Travel-Minded

Part I: Becoming an English Teacher Abroad

2010-07-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

A dream of mine for many years now is seemingly soon to be fulfilled as I dot my i's and cross all the t's of my application to teach English in Korea. This highly pursued career of all wanderlust careers is crystal clear, or it at least seemed that way. Of course one would expect the lengthy application and visa process, but who would have thought to refer to a time line of important events,

Urban Hiking on the Homefront

2010-04-06T13:21:00.000-07:00

I am captivated by wanderlust, there's no doubt about it. You, in all likelihood know just as well as I do what a blessing and a curse it is to be a wanderluster. I'm not in too much debt after college, and to keep it that way, I only travel when I've got all the cash I need for the trip saved up just for that purpose. So what will us grounded travelers do, feeling trapped by the sedentary

Kabobs and Sheesha: Istanbul on a Budget

2010-04-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

A rare and pleasing collision of modernity and antiquity, Istanbul is a place where the lingering scent of sheesha and kabob in the morning means last night was an amazing night. The city itself is a massive force to be reckoned with; divided in half by the Bosphorous Straight, which acts like an immense river connecting the Marmara with the Black Sea. Getting to know such a behemoth is no easy

It's No Secret: Top 5 Reasons to go Backpacking

2010-03-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

5. No Worries. So many friends of mine worry about traveling abroad for an extended backpacking trip. They worry about every detail, from language barriers to washing out their skivvies by hand. What I always wonder about worry is why people waste their time with it? You’ll never be able to predict what’s going to happen on your trip, and if you can, then why are you going? The best thing

Ever-Useful Google

2010-03-10T12:37:00.001-08:00

Ah Google, your usefulness seems to be never-ending. Your email is outstanding, your search capabilities unmatched, and I must say, I use Maps more often than I should. One idle pastime of mine is creating maps of places I want to go, and where my friends want to go, viewing related photos, accommodations, and real estate.My best friend Kiraney has always wanted to travel to Spain. After

Don't Leave Home Without This

2010-03-08T18:45:00.000-08:00

Every guidebook in the world will lecture you on what to bring on your trip, right down to your skivvies. Well, I'm not going to even begin to repeat the list, sorry you'll just have to start from some other source. Everything "they" tell you to bring is great, bring it. Everything "they" tell you not to bring is not great, don't bring it. When they say you should bring only half of what you

Five Simple, No-Cost Travel Photography Enhancements

2010-02-21T07:42:00.000-08:00

If you're like most people, you must be just like my dad. He loves his little Canon PowerShot I bought him last Christmas, and absolutely cherished its older, larger, and now retired cousin, also a Canon. He takes loads of photos, some purposeful, but most random, and never really leaves the house without his camera.He is also the type of person to never second guess a shot, or edit shots once

Ever Dream of Expatriating Yourself?

2010-01-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

If you're anything like the average travel junkie, you often dream of living abroad. Or maybe you have lived abroad, or currently are. Good, you'll love this show. It's nothing new, to the world or to me, but I realized my network of nomad buddies have never heard of this program before... how could this be? Perhaps because it's not on Travel Channel or PBS? It's actually broadcast on the

Making a Personal Impact In Haiti

2010-01-21T11:32:00.000-08:00

With the earthquake aftermath in Haiti just over a week old, and the news of massive aftershocks still coming in, many Americans, and for that matter, people all over the world are wondering how they can act, and make sure their contributions are effective. I understand how the world is feeling. In my generation (I am 25) I have seen some of the most horrific natural disasters decimate human

La Rochelle, Paris, London, Home

2009-05-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

The past few days, I have been in La Rochelle, mostly on the nearby island called Ile de Re. The first day we rode the bus to Sablanceaux Plage, were we found it to be a mostly nude beach! I have been to many topless beaches on this trip, but never fully nude. They were mainly middle aged, or seniors, but seeing them naked; swimming, snorkeling, and sunbathing; they reminded me of little kids,

Cordoba, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, San Sebastian

2008-08-24T01:48:00.000-07:00

Cordoba is a typical Andalucian town. It has tiny winding streets covered in ornate stone patterns, and the homes are all stark white. Meandering through the streets, every so often a small plaza filled with small trees and fountains would open before me. In Cordoba I happened to catch two free outdoor flamenco shows. Young girls did the dancing and stomped their feet at amazing speeds in

Valencia and Granada

2008-08-14T01:53:00.000-07:00

Valencia is a huge city full of interesting people and amazing architechture. I was so surprised by the beauty of Valencia. The entire city is divided in half by a long, narrow park, not unlike the park blocks in Portland. I walked through this park on the first day and discovered something new around every corner. There were fountians, soccer fields, hiking trails, and even a carnival. I

Montpellier, Sete, and Barcelona

2008-08-08T16:34:00.000-07:00

Our last night in Montpellier, I met Jeff from Chicago and Jacklyn from Montreal. The three of us spent the evening making dinner in the park like hobos amongst the other Montpellian hippie kids. We joined several more friends from our hostel at a pub just around the corner. We sat outside enjoying the live reggae band and the lively nightlife.The next day we took a short train ride to Sete.

Lyon, Nimes, and Montpellier

2008-07-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

The second full day in Lyon I spend wandering the sites of Fouviere Hill, the tallest point in the city. I began wandering through the Roman ruins of two large ampitheatres set side by side. Its actually hard to call them ruins because they are so well intact they are still used for concerts today. In fact there was a concert being set up as I was visiting the site. From there I followed a

Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, Switzerland and Lyon

2008-07-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Cinque Terre is a national park with a system of trails that connect 5 colorful and tiny seaside Italian villages. The first full day, we hiked from our town Manarola through Corneglia and Vernazza and ended in Monterosso where unfortunately the beach was crowded but were able to do some snorkling. It was five hours of hiking over steep mountains along the Medeterranean cliffs, so we took the

Naples and Rome

2008-07-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

Our last full day in Napoli we visited the underground. It was incredible. The first part of our tour was the Roman ampitheatre which had houses built over it. The only way to access the ruins was from a hole in the floor under the bed of an apartment. Only a very small section was visible but it was really cool to walk around underground beneath apartments. The second section was the buried

Italy - Naples and Capri

2008-07-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

Two days ago we arrived to our hostel, Giovannis Home. It is actually run out of the massive apartment that belongs to a wonderful Italian man, Giovanni. Upon our arrival, he cooked lunch for myself, James, and two other American girls, Julia and Taylor. Later we took a self-guided tour which Giovanni advised after giving us a rundown on all the great places in Napoli. I think its his mission

Greek Islands - Ios and Santorini

2008-07-08T02:54:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last week or so in the Greek Islands. I was on Ios, a supposed famous party island for four nights and decided the island is relatively tame. People enjoy drinking and dancing innocently until the sun comes up. I never witnessed drug use or and sort of radical skanky behavior even once. Just a lot of fun dancing and eating too many gyros!Camping for five days on the beach

Litochoro and Athens, Greece

2008-06-30T02:42:00.001-07:00

We took the overnight bus to Thessaloniki, Greece a few days ago. The bus stops several times durning the night including twice along the border to shuffle folks out into the cold at 3am and collect passports. When we finally arrived in Thessaloniki, they just dropped us randomly in the middle of the city. No where near a bus or train station! I managed to learn a few Greek phrases and find

Leaving Turkey

2008-06-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

Today is a bittersweet day in Turkey. İ am leaving this evening after an extended stay in İstanbul to travel to Lıtochoro, Greece. İ have really grown to love İstanbul and the people here. Yes times have been slightly rough around the edges, but its all trial and error when visiting a foreign country.Since İ last updated my blog İ have been quite busy trying to fit in as much of İstanbul as

Istanbul

2008-06-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today we spent a good part of the afternoon at the Grand Bazaar. İt is a huge chaotic indoor arcade-maze of various shops which sell all about the same things; rugs, jewelery, head scarves, leather goods, çay (tea), and knock-off designer bags, shoes, and clothes. The vendors are a lot of fun to talk with and haggle prices. All can speak English and love to start up a conversation with all the

Finally here! England and Turkey

2008-06-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

I spent all day Wednesday and Thursday taking three flights to make ıt to London although when I arrıved my luggage had not... ! I spent about £15 on a coach to Readıng and by the afternoon I had arrıved at my home for the evenıng. I was fortunate enough to be hosted by my travel partner, James' Uncle Andrew and hıs wıfe, Amanda. We spent the afternoon walkıng about the country sıde on a