Every now and then I get an email that blows my mind. I've even got a Top Three Awesome Emails I've Opened list. The one where I got an offer to meet Abby Cadabby is on that list. So is an email I received about six months ago from a reader saying that watching me deal with the fall out of the After had given them the courage to come out to their family as transgendered.
And, to round out that top three in the most pleasant way, there's the message I got from the Digital Parents Collective a few weeks back that said something like...
"Hi Lori, can you give me a call? Looks like we've got an opportunity for you to go to Borneo!"
And cue– hysterical giggling, Lori jumping around the house like a loon while her kids don't even blink an eyelid because Mum is always carrying on crazy, and a sudden urge to poke my tongue out at anyone who ever told me that writing a blog is waste of my good time. (Ner ner, ner ner ner....)
Forget New York or Washington or wherever that big American blog thing is this year.
Bloggers... we're going to Borneo.
It's my immensely smug pleasure to announce that, through Digital Parents Collective and Orangutan Odysseys, I'm officially hosting the Bloggers to Borneo 2013 trip to Indonesia. In May of next year, I'll be doing the nine day trip to Kalimantran in southern Borneo to view colonies of the endangered red ape living in the wild. I'll be doing a twenty kilometer jungle trek through swamp. I get to visit the orangutan orphanage and see baby orangutans and even the thought of that almost causes me to hyperventilate with cute.
I'll also be sleeping on a boat, spending fourteen hours on a plane and eating traditional Indonesian food.
I'm so excited I could pop and I want to be leaving tomorrow.
I'm also absolutely terrified, more so than I ever been in my life. (I mentioned the twenty kilometer jungle trek, right....?)
Orangutan Odysseys is an Australian–based travel company who work hand in hand with The Orangutan Project to conduct tours throughout Borneo and Sumatra, focusing on sharing the incomparable experience of viewing orangutans in their native habitat. It also addresses the growing problem that this habitat is rapidly disappearing as the forests of Indonesia are being stripped and logged to support the production of palm oil, an industry which also provides significant income to the local population. Orangutan Odysseys' mission involves not only raising awareness of the beauty of orang utans and the need to conserve the jungle in which they live, but also expanding the economy and the tourist industry within the area so the local population have another means of income that doesn't rely on the production of palm oil.
Now, here's how it all works, jellybeans. To raise awareness of the plight of the orangutans and the work done by Orangutan Odysseys; I'm blessed enough to have my flight costs, travel insurance and the cost of my trip covered and complimentary. All funds raised over the next few months go directly to The Orangutan Project.
If every follower of this blog donates just one dollar, that equates to $3142. In that fashion that serendipity has of kicking in when you're on the right track, the base cost of the trip I've been given is $3100.
It takes about two minutes to make a one off $1 donation and I promise* I will say hello to the orangutans for you. (*May not be actual promise.)
In addition to that, I'm quote stoked to extend a very special invitation to readers and bloggers alike. The particular trip I'm booked on is currently not being advertised to the general public. The goal is to fill the remaining eleven spaces available on the BloggersToBorneo trek with... well... you guys.
If you'd like to join me for nine days in Indonesia and the experience of a lifetime, you can book at any stage over the next few months through the Orangutan Odysseys Bloggers To Borneo page. Expressions of interest from those who'd like to come on board are welcome over at The Digital Parents Collective. There will be a forum on Digital Parents where we can chat all things orangutans and Indonesia; and discuss options for fundraising including potential corporate sponsorships and ways to source donations to help fund your trip. And, of course, we can all jump around and get really, really excited together.
I'll be Tweeting, FBing, blogging and video blogging my way through the jungle just as much as the Internet allows me to; so everything I see and do and think and am unable to eat, you’ll get to experience too. And I'll keep you updated over the next eight months while I swing wildly between manic excitement and cerebral panic.
This is all kinds of truly awesome and I am so grateful for what's come my way. But I've never been overseas before. I hate to fly. I'm a bit of a princess. And anxiety kicks my arse, all the time.
I'm feeling all that fear, and doing it all anyway. I'd love for you to come, too. (Oh dear Lord, somebody please come and hold my hand...)
The only thing I'm really worried about is that, from what I hear, I'm lending my unique voice to the orangutans of Borneo.
One can only hope the orangutans are OK with that.
Keep up on Twitter using #BloggersToBorneo.
And don't forget to donate your dollar- you absolutely will not miss it. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.
For my overseas readers- I adore that you guys are coming on board too, thank you so much! The Orangutan Project sends out a donation certificate if you
make a donation of $100 or more, but at the moment only post to Aussie
addresses. If you donate less than $100 or don't need a certificate it's
fine to add in your details but keep the country as is- if you like, add USA or UK or where ever you are located in the 'State' box.
And thanks again, jellybeans- you guys rock.