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Sunday, 01 January 2023

The People and Things of Ciudad del Carmen: 'The Pearl of the Gulf'

Ben Bartee

A Photo Essay Located along the Gulf coast on the Yucatan Peninsula, Ciudad del Carmen, the "The Pearl of the Gulf," was once Mexico's seafood capital – until a fisherman discovered oil off the coast in 1971. Before that, pirates, from 1558 to 1786, took shelter on the island and used it as a staging ground for raiding and pillaging until they were forcefully evicted by Spanish colonial forces. (Actually, in recent years, the pirates have returned to rob oil rigs and commercial vessels.) My wife and I relocated recently to this, the partially-reclaimed-pirate-island-turned-oil-mecca to check out la vida real. The vibes are industrial and working-class. It's a relatively young-looking and young-feeling city; there is none of the classical architecture that you might find a couple hundred miles down the road in historic Merida, for example. Most of the inhabitants are migrants from other parts of Mexico, usually coming to…

Wednesday, 31 August 2022

Abandoning Civilization & Embodying the Tyler Durden Aesthetic in the Caucuses

Ben Bartee

"I don't know how Tyler found that house but he said he had been there for a year. It looked like it was waiting to be torn down. Most of the windows were boarded up. There was no lock on the front door from when the police or whoever kicked it in. Stairs were ready to collapse. I didn't know if he owned it or if he was squatting. Neither would have surprised me. What a shithole. Nothing worked. Turning on one light meant another light in the house went out. There were no neighbors. Just some warehouses and a paper mill. That fart smell of steam. That hamster cage smell of wood chips." -Fight Club Supposing anyone back home in the continental US were so inclined to send a care package my way here in the crevices of the Caucus Mountains, they couldn't. They couldn't because I have no…

Tuesday, 01 March 2022

Atmospheric Italy After 25 Years

Joslyn Jay

We booked a hostel in Rome, Italy, called “Fawlty Towers,” whose slogan my friend and I immediately invented to be “No, it’s really quite safe,” as the word “Fawlty” with the letter “w” immediately conjured up the word “faulty” with the letter “u” and then that Italian tourist hotspot called the Leaning Tower of Pisa. No, tilt straight! It was November 1996, and after flying to Italy from our respective study abroad locales (Spain and England), we were ready to eat some delicious pasta. Bring on that steaming bowl of rigatoni and red sauce. Mmm. We also couldn’t wait to meander through dusty ancient ruins – the ghosts of brave, high-minded Roman philosophers and warriors filled our brains just as much as delicious pasta. But, would our five-day Italy excursion live up to all our excited hype? Quite simply, yes. What I remember most about Italy was its “atmosphere.” There…

Saturday, 01 May 2021

Want a Second Passport?: the Easiest Countries to Gain Citizenship

Alex Jones

Want a Second Passport?: the Easiest Countries to Gain Citizenship For residents tired of their country and ready for a move, here are six sovereign states where citizenship is easy to come by. Experts living across the globe at International Citizens Group have looked at which countries in the world have the simplest requirements for citizenship. Gaining dual citizenship will give possessors an extra passport, more visa-free travel, additional employment options, and special tax perks in some places. The most common ways to get dual citizenship are through ancestry, marriage, and investment. Joe Cronin, President of International Citizens Group, said: “When living abroad or at home, having two passports from different countries can be very helpful. “Depending on which country you decide to apply for dual citizenship in, it can offer tax benefits and extra ways to travel between. It also opens up a whole other country for you to…

Friday, 01 January 2021

Outrunning COVID while Living Abroad in Baja

Michael Huber

It was April and it warm for that time of year, which means it was rather hot in the Arizona desert, however, the wind made the heat of the mid-day sun tolerable as we sped across classic Americana backroads with burnt out neon signs from a time that once was. Our BMW GS's engines were humming in unison to the rustling sound of dust devils that whirled around us. The worn black handgrip of the throttle on my BMW GS1200 felt tight and seemed to sense my overwhelming Zen state I was succumbing to as I slowly twisted it as if to further our connection. I was fully bonded with this machine that hurled me northbound towards an unknown desert camp that unbeknownst to that piece of the desert would soon be my home for the evening. It had been some time since I felt this content, and at peace.…

Sunday, 01 November 2020

All the Way Back Home to Ancient Olympia

Kevin Dimetres

“I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.” – Diogenes An undeciphered envelope and the bastardized version of my Greek family name were all that remained. It had been nearly one-hundred years since Eppocratis Dimitroulas left his Greek homeland, never to return again. The cultural connections disintegrated; the family relationships long lost. Three generations had passed since he left his family behind, long enough ago that his memory surely had faded into antiquity. But perhaps they still knew of him… Perhaps they knew of us? Throughout my life people have enquired about my apparent Greek ethnicity; I’ve always embraced the perception with pride, but could never move beyond the unsettling guilt that the connections to my ancestral heritage had been lost. I never felt worthy of “being Greek,” yet I adored the cultural associations and historical accolades, such as Socratic philosophy, Olympic heroism, and…

Saturday, 29 February 2020

Slow-Travel in Provence: The Farmers Markets, Wine Culture and the Special Village of Sablet

Russ Firlik & Emily Firlik

Our slow-travel experience led us to southern France, particularly to the village of Sablet in Provence where we spent two months: May and June. There are three Provinces which comprise the South of France: Provence, Languedoc and Gascony. We spent our time in both Provence and Languedoc. Sablet village is situated in the Cotes du Rhone wine-producing Vaucluse area. Sablet is 20 kilometers from Orange with its excellent preserved Roman monuments, 10 km from Vaison - la - Romaine (more Roman - 2nd century monuments), 30 km from Avignon, and 25 km west of Mont Ventoux. Most visitors to the area are cyclists, climbers and hikers, as it is near here that one begins the trails to Mont Ventoux. The Tour de France passes through Malaucene, a village not far from Sablet. It is said that Mont Ventoux is the hardest of all to climb during the Tour de France…

Sunday, 01 September 2019

Top Six Affordable Places for Digital Nomads to Live and Work Overseas

Kat Kalashian

With the global boom in internet access throughout the last couple of decades, the world’s job industries have been reinvented. No longer are we tied to desks—or even cities. Digital nomads (DNs) are limited only by their own imagination and work ethic. A good living can be made doing any number of things in the online world, including writing, graphic design, accounting, photography, marketing, advertising, social media management, and so much more. But being a DN is so much more than just a way to make money, it’s a lifestyle in itself. We revel in our freedom, are subject to no dress code, office politics, work hours, or even work days. If we want to take a Monday off to go surfing or visit a museum, we can. Fixed schedules mean nothing, so long as the work gets done. Plus, many are able to leverage a time difference in their…

Thursday, 01 March 2018

The Show Must Go On: Working on the Australian Circus Circuit

Sal Bolton

My eyes snapped open as I laid still on my back staring forwards, listening attentively to the bellowing voices in the dark which have disturbed my slumber. At first alarmed, I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized it was Marcus shouting to a group of people laughing loudly into the night somewhere within the showground, disrupting his sleep and demanding they shut the 'bloody hell up' - a word I found Australian's like to use as part of their vocabulary to just about describe or address anything. Even if you look on the back of a beer bottle you will find yourself blinking twice in bewilderment to read 'Bloody cold' under the 'serving suggestion'. I was feeling exactly that as I rolled over fidgeting uncomfortably cocooned in my rolled out canvas mattress sleeping bag; my 'swag' as the Aussie's would call it, but frankly sounds more like something…

Saturday, 01 July 2017

Exploring Wales and England through the Eyes of Friends

Dale Fehringer

Welcome to Wales “Croeso i Gymru” Richard said as he met us at the train station in Newport – “that’s Welsh for welcome to Wales!” We had just dragged our luggage off the train from London and we must have looked weary. But he and his wife Linda greeted us, put our luggage in the boot of their car, and drove us to their cute little stone house in the town of Monmouth. We settled in, met their part-time cat, Gizzy, (who belongs to a neighbor, but hangs out at their house) and toasted each other with a drink. How was London, they asked? Our answer was effusive: London is a marvelous place to spend a few days, and we had made good use of our time. Seeing a play, touring Royal Albert Hall and the Victoria and Albert Museum, riding the “tube,” eating fish and chips and Indian food,…

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Monday, 01 May 2017

A Labor of Love: Living & Renovating in Portugal

Jeannie Pontet

Nestled between two unkempt ‘rusticas” down a narrow lane that cuts through the rock-faced hills lined with weather–beaten cottages and stray cats, she resembles a well preserved but rejected woman with low self-esteem. In passing, the public perceives her freshly painted white washed walls and yellow window frames, putting on a brave face albeit a little tired. Step over her threshold and behold one little-used and unloved ‘pequena casita’; one is immediately confronted with the ‘parede privado’ a privacy wall blocking view into the living room from the lane outside, a case of “speak to the hand – this house is tired”. Built atop and carved out of the edges of an elevated sandstone rock, a sturdy foundation supports walls 60cm thick that keep out the heat of the sun and maintains the much-needed coolness. This room, measuring 8m² was once four tiny quartos comprising minuscule kitchen, living room and…

Monday, 31 August 2015

Little Man: Essaouira, Morocco

Adam Hausman

I can't go anywhere around here without intruding on a soccer game. (An American that calls it football is almost certainly battling a current of pretentiousness – watch for them to blink.) All the little alleyways that sprout off the main arteries crisscrossing the medina have an active game in progress, day and night. Often, these are the really young kids, the under-ten set. I imagine mama has set their boundaries: full freedom in the twisting veins, out-of-bounds at the main thoroughfares where the flow gets heavy with chaos and potential trouble. There is no choice but to interrupt the game - shit is narrow. First priority is protecting Josie’s pregnant belly as the game stops for nothing, no injury stoppage, no extra time. She's been clipped before, so have I. I don't blame them, if they stopped for every passerby it wouldn't be much of a game. I think…

Wednesday, 01 July 2015

When you go to Africa: Preparing for the Trip of a Lifetime

Philip Perry

I am writing this on a beautifully tiled veranda overlooking a spine of green mountains like the back of some monstrous dinosaur, its plates jutting boldly into the sky. It’s dusk. The sun is just beginning to set, spilling those last few rays of golden light upon the world, covering everything in a soft, warm glow. Below foothills inhabit the space between my lodge and the mountains. The hills are mottled with small, white buildings, like freckles on the backs of green whales. I’m staying at the Kabula Lodge, a small inviting warren of buildings and greenery built into one of the hillsides. In addition to the spectacular view, well-manicured, terraced gardens reside just below me which one can wander at one’s leisure. As I compose, the warbling of exotic birds fill my ears, dragon flies flit along the trees and vegetation, and on occasion green lizards with bright blue…

Thursday, 30 April 2015

When the Desert Calls

Annas Ghafoor

I was only nine months old when the plane touched down. Cradled in the arms of my mother, welcoming myself to arguably the most conservative country in the world. A place where women cannot leave their house without Burqas*, shops have to close five times during the day for prayer, and unrelated men and women can’t hold hands in public. Can a thing as freedom exist in a place like that? I had yet to find out. Having lived in the blistering heat of Saudi Arabia all your life, as a human being, it is still biologically impossible to adapt to the heat that takes over the country in summer. I, a student at a British school, often sought refuge from the sun. Oh, the sun – a great cause of annoyance, smelly sweat, and the frequent fly. Avoid the sun whenever possible. I was only twelve. Oh, how ignorant…

Friday, 31 October 2014

Living in Edinburgh

Maria Whelan

Cities have the potential to crush you or lift you without the intervention of another being. Having lived in Edinburgh for almost two years, my feelings for the city were those of a schizophrenic lover. My affinity with the place was as conflated as the bittersweet smell of malt from the brewery, blown in by the wind. Depending on my mercurial mood, that smell would be comforting one day, and nauseating the next. Like any city, there are different angles and edges to “Auld Reekie.” After cursing the constant cloudbursts for months, I eventually became accustomed to them. Other than Edinburgh, there are very few cities in the world where the rain exalts the atmosphere. In the dampness, you can imagine rugged clansmen, ascending the mound to the forbidding castle. On a jagged volcanic rock, it still stands in formidable splendor. The castle, which now boasts the possession of the…

Monday, 01 September 2014

Bumming Through the Wine Fields of Bordeaux

Joanna Gonzalez

Although the actual product might seem delicate, elegant and sweet, behind the scenes, the process of it sure is bitter, sweaty, rigorous and almost unfathomable–kind of like the day after drinking it. Filled with Châteaux and vineyards surrounding the city’s borders, wine has become dirt cheap in Bordeaux; since it’s one of France’s number 1 exports, picking grapes–similar to picking olives in the Mediterranean, argon oil in the Middle East or marijuana in the good ol’ US of A–was just another culturally grandiose idea for me. Visions of a Vineyard The current love of my life confirmed the idea after having heard whispers of “farming” and “picking” during my travels through Spain. He needed to make extra cash-money to come back home with me to America, and the best option was working on vineyard. I was all for it, excited even, but he constantly reassured me it wasn’t going to…

Monday, 30 June 2014

Self-Discovery in Beijing

Alec Siegel

The lights of the approaching subway grow brighter as it nears the platform. X is wearing his favorite T-shirt: a bust of Bruce Springsteen performing on stage with his name printed across the front, and a pair of Blue jeans. The doors open slowly, and he enters the subway car, immediately spotting an open seat and sitting down. It’s a bit of a ride to the office, so X decides to use his commute to get some work done. X has only been in this town for a few months, a foreign land with a foreign people and culture. Where he comes from, kids wear diapers and play with Legos. In this land, kids lack siblings and mostly play with their grandparents. X pulls out a sheet of paper. On it is a written language that is one of many spoken here. It’s a strange language, one with little images…

Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Village Life in Romania

Jennifer Smith

It’s late November and mornings are cold in Transylvania. The heat of last night’s wood fire has faded, and though the sun glints off fresh snow on the mountaintops it hasn’t yet reached the floor of the valley. I pull on a wool hat, force myself out of bed and dash across the courtyard and into the farmhouse kitchen. A wood fire hums in the tiled oven and the radio plays traditional Romanian, all dulcimers and violins. My host, Eugen, steps in from the cowshed with a pail of fresh milk and sets it on the stove to warm. More family members join us with a greeting and soon I’m warming my hands on a cup of thick Turkish-style coffee. My visit to tiny Sinca Noua was arranged through Village Life, a Bucharest-based NGO. Run by Alexandra Vasiliu, a Romanian with a Canadian connection, Village Life helps rural communities develop…

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Nature’s Spikes and Spires: The Calanchi Valley, Umbria

Diana G Armstrong

Out of my window, in the close distance, the hill-top town of Civita di Bagnoregio floats on a soft sea of mist, as if cast off from the valley below. Umbria the green heart of Italy lies to the north and Rome and the Lazio to the south. This town of Civita, in front of me, is something of an enigma as it sails away from its past and into its uncertain future. It is called The Dying City as it is gradually shedding parts of itself into the valley “Beware of these mists!” my neighbor, a Lubriano villager, warns me as an aside. These mists do clear usually by noon and reveal an astonishing sight: A valley more steeped in mystery than the ancient hill-top town of Civita di Bagnoregio itself. Civita is a town that the odd tourist will stop by to see on their way from Rome…

Monday, 30 December 2013

Wolf Hunting in Mongolia

Justin Guerra

I spread the three cards out on my table for Dawkhraa’s brother to see. Two jokers and the ace of clubs. Half amused in being defeated a third time he gave me a smirk. “If you win again I will give you something,” he exclaimed patting his jacket pocket. With new incentive, I dealt the cards again excited for the prospect of a reward and the fact that I found something I could actually beat Mongolians at. Ten minutes later, I once again placed down my last three cards signifying I had won the game. He only chuckled to himself then let out a sigh, placing down the generous amount of cards he still held in his hand and reached into his pocket. He slapped the object on my table, covering it with his palm, almost to build suspense he held it concealed for several seconds before relinquishing his hand.…

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

The Aymara Mystery, Bolivia

Katriina Virtanen

Lying underneath a starry sky on an island in the middle of Lake Titicaca while wearing a traditional Cholita outfit is not something I ever thought I would experience. On the small island of Isla de la Luna however, a controversy like a blonde Finnish girl in an indigenous Aymara dress is only the beginning of the strange contrasts. The island of Isla de la Luna on Lake Titicaca relies mostly on fishing as the main source of income for the locals. The island has an exciting history and hosts an ancient Tiwanaku temple, dating from the old Andean culture that lived from around 300BC to 1000BC. Isla de la Luna has also had a run in with the Incas, who decided to make the Tiwanaku temple theirs by adding their own design elements. Due to this rich nature and history, the 25 families that live on the island have…

Tuesday, 13 August 2013

Living in Dublin

Rudi Rauschenbach

I stand in my room briefly, thinking if I need anything else. Keys. Phone. Wallet. I place them in my purse, put on my scarf and jacket. I tousle my hair quickly and leave the apartment. The crisp Irish air welcomes me as I open the door. I am currently a resident of Shanowen Square Apartments in the district of Santry in the city of Dublin. I make my way to the bus stop and await bus number 9. The Costa Coffee right by Trinity College, he had said. I think I know where that is, don’t I? Trinity College. Of course I know where that is; Trinity is, after all, only one of the most famous colleges as well as Ireland’s oldest university. I look nervously at the bus routes, trying to understand the winding and weaving of streets that look like a piece of textile cloth, no start…

Sunday, 30 June 2013

Gracias Por Todo

Camila Zrein

“We are now entering into the beautiful city of Cadiz [Cadith],” announced the soft-voice of our tour guide on the bus from Madrid to Cadiz; his “z” sounded like a “th.” I peered out the window at my new home. Entering a new country becomes an experience that changes one forever: new sights, new smells, and new sounds. In my time traveling, I learned that to appreciate a culture was to immerse myself completely in it. My trip to Spain proved to be one of these life-changing experiences—landing in Madrid, I had no idea what to expect. The sky looked the same; the sun had followed us from New York and sat in almost the same spot. Our group of thirty Villanova students sleepily piled onto a mega-bus and headed towards our hotel, which would be our home for the next couple of days. Three days later, still jetlagged and…

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Lessons of Hip Shaking in Morocco

Ashley E. Williams

The ridiculously loud bump ba bump ba bump of Arab techno music pounds in my head. I’m lined up with twenty middle-aged Moroccan women wearing spandex and colorful sweatbands as we follow an instructor on a podium gyrating her hips and winding her hands seductively. She lets an ecstatic ululation out into the crowd, which the women enthusiastically echo amidst double-time kicks and hip thrusts and crossovers. The human energy is absolutely electric, but I'm panting and tripping over my own feet. How did I get into this strange situation, you might wonder? Let’s go back several weeks, when I decided it was time for me to start exercising again. My amazing life abroad seemed to be stagnating, and I needed an injection of zest. As an expat, developing routines that remind you of home can be helpful. And while recreational exercise is unheard of in many parts of Morocco,…

Saturday, 30 June 2012

Semester Abroad in Istanbul: Galatasary vs Fernerbache

John David Charlton

In 2009 I spent six months studying in Istanbul as part of my degree course. There were many reasons as to why I chose Istanbul over the other cities available, one of which being the chance to experience what many view as the most infamous football derby in the world. Ignoring the obvious safety concerns, I’d read enough on the Istanbul derby to want to go. The existence of Besiktas does indeed complicate matters from time-to-time, but the real antagonism lies in The Kitalar Arasi Derbi (Intercontinental Derby) between Galatasaray and Fernerbache. Galatasaray verses Fernerbache is in many ways the perfect storm. A cocktail of geographical, political and financial contrasts making it one of the few derbies that is—at least to the fans of the two sides—truly more than just a game. Like all world renowned football derbies, the Istanbul derby had a political edge. Whilst Galatasaray is located in the…

Sunday, 01 January 2012

Memoirs of a Koshimoto

Andrea Oikawa

February 18th Samurai swordfights, strutting Geishas and the Seven Gods of Fortune were images conjured up when I first read that Sakura, the Japanese town where I lived and taught English, would hold its twelfth annual Jidai Matsuri: Festival of the Ages. The advertisement appeared and zipped by in the local English language newsletter for about thirty seconds and I gave it no more thought, as the clock rolled over to 2:00 pm and I was due for my next lesson. The students, Yukie and Kanako, were two lively retired ladies with a high English level from years of working in the tourism industry. Incidentally Kanako brought along a Japanese newspaper bearing the same advertisement for the Jidai Matsuri. She regaled me with tales of festivals past and asked if I would be joining the parade. Letting out a high pitched laugh, I was baffled…

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Stuck in Istanbul

Antonina Okinina

Istanbul is a big market. Yes, they sell everything: from roasted chestnuts to whirling dervishes. They sell with heart and sticky obtrusiveness: if you stop even for a second, you’ll get stuck for a half of a lifetime. "Why did I come to Istanbul? A thousand times I regretted it. Time has passed, and there is no escape,"- says an old Turkish song. The longer you stay in Istanbul, the clearer you see author’s point. This city sucks out time, money, and energy, but it seems you don’t have the strength to push away another cherished glass. How many of these stories: one came for a week - stayed for a month, another came for a month –stayed for 10 years. Well, at least there are many of us, the stuck ones. Not to mention 12 million locals. Plus roughly 2 million tourists a year, but to be honest, these seem…

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

A Brazilian Expat Finds a Home in the South of France

Thais Chalencon

Leaving HomeI had just earned my BA in tourism in Brazil and had begun looking for work when I had a depressing realization: my employment options were limited unless I could acquire one or more languages to complement my native Portuguese. So it was that in 2008 I packed my bags and left Brazil, en route to the United Kingdom, where I planned to improve my English.After 10 months in London, I needed a break. Worn out by so much study and the challenges of expat life, I decided to walk the Camino Frances, one of the world's most famous spiritual pilgrimage routes: Santiago de Compostela.Though my intent was to relieve my stress and deepen my faith, I encountered a major distraction just 10 days into my walk. I met a French man who began walking alongside me. We haven't separated since. Our respective journeys aborted, we changed our itineraries.…

Wednesday, 23 February 2011

Working with the Peace Corps in Cape Verde

Callie Flood

When I decided to apply for the Peace Corps, I thought it would be best to enter the process with no expectations. With a degree in English and Sociology, an interest in humanity and no true direction upon graduation, I thought it was past time that I experience life in a different culture. Within months of my interview, I knew that I would be headed to Cape Verde, the tiny archipelago off the coast of Senegal, to teach English. What I didn’t realize was how much I would learn over the following two years. What follows is a glimpse of my experience, and a few realizations that defied my previous understanding of life while living through the lens of a different world. ***We like to think that we are all unique individuals, but there are many universal certainties in the human experience. We are all born of someone, have lived…

Wednesday, 29 December 2010

A Day in the Life: Faith and Suffering in South India

Thomas Crowley

“Tea or coffee?” asks our affable host Charles as I shuffle into the living room, rubbing my eyes. My day has hardly started and I’ve already been presented with a reminder of India’s penchant for creative borrowing. Indian tea would hardly be recognizable to a Chinese connoisseur; Indian coffee would baffle a café-frequenting European. The drinks have been given an Indian twist, as have many foreign traditions (gustatory and otherwise) that have found their way into the already-crowded world of Indian customs. In India, coffee and tea are commonly prepared in the same way: with whole milk, heaping spoonfuls of sugar, a hearty helping of masala (spices) and a pinch of the caffeinated plant in question. While tea is popular throughout India, coffee has its strongholds in the south; since I was in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, I opted for coffee. Even though we hadn’t met our hosts…

Tuesday, 12 October 2010

A Year in Mexico City

Oyvind Fuglestved Bakkevig

After living in Mexico City for a year, I can say it is noisy, smelly, crowded, polluted, exciting, exotic, endless and breath-taking. The ancient Aztec capital Tenochtitlan, now turned modern metropolis, has everything a visitor might be looking for, whether they are the intrepid traveler looking for adventures, the seasoned city-stroller searching for something new, or the rookie roamer taking his first steps into a new world of traveling. Mexico City has architecture that shows the stages of history from the Pre-Hispanic period through the Colonial days and until today. It has a history resembling a swashbuckling tale of adventure with its gold-hungry conquistadors, evil inquisitors, brave indigenous and idealistic revolutionaries. There are massive marketplaces selling everything from animals and insects, both dead and alive; fruits and vegetables of every color, size and taste; and all the knick knacks you could ever hope to buy for your friends placed on…

Friday, 30 July 2010

How to get Kidnapped in China

Michael Norwood

“We aren’t going to Huanggang City.” This is apparently how a kidnapping can begin. The first time I suspected something was wrong was when I heard this sentence, approximately 10 minutes after leaving Wuhan airport, Hubei province, Mid-East China. The decision I made to teach in China was a snap one, and I had no idea then that it would end up in what can only be described as “friendly kidnap.”

Monday, 03 May 2010

Living in Rome, Florence and Paris on a Fixed Income

Russ Firlik

We were fortunate, especially with the current economic and housing crisis, to have sold our small apartment in New Hampshire for a bit of a profit. Since we had recently retired after over thirty years as educators, we now had the time, the incentive and the self-determination to follow our long-loved passion of slow traveling. In other words: we are senior citizens who will spend our junior year abroad. For the first time in our 45 years of marriage we were homeless, jobless, and after giving our 2003 Honda Hybrid to our daughter, also carless. What were we to do? Follow our passion!

Monday, 22 March 2010

Experiencing Paris as a Local

Patricia M. Kong

There are two ways to experience Paris--as a visitor and as a local. I’ve done both. My first touristic Parisian holidays were amazing. When I passed a boulangerie, I would inhale the aroma of fresh bread deeply. When I visited pâtisseries, I smiled, because the pastries and chocolates were artistic, beyond edible. I didn’t want to blink. The images I’d fashioned over the years were real. I was constantly gazing up and around at the different buildings, absorbing all that centuries of architecture had to offer.

Friday, 22 January 2010

Working in Mumbai

Peter Hepenstall

As an Australian who now lives in the ordered life of Singapore, my working life takes me to many places in Asia, some of which I have the opportunity to stay for a while. Among my favorites is Mumbai, India. The magic of Mumbai always gets my heart racing – it’s almost mindboggling how this city of nearly 20 million people (a shade under the population of my entire home country) manages to function. Despite the chaos that prevails at almost every single turn, the city not only functions but throbs with a vibrancy and potency that is unique to Asia.

Friday, 20 November 2009

Studying and Living Abroad

Neha Prakash

Priya Jhaveri misses her dog. Jhaveri never spent one night without the black, furry beast lying across her blue, polka-dotted comforter, tickling her toes. But for the past two years, Jhaveri has been separated from her dog, family and home.

Tuesday, 01 September 2009

Brunei; that's somewhere near Dubai, isn't it?

Charlotte Baird

An international career change I think it was the moment I heard the announcement aboard Royal Brunei Airlines flight BI0098 telling us that our plane was about to be blessed before take off that I began to concern myself with some of the potential issues arising from moving to a Muslim country for a minimum of a 2 year contract. I had agonised over the conservative (some say strict) dress and social code of conduct, the ‘dry’ conditions rarely seen outside the Middle East, and the fact that every single person I spoke to seemed convinced that Brunei was located somewhere off the coast of Dubai, rather than its true location perched on the northern coast of Borneo.

Friday, 03 July 2009

Finding Joy in Sucre, Bolivia

Mark Kennedy

The story of how a backpacking couple turned a local watering hole into a nationally known restaurant and tour company Travelers in Bolivia looking to get away from the usual backpacking circuit are increasingly finding themselves in Sucre. Unlike the more popular destinations like Bolivia’s capital, La Paz, the salt flats near Uyuni and the mines of Potosi, Sucre offers the modern amenities of a large city, without losing the small town feel (about 200,000 residents).

Sunday, 31 May 2009

Beautiful, Bewildering Belfast

Meghan E. Miller

I would not call myself a business traveler, nor would I claim to live abroad; implying distance from some hypothetical home base. Instead, my home, my work, and my life belong to a kind of transient village. As an acrobat with one of Cirque du Soleil’s touring productions, I have performed for audiences in thirty cities across the globe. It has meant adapting to different cultures and climates, foods, fashions, languages, and different rhythms of life.

Monday, 23 March 2009

The Art of the Korean School Lunch

Jon W. Wick

If I had a nickel for every time I responded ‘hello’ to one of my students in the lunchroom, well, let’s just say that would solve a lot of my problems. Since those coins aren’t showing up on my doorstop anytime soon, I’m slogging through the days teaching English in rural Korea. Stepping off the airplane blind to the place, culture, or customs, I’ve come to take solace in the most unassuming of places - the school cafeteria.

Friday, 06 February 2009

This Scottish Life

Emilie B. Haertsch

The first time I met John he yelled in my face. It was the night I began volunteering at St. Catherine’s, and I was nervous. I stood outside the convent soup kitchen, unsure, but the waiting homeless men seemed to know what to do, and one of them rang the doorbell for me.

Sunday, 16 November 2008

The Call of Brazil's Capoeirista

Roxanna Benton

Ch-ch-ching-dong-dong. As soon as the familiar notes start, ears perk up. Ch-ch-ching-dong-dong. Within seconds, eyes start to flick around the room. Ch-ch-ching-dong-dong. Smiling people start to form a circle while clapping and swaying to the beat. Pavlov was right. It doesn’t take much. A bell for a dog, or five steely notes for a capoeirista, and off they go.

Sunday, 28 September 2008

Itching for Ingapirca

Tyrel Nelson

I had to get out of Cuenca. The six days of entrance exams (prospective students at my language school had to take an oral/written placement test prior to course registration) that I had just endured left me exhausted. I couldn’t bear to look at another language book or study guide – I needed a break. In my desperate search for a sound mind, I set out that Saturday morning in early January with two goals set before me: leave behind the frustrating Christmas vacation duties at Centros de Estudios Interamericanos (CEDEI) and make my first trip to the Cañar province. The Cañar province was a tiny, mountainous region just north of Cuenca. It held Ecuador’s most notable set of ruins, Ingapirca, and I was more than ready to make the trip.

Saturday, 05 July 2008

Our Village in Italy is Called Lubriano

Diana Armstrong

Our village in Italy is called Lubriano. It is a "pass by" village. Tourists traveling to the famous hill-top town of Civita di Bagnoregio (called the "Dying Town" as it is collapsing into the Calanchi Valley below) stop at the edge of our village to gaze across towards their stunning destination no more than one mile away. Truth is, this medieval wonder of a town is also our view.

Monday, 05 May 2008

Studying Italian at the Eurocentre School, Florence

Mark McKirdy

Tuscany, with its distinctive food and wine, gregarious people, ancient landscape and history forged by fact and fable, is a compelling attraction. And while package tours largely eliminate apprehension, they don’t necessarily ensure intimate connection with the culture. After a time, a bus window can become the frame in which the still life of the land is viewed with diminishing passion, and a day here or there soon dissolves into a week of misted memories. Inherent in routine is the danger of detachment.

Tuesday, 04 March 2008

Living in Ecuador: 5 Stages of Culture Shock

Laurie Pickard

When I introduce myself as an estudiante de intercambio, recognition floods people’s faces. They nod their heads. Yes, they have met others like me. There is a bin for us in their brains, and they drop me in alongside Dieter from Germany and Akiko from Japan. But the paradox of being a foreign exchange student is that although everyone can connect instantly with what you are, absolutely no one truly understands you. My orientation packet contains a chart showing the stages a foreigner goes through in a new country. After the “initial culture shock”, a “honeymoon period”, and an “adjustment period”, there comes “mental isolation” and the ominous note, “some travelers remain here”.

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Coast of Riches: Living in Costa Rica

Jonathan Hiltz

As the skies over Canada inevitably turn a light shade of gray, and the windowpanes are slowly conquered by an opaque frost, the urge to join the flocks of birds and head south for a few months becomes apparent. Having experienced over thirty Canadian winters prompted me to question, why do we live in such frigid temperatures when there are perfectly decent, warmer countries that exist a few hours away? This led to a year’s worth of research on international investment properties and the discovery of Costa Rica.

Wednesday, 28 November 2007

Luxor: A Step Back in Time

Lydia Horrex

When I found out I was going to be working for a British tour company, I anticipated traveling to a typical European holiday resort. Images of basic hotels and groups of out-of-control youngsters filled my mind. Let’s face it, this was my first assignment, my plane ticket wasn’t going to say, “Destination: Barbados”. When the job description arrived in the post, I knew my fate for the next six months was sealed. As I nervously opened the letter and read my appointed location, I was unable to be instantly delighted or disappointed; I’d never even heard of the place.

Thursday, 04 October 2007

From Edinburgh to the University of Illinois

Katie Jackson

Having been a student for two years at the University of Edinburgh I thought that I had pretty much seen all that University life had to offer me. I took up an offer made by the international office to spend one year studying at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champagne. I was not daunted at all by the prospect. Having travelled to the United States several times on vacation and having lived abroad in three different countries I considered myself to be well travelled and versatile, and to a certain extent I was. I wouldn’t loose my nerve on the twenty minute connecting flight that shook and rattled its way to my new home, nor did I loose my enthusiasm when I realised that I would be housed off campus in an enormous housing complex surrounded only by cornfields.

Monday, 20 August 2007

Learning Chinese While Hiking the Great Wall

Elizabeth Yeoman

Years ago, there was a regular announcement in the New York Times classified section. "Learn five languages a year while striding for exercise, “it announced. That idea fascinated me; on the one hand, it seemed the ultimate in over-achievement; on the other, the thought of seeing the world by walking (though maybe not striding) and engaging with it in its own idiom(s) was just so appealing.

Saturday, 30 June 2007

Living and working in Oz

Megan Manni

By most people’s standards, I had made it. I had a good job - glamorous even to some - great benefits and off-the-chart raises every year. By no means was I rich, but I paid all my bills and made it work. I had my own apartment in New York City, my life all planned out according to subway line, volunteer work, and a vibrant social life. I was living in the largest and arguably the most exciting city in the world, but something was still missing.

Thursday, 12 April 2007

Flea Market Pup

Kip Sikora

I had decided against going to Cuenca, but then Vince told me he had just arranged a ride with his neighbor, Oswaldo, in the back of a vegetable truck leaving Saraguro at 4 AM the next day. He was heading there in search of a turkey chick, and had plans to fatten that bird for a home-style feast come Thanksgiving in the jungle. Turkeys are somewhat rare in Ecuador, but Oswaldo was bound for one of the larger markets in Cuenca, and it had been reported anything could be found there, save the homemade shotguns sold much further north in Saquisili.

Tuesday, 06 February 2007

Home Again in Africa

Ryan Krogh

When I first met my new sister, she was afraid to touch me because of my skin. She had never seen a white person before. Her name was Rautia and she was six years old. When we were introduced, Rautia cowered behind her mother’s legs, only stealing quick glimpses of me from behind her mother’s turquoise dress. I said ‘Hello’ in Oshivambo like I had practiced, but it only frightened her more

Monday, 04 December 2006

Palermo: A Nighttime Awakening

Marianne Aiello

The streets of Palermo are deserted. The food markets that, yesterday, were filled with tanned noisy locals, vegetables from Sicilian farms and fresh fish from the Tyrrhenian Sea are now silent littered alleys. No shops are open. No people walk the shady streets. It is Sunday in Catholic Italy.

Thursday, 19 October 2006

Hold the Fries: Moving to Wales

Katherine H. Breen

I come from America, land of the free and home of the super-sized. We super-size, oversize, and jumbo-size everything from fast-food meals to roadways. One of the first tasks I faced living in Wales as an expatriate was learning to drive on roads the width of American bike paths.

Thursday, 31 August 2006

Learning about Japan in Boston?

Mie Watanabe

Since coming to Boston a year ago, I’ve learned less of what I had expected to learn. But I have also learned many things I had never expected to learn. I’ve been living on the American campus of a Japanese university: Showa Women’s University.

Saturday, 01 July 2006

Language Immersion Programs

Rebecca Seicol

As I stepped off the airplane and walked into the small, busy airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, the feeling of panic that I had thus far been able to ignore, hit me like a cheap blow to my gut. Every thought I had, every fearful and worrisome notion that filled my head could be summarized in one all consuming question. What the hell was I doing there?

Monday, 01 May 2006

Postcards from China

Betsy Quicksall

The workload is extremely comfortable around here. With five different groups of students, we are able to use the same lesson plan all week long. On a Friday, this could result in a flawless execution of the lesson or a sick-and-tired-of-this-material drone. Of course we aim for the former.

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