September 11, 2011 | 12:30 pm

Lisa & George

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

Hello Fellow Travelers!

Thank you to everyone for supporting us and for coming to our travel events in Los Angeles! We appreciate all who tweeted about our events, shared an email, found us and even SHOWED up to one of our events! Thank you for creating a community! We loved having all over 65 people show up at Traveler’s Bookcase on Tuesday to hear Rachel Friedman read from The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost.

Our next event, Oct 18 is the National Meet Plan Go event!

There will be programs in 17 cities on the same night. We have five superb speakers and included in your ticket price is an incredible Indian Buffet dinner, all for only $15. Get your tickets now before we sell out! More info about the speakers at this link:  http://meetplango.com/national-event/2011-los-angeles-event/

If you would like to get involved and help on Oct 18 or with a future event, (picking a location, finding a speaker, if you would like to be or find a sponsor for our group), please email me! Feel free to share this email with friends and travelers to help grow our group. We would love for you to “like” our facebook fan page, We Said Go Travel, or join our meet-up group: We Said Go Travel Los Angeles so you won’t miss any news from us as we rarely send an email!

We do post on our blog, www.wesaidgotravel.net, every Sunday. If you want the latest from us, add your email address to the top right corner of our blog and don’t forget to open and validate the email from Feedburner so that you get to see our latest posts, videos and songs every Sunday. You can also find us on twitter and Linked in.

Question: Would you be more likely to come to an event on a Tuesday night? Saturday night? Sunday afternoon? Do you prefer to come to an event with a speaker? Let us know! Would you want to go on a trip with us?

Videos from past events: Our June Travel Happy Hour and Morocco Talk are on our YouTube channel! Feel free to subscribe so you can see our newest videos of Samoa and Tonga. We will be loading the video of Rachel speaking soon!

Photos from our event Tuesday with Rachel Friedman:
Please tag yourself!
http://www.meetup.com/wesaidgotravel/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/We-Said-Go-Travel/133588513359395
our website: http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/

We hope to see you Oct 18! Lisa and George

Get involved: Buy the book End Malaria. The essays are all top notch and your money is going to a great cause….ending Malaria by 2015.

On the Radio: Lisa is featured in the second hour of Together Again about speed dating! Show aired September 8, 2011.

New Series: George will be writing a series of articles about Tonga to be featured at theclymb.com. Make sure you follow our blog as we should have a link for you worth $10 which will post on our blog this month!

In the news: Lisa in Bootsnall article! Written by Adam Seper, all about the benefits of a career break.

September 6, 2011 | 1:35 pm

Serenity in Samoa (Video)

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

Serenity in Samoa

Here is 40 seconds of serenity for you!
The beach at Lalomanu, Samoa near Taufua Beach Fales

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September 1, 2011 | 3:56 pm

Using Travel and the Seasons to Gain Perspective

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

The seasons go round and round sometimes without notice, but I like to pay attention.

The Labor Day holiday reminds us that summer has almost ended and the school year will soon begin. This year my contemplation of beginnings and endings includes my Aunt Iris’s passing and Christopher Rowe’s (my friend Michelle’s son) untimely death at 4 years old.

Thinking of these transitions, I wonder what will I do for myself this year as both a family and community member, tasks that may give meaning to these seemingly unreasonable events.

In addition to Labor Day and school starts, September also brings with it Rosh Hashanah, literally the “Head of the Year.” Between the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur are the ten days of awe which feel like a frozen moment in time, an opportunity, or maybe even a commandment to observe my direction in life. I often use these days to reflect on what I did and did not accomplish in the past year. Did I take advantage of all the opportunities that presented themselves in the past 365 days? Did I use my talents to create tikkun olam and help to repair the world or did I stand idly by as the world moved on around me.

Is there room for me in the Book of Life? September is a month of new beginnings and old questions for me.

And so Rachel Friedman’s The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost is a Jewish journey, a personal narrative of facing fears, transforming internal ideas and metamorphosing into an adulthood grounded in the art of wanderlust. Getting Lost is part travelogue and part personal transformation. This memoir combines the author’s personal journey and travel discoveries woven into her stories, along with her reflections about success, failure, life and the meaning of the aforementioned.

Most people do not ever realize, before traveling that is, that looking at a map of a foreign country in a language you don’t understand will lead you eventually back to yourself. As Ms. Friedman says in her book, “After all these travels, I find I no longer have that fear. Life feels full of opportunity and possibility—and maybe even adventure.”

When I travel, I too find that the journeys to the far reaches of the world lead me back to myself – but a new, more insightful self.

Find out if you too can take this road on September 6, 2011…Gather with travel veterans and Travel dreamers to Rachel Friedman read from her book. Plan to share your travel stories and travel dreams.

Meet Lisa Niver Rajna and author Rachel Friedman on Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 7:00pm at Traveler’s Bookcase 8375 West Third Street in Los Angeles.

For more information: www.wesaidgotravel.com
This article first appeared in Westside Today.

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August 28, 2011 | 9:10 am

Turbulent Tonga

Posted George Rajna

After three glorious weeks on the beautiful islands of Samoa, we boarded the two hour Air Pacific flight from Apia to Nadi in Fiji, the most convenient access point for Tonga. We noticed there that the onward flight from Nadi to Nukalofa, Tongatapu was likely delayed and could not seem to get any accurate information from anyone.  No big surprise, just another typical traveling experience.

Suddenly, we heard an announcement stating, “Air Pacific Flight FJ211 to Tonga will be boarding shortly.”  I turned to Lisa and said, “I guess we can wonder around the shops for a while.”  Literally as these words left my mouth a second announcement trumpeted, “Passengers on flight FJ211 to Tonga, please proceed to the departure gate.”  I gazed somewhat dumbfounded toward my wife who stated, “They have to announce that they will be boarding the plane before they can board it.”  Ah, that explained the heads-up advisory seconds before the actual boarding announcement.

The flight to the island of Tongatapu was scheduled to last an hour and thirty minutes.  A few massive Samoan passengers among us were also boarding and I quietly prayed that none of these giant people, who should really have two seats each, would be placed next to us.  Thankfully, a quite delicate great grandmother from Oregon but who had been living in Taveuni, Fiji sat next to me.  She was loquacious and amiable and informed us, “I have to make this same trip every four months because I cannot get residency in Fiji.  I think it is because I am too old.  I purchased a plot on Taveuni but now I’ll have to sell it and move back to Oregon.”  I listened to her story and thought that she was quite gutsy for a lady of her age. Later I tackled a Suduko puzzle and read some of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”. 

It was then that the pilot announced that we would be arriving shortly in Nukualofa and that the flight attendants should prepare the passengers for landing.  While Lisa dozed, catching flies with her mouth agape, I watched the plane descend in darkness toward the well-lit airstrip. The next thing I knew, we were ascending back into the clouds and night.  The pilot spoke over the intercom, “The conditions are such that we were unable to land the plane.  So, we are going to swing around and try again from another angle.” 

I sat in my seat and tightened the belt buckle.  I waited and hoped that our second attempt would be successful.  We again approached the runway and it seemed that we almost touched down on the tarmac and suddenly, vroom!, we zoomed up at a steep angle.  I tightened my belt even more and looked at Lisa, who was still asleep.  I thought, “No point in waking her up for this.”  After the pilot abandoned the third attempt I began to question if he had the confidence and ability to land the airplane.  He had not spoken to the passengers since the first failed attempt.  I was concerned and slightly frightened.  Finally, on the fourth attempt we landed, skidding, and slowed.  The passengers rightfully applauded the pilot and the Tongans ended their prayers.

Our next challenge was getting through Immigration.  We stood near the end of the line because we boarded an airport shuttle thinking that the baggage claim area was far. But the vehicle came to pick us up only due to the heavy rain, the same reason that the aircraft had such difficultly landing.  I later acquired this information from a Tongan lady at the airport candy shop. This line was not terribly long but with Chinese and Tongans cutting into it we were at a standstill for a good 45 minutes.  The Chinese seemed to proceed via both the foreign and Tongan lines, and even utilized the “disabled and elderly” queue, although the majority of them appeared to be in their thirties and were traveling with children. 

Finally, after an hour, we cleared Immigration.  Our bags were sitting there already and our hostel pickup service was ready to head into town.  It was already well after 8:00pm due to the delays and night had fallen.  We were greeted by Peter, who held a Toni’s Guesthouse sign and sported a massive goiter on his neck.  We entered the van with about a half dozen travelers, all who were to stay at Toni’s Guesthouse.  After roughly ten minutes, Peter stated, “Everyone will get out here and Toni will take you the rest of the way.  I am going back to the airport to get more people”.  We looked at each other somewhat shocked;  it was still raining.  But all the tourists followed his instructions. Toni arrived in another van within a minute so we did not get terribly wet.

Toni was quite a character with his strong Liverpool accent.  He advised, “Tomorrow is Sunday and everything will be closed.  So if you want, we can stop at a shop and pick up food for tomorrow.”  We all agreed that it was a good idea even though I knew the Chinese restaurants would still be open.  At the shop we purchased eggs, peanut butter, crackers, canned pineapple, bottled water, coke, cup-o-noodles, and milk for our cereal.  We re-boarded the van and a lady with a draconian accent ordered Lisa, “You will close the window.”  Lisa either did not hear her or chose to ignore the instruction. Dracula repeated loudly, “You will close the window!”  Lisa said, “No.  I need the fresh air.”  The lady growled to herself and muttered, “She won’t close the window” under her breath.  Then she began sniffling, an indication that she was falling ill. 

We subsequently discovered that this lady, a Ukrainian, verbally and almost physically attacked another girl the following morning whom she mistook for Lisa.  The victim, Jackie, was at first stunned by these unwarranted attacks and then was able to ameliorate the situation when she realized that the whole affair was a misunderstanding. 

At any rate, after Toni turned off the main road, swerving to avoid a cluster of potholes, he asked who was staying in the green house.  We were not sure what he meant but Lisa said, “We booked online but I’m not sure what color house we are staying in.”  Toni said, “Well, what’s your name?”  “Rajna?”  “No.”  “Niver?”  “No.”  “Lisa?” “Yes, Lisa, you will be in the green house.  A couple, right?”  Right.

We dropped off a Finish couple and the other solo travelers at the blue house.  We thought that we were heading to the upscale green house.  Then Toni stated as if factually, “So there are only two of you left, right?”  I did not say anything even though the Dracula lady was still with us.  He asked again, “So there are only two, right?  I can’t see back there since I’m driving.”  A Tongan girl who accompanied Toni finally said, “There are three.”  “Three!,” he shouted.  “How can there be three?  Who else is there?  Hello?  Where are you staying?”  Unfortunately for Toni, Dracula did not understand him. Toni briefly stopped the car, exasperated.  He turned to see who was left.  When he noticed the Dracula lady he yelled, “For Christ’s sake!  She’s already staying with us.  We’ll drop her off with her bags, that’s where she needs to be!”

We debarked at the green house.  The Tongan girl in the van showed us to our room.  We had requested a room with a private bathroom; the ugly brick room that we were shown had the toilet and shower outside the room and open toward the courtyard, not at all an en suite arrangement.  I must have looked disappointed because the Tongan girl said, “This room is not very nice.”  I said, “No, it’s not very nice.”  She followed with, “The yellow house is much nicer.  I think that it would be better for you two.”  I asked, “Is it available?”  She said, “It is available but it costs 40TOP and the green house is 30TOP (about $5 US more).  I requested to see the room in the yellow house.  It was much nicer, an actual home.  We took the larger room that shared the bathroom since no one else was there and being that the country shuts down on Sundays, we knew that no one would be there until Monday at the earliest.

We requested a towel, key, and matches that were not wet so we could heat water in the morning. The helpful Tongan girl brought us everything we asked for and mentioned that Toni was going to have an island tour that would depart at 10:00am.  Since everything was closed on Sunday, we deemed it a good idea and agreed to head out on the tour even though I generally detest tours.  After she left us, I poured us two rum and cokes with the duty free alcohol that I had purchased in Fiji and we toasted to our “safe” arrival and laughed that after three weeks of sleeping in beach fales (Samoan beach huts) that we had a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house to ourselves, with photos of two children placed above the television entertainment center. 

I thought, if this arrival was any indication of our upcoming Tonga experience, we were in store for quite a ride.

Author’s Note:
George and I hope that everyone is safe after Hurricane Irene. Sending our best to family and friends on the East Coast who weathered the storm.

For those in Los Angeles, hope to see you Sept 6 for a travel book reading by Rachel Friedman. Save the date, Oct 18, for our LA event which is part of the National Event for Meet Plan Go happening in 17 cities across the USA on the same night!  We started to upload our videos from this summer, more to come!! Check out our channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/WeSaidGoTravel

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August 26, 2011 | 5:48 pm

A Career Break Fairytale

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

Taking a Chance and Saying “Yes!”

When asked in the moonlight on a gorgeous beach in Fiji, “Will you go with me on my life dream and travel in South East Asia for a year?” I, of course, said “YES!” I mean after kissing all those frogs to look for my prince, what American-born girl raised on Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White does not know the answer to that question!

George found me online after I had survived numerous first dates, including the five Steves, a lawsuit involving It’s Just Lunch and nearly going on the TV show Judge Judy. I had almost given up on online love but listened to a friend and switched to a new site to look for Mr. Right. Amazingly my first date with George lasted over five hours and within six months we were watching sunsets in Vanuatu and Fiji together.

Most of the career break stories I hear are about the person who cannot wait to go. My story is the opposite. I wanted to want to go, but I was so afraid. Off the beach and back home, all I had were the WHAT Ifs? What if we don’t get along? What if there is nowhere to stay? What if we get sick? I had lived on a cruise ship for nearly seven years, so I knew I could leave and come back, but to travel with George without a set plan; this was a challenge I was not sure I could handle.

Together George and I figured it all out. We rented our condo, found a home for the cat, and brushed up our resumes. I did not have a leave of absence like George but interviewing for a teaching job by Skype from Don Det, Laos before the generator stopped working was a great story. I wish the Career Break Basic Training class existed before we embarked on our trip. Such a course would have helped me so much especially about all my fears and concerns.

I leaned on George for support and we worked through all the issues, problems and concerns as a team. We found or created options that worked for our situation and managed to laugh through most of our self-created dramas.

Being away together we learned so much about each other and we learned to travel using each other’s styles. Six months into our travels, while underwater in Koh Lipe, Thailand, we got engaged. Now that was a surprise! This time I knew to say yes and I knew it would work out!

This article was first posted at Meet Plan Go! as part of the KICK ASS HOST SERIES! Meet Plan Go! National called our story “A Career Break Fairytale!”

We hope to see you SEPT 6 in Los Angeles for our TRAVEL BOOK READING with Rachel Friedman, author of - The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure. Click here for more info.

Author’s Note:
We are very recently back from Samoa and Tonga, an amazing summer of sunsets in the South Pacific. Two videos are posted of Schoolchildren of Manono Island and Flying in Tonga!

George and I will return to our regular posting schedule now that we have running water, electricity and internet! We look forward to hearing about all your adventures and travel dreams. Send us your news about where you want to go next.

Save the date OCT 18 for our Los Angeles event as part of the Meet Plan Go National event happening in 17 cities across the USA! See you Sept 6! Lisa and George

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August 19, 2011 | 12:52 pm

Travel Book Reading, The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

Calling all travelers: Rookies, Veterans and Dreamers

Do you long to escape your cubicle and strike out to discover the world on your own terms? If so, it’s time to take action. Looking for inspiration and ‘how-to’ advice regarding career break planning and travel? At Meet, Plan, Go! we are leading the career break movement in North America; encouraging and teaching others how to travel the world and have it be beneficial to your career. We envision a world where the term ‘career break’ is a part of your overall career strategy.

Gather with us at Traveler’s Bookcase to share stories, toast to future travel plans and inspire others to take to the road especially the one less traveled.

Lisa and George Rajna of We Said Go Travel and hosts of Meet Plan Go! Los Angeles will talk about their travels and how to make it happen!

Travel author, Rachel Friedman - The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost: A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure- is flying in from New York City for the FIRST West Coast reading of her book! Meet her and hear about her journeys from the road past and plans for the future.

Rachel Friedman’s life was as neat, orderly and structured as any high-achieving, parent-pleasing college student when she suddenly decided to abandon the American mantra of “go to school, get good grades, get a job.” A perennial good girl who unexpectedly finds that her carefully calibrated life plans no longer inspire her, she makes a series of life- changing decisions – first dropping out of music school and then off the beaten path altogether – and finds a world of adventure across Ireland, Australia and South America.

We look forward to hearing your travel stories and travel dreams. Come meet other travelers and wanderers to share stories from the road and go travel!

When: Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 7pm
Where: Traveler’s Bookcase 8375 West Third Street, LA, CA 90048
More information or to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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June 26, 2011 | 11:57 am

Meeting the Locals: Connecting on the Road and at Home (video)

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

One of the most unexpected surprises of budget travel has been the connection with people. One of my favorite parts of our trips happens not only when we meet locals along the way, but also other travelers back home afterward.

Traveling the “five-star” way (having lived on board a cruise ship for seven years) I had certainly met many travelers. For nearly all of my six-month contracts, I quickly made friends with staff from different countries and enjoyed the dorm-like aspects of shipboard life. I occasionally made friends with passengers but that was somewhat challenging and frowned upon by our employer.

When I left the Seven Seas, I thought my travel days were behind me but after meeting George traveling began again, in full swing but a different style of budget - no longer was I Julie MaCoy Assistant Cruise Director but rather XX-anonymous of the unplanned budget scene.

Video: Our Guide: Keke

Recently in Taiwan, we met amazing people who really went out of their way to help us. We also met groups of students on field trips (video) in Tainan and Keke in Bundai, the port city for Penghou Islands, also known as the Hawaii of Taiwan.

Read more: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/travel/article/meeting-the-locals-connecting-on-the/#ixzz1QPF8C5LM

Author’s Note: We are leaving for six weeks in Samoa and Tonga and will not be online for most of the summer! Check our website for more details: http://www.wesaidgotravel.com/.  We will bring you stories and photos of the South Pacific this Fall. Lisa and George

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June 19, 2011 | 5:05 pm

Tainan, Taiwan: Can I help you? (video)

Posted by Lisa Niver Rajna

“Can I help you?” is a great thing to hear while traveling. At home, I rarely hear anyone offer to help. Over the last two years on my two-mile walk home to and from school, I have called 911 several times after a traffic accident. I am trained as a first responder from working on cruise ships, at camps and at schools. It would not occur to me not to call but each time a by-stander or someone in the accident is so thankful that I called and helped at the scene. It shocks me that someone would not call or step up but most people don’t.

I do notice while we are in a foreign country how much I appreciate someone offering his or her assistance. In Taiwan, any time we looked lost even for a moment a kind person offered to help us. From the moment we exited the Metro in Taipei, a woman appeared and walked us to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. She turned out to have family in Orange County only an hour from our home.

While walking in Tainan when we could not find Chikan Towers (which was literally one more block to our left, but I felt very lost and frustrated), a man in the noodle shop said in English, “Can I help you?”; I was so happy; I felt like someone threw me a life ring and I was no longer drowning and alone. I had been navigating our day in Tainan and just could not figure out where the next place was although I knew we were so close.

The nice noodle man helped us order noodle soup with no meat and even offered us a nearly 50 percent discount on our meal since there was no shrimp. Taiwan has been an amazing destination for the great sites and clean streets but also for the friendly people who have wanted to speak English with us and just get to know us, not to sell us anything.

Video: Tasty Tainan

Read more: http://technorati.com/lifestyle/travel/article/tainan-taiwan-can-i-help-you/#ixzz1PlYtCAxw

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