Westworld Alberta
Issue link: http://westworldmagazine.ama.ab.ca/i/68789
the time of 15th-century ruler Vlad the Impaler, on whom Bram Stoker's gothic 1897 novel Dracula was based. Projects Abroad has multi-week opportunities in Romania for volunteers with a penchant for historical discovery. "I spent a month in Romania where I worked on different archaeological projects," says Jacinda Bottomley, a 23-year-old anthro- pology student from Winnipeg who trav- elled to Romania in 2009. "We excavated an ancient pool, a wall and a well, which was thought to be where the Romans would offer sacrifices to Hades. We found lots of arti- facts and animal bones." Volunteers live and eat with host fami- lies in the city of Brasov, while working with archaeologists at the Museum of History, classifying artifacts and restoring ancient tools and pottery. They may also partake in expeditions throughout the Transylvania region, helping with digs and studying ancient ruins, such as spectacular fortifi ed Saxon churches. 5 42 WESTWORLD >> JUNE 2012 "It was a great experience and confi rmed for me the fact that I want to become an archaeologist," Bottomley says. Two-week archaeology volunteer vaca- tions start at $3,295 and include food, lodg- ing, heatlh insurance and in-country transport and logistical support from local Projects Abroad staff. projects-abroad.ca/ destinations/Romania Muck in at an organic farm If you've ever wanted to get dirt under your fi ngernails, pound fence posts or sheer sheep, there's a farmer – actually thousands of farmers – around the world looking for your labour. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF, emerged in 1971 from the imagination of London secretary Sue Coppard, who realized that offi ce-bound urbanites needed a way to get back to the country. The idea exploded into a global network of organic farmers willing to swap room and board for farm labour. These days WWOOFers, young and seasoned alike, Courtesy Projects Abroad Canada