A large amount of the work in volved in researching-writing concerns neither researching nor writing, but organizing one's trip beforehand in some detail.
"I felt sometimes that it was a 24-hour-a-day job," says Maya R. Jasanoff '96, who researched Wales and Southwest England. "Even when I wasn't researching, I was making plans for where I was going to stay next."
"I would usually be out at 7:30 in the morning, have dinner at around five, and then get back and write till 1:30 a.m.," says Glover.
Researcher-writers who selected areas with which they had some familiarity, either in terms of the language or contacts, found their jobs simpler.
"I grew up in New York, so I knew the city pretty well. It didn't feel like a job, really," says New York City researcher-writer Shyama Patel '94. "Research-writing just fit in with everything else I would have done over the summer anyway. I would meet friends at cafes I was reviewing--I meshed my social life and my work, and it was incredibly fun."
Other researcher-writers, however, found the job frustrating.
"Let's Go was really disorganized [in] putting my trip together," says Kennon. "[Also] there were a couple of times when I went to suggested hotels, which turned out to be in unsafe neighborhoods.
The thrill of traveling solo nevertheless drew 300 applicants for 95 researcher-writer positions last year. Indeed, perhaps the ultimate lure is the independence of traveling alone.
"I found the freedom of being by myself exhilarating," says Heid. "I love the outdoors, the wilderness, and sometimes I didn't see a single person for days. But I loved it."
"I met a lot of people from other countries," says Glover. "I find people gravitate towards you if you're traveling alone. I'd rather travel alone than with friends, because if you're with friends you tend not to want to meet other people."
Still, the road of researcher-writer can be a lonely one. "There were times when I would dine at really nice restaurants, and I would notice how everyone else was eating with a date or whatever," says Caplan. "Or I would sneeze, and realize there was no one to say 'Bless you'."