Welcome to The Travel Club’s Travel School in Liepaja (15.7-15.8 2017).
The Travel School is slightly different from The Travel House we organised in previous years. If you haven't already, please check out this article that explains the concept of the School.
There were four Travel Houses: Istanbul (2012), Granada (2013), Tbilisi (2014), Athens (2015)
We had the first Travel School last year in Aveiro, and now we're doing it again in Liepaja, Latvia!
Before you apply for the stay in The Travel School please read these basic house rules, and if you decide to come, keep them in mind at all times.
Everyone can stay up to three nights in The Travel School. If you want to stay more than three nights, let us know in the application form and we'll tell you if it's possible.
Mandatory participation in minimum one workshop/discussion/lecture. Our team of volunteers has prepared interesting and useful workshops and other activities, most of which are related to travelling. See the schedule below and sign up for one or more activities when filling out the application form to stay in TS. All workshops last two to five hours.
Be quiet. Don’t play loud music, shout or talk loudly.
Be especially quiet in the corridor. When you’re coming or leaving, be extremely quiet in the building. No loud talking, shouting or singing in the corridor. Don’t slam the doors.
Don't come between 01:00 and 08:00 a.m. If your plane/train/bus arrives in that interval, please wait till 08:00 on the airport/bus or train station and then come to the Travel House. Most of the people sleep those hours. You don't want to wake them up and make them angry with you.
No smoking. No drugs of any kind are allowed. You can drink a beer or two, but you mustn’t get drunk. And please don’t come to the School wasted.
No wild parties. Quiet social activities are welcome.
If you break something, you pay for it.
Keep your valuables with you. We are not expecting thieves or kleptomaniacs and they haven't visited us so far, but it’s better to be on the safe side. You are the only one responsible for your stuff.
This project is funded by personal donations. Donations aren’t compulsory, but are welcome. There are bills to pay – power, water, Internet – as well as things like cooking oil, detergent, toilette paper etc. If you’d like to leave a donation, put it in the donation box or look for the school staff and give it to them. Nobody will ask you for a donation, or check whether you have donated or not. It's totally up to you, and it's definitely not a precondition for staying in the Travel School. And don’t worry if it’s only symbolic: it will add up.
In the Travel School, there are no guests. Everyone is a host. So,
- if you see something broken, fix it.
- if you see something lacking (soap, toilette paper, cooking oil, detergent etc), buy it.
- if you see something dirty (toilet, bathroom, kitchen, floors, balconies), clean it.
There is a nice term that we will borrow from the Rainbow Gatherings: “drainbows”. Those are the people who just take and don’t give. The Travel School is not a perfect free-for-all. It is a community we’re all building together. Think how you can contribute.
Keep the School clean & tidy! Don’t leave your stuff lying around in mess. Whoever walks in should have an impression of a clean, nice, tidy place.
Do not waste resources! No shower longer than five minutes, making meals that are cooked for five hours and needless consumption of any resource. Also, we will recycle the trash in the School.
No pets! Absolutely no dogs, cats, parrots, fish. Parrots that can speak are welcome, though.
If you find any of these rules too hard to follow, you will be asked to leave immediately. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay and help us make this small contribution to global travel culture.
Before you come:
Please let us know when you're coming to make sure that we’re there to let you in.
Make sure to bring your sleeping bag & mat. There are no beds in the Travel School. Only the floor.
Bring a towel.
The address of the School will not be published online. When you notify us that you’re coming, you’ll get the detailed instructions how to find us. Please keep the instructions to yourself and don’t publish them anywhere.
Read the house rules. If you don’t follow the rules during your stay, you will be asked to leave immediately. So it’s a good idea to get familiar with them beforehand.
If you do any sort of creative work – writing, drawing, photography, film, music – and you want to contribute to the Travel School, please mention it. We will publish the best photos, writings, films, drawings etc. on our website and you'll get to stay longer in the School.
Statistics & Guestbook:
We’d like to have some statistics about the Travel School project. Namely, we’d like to know how many people have used it, where did they come from, what their age groups and occupations were, where they are headed after Liepaja, how long they are planning to stay on the road, do they hitchhike or use some other form of transportation etc. So we’ll kindly ask you to make your entry in our guestbook to make this possible.
The application form can be found here.
Apart from workshops, we'll have activities to wake up our bodies every morning (meditation, breathing excercising, capoeira, hatha, ashtanga, acro, and maybe even aerial yoga and silk dance, if we get the silk). In the evening you can expect socialising in various forms (movie nights, board games, decyphering everything that's not Roman alphabet, world music).
You are welcome to send a donation to our organisation:
List of workshops (all workshops will be held in English)
July 15: How to travel cheaply: Let’s see how can we create an awesome low-cost itinerary and see as much as possible spending as little money as possible.
July 16: Travel photography: Make your adventures and memories last forever. Learn how to take travel photos in a unique, personalized and original way.
July 17: European scholarships and interships: The best way to experience culture is to live there. Find out about all the magnificent scholarschips and interships offered!
July 18: Women and independent travelling: Women often hear they shouldn't travel alone. Learn how to prepare for travelling alone.
July 19: Cultural norms and body language: In some countries, to burp after a meal is considered rude. In some other countries, it's a compliment for the chef. Let's explore the richness of our world and its differences!
July 20: Volunteering for food and accommodation: If you don't want a long-term stay (3+ months) to experience a culture, you might want to consider volunteering in exchange for food and accommodation.
July 21: Travelling while working or studying: If you don't want to your job or university be in the way of your travelling, hear us out!
July 22: How to travel Cheaply: Let’s see how can we create an awesome low-cost itinerary and see as much as possible spending as little money as possible.
July 23: Women and independent travelling: Women often hear they shouldn't travel alone. Learn how to prepare for travelling alone.
July 24: Creative Cartography: Every map is subjective and incorrect. Let’s put our own stories on personalized maps...
July 25: Folk tales from different cultures: Don't let the Boogeyman steal your dreams!
July 26: Travelling while working or studying: If you don't want to your job or university be in the way of your travelling, hear us out!
July 27: What we learn while traveling: A session of sharing experiences from our journeys.
July 28: How to pack efficiently: Ever found yourself lacking space in your backpack? Want to make that a thing of the past? Join this workshop!
July 29: Women and independent travelling: Women often hear they shouldn't travel alone. Learn how to prepare for travelling alone.
July 30: Slavic countries for dummies: Tips for travelling around Slavic countries.
July 31: Travel photography: Make your adventures and memories last forever. Learn how to take travel photos in a unique, personalized and original way.
August 1: European scholarships and interships: The best way to experience culture is to live there. Find out about all the magnificent scholarschips and interships offered!
August 2: Cultural norms and body language: In some countries, to burp after a meal is considered rude. In some other countries, it's a compliment for the chef. Let's explore the richness of our world and its differences!
August 3: How to travel Cheaply: Let’s see how can we create an awesome low-cost itinerary and see as much as possible spending as little money as possible.
August 4: Volunteering for food and accommodation: If you don't want a long-term stay (3+ months) to experience a culture, you might want to consider volunteering in exchange for food and accommodation.
August 5: Travel photography: Make your adventures and memories last forever. Learn how to take travel photos in a unique, personalized and original way.
August 6: Slavic countries for dummies: Tips for travelling around Slavic countries.
August 7: How to travel cheaply: Let’s see how can we create an awesome low-cost itinerary and see as much as possible spending as little money as possible.
August 8: How to eat healthy on low budget: How to spend little money and not eat pasta with tomato sauce every day.
August 9: Folk tales from different cultures: Don't let the Boogeyman steal your dreams!
August 10: Creative Cartography: Every map is subjective and incorrect. Let’s put our own stories on personalized maps...
August 11: What we learn while traveling: A session of sharing experiences from our journeys.
August 12: How to travel cheaply: Let’s see how can we create an awesome low-cost itinerary and see as much as possible spending as little money as possible.
August 13: How to eat healthy on low budget: How to spend little money and not eat pasta with tomato sauce every day.
August 14: How to pack efficiently: Ever found yourself lacking space in your backpack? Want to make that a thing of the past? Join this workshop!