Carolin Grahlmann, a twenty-two year old German-born biology student at the University of Groeningen in Holland, decided to take a year off from her studies to travel around the world by herself. She planned to visit world-class destinations in California, New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. But in the middle of all her travels, Grahlmann ended up in Sacramento.
For Grahlmann, Sacramento was a surprising though welcome respite from itinerary-driven days in the big cities of New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Sacramento allowed her the chance to rest while still taking in some vital California history. She toured the State Capital, visited Old Sacramento, and admired the elegance of the Sacramento Youth Hostel (the beautifully-restored Llewellyn Williams mansion located downtown). In regards to her guided tour of the Capital, where she was the only international guest that day, she says, “They were all surprised that somebody from so far away came there to see their capitol.”
Sacramentans are used to being overlooked. Skiers drive through our town on their way to the slopes. Tourists skirt around our town on their way to Napa, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and LA. Despite its location at the heart of California politics, agriculture, and basketball, very few make Sacramento a destination. So what brought a young international traveler like Grahlmann to our city, to Sacramento of all places?
While researching her trip on the Internet, Grahlmann found a website for an organization that promised free home stays with women from all over the world. After paying a modest $40 yearly membership fee (25 Pounds Sterling) and agreeing to some simple rules and regulations, she received a members directory – a list of all the members, organized by country and then by regions within each country including addresses, phone numbers, and when available, email addresses.
Grahlmann signed up because “I liked that I could meet people that actually lived in the country [I wanted to visit.] You don’t get such a good view of the country if you don’t meet the people.”
The organization called Women Welcome Women World Wide (5W) grew from the natural propensity of women to make deep and lasting friendships. Founder Frances Alexander writes in the official membership leaflet, “Experiencing a different lifestyle is interesting, enriching, and mind-opening. There are still people who regard different as threatening. Women have a gift for making friends and I know that 5W has, in its own way, made the world a smaller place.”
5W has been making the world a smaller place for twenty-five years, much longer than the Internet has fostered long-distance friendships among strangers. Today there are more than 3,500 members in over 70 countries, on every continent except Antarctica. Among 5W members, more than 100 different languages are spoken. Members range in age from 16 to 80 years.
As one of those members myself, Grahlmann contacted me for assistance with the California leg of her journey. After several email exchanges, Grahlmann wrote Sacramento into her itinerary. I greeted her at the Amtrak station and showed her Sacramento, as I know it. Unlike the travelers tucked into bunk beds at the youth hostel or a hotel, or tourists gleaning information from glossy brochures, Grahlmann peeked into the real life of a Sacramentan, albeit the average life of a twenty-something freelance writer/teacher. We ate at favorite local spots, discussed world politics, and shared memories of growing up. It was easy to conclude that even as a German and an American, we had more commonalities than we had differences.
While 5W fosters cross-cultural understanding, as it did between Grahlmann and myself, it is in fact an exclusive organization. No men allowed. But don’t assume that 5W is an organization of left-wing feminists, lesbians, and male-bashers. To the contrary, 5W promotes peace and openness across traditional boundaries. 5W allows for individual members to choose to welcome the husbands and/or partners of visiting members, and many do. Some women welcome children too. Restricting membership to women, though, ensures a certain level of comfort and safety among 5W members. “Even if there were men on the membership list, I might choose to contact the women first…from a safety point of view,” says Georgina Williams, a twenty-three year old backpacker from Kent, England.
Williams learned about 5W when she met Grahlmann at Yosemite National Park. As she prepared to leave California for the next solo leg of her round-the-world tour, Williams comments, “In New Zealand and Australia, I’m going to be meeting a lot of British people. If I were a 5W member, I might meet locals instead.” While most independent travelers hope to meet a variety of people on their journey, most often they meet other travelers and fellow nationals. 5W helps create a more authentic experience.
While 5W is a world-wide organization, the friendships it forges with Americans are particularly poignant these days. Grahlmann came to The States despite the warnings of friends and family because, “No one really likes the U.S. right now, but I got a little annoyed of people talking badly about America if they’ve never been here.” She hopes that by meeting local Americans, her opinion of the U.S. will improve. “It’s so easy to make fun of George Bush,” she adds, “but it’s a huge country and so far I’ve met only normal people.”
So far, Grahlmann has lined-up home stays with women in San Francisco, and San Diego, in addition to Sacramento. While 5W might attract travelers looking for a free place to stay, the organization makes it clear that it is not for “free loaders.” Members agree to a three-night maximum stay with any member, and all visits must be arranged in advance. The hostess is expected to outline “house rules.” 5W visitors are expected to comply.
Not only does 5W encourage home visits, but they also sponsor and help organize informal get-togethers among members, regional gatherings, an email group, and semi-annual newsletters. Ultimately, 5W members have a support network while traveling. Sometimes members link up only for a meal, a ride from the airport, or just advice about the city via email.
In addition to forging friendships, 5W also inspires confidence in a population so often told they should be afraid. In larger numbers than ever before, women are traveling, and often by themselves. Mary Haugh, for example, from County Dublin, Ireland writes, “I spent May and June of 2002 traveling alone, literally around the world! Because I am a member of 5W, I had the courage and resolve to embark on what otherwise might have been a daunting undertaking for a lone woman traveler. I felt that, no matter what difficulties I might encounter, there would hopefully be a 5W member who might help me.”
Right now the majority of 5W members are retired women in mostly westernized countries, but 5W grows everyday by word of mouth. Grahlmann’s year-long journey will take her to the less-developed countries of Laos and Cambodia with only one member between the two countries. She hopes to recruit more members during her travels. The downside to 5W she admits is that there are few members in their twenties and thirties. But as 5W grows, the number of independent women travelers on the road is bound to increase as well, which can only mean more travelers finding their way into the hospitable homes of Sacramentans.
Local 5W member Jane Thomson recalls hosting an English woman at her home. She writes, “I was really amused that she'd decided to include Sacramento in her visit to California & the Grand Canyon based simply on the city name sounding romantic!! Notwithstanding the unromantic nature of our city, she had a great time, I'm sure, and we've heard from her a couple of times since she left.”
Whether Sacramento is a tourist hotspot or not, we have more than just the Kings to attract visitors. We have the quiet waves made by female friendship and 5W. Grahlmann, for one, will recommend her friends and family to visit because “[Sacramento] is not a big attraction, but I think after a while you get tired to see only the big attractions. It's a nice place to rest for a moment, and a place where you won't meet many other tourists.”
________________________
To find out more about 5W, check out their website at www.womenwelcomewomen.org or contact them by international post: Women Welcome Women World Wide, 88 Easton Street, High Wycombe, Bucks HP11 1LT, UK, or by phone +44(0)1494 465441.
For Grahlmann, Sacramento was a surprising though welcome respite from itinerary-driven days in the big cities of New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Sacramento allowed her the chance to rest while still taking in some vital California history. She toured the State Capital, visited Old Sacramento, and admired the elegance of the Sacramento Youth Hostel (the beautifully-restored Llewellyn Williams mansion located downtown). In regards to her guided tour of the Capital, where she was the only international guest that day, she says, “They were all surprised that somebody from so far away came there to see their capitol.”
Sacramentans are used to being overlooked. Skiers drive through our town on their way to the slopes. Tourists skirt around our town on their way to Napa, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and LA. Despite its location at the heart of California politics, agriculture, and basketball, very few make Sacramento a destination. So what brought a young international traveler like Grahlmann to our city, to Sacramento of all places?
While researching her trip on the Internet, Grahlmann found a website for an organization that promised free home stays with women from all over the world. After paying a modest $40 yearly membership fee (25 Pounds Sterling) and agreeing to some simple rules and regulations, she received a members directory – a list of all the members, organized by country and then by regions within each country including addresses, phone numbers, and when available, email addresses.
Grahlmann signed up because “I liked that I could meet people that actually lived in the country [I wanted to visit.] You don’t get such a good view of the country if you don’t meet the people.”
The organization called Women Welcome Women World Wide (5W) grew from the natural propensity of women to make deep and lasting friendships. Founder Frances Alexander writes in the official membership leaflet, “Experiencing a different lifestyle is interesting, enriching, and mind-opening. There are still people who regard different as threatening. Women have a gift for making friends and I know that 5W has, in its own way, made the world a smaller place.”
5W has been making the world a smaller place for twenty-five years, much longer than the Internet has fostered long-distance friendships among strangers. Today there are more than 3,500 members in over 70 countries, on every continent except Antarctica. Among 5W members, more than 100 different languages are spoken. Members range in age from 16 to 80 years.
As one of those members myself, Grahlmann contacted me for assistance with the California leg of her journey. After several email exchanges, Grahlmann wrote Sacramento into her itinerary. I greeted her at the Amtrak station and showed her Sacramento, as I know it. Unlike the travelers tucked into bunk beds at the youth hostel or a hotel, or tourists gleaning information from glossy brochures, Grahlmann peeked into the real life of a Sacramentan, albeit the average life of a twenty-something freelance writer/teacher. We ate at favorite local spots, discussed world politics, and shared memories of growing up. It was easy to conclude that even as a German and an American, we had more commonalities than we had differences.
While 5W fosters cross-cultural understanding, as it did between Grahlmann and myself, it is in fact an exclusive organization. No men allowed. But don’t assume that 5W is an organization of left-wing feminists, lesbians, and male-bashers. To the contrary, 5W promotes peace and openness across traditional boundaries. 5W allows for individual members to choose to welcome the husbands and/or partners of visiting members, and many do. Some women welcome children too. Restricting membership to women, though, ensures a certain level of comfort and safety among 5W members. “Even if there were men on the membership list, I might choose to contact the women first…from a safety point of view,” says Georgina Williams, a twenty-three year old backpacker from Kent, England.
Williams learned about 5W when she met Grahlmann at Yosemite National Park. As she prepared to leave California for the next solo leg of her round-the-world tour, Williams comments, “In New Zealand and Australia, I’m going to be meeting a lot of British people. If I were a 5W member, I might meet locals instead.” While most independent travelers hope to meet a variety of people on their journey, most often they meet other travelers and fellow nationals. 5W helps create a more authentic experience.
While 5W is a world-wide organization, the friendships it forges with Americans are particularly poignant these days. Grahlmann came to The States despite the warnings of friends and family because, “No one really likes the U.S. right now, but I got a little annoyed of people talking badly about America if they’ve never been here.” She hopes that by meeting local Americans, her opinion of the U.S. will improve. “It’s so easy to make fun of George Bush,” she adds, “but it’s a huge country and so far I’ve met only normal people.”
So far, Grahlmann has lined-up home stays with women in San Francisco, and San Diego, in addition to Sacramento. While 5W might attract travelers looking for a free place to stay, the organization makes it clear that it is not for “free loaders.” Members agree to a three-night maximum stay with any member, and all visits must be arranged in advance. The hostess is expected to outline “house rules.” 5W visitors are expected to comply.
Not only does 5W encourage home visits, but they also sponsor and help organize informal get-togethers among members, regional gatherings, an email group, and semi-annual newsletters. Ultimately, 5W members have a support network while traveling. Sometimes members link up only for a meal, a ride from the airport, or just advice about the city via email.
In addition to forging friendships, 5W also inspires confidence in a population so often told they should be afraid. In larger numbers than ever before, women are traveling, and often by themselves. Mary Haugh, for example, from County Dublin, Ireland writes, “I spent May and June of 2002 traveling alone, literally around the world! Because I am a member of 5W, I had the courage and resolve to embark on what otherwise might have been a daunting undertaking for a lone woman traveler. I felt that, no matter what difficulties I might encounter, there would hopefully be a 5W member who might help me.”
Right now the majority of 5W members are retired women in mostly westernized countries, but 5W grows everyday by word of mouth. Grahlmann’s year-long journey will take her to the less-developed countries of Laos and Cambodia with only one member between the two countries. She hopes to recruit more members during her travels. The downside to 5W she admits is that there are few members in their twenties and thirties. But as 5W grows, the number of independent women travelers on the road is bound to increase as well, which can only mean more travelers finding their way into the hospitable homes of Sacramentans.
Local 5W member Jane Thomson recalls hosting an English woman at her home. She writes, “I was really amused that she'd decided to include Sacramento in her visit to California & the Grand Canyon based simply on the city name sounding romantic!! Notwithstanding the unromantic nature of our city, she had a great time, I'm sure, and we've heard from her a couple of times since she left.”
Whether Sacramento is a tourist hotspot or not, we have more than just the Kings to attract visitors. We have the quiet waves made by female friendship and 5W. Grahlmann, for one, will recommend her friends and family to visit because “[Sacramento] is not a big attraction, but I think after a while you get tired to see only the big attractions. It's a nice place to rest for a moment, and a place where you won't meet many other tourists.”
________________________
To find out more about 5W, check out their website at www.womenwelcomewomen.org or contact them by international post: Women Welcome Women World Wide, 88 Easton Street, High Wycombe, Bucks HP11 1LT, UK, or by phone +44(0)1494 465441.
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