I have worked as a Wildland firefighter for going on 6 seasons now. I have traveled almost every winter to over a dozen countries and sailed from Thailand to Egypt on private yachts. The job goes from mid May to mid November and you should start the application process around December to February. Create a profile online at http://www.avuedigitalservices.com/usfs/applicant.html You should do some research to find out where you want to work and what crew you want to work for. Meeting the crew captain(s) of crew(s) you want to work IN PERSON for is HIGHLY recommended for success. Repetitive phone calls can work as well but face to face is your best bet. This is not only for men, but women as well, though there can be some (covert) discrimination. This job is great because you get to travel and see the USA, part of the job involves getting into and maintaining peak physical fitness (on the right crew, you will work out an average of 10 hours a week in “down time” and be hiking up on mountains during fires 40+ hours a week during the fire season!). Many crews have barracks housing for a low government rate of around $150-$300/month, including TV, AC, and all other utilities, sometimes even internet.

I usually save about $10,000 every summer and use half of it to travel for 6 months or so to cheap locations in South America, South East Asia or Africa. The airfare is about $1000, living for a month less than $600 including food and lodging. The other half goes into savings towards my own yacht. A great job and a great opportunity because not only is is lucrative, it is an exciting and rewarding job in itself! People love firefighters because they are the heroes who are saving homes and other property and lives from destruction.

Calcutta was the last place in India that still had hand-pulled rickshaws (as opposed to the very common cycle shaws) and yes, they banned them this fall. I haven’t heard anything about whether the ban is being enforced though – I know many of the drivers and locals were planning to ignore it, at least until some re-education / job training / compensation was provided as an alternative.

On a different note…I am curious to know…I have read that not all that long ago a law was passed in certain cities in India banning the use of rickshaws. Does anyone know how strictly this law is being enforced and if there have been serious repercussions as a result of this legislation.