The Republic of Georgia has been enjoying its time in the travel media limelight. It seems every travel blog I read waxed poetic about the tiny country with a familiar name. Perhaps because of its generous digital nomad visa, allowing expats to stay a full year, or because of the great food and the easy-on-your-wallet prices, travelers are flocking to the country firmly anchored by the Caucasus Mountains, straddling the intersection of Europe and Asia. Continue reading
[This post is part one of a 10-day driving itinerary that includes Sofia, Melnik, Plovdiv, and Veliko Taranovo, which each have their own post.] I’d never visited Bulgaria, which is usually reason enough for me to go somewhere. Before meeting my Global Builders Team in Cluj, Romania in mid-April, I decided to give myself ten … Continue reading
For the second time, I lead a team to the fabulous city of Cluj, to partner with The Fuller Center Cluj to help build affordable housing the in bucolic Jucu-de-Sus. My first trip to Romania, and first build with the Fuller Center there, was in 2023. I loved it so much, I decided to return … Continue reading
Once again, leading a Global Builders team with The Fuller Center for Housing, took me overseas, this time to Bolivia. I live near sea level, so landing straight away at an elevation over 13,000 feet at La Paz’s El Alto Airport was an adjustment to say the least. Bolivia is not an easy destination for … Continue reading
Having never been to Bolivia, I figured building houses alongside families in need of affordable shelter was a great reason to get me there. This would be my second time leading a team for The Fuller Center for Housing, also in South America. I had a rather large team, full of experienced builders and travelers. … Continue reading
Having spent a couple days in Romania’s capital city at the end of my two-week tour of building houses in Cluj and around Transylvania, I’m not sure why it gets a bad rap. Sure, it’s a rather large city. But I like gritty urban environs just as much as I like glacial lakes and mountain … Continue reading
The parts of the forested Romanian countryside, dotted with villages, fortresses and castles is a delight to explore these days. But many of these previously fortified cities represent a refuge from danger that may have been on the horizon, just a few hundred years ago. Seeing them gives one a true appreciation for the ways … Continue reading
If you only had time to visit one city and use it as a homebase to explore some of Transylvania’s most popular sites, make it Brasov (bra-shov). From Brasov we also took day trips to see Viscri, Bran Castle, Rupea Fortress and Rasnov Fortress and Peles Castle on the way to Bucharest. Wander Without a … Continue reading
Despite popular belief, Transylvania is not a town or city, but one of several regions, occupying the northern center of Romania. Practically everyone’s heard of it from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula in which Jonathan Harker stays at the castle of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula. Subsequently he discovers the Count a vampire. You already … Continue reading
This was the moment I’d been preparing for—meeting 11 volunteers in Cluj-Napoca to kick off our week of building with Fuller Center in Jucu de Sus, a bucolic village about 35 kilometers outside of Cluj. First, The Best Part Let me begin by saying, for me, and I believe for many volunteers, the best part … Continue reading
Global Staci 