Where In The World Is Ln?

This is part 3. If you haven’t heard the previous ones- stop now. Go back- listen. We’ll wait…. ———   --------   A friend of mine went to Hawaii for 38 days The text from her read: “omg! The craze! I miss my dogs, I can’t wait to be home, I don’t understand how you can just roam…”   I empathize with this. I really do. Being homesick is no joke- It makes you quite blue. And the only solution that works for me Is to download some apps before I flee That help me keep in contact with friends and family   Yea. That’s a stretch… sorry. I’m mostly talking about Voxer, Whatsapp, Skype and Facebook messenger.   Voxer is my favorite app for staying in contact with people. Here is my friend Dana explaining what it's like for her.   What helps you from getting home-sick? Email me at LN.lurie@yahoo.com or write a review on iTunes. Also- as always- if you want to see photos and links of these things- go look at my website LNLurie.com or Facebook page /whereisLN   Next and final week? LISTS! All the lists…     One last th

Podcast players do this weird thing in queue… Where your part 1 is AFTER part 2. So pause… and go back And listen to “part 1: Don’t over pack!” Because it’ll just make more sense to you.   This is my brother, Josh….     What could he have done instead? I'll tell you! listen to his sister and follow the list. I mean, really, Josh....... I love you. But I have experience in this.   And We’ll be back With a list About what to pack Right after this.   ——————— ————   If you ask for advice from those who know: The answer will usually be right on the nose: Double the money and half the clothes.   My list, by the way, is in the show notes Along with pictures of my new fancy coat.   Ok- but really- what is the bare minimum that you need..... To succeed In traveling over seas… What if you’re bored and want to read? Do you bring a book or a nook? What about a guidebook? What should you leave at home? And what can you find elsewhere- like in Rome?   Let’s start with reading…

PRE-THOUGHT NOTE: #Confession: I have stopped listening to other podcasts. I know… I know… I'm confessing this even though this is a link to listen to a podcast. I can hear you now: "BUT! LN! HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO GET BETTER AT MAKING PODCASTS??!?"   #Tangent: I had this problem when I graduated from college- where I had to stop listening to music because all I would do is analyze it. (I-V-vi-iv)… Over and over again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ   The same thing happened to me with podcasts. I can hear the script. I can hear the agony of stupid decisions of "Should we pause here? Should we have a bigger music swell here? What will this nuance of ____ convey to the listener? Should we use a different word here that is gooder than that other word?"   And you know what? I really hate all that. I dispised the naval gazing. I cringed at the thought: "is this creative enough? Is this conveying the message I want to convey?" So I stopped. And I've been SO MUCH HAPPIER with what I've been creating!   W

A story of a really bad travel experience in 2012.... that ended up with me being alive. Thanks (or no thanks?) to my procrastination. / / / / / ------------- / / Transcript: / / There was a time when I was VERY MUCH into crossfit. It's this exercise cult thing- and they have their own games- like the olympic games, but with weight lifting and way less attention to personal safety. / / / / In 2012, the crossfit games were being held in LAX in July- and I was gonna go. / / / / First problem: I procrastinated too long and didn't have a ticket AND they were sold out.. No scalpers online, either. Hmm. No worries. I called up my local paper and asked if they could give me a press pass. They did, weirdly? And I was off. / / / / The trip was scheduled to go something like this: / / DAYTON- DENVER - LAX. Arrive on Friday morning in time for the opening ceramonies. Stay in LA for the games that weekend? Visit some friends in Ventura. Travel back to Dayton on Wednesday--- plenty of time before my next trip: Family vaca

Are you good at haggling? Wish you were better? This is a short episode where I describe how I barter successfully.   LNLurie.com facebook.com/whereisLN @whereisLN

Once upon a time, I was a normal person.... I had the "American Life" - the thing that is supposed to make you happy, but I wasn't. I thought back to when I *WAS* happy- and that was when I was younger and unplugged. So... I set off to get that back.  www.facebook.com/whereisLN @whereisLN LN.Lurie@yahoo.com www.LNLurie.com   100-item challenge: http://www.lnlurie.com/100-item-challenge/ Typhoon Disaster Relief - http://www.lnlurie.com/ep-17-disaster-relief-stories-from-haiyan/  

I remixed/re-mastered this podcast for a few reasons:  1) It's good (for me) to remember where I came from. 2) I'm currently soaking up Vitamin D right now- and don't have time to put out a whole new podcast.  3) It's a good story that you may/may not have heard. And every time I re-tell it--- I tell it differently.    www.LNLurie.com

This is a story, of about how, my life got twist- turned upside down because I was poorly kidnapped in a city that was flooded.   Spidey-sense was alllllllll kinds of tingly. Spoiler- I'm alive. but how? The Macarena. No joke.   Thanks Chris Allen for being my fantastic Editor!   LNLurie.com

A lot of people LOVE their bath/spa experience.... So I went to the oldest bathhouse in Istanbul.    My experience was...... interesting..... Definitely memorable.   Thanks Chris Allen for being my awesome editor. LNLurie.com    

My cat was an adventurist, too! She loved to go hiking and on road trips and she and I used to spoon on Saturday mornings under warm covers.    Zoey died this past Thanksgiving.  After being depressed for, what seemed like forever, I produced this piece for her.    Thanks Kit Burroughs for the VO, Chris Allen for editing, Robin Giantassio-malle and my family for feedback and shoulders to cry on.    LNLurie.com  LN.Lurie@yahoo.com

Happy Holidays, guys. Yea. it's THAT season. I'm living in Minneapolis and was involved in a holiday-story-reading thing called Xmas Quilt. Xmas Quilt is a collection of stories and poems and music to, you know, get you into the holiday spirit.  I, of course, recorded the whole thing and assembled a few of my favorite stories here after adding some sound design and music- because that's what I do. My partner in Crime is named Nyla - which you'll hear in the first story.  Just as a reminder- this took place in Minneapolis, where they eat ludafisk. If you don't know what this disgusting crap is. consider yourself lucky. But it's a traditional food up here. With that, I give you 15-ish minutes of Christmas Stories. Cuckoo Clock Ludafisk  I made a snowball Christmas in the Trenches www.LNLurie.com  

I get asked the question "What is your favorite country" a lot... VERY OFTEN! And one of my favorite countries is Albania. Beaches, mountains and food aside, I love countries that go through a lot of hardship (WW2, communism, totalitarianism, pyramid schemes, etc) and end up still banding together and flourishing as a nation.   www.LNLurie.com  

Imagine...... You’re living in Kosovo. Your passport is useless because you’re living in a country not fully recognized by the UN. You’re young! You have ideas! But the government doesn’t want to listen to it. And because the government won’t listen to you- you don’t vote… So… what do you do? If you’re Visar Arifij, you break the system… Change it… From the inside. He started a political party and named himself the Legendary President of Partia E Forte.    Thanks to Chris Allen for helping me edit. Thanks to Visar and Partia E Forte! LN.Lurie@yahoo.com www.LNLurie.com  

I visited (broke into) Buzludzha last summer. I tell you some history and my adventure of the giant meeting place-- but then... I become stumped as this weird sound shows up in the recording...... What is it? Not really sure....   www.LNLurie.comLN.Lurie@yahoo.com   Thanks to Chris Allen for editing. Dan, Nick and Matt for being my adventure buddies. and the Bulgarian Communists- for abandoning the coolest building I've ever been in!

Stuff always falls apart while traveling. Plans change, health declines. Items disintegrate… Relationships fade… It doesn’t always happen, but it’s usually inevitable, no matter where you are, as nothing is made to last forever. This episode will talk about just that… Things falling apart.     Act 1: Adventure Pants (Juneau, Alaska) Act 2: Bulgarian Car Rental (Sofia, Bulgaria) Act 3: Broken Relationships (Zagreb, Croatia) Thanks to James Gralian and Robin Giantassio-malle for being my sound boards, Marianne and James Thurland for reading the broken ship stories, Thank you Lana with brokenships.com, Thanks Dan and Nick for being Bulgarian adventure pals, and Thanks Matthew for putting up with me for as long as you did… www.LNLurie.com LN.Lurie(at)yahoo.com @hydrix13  

What would you do if you had 100Million Euros (or more!) to spend on a country? What would you spend it on? The leaders of Macedonia chose statues... And lots of them.  So many that you kinda get overwhelmed... At least I did.      Thank you Mia, Maya, Lana, Erika and Matthew for giving me your opinions on these statues. And thanks to James Gralian and Robin Giantassio-malle for all your wisdom and fabulous ears. for pictures go to:  www.LNLurie.com. Email me at LN.Lurie(at)yahoo.com

I've always complained about the "hurry up and wait" mentality. I *KNOW* that you should always be appreciative and aware of the place that you are... And not try to rush life. Yet, I still struggle with this, daily. There's hope (for me), though! I got slightly closer to understanding this during my latest trip to Alaska. www.LNLurie.com  

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the Philippines on November 7, 2013. It had winds that were stronger than Hurricane Sandy and Katrina combined. I was there before, during and stayed to help with relief. Along the way, I met my friend, Ian, who was doing the same thing. In reflection of the disasters that have happened lately, I thought this was over-due. These are reflection stories about the people that we met along the way. Good/Bad/Ugly- all of them were trying to survive in the way that they knew how. Click if you want to see pictures, or read more and more and more. 

Hospitals are scary.... But why?    I'm scared of the cost- but what are OTHER people scared of?  We investigate other countries (Australia, Canada, South Africa, Iran and China). Their stories and outcomes and fears.      Thanks to Gotye and Peter Biedermann for thier music contribution. 

I was in Peru and everyone is all "OMG! Are you gonna go on the Machu Pichu trek?"  ...sure! Why not?   So I did. But I can't tell you what the ruins were like- because the trek's journey and all the drama of this guy sticks out in my mind more than the ruins ever will.   This is the best example, in my life, of "It's about the Journey, not the destination".   Lauren Jennings helps me retell the story.