not sure what that was all about but it certainly left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

These are just a few things that have caught my attention since I’ve been here although I have to admit that I haven’t delved too deeply into South Africa or the issues it faces. I’ve either been watching football games, driving around the country, or hiding in my room working on my websites. The conversations I’ve had so far with locals have been short and shallow and I haven’t put much effort into understanding the things I’m seeing and hearing. But this country fascinates me and you can be sure that when I get back in however many months, I will make a big effort into learning about this place. I wonder if most white people over a certain age are racist. I wonder what the younger generation think of their country. I want to know what black people think has changed and what else needs to happen before they’re firmly on equal footing economically. On the surface, the rich/poor divide is appalling and I want to see how bad it really is.

It’s probably naive to think that I will be able to get the sorts of answers I’m looking for but I’ll have a crack at it when I return. I want to Couchsurf with South Africans, do work exchanges on farms and volunteer in rural communities. But, for now, South Africa will have to wait. I’m off to Tanzania today to catch up with my Aussie friends who are in Zanzibar on the end of their overland tour. Then it’s off to Rwanda, another country I find fascinating, to visit an aid worker friend. If I like Kigali I might look into staying for a few months. Otherwise, it’s off to Uganda to do some volunteer work on a farm with a guy who is working with local communities on food security issues.

I’m excited to get up into the heart of Africa but sad to cut my time in South Africa short because there’s so much I want to know about this place. Have you been to South Africa? What did you think?

I have four main tasks to work on: promoting my volunteering ebook, starting a huge new project that will involve building a site from scratch, filing my 2009/10 tax return, and building links back to existing sites. I’ve been in Durban for over two weeks and have only been working hard for about five days, but those five days have been pretty productive.

Ebook Promotion

Working on this basically means nagging people to review my ebook, to accept a guest post from me to put on their own blog, or to hit me back with some other idea which sometimes results in interviews. I have a big list of blogs that I think has readers who might be interested in volunteering. It’s all in a spreadsheet with the blog owner’s name, their contact details (including Twitter and email), their blog’s address, and the status of my request. If I’ve contacted them, I put the date of the email. If something has been agreed like a blog post or a review, I put a little note along with whether I’ve actually sent a review copy or written the blog post yet. Then if I have written something for them, I put the link to the article in the spreadsheet and highlight the line as a way to tell me to stop harassing them.

I’ve got a lot more bloggers to approach but I think the problem is that I’m sticking with people in the same niche of travel and a bit of lifestyle design. I have a few big blogs publishing guest posts or reviews soon which will give sales and exposure a bit of a boost, but I really need to find new markets. I might hit up Lonely Planet’s Thorntree with some posts and look for blogs in the college/university area. Plus everyone is telling me to start an affiliate program to really get things going, so that’s on the agenda.

So far I’ve written a handful of blog posts, sent out a few more review copies and chased up some people who haven’t posted their promised reviews yet. This is an ongoing thing but I’m fed up with it for now so will need to come back to it next time I get a chance to get work done. In 2011? Maybe.

Huge Project/New Site

I have grand plans for a new site but it really will be biting off more than I can chew and it’s not something I’ll be able to do on the road, a little at a time. If I’m able to rent a place and stay in one place for awhile, I will dive into this project and give you all the details.

File my 2009/10 Tax Return

I spent all day yesterday going through my old bank and creditcard statements and Paypal records and adding everything into my terribly neglected tax spreadsheet. I cleaned up the spreadsheet too which will hopefully make doing this year’s taxes a lot easier and inspire me to keep track of more receipts. I’m really bad with keeping receipts and don’t claim half of what I could. I did, however, spend a lot last year on content, advertising, and new domain names which, combined with the fact that I didn’t have a great year for earnings, means that the tax bill is far lower than expected.

Building Links

I have finally and stubborning admitted that building links are the way up Google’s rankings and the easiest way for me to build links is through article marketing on sites like Infobarrel and Ezine Articles. The idea is that you write articles on the same topic as your site and link back to your site from the article. It’s easy and it works. The only problem is that I absolutely hate writing these kinds of articles.

This is where Textbroker comes in. You can post articles that you want written to this site along with what you’re willing to pay per word, how long the article should be, a deadline, and any details the article writer needs to know. Their interface is easy, it’s affordable, and I get articles written really quickly and to a higher quality than I would expect.

Once I get the articles, I post them up to article marketing websites. You can also find people to do the whole process for you through sites like Elance, but I don’t mind the actual posting part, just the writing part. I started working on this today and people are writing me articles as fast as I can post them. I have about 30 articles coming at me about the London 2012 Olympics as well as 15 for my moving to New York site (although these articles are for content building… the article marketing part will come later). I have a bunch of sites to build links for so I will just keep doing what I’m doing whenever I get the time.

My Olympics site is at the top of page two on Google for my target keywords and I’m hoping this little push will kick it to the front page. The trick will be keeping it there but I’m hoping that it will have an advantage once the Olympics roll around because it’s been there for awhile. Who knows, though. I’m really curious to see how this site does and look forward to sharing the results with you in a couple of years!

So that’s what I’ve been up to for the past few days and what I will be up to for the next couple of days before heading up to Tanzania. Did I tell you yet that I’m heading north? I’m off on July 5th to couchsurf for a few days and then on to Zanzibar to catch up with my two Aussie friends who will be at the end of their overland tour. Then on to Rwanda to stay with a friend there for a bit and then… who knows? Maybe stop somewhere and work? Maybe go live with the gorillas? I will keep you posted.