Hi Reader,

It's been a tough month at Not Your Average American. Some of that is my own fault, and some of it explains why you may have missed our last newsletter.

Our baby got a makeover​
I spent the last month redesigning NotYourAverageAmerican.com, moving from a Divi builder theme to basic WordPress (yes, more than you wanted to know). I also beefed up security and mistakenly created a DNS mismatch, which caused a big delivery problem with our last newsletter. Only 10% of you opened it, when we normally see 50% or more. That should all be fixed now, so if you missed it, that's why.

In the meantime, please check out the website. It should load faster, look cleaner, and answer more questions than ever before. Let us know what you like, what you don't, and what you think it is missing!

​NotYourAverageAmerican.com →​

Practicing what we preach​
We tell our partners in South America to write about what they know. So Scott and I took our own advice and started a local project: VisitStJohnsPDX.com, about the Portland neighborhood we call home. We've been running a giveaway, a poll, and creating content.

We're also recruiting volunteers, and that has been the most rewarding part. Several people have reached out. When we talk through what responsible tourism can look like in a community, they're amazed at how much control a place has when it promotes its own town, neighborhood, or project. That work keeps me going, even when it's hard.

We're hoping to create a model that can be recreated for other small neighborhoods and towns. Interested?

A family in Ecuador​
The past few weeks, I've also been advising a family in Ecuador on how to move forward with their conservation project after the family patriarch passed away. They reached out because of the fundraiser we did with the Paz family a couple of years ago. They have little money and a lot of problems, but they have stewarded this land successfully for three decades.

If you'd like to help them hire a lawyer, please reply to this email. I can't share much more in a newsletter context, but if you've been to Ecuador, you've likely visited this place.

Now, the lighter stuff​
It hasn't all been heavy. Scott reviewed a duffel bag that changed his mind about duffels: the Duffalo duffel bag review. And did you think "duffel" was spelled "duffle"? Scott and I both did. Thank goodness for editing tools.

Getting ready for high altitude​
We're ordering everything for a successful high-altitude trip, and Zaca is high on Scott's list. Here's his article on his favorite altitude sickness remedy. If you'd rather skip the article, here's Zaca on Amazon. This is the one of the times we're happy for our Amazon Prime membership - as we buy things that local stores don't carry and forget to order them all in one go. The free shipping pays for the plan (yes, and if you join using our link, we get rewarded too at no extra cost to you. Thank you!).

Masks are back on our minds​
Our Best Face Masks for Travel article, written shortly after Covid, is still one of our top performers. People still want masks on planes, especially during cold and flu season, so I'm updating it. We're testing Well Before KN95 masks, which have ear loops instead of elastic straps that pull on my hair. The update is coming once we've worn them a few times.

Being a travel writer and tourism consultant can feel overwhelming. Most of the time, it's overwhelming in the best way. Thanks for being here. Next month, we hope to have more articles to share with you.

Warmly,
Angie & Scott