Hittygirls Travel Doll

Hittygirls Travel Doll #3

Hitty Gertrude Bell

Intrepid Adventurer

Hitty Gertrude Bell was carved and donated to the Travel Doll Project by Tracy Vollum, a Hittygirls Member
More Pictures Here and Her First Adventure Here

She now resides in Hittyville!

Traveling to Hittygirls Headquarters

Sign-ups are Filled
Click here to see the Travel Itinerary

Index

THEME: Adventure and Exploration

The original Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) was born in Washington, in what was then Co. Durham, but, when she was very young, she moved with her family to
Redcar. She was educated first of all at home, and then at school in London; finally, in a time when it was not at all usual for a woman to have a university education, she went to Oxford to read history, and, at the age of twenty and after only two years study, she left with a first-class degree. In the years immediately following, she spent time on the social round in London and Yorkshire, she traveled extensively in Europe, and visited Persia. Her travels continued with two round the world trips, in 1897-1898 and in 1902-1903. At about this time too, in the seasons1899-1904, her climbing exploits in the Alps earned her renown as a mountaineer.

But from the turn of the century onwards, her life was governed by a love of the Arab peoples, inspired, it seems, by a visit to friends in Jerusalem in 1899-1900. She learned their language, investigated their archaeological sites, and traveled deep into the desert, accompanied only by male guides. Her knowledge of the country and its tribes thereby gained made her a prime target for recruitment by British Intelligence during the First World War, later, as a Political Officer, and then as Oriental Secretary to the High Commissioner in Baghdad, she became a king-maker in the new state of Iraq, which she had helped to create. Her first love, however, was always for archaeology, and, as Honorary Director of Antiquities in Iraq, she established in Baghdad the Iraq Museum.

What Is Involved in Being One of Hitty Gertrude Bell's Travel Hosts?

1. You must be a member of hittygirls@yahoogroups.com, and you must be ready to make a serious commitment. Being a Travel Host has several requirements, such as writing in Hitty Gertrude Bell's journal, and making sure she has a good time. :)

2. NEW: All of the sign-up forms will be put in a box, and ten names will be selected at random, instead of a first come first serve basis.

3. Each selected Travel Host will make/purchase two items to send Hittygirls Headquarters to place in the Travel Box. The items should be smallish, and pertain in some way to the theme of Adventure and Exploration. If you are stumped for ideas, remember, it's OK to ask others at the hittygirls@yahoogroups.com list. The item can be purchased or hand made. There is a $10.00 limit on purchased items. There is no minimum. Please don't go overboard, this is just a token. We'll take pictures before Hitty Gertrude Bell and her goodies go out and post it on her site! We here at Hittygirls Headquarters plan on adding some little extra surprises for the Travel Hosts, too.

4. Once all of the selected Hitty Hosts have sent in their items for the box, Hitty Gertrude Bell will set up a mailing list. This list will be sent to each Host, and also placed in the Travel Box. Hitty Gertrude Bell, all of the items, and her journal will head for the first name on the list. We will send the box out USPS Priority shipping with a Confirmation Delivery Sticker on the box. That way, if the box gets lost,we can track Hitty Gertrude Bell. (Wouldn't want her to get put in the dead letter office like the original Hitty!)

5. When Hitty Gertrude Bell reaches your home, the very first thing you must do (well, after opening the box and examining every item enclosed!) is to e-mail hittygirls@yahoogroups.com or me personally that you have received the box. This is very important, as we intend to chart Hitty Gertrude Bell's journey on her very own travel page.

6. Once you have e-mailed us that she has arrived, you may take two items from the box. You don't have to replace the items. This is one of the fun parts!

7. Hitty Gertrude Bell will be traveling with a journal. Each Travel Host can log in her arrival, 'take' her on an adventure, and write about it in the journal. Please keep the 'voice' of the journal to Hitty Gertrude Bell's voice. (As if she were writing it herself.) Once Hitty Gertrude Bell has returned to Hittygirls headquarters, we will transcribe her journal for everyone to read. You needn't actually have an adventure with Hitty Gertrude Bell (we don't expect you to go mountain climbing or discover a lost tomb), but use your imagination. Perhaps at your home, Hitty Gertrude Bell will set up an archaeological dig in the backyard?

8. Do you have a digital camera? You can send pictures of Hitty Gertrude Bell during her visit, and we'll put them on her web page as she travels. (This is not a requirement.) The pictures can be of Hitty Gertrude Bell meeting your Hitty girls, of a special adventure she has with you, or anything you can think up. If you would like to take regular pictures with a regular camera, that's fine too! Send them to us and we will scan them in.

9. Once the journal entries have been made, the pictures taken, and the gifts picked out, pack Hitty Gertrude Bell up, put USPS Priority shipping with our enclosed pre-addressed Delivery Confirmation Sticker on her package, and mail her to the next person on our list. Unfamiliar with the Delivery Confirmation Sticker? It's a green sticker provided by the Post Office. It is scanned at every stop on the way to it's destination. And, since we will have pre-addressed the stickers for you, we will have all of the numbers...and we--along with interested Hitty friends!--can actually track her on her amazing journey! You must notify hittygirls@yahoogroups.com or me personally when you mail the box out. We ask that you do not keep the box too long. A good guideline is about a week.

10. So....once Hitty Gertrude Bell has made the rounds and is back in Hittygirl Headquarters, what then? We'll transcribe her journal onto her web page, and take a few last pictures of her. And here's the best part! At this time Hitty Gertrude Bell will pull a name out of a box, and she will go to live personally with one of her Travel Hosts. Her journal, all of her items, and whatever is left over from the donated items will also go with her.

So, does it sound like fun? We think it does, and so does Hitty Gertrude Bell's. But what if you aren't one if the lucky Travel Hosts? Well, if you aren't one of the first ten to sign up, don't worry. We'll be doing other Travel Boxes with Travel Dolls in the future. (Sara has already hinted that she might carve a wooden Travel Hitty!) Anyone signing up after this round has been filled will be added to our list for number 2, and will be given the chance to have 'first dibs' on the sign-up list.

Here's a shorter version of our Travel Host *Requirements*: