Tamar's Testimonial

Tamar's Testimonial

Hello Dr. T,
I have just returned from the Humanitarian Nepal Trek and Thailand Retreat. First thing I did was go to Ecopolitan for a great an-cooked meal (after eating cooked food in Nepal for awhile, although it was vegan and delicious, I felt very thankful to be again with fresh raw foods... but I would have done the trip again in a heartbeat!). With this letter I will attempt to describe some of the things I got out of the fantastic, amazing trip I just had with you.

Eco-Tourism - What's the difference? With the Humanitarian Trek, I found that we have left behind very different footprints from those left by regular tourism.

Typical Consumerist Tourism removes the local cultural purity and lifestyle from its natural place - Everything changes just to supply the tourists with the pre-conceived visual and sensory experience that they expect out of the country they visit. In OUR trek on the other hand, we actually entered the life and culture of the Nepali people we have visited. We stayed in their homes, and ate their local foods while preserving basic ecological principles (e.g. avoiding wrapped and packaged foods, avoiding flesh and dairy products).  In the mornings, we woke up among their busy activities and work duties. We had to accept their daily environment and learn from it.

In some of the Nepali villages, we were the first Westerners encountered by locals - the entire village came to greet us, men, women, children, and several goats and chicken. At times, it seemed as if some pages of the National Geographic Magazine were coming to life in front of our very eyes.

No sum of money can accurately reflect the incredible experience I have received from this trip. If anything, I feel that I have enjoyed a gigantic discount, paying a miniscule amount compared with the rich cultural, geographical, physical, and emotional value that I got.

One aspect of the trip that brought it into yet another dimension was you, dear Dr. Tel-Oren(!), with the amazing knowledge you shared with us about health, body-friendly and eco-friendly nutrition, general ecology, sustainability, History, geography, geology and about your world travel stories. We got a rare opportunity that not any group guide can provide.

I want to thank you for not giving up on me. For helping me learn things that I would have never gotten to learn otherwise. I am now much more equipped to contribute to other people, and have many more tools to help bring a positive change in this world.

Yours with endless gratitude,
Tamar (Minneapolis)