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"Around the World for Free!"

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apskip:
Tonight is the night for the premiere of Around the World for Free! It will be on at 9pm and repeat at 12am on WGN America superstation channel. Here is tha latest promotional material from the WGN website:

Around the World For Free sees Alex Boylan, winner of The Amazing Race 2, as he attempts the impossible: stripping himself of all monetary funds and, with only a backpack and the help of an online community, sets off on a mission to circumnavigate the globe, the ultimate trip in humanity.

Raw. Riveting. Addictive. Covering 159 days, 16 countries, 4 continents, and 45,000 miles, Around the World For Free follows Alex’s trek from New York City to the untouched lands of Dominica. From a deportation in India right into a war zone in Kenya. And from the scorching deserts of Chile to the destitute poverty of Cambodia and beyond. Alex’s journey puts the passion back into adventure and the real back into reality.

Unhampered by a big crew, Alex and sole cameraman Zsolt reach corners of the world rarely if ever shown and meet with generosity far beyond their expectations. Random strangers become online guides, local helpers, generous benefactors and most importantly, genuine friends of the crew every step of the way. The Around the World For Free web community also shapes the direction of Alex’s journey on a daily basis.

Around the World For Free highlights breathtaking scenery, exotic cultures and gripping human drama as Alex traverses countries like Venezuela, Peru, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam. Over the course of nearly six months, Alex’s global journey takes him by plane, train, bus and automobile, plus he manages to travel by hitchhiking, walking, jet skiing, paragliding and even trekking through a safari! However, traveling without funds requires him to come up with creative ways to earn money. From washing hair at a hairdressing school in Puerto Rico to harvesting bananas in rural South Africa, from clearing brush in the Kenyan Mara to working on a diving boat in Nha Trang, Vietnam, at each juncture Alex meets with the kindness and generosity of strangers in all corners of the globe.

No script, no itinerary, no security – but jaw-dropping locations, unforgettable characters and amazing music make Around the World For Free unlike any reality show to date. Catch this trip of a lifetime with truly no rules, no limits - - and no money!

apskip:
"Around the World for Free" is charming. In the first program on WGN, this is what happened:

1. Harry Smith of the Early Show was the main celebrity at the start line in New York City.
2. They got a ride to what looked like the entrance to the Holland tunnel with the expectation of going to a New Jersey truck stop.
3. A woman from Florence SC offered prepaid tickets on AMTRAK to Florence SC and then put them up at ther home. While waiting for her at the Florence train station, a person who had seen them on the news gave them $15 and Chris turned down a second offer of $5.
4. Debby and her husband Roy took them to Mt. Pleasant SC to another person's home.
5. They stayed overnight at the home of Alex Luka (his Amaing Race 1 teammate) and then were picked up by a friend who took the to Jacksonville.
6. From Jacksonville another friend drove them to Sanford FL, home of an additional good friend who bought them plane tickets to fly to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
7. They stay with their benefactors in Caguas Puerto Rico. They travel all over the island, including to San Juan, to a suburb, and to Ponce on the south shore. There are numerous parties. Chris is given a "beer money job" the the hair of beauty school trainees and a $30 gig as a bartender making mostly mojitos. The families that house him buy him a ticket (thankfully this would be a less expensive one based on what I know about plane fares) to Charlotte Amalie St. Thomas. A woman on St. John, 3 miels from St. Thomas by boat has offered her house.

The charming aspect is the continous stream of positive interactions with a wide variety of interesting people, who are housing, feeding and transporting them. Saying goodbye to these people is difficult because of the emotional attachments.

As you can see, Chris announced his intention to occasionally work in day labor to earn needed money.

I think Chris' biggest challenge is to keep up with the global network of contacts to his website, some of whom can help him and most of whom cannot. this had to take an enormous amount of his and Zsolt's time.

This epsiode took 13 days so there probably are another 13 episodes to go. That is 3 months at one per week. I am looking forward to the rest of this voyage of discovery.

georgiapeach:
I think y'all will enjoy this. This was all shown previously on the daily video blogs that followed Alex  ;) on his journey. The filming that Zsolt did is amazing, and the way they got that out on the fly is wonderful. Lots of fun, wait till y'all see Dominica!  :hearts:

Pedaler:
Coming out of lurkdom to give GeorgiaPeach a super big thank you for making me aware of this program.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two episodes as well as all of the extras on the WGN web site. 

It kind of reminds me of Michael Palin's Around the World in 80 Days and Pole to Pole.

Thanks again  :kuss: :kuss: :kuss: :kuss:

georgiapeach:
I love watching it on the site day by day when they did it at first, they did a great job!!

My pleasure, always nice to see you here!! :hugs:

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