Get the Most Bang For Your Buck

Budgeting tips can cut students’ travel costs

Chase Gunnell

The Daily Evergreen

Published: 04/30/2009

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BARCELONA, Spain – This is my last “College Traveler” column. As I write this, my finals are all but done, my belongings scattered around my room in the midst of packing, and my backpack is set aside for a weekend in Italy. I’ll be spending two days in Rome, then taking the train to Florence to visit friends from WSU and flying out of Pisa after a look at the Leaning Tower. After a layover in Barcelona and a grueling nine-hour flight, I’ll be back in the U.S. for the first time in more than four months.

Studying abroad has been an unparalleled cultural experience, an eye-opening chance to see the world and live in a foreign country, immersed in new cultures, cuisines and people. It’s an experience I would highly recommend to any student. Unfortunately, doing so is not cheap and neither is traveling. But getting around the globe on a college budget is possible, and I hope this last column can help students have the opportunity I am so grateful to have.

The first step in traveling cheaply is getting there. Budget airlines such as Ryanair (http://www.ryanair.com) are typically a student’s best bet. While the in-flight amenities are minimal, so are the prices. Web sites such as Skyscanner (http://www.skyscanner.net/) offer easy online comparison of prices. If possible, stick to bringing only carry-on luggage. Not only is backpacking incontestably cooler than dragging around rolling luggage, but most discount airlines charge for every piece of checked baggage and are notorious for losing it.

Hostels generally provide the best option for lodging in a foreign country. Prices are significantly lower than hotels, and common rooms are a great chance to meet people from around the globe. Web sites such as Lonelyplanet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com/) and Hostelworld (http://www.hostelworld.com) offer online booking, ratings, reviews and information, so you know you’re getting the best price and a quality place to stay. An extra tip: Pack a small, super-absorbent camp or dish towel as most hostels charge extra for towels. If all else fails and you find yourself without a bed, avoid sleeping in cities at night. It’s better to stay up all night, then find a nice park bench or beach to nap on when the sun comes up.

Eating while traveling can be the priciest aspect of any trip. Experiencing the local cuisine, from paella in Spain to pasta in Italy, is part of the immersion, but eating out at restaurants adds up quickly. Bread, cheese and meat from supermarkets can provide enough food for only a few dollars (or Euros) a day. And never be too good for fast food, the McDonald’s Euro Menu was a blessing everywhere I went. Keep your eyes open for hostels that provide free breakfast as well and be merciless in making the most of it.

Whenever available, take public transportation such as metros and buses, as taxis are often absurdly expensive. Or better yet, walk. There’s no better way to see a new city than on foot.

Do your research on ATMs before you leave, foreign banks can charge steep transaction fees. For Bank of America in Europe, Barclay’s and Deutsche Bank offer fee-free withdrawals and have branches in most major cities.

Drinking and going out is probably high on the list of priorities for young travelers, and there are ways to do so without emptying your wallet. Be sure to prefunk heavily, prices at bars and pubs are often high, and alcohol at markets is a fraction of their price. Also, look for special deals posted in hostels. Events like Pub Crawls and Happy Hours can offer unbeatable drink specials.

It’s a wide world out there, with boundless possibilities for the traveler with an open mind and adventurous spirit. By being financially creative, seeing the world is more than possible on a college student’s budget.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/28719

America could learn from Dutch drug policy

Decriminalizing marijuana may work better than the War on Drugs

Chase Gunnell

The Daily Evergreen

Published: 04/23/2009

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AMSTERDAM ­– This isn’t a column filled with cliches about Amsterdam’s infamous drug culture, nor is it an account of the greatness of legally buying marijuana. Not wanting to add any skeletons to the closet of a future political career, I’ll leave my personal experiences on the sidelines for this one.

But during my visit to Amsterdam, I hoped to use this column as an inquiry into how the relaxed Dutch laws have provided a progressive solution to the problem of drug use and trafficking. Amid America’s vastly ineffective War on Drugs, the discussion of legalizing and taxing marijuana for revenue in several states and Mexico’s bloody drug battles spilling across our border, it’s a topic the U.S. can no longer afford to ignore.

First, a simple overview of Amsterdam’s soft drug laws: For customers who are at least 18, possession of less than 25 grams of marijuana or hashish is decriminalized, but these products can only be consumed in specially licensed “coffee shops.” Unlicensed sale or trafficking of cannabis products is prohibited. Additionally, coffee shops may only keep a limited supply on hand at any time and cannot openly advertise their drugs. Hard drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and recently, hallucinogenic mushrooms, remain illegal and heavily punished.

Amsterdam’s marijuana laws are by no means straightforward, but rooted in the ideas that adults can decide for themselves the choices of their own health, and that simple prohibition is not an answer to society’s woes. Instead, they have provided tangible results. And positive results are something America’s drug policy is sorely lacking.

Walk into The Bulldog, Amsterdam’s first marijuana café, and you will see people lighting up everywhere, at tables with friends, at the bar with a newspaper and coffee. But you won’t see marijuana advertised. The drug menu is on the counter behind a black screen, only to be revealed at the push of a button by those in the know.

One of the highest priorities of the country’s policy on soft drugs is to limit their visibility and nuisance to the general population. By shepherding cannabis consumers into designated cafes and outlawing advertising, those who choose to get high can be left to do so without disturbing those who’d prefer to refrain.

The concept of checking IDs seems unknown in Europe. I’ve seen girls who look to be 16 drinking in bars all over the continent. But upon entering any of Amsterdam’s smoking parlors, be sure to have ID ready as patrons are regularly carded. This practice of working to prevent minors from smoking goes hand-in-hand with another success in Dutch drug policy – significantly lower percentages of users.

A 1999 study by the University of Amsterdam found that only 15.6 percent of Dutch people age 12 and up had tried marijuana, compared to 32.9 percent of Americans. At first glance, it wouldn’t seem that decriminalizing a drug would lead to a decline in use, but in regulating marijuana, taxing and making it harder for minors to reach, that’s exactly what the Dutch have successfully done.

Whether you’ve chosen to steer clear of drugs, or you spent Monday’s 4/20 as high as a kite, it’s widely apparent that America’s drug war is not working. Like alcohol before it, prohibition is an utter failure.

It’s time to rethink our country’s marijuana policies. The demand for the drug needs to be taken away from violent cartels and the supply out of the hands of children. And those responsible adults who choose to indulge should have regulated and taxed means to do so, just like alcohol or tobacco. Immediate and outright legalization may not be the answer, but America’s marijuana laws could take some serious advice from the Dutch.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/28633

Lost in time in Bruges

From the Belfry and buildings to breakfast and beer, this diverse city deserves a visit

Chase Gunnell

The Daily Evergreen

Published: 04/16/2009

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BRUGES, Belgium – The view from the top of the Belfry was astounding. Buildings like gingerbread houses, perfectly preserved from the days of knights and damsels in distress. Medieval churches, monasteries, castles and convents. Shimmering canals dotted with boats and speckled with white swans. Far in the distance, the blue horizon of the North Sea.

Bruges: the Venice of the north. One of the most well-preserved medieval cities in all of Europe, home to windmills, canals, breweries, a Michelangelo statue and an alleged vial of Jesus Christ’s blood. The most picturesque place I have ever been.

Greeted by drenching rains upon my arrival the previous evening by train from Brussels, the green gardens and lush willows of Bruges would have made any Pacific Northwest evergreen envious.

Located in the Flemish region of northern Belgium, Bruges is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, and a major UNESCO World Heritage site. A quick bus ride from the train station to the city center, Market Square, and it’s not hard to see why.

Dominated by the 272-foot-tall Belfry – built and rebuilt three times between 1240 and 1822 – and the equally impressive (and ancient) Town Hall, the square is awash in camera-toting sightseers at all hours of the day. Nowhere have I felt less like a vagabond backpacker and more like a run-of-the-mill tourist, but for once I was content to join their ranks. Luckily, only a few steps down any cobblestone side street and you could return to Bruges’ dreamy, forgotten-in-time aura.

My first full day in the city began with breakfast in our hostel: Charlie Rocket’s. My favorite travel residence to date due to its classic rock soundtrack, Americana wall ornaments and Belgian supermodel hostess, Charlie Rocket’s was a steal at $20 a night.

Distance in Bruges is not measured in miles or metro stops, but in minutes walking. At most 20 minutes to anywhere in the small city, it’s a quaint convenience worth taking advantage of.

Leaving the breakfast table, my friends and I strolled through town, visiting the Half Moon Brewery for a tour and tasting, crossing daffodil gardens to one of the oldest convents in Europe, snacking on Belgian waffles and viewing Michelangelo’s “Madonna with Child” under the enormous brick spire of the Church of Our Lady. Due to a mass in progress, we were turned away at the Basilica of the Holy Blood and unable to glimpse the fabled vial of Christ’s blood, looted in Jerusalem and brought back to Bruges during the Crusades.

After 366 narrow, creaking, wooden stairs that seemed not to have been repaired in centuries, I was drinking in the panoramic views of this fairy-tale city and the surrounding Belgian countryside from the top of the Belfry.

Maybe I’m cursed by my open mind into loving every new place I go – every fresh city and passport stamp – but nowhere has struck me with the same simplistic charm as Bruges. Nowhere else has made me feel as relaxed and at ease, while still fully expecting a band of knights in shining armor to come galloping around the bend.

Someday in life, get to Bruges. Bring your drinking buddies and sample the world’s finest beer. Bring your wife and kids to float down willow-lined canals among an armada of swans. Bring your Bible and pray before Michelangelo’s Madonna and Christ’s blood (if you’re into that kind of thing, I’m more of a religious neutral observer). Leave your fear of heights and make the trek up the Belfry. You may arrive at the top gasping for breath, but it will be worth every step.

Just don’t climb the windmills. The Bruges police don’t take that very well.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/28533#

The President in Prague

Obama speaks on nuclear proliferation and global unity

Chase Gunnell

The Daily Evergreen

Published: 04/09/2009

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PRAGUE, Czech Republic — President Barack Obama took the stage amid cheers from the crowd. Flanked by Czech President Vaclav Klaus and first lady Michelle, Obama was in Prague to meet with EU representatives and speak on nuclear proliferation.

After a summit on the global financial crisis with G-20 nations in London and a celebration of NATO’s anniversary in Germany, the President arrived in the beautiful Czech capital. The timing for his first foreign tour while in office couldn’t have been more perfect. By chance, Obama’s visit coincided with my and my friends’ Spring Break trip through Prague, Brussels and Amsterdam.

After an overnight layover in Italy and a day spent bar-hopping through the pubs, beer gardens and expatriate hangouts of Prague, we wearily left our rented Soviet-era dorm room Sunday and made our way to Prague Castle, the site of the morning’s speech.

A number of demonstrators and security personnel were in attendance. Police lined every street corner, and Secret Service agents could be seen peeking over rooftops. We passed signs and banners calling for everything from action regarding global warming to marijuana legalization. Nearby, a rally was underway protesting the Bush administration’s planned missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. But for the most part, the citizens of Prague seemed ecstatic about the U.S. president’s visit, and after seeing Obama’s charisma in person, it was not hard to see why.

“This generation – our generation – cannot stand still,” Obama said to the enthusiastic crowd. Amid an increasingly interconnected world, the president called for increased unity between the U.S. and the EU, a goal that after living in Europe for months now, I can fully appreciate.

Getting to the heart of his speech, Obama turned to the topic of nuclear proliferation. The U.S.’s planned nuclear defense shield and arms reduction are hot topics in Prague, where Czech citizens are strongly reluctant to serve as middlemen in any missile exchange between the U.S., Russia or Iran.

Boldly breaking new ground, Obama vowed that his administration, working with President Medvedev of Russia, would drastically reduce nuclear arsenals over the next four years.

“Just as we stood for freedom in the 20th century, we must stand together for the right of people everywhere to live free from fear in the 21st,” Obama said.

And with North Korea’s recent missile launch and renewed atomic activity in Iran, his call for action takes on grave importance. Particularly in Prague, a city that spent decades under the heavy hand of the USSR in a prime location in central Europe, that would have been on the front lines of any exchange between NATO allies and the Soviets.

With fears of financial meltdown gripping the globe, reducing nuclear stockpiles may not be the foremost topic on most American’s minds. But Obama’s call for the world to stand together in eliminating these weapons, to seek dialogue and clarity between former adversaries so that never again will cities from Prague to New York lie in fear of nuclear destruction, is concrete progress toward a better world.

A world free of nuclear weapons is a safer world for all, and a dream everyone can share in. But the U.S. cannot expect nations such as Russia, Iran or North Korea to halt weapons production while we cling to our own prodigious nuclear stockpiles. We must set the standard.

Obama ended his speech with the inspiring line, “human destiny will be what we make of it,” and its implications rang clear. The promise the president made Sunday in Prague will be a difficult one to fulfill as nuclear weapons are deeply ingrained in our ever-militaristic world. But the speech gave me hope that through diligent effort and increased conversation, the United States can act decisively by building a powerful precedent toward a world where no city’s fate hinges upon a nuclear trigger.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/28391

The Luck of the Irish

Backpacking alone gives opportunity to meet interesting people

Chase Gunnell

The Daily Evergreen

Published: 04/02/2009

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DUBLIN, Ireland – There’s nothing like the people you meet while traveling. It could be that couple in the seats next to you on the flight or the girl across from you on the train. It could be hostel roommates or random strangers in pubs. It could even be the guy with a WSU hat on a train in Galway, Ireland.

But whatever chance encounter leads to spontaneous friendships, meeting interesting people from around the globe is one of the most valuable aspects of traveling on a budget. And something that seems to happen all the more when traveling by yourself.

To get the most out of my thin wallet, I’ve stayed in hostels on all my excursions in Europe. Though some may shirk at the idea of sharing a room with total strangers, I’ve found it to be an unrivaled opportunity to meet new people, and certainly no less comfortable than a fraternity sleeping porch.

During the past weekend, I traveled to Ireland. Alone. While I had not planned to make the trip solo, when a friend canceled on me, I thought: “Why not? At least they speak English in Ireland.” I couldn’t be happier that I choose to take the leap and venture into a foreign country unaccompanied. Traveling alone was a unique challenge, a chance to push myself far outside the comfort zone. And it gave me the prospect of meeting fellow travelers from all over Europe.

Like my hostel roommates from France. They introduced themselves with heavy French accents as Antoine, Jacquine, Henri and Antoine Two, and they were wildly entertaining. We talked for hours about Shawn Kemp and the 1990s Seattle Sonics (apparently they were huge in France) and debated the merits of Guinness. I love Ireland’s favorite drink. They argued it’s more like syrup than beer.

Or the Cougar alumnus I met in the seaside town of Galway, located on the Emerald Isle’s Atlantic coast. I first saw the WSU logo during my three-hour train from Dublin to Galway, and couldn’t have been more surprised. As we got off at the station, I walked up to the man and simply said, “Go Cougs." He laughed and replied with an enthusiastic, “Go Cougs." After telling him I went to WSU and talking Cougar sports for a few minutes, we went our separate ways, though it was a chance encounter I’ll not soon forget.

On Saturday night my hostel flooded. I returned from the pubs in Dublin’s historic Temple Bar district to find fire engines and the hostel guests waiting outside. The water hit an electrical line, and no one was allowed in until morning. At first I was disappointed at the grim prospect of spending the night in the bus station next door, but then I met Patrick.

“I think it’s a good thing, this flood,” Patrick said with a thick eastern European accent. “Otherwise, we’d all just be in bed, and that’s not exciting at all.” And he was right.

We passed the night merrily in the bus station, drinking champagne, vodka and cranberry juice with girls from London and discussing how many better types of vodka there are than Smirnoff. Born in Slovakia and now residing in Hungary, Patrick knew and loved his vodka.

At least once in life, I highly recommend everyone simply take off somewhere alone. Don’t worry about what may happen or what could go wrong, just keep your mind open and make the most of the experience. I promise it will be a trip to remember.

And keep your eyes out for the WSU logo. You never know where it will turn up.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/story/28292