Kade enjoying a boat ride in Thailand. On the way to Monkey Island!

Monday, May 25, 2015

How can you travel?


Every now and then, I will get a question like, How can you swing these trips?

My answer generally includes:  good fortune, seizing opportunities, luck, curiosity, generous friends and family, time, money, just love to travel.

I tend to tell people, especially if they are younger, first get the time.  You want to live overseas? Carve out six months, or even better, a year.  You want to take a vacation, and you're going to Asia? You need three weeks minimum.  So always I focus on the time first.  Getting the time is often the most challenging bit.  Then to the biggest stumbling block for many:  money.  What I tell people is that, if you are educated and you speak English as your native language, and you have a bit of drive and determination, you can get a job teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) in many countries in the world, and the contract you sign should give you the income to live a decent life and save money for your flight back home.  It's at least a break-even proposition.  Once time and money are handled, then often the conversation turns to the most challenging hurdle:  F-E-A-R.  The thought of actually travelling overseas, much less moving to a strange land, paralyzes many people.  This fear keeps people from acting.  Sad, but true.  For those not overwhelmed by fear, all the other intangibles can make it happen - the ones I listed above.  You have to want it.  You have to do some research.  Your curiosity has to be off the charts.

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