Introduction to 'un dia gratis' - A Day in Madrid.

The day was especially arranged by Brittany with total luck granted. She had taken her start-up information from Free Madrid Events listed on the web.

We are traveling as we want to. Though we have occasionally wished we had a bigger 'restaurant budget' or a more ethical, less consumption oriented clothes budget; we realize more often that when we set high expectations we are disappointed; and, we prefer surprises.

We do not want to be contributors to mass consumerism and materialism. That has been a point about how we have traveled this year.

We do not contend that our ability to live off a fixed sum for a long time is the norm. How is what we do different? We aim to use our travel as personal growth to share/blog so that others can benefit from our learning curve. How we are different we hope is by circling the world this year, not getting bored nor living 'on the cheap' and producing products from our travel.

We think and talk and write a lot about explaining to people what we do. At a dinner recently at L'Mansion, Morocco I was told that our budget for a year could not have lasted one couple a month abroad. They get tired, then go home to work. This is normal. We accept our differences.

We live abroad exactly as we hope to, as we expect to, as we would do at home. That is the magic. As our friend a world traveler told us, "You have Time or Money - choose one, you cannot have both."

So I am writing a blog titled 'un dia gratis - one free day' to explain to people who are interested in us, or our story, or in travel, how one day in Madrid, Spain can exemplify our travel ethic, our personalized economy, and a philosophy of urban and social engagement. Please continue to read our blogs as we hope to have many travel hints, experiences, and recommendations to share.

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Renumerances

written by Nathan

 How would you feel if you knew that your friend, your neighbor, or your employee, in addition to paying for food, monthly rent, and other bills, also managed to send 15-50% of all his monthly wages to the family he left in Africa, Asia, or Latin America? Imagine if this friend was making minimum wage, or perhaps even less with an under-the-table income. Most likely, your friend sends money overseas using a company like Moneygram or Western Union, businesses that charge a minimum of 10-15% charge per transfer. We think of these companies as reliable stewards of international and national money transfers, but the reality tells a very different story.

Do you own stocks in companies like Western Union or Moneygram? If you were a stockholder and if you knew of alternative renumerance programs or agencies that charged, say, only 4-6%, would that business investment appeal to you? What if these alternative programs were not in your stock’s interests? Would you be inclined to invest more in these types of programs and companies even if you knew the return would not initially be as high? If the stockholders who own these companies sought changes, what sorts of programs could such agents develop that would assist the communities from which their profits are hinged?

To me, it doesn’t seem especially justifiable that the rates of these companies are much higher when funds are sent to communities with the least options for receiving the renumerances. What about if you knew of agencies that used part of their profits to provide economic and community financial literacy tools to help make the investments have more efficacy?

All across the world, we see people spending their weekends in line at Western Union, either sending or receiving funds from or to their loved ones abroad. All over the ‘3rd World’ the most common financial institutions we have seen are built around renumerations being sent home from immigrants who have ‘made it‘ abroad. This money supports entire villages, and builds homes for a future return. This money pays for critical care for elderly parents and relatives, and it pays for education for children who will grow up hardly knowing their distant fathers.

The truth is that the immigrants we know who have ’made it’ to the western world struggle with 2-3 jobs, work many more hours than their neighbors, often live together with multiple families in one small house, filling beds in shifts. Every time we are in immigrant communities in the west, the mirror operations of the same financial institutions which are so prolific here seem to be on every corner. Take a look for yourself. The next time you are on Main Street of the immigrant working class community of your town or neighborhood try and do a head count of the number of Western Union or Moneygram operations.

The world has a new economic connectedness of which we should all strive to have some awareness. The links of money and markets affect societies, environments, governments, and families. These connections are tied to our own lives in ways that we may not be aware of; but which demand our attention in how our own money and resources are connected, managed, and operated.

Wages earned by the gas station attendant on the corner, and the wages paid to our hotel assistants, our bakers, our dentists, and our children’s care providers are going to families back home, are building their dream homes, and are paying for education. You would probably be surprised to find out how many people you are connected to send money overseas. If we support positive uses of money and resources we may also naturally build equity in the world. If you knew there were better renumerance options for your friend, would you tell him about the other options?

We live in a world of wealth. In the economic sense, our ’first world’ or western money rules the world. Its trade has impacts. Our purchases make both richness and poverty. Yet, economic equity and justice are available in models that promote positive capital creation and fair trade. We can use our market capacities to build positive relations and healthier communities abroad that bring equity and satisfaction into the world.

There are many ways to invest in trusts, give to high functioning and equitable foundation, or build wealth from companies who arrest status quo exploitation economics. Investigate and share these with us or your fiends. If you are aware of services linking investment to positive change please leave us a comment - we will link to companies with this article (like those providing alternative renumerance options for immigrants to get their earnings to their families back home besides Moneygram or Western Union).

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Encountering Poverty while Traveling or as a Tourist

Poverty is just what you imagine if you see Ethiopia from the most common western perspective or media. Poverty is pervasive here. Throughout our travels, we refuse to give money to children, adults, or anyone else who approaches us begging for monetary gifts. But we do try to carry around food as gifts. What can we do to have a real impact?

The easiest gift you are brought up with is money: it’s simple, it’s easy, and really, what’s a birr to us (less than 10 cents). And when you can obtain gratitude and a smile for only 10 cents, why not? Because money comes with responsibility, and by distributing cash, one contributes to the cycle of bad tourism. Is it responsible to hand out money to children? As soon as you do, their behavior is reinforced, and their actions continue. They come to expect that every foreigner they meet will give them money. They spend their time on the streets asking for money, rather than going to school, spending time with their families, or learning sustainable and valuable skills that might someday allow them to be successful and independent people. This just doesn’t seem fair; it doesn‘t seem that money is much of a gift after all. Giving money is not really giving at all, it’s taking. While traveling in impoverished lands, it’s hard to determine how individuals can help. From our experience, cash is seldom a help. When you donate cash, you must be responsible; you must do research and determine that your donation is going to an organization that is truly helping to alleviate poverty not reinforce it.

While in Ethiopia, I have been amazed at the effects of foreign tourism. Children in Ethiopia know two words: “You,” and “Money.” I have watched beautiful children skipping down the street with their friends, all smiles and laughter. The moment they see us, a performance begins. Happy faces disappear and are replaced by sadness and desperation and pleas for money. It’s an act, and it must work on many foreigners, otherwise they wouldn’t try. We shake hands with them and talk with them and tell them that our friendship is free. But no money.

People like to help. Often times they help because of their innate kindness; sometimes they help because other people are watching. Sometimes their help has not a shred of altruism and exists only for personal gain. But how do we make our donations last? Donating resources is a huge responsibility, not to be taken lightly, for without thought, cash donation can be detrimental. It may cause waste and new suffering. It can perpetuate cycles of corrupt bureaucracies that do not truly provide the assistance being declared.

There is good help, and there is bad help. There is help that is lasting and sustainable, and there is help that is simply a quick-fix. There is help that has wellbeing of beneficiaries as the foremost tenet, there is help that seems to lose the good intentions along the way.

We have created a note which we hand out notes for begging or speak English. “Do not become dependent on foreign toursitm ($).” it reads, “work hard fro yourself. Build Confidence and freedom. We will not give money to children who beg in the street. But we give you our friendship and friendship is precious. Free Africa. Ras.” Children are surprised by our notes. They take them as they are, as gifts. Many times they respond quickly having gotten some jist. Some ask, “What is this?” “It is a note to help you practice your English And it has messages which we use to make us stronger. You are welcome to keep it or give it back.” I instruct them. They have all kept it affectionately.

But it is a challenge to find ways of helping that are positive, especially as an individual. How do you help people? Perhaps you have experiences that can help us and others to give in positive ways? 

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