O Canada

from my stash from Cuba because I knew I’d be getting more soon. Turns out, Canada has an entire separate terminal for US bound flights and the duty I had my first ever business trip for an international TESOL conference in Toronto Canada where I presented along with three of my colleagues on how to resuscitate your listening and speaking classes.  And by ‘business trip’ I mean it was nearly entirely paid for- flight, hotel and most food. I had to buy my own drinks, which I happily did, especially since I could order Havana Club in most bars! I’ve never had anyone pay for my travel and just couldn’t get over how great this idea was- someone else paying for me to see the world.

I’ve been to Canada and Toronto several times. My family used to live in upstate New York, and I remember the days when we would cross the border without a passport. So Canada, sadly, was not a new country for me, but I was ok with that because it was a paid trip and aside from time, I was not wasting other resources visiting a country that would not get me closer to my 196 country goal.

Our presentation went super well with a packed house of over 80 attendees and lots of questions. I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed presenting, being in front of an audience and feeling like a professional with something to share.  It got me super motivated and excited for my next proposal and conference for which I am already searching locations that are new to me and much warmer than Canada in March.

Though it was a business trip and we were meant to attend the various presentations at the conference, we managed to fit in quite a bit of sightseeing. I’d gotten a few guide books for Toronto from the library and did some reading on the plane ride. I read about Kensington Market which is famous for its fun little neighborhoods and vintage clothing stores.  It was top of my list to see.

I was blown away by the amount of vintage shops and have four new to me dresses to prove it. It was fun wandering the streets and shops in the quaint little neighborhood. We stopped in a bar and met a Colombian Canadian who was very friendly and chatted us up for a bit. Indeed, most everyone we met in Canada was super friendly and made our time there ever better.

We also made it to Lawrence Market a huge food market with fresh meat and fish and cheese. From there we walked to the water front. Most of the lake was frozen, yet there was a beach with sand and Adirondack chairs and signs everywhere warning us not to swim.

We also tried to explore the Toronto underground, but were surprised to learn that the shops were not open on Saturday. This seemed quite strange. We did do some walking around down below, mostly to stay out of the bitter cold. Apparently you can walk much of downtown Toronto underground.  I’ve heard it’s so intricate that even locals get lost below ground.

Our evenings were filled with catching up with old colleagues and enjoying the bar scene in Canada with a few locals we met on the street.  And of course, I enjoyed all the Havana Club I could handle while it was free flowing from the rail.

Traveling Tips for Toronto

1. A very friendly local did us a favor and told us bathrooms downtown are always downstairs. This proved to be true everywhere we went.
2. I had been very excited to find out what exactly Canadians call Canadian bacon. I had visions of ordering a burger and asking for…. Bacon?  This exact scenario actually happened to some friends and I many years back in Vancouver. We never got the answer then. I am pleased to tell you- Canadians call Canadian bacon, peameal bacon. I know not the reason.

3. If you are planning to buy cigarettes and liquor at the duty free shops in Canada to

save you money like I’ve advised before, DON’T.  I was shocked to find that as well as not having any of the cigarettes I smoke, they were also $72-$86 per carton! I was very happy that I bought a carton from the states to Canada for $42US. 

As for liquor, I had my whole plan figured out for my precious Havana Club rum. I even let a whole bottle be drunk free shop there DOES NOT sell Havana Club due to the embargo.  If you are flying to anywhere other than the US you can get your cigars and rum no problem.  Sadly I will now have to ration my one remaining bottle until I go to Europe in a couple of months.

* photos at https://wordsandothersuchthings12.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/o-canada/

traveler's remorse

Travelers’ Remorse

It happens, usually about two beers in, where I feel myself forgetting the things I think I should do and become content with just doing what I am doing. I guess it is a ‘be here now moment’. So much of traveling, especially mine where I am rather certain I will not return to the place I am, is filled with things you think you are supposed to do rather than the things you actually want to do. I feel it is an ongoing battle and am surprised, with my years of traveling, that I still experience this. I suppose it really is the fact that I don’t think I will return that I feel the need to do and see everything, even if it is not what I actually want to do.

I still remember the moment, on a beach in Las Peñitas, Nicaragua in 2007 when I finally decided that I do not care about museums or churches or whatever else the guide book tells me I must see. I was meant to be leaving said beach and very clearly in my body and soul did not want to. But if I did not, I would not get to do and see whatever it is I thought (at the time) I was supposed to see. I was toes deep in sand when I very clearly decided I did not care.

 I was traveling alone, I was on a two month time schedule to get to Panama and back to Honduras for my flight out and the only thing telling me to go and see was a guide book. Who was I trying to impress?  If it were anyone back home, or whoever I might end up telling my traveling stories to, I could very easily lie…’yes, I saw such and such museum, church, ruin, monastery. Oh it was amazing,” how would they know the difference anyway.

So that is not what I cared about.  Rather I think it was something innate within me telling me, ‘you must do this and that, or else you are missing out.’ It was very hard to convince myself to stay on that beach in Nicaragua for a few more days enjoying the sun and my writing, but at the same time there was something very releasing about it. I allowed myself to decide what exactly and WHY exactly I travel.

That was all before I set my goal to travel to every country and therefore before I knew I would not be back to the places I visited, so perhaps that made it easier. I do not know. What I do know is that I very much enjoyed that journey, doing exactly what I wanted to do. Not stepping foot inside a church, entering very few museums and instead laying on beaches, meeting locals, lingering over long dinners in outdoor cafés, read entire novels in a day, writing away.

So how am I here, 10 years later and still having this sort of traveler’s regret before I’ve even left the place? Again, I have to think, that now that I have determined my goal and set my rules of not returning till I have visited every country, takes with it that sort of ‘do everything you can while you can’ attitude. I get that. I do. But that doesn’t negate the fact that there are certain things I enjoy and certain things I do not. What kind of fun would I have if all I did were the things in the ‘sights’ category of my travel guide, even though I thoroughly do not enjoy them. There comes a time where we have to be honest with ourselves and decide that traveling or vacation is indeed for us. Us unique individuals who travel for myriad different reasons and each journey will indeed be unique in this way.

I am ok with that. Truly I am. And that’s why I like this state, two beers in, sitting in a riot bar (not even mentioned in my guide, but highly suggested by a friend) and thoroughly enjoying two of my favorite things, drinking and writing, in a unique bar  I am quite certain I will never come upon the likes of again.  This is what I enjoy. This is what traveling is for me. Yet sadly it takes me two beers to come to the realization, or rather the acceptance that that is ok.

One beer in I was lamenting not having gone into the numerous free museums my Budapest discount card allowed me, feeling guilty for taking time to write (and drink) fully knowing that today is my last day in Budapest and tomorrow I would be off to another part of Hungary. Even though I very consciously decided to go to said bar.  Clearly my intuition is a few steps ahead of me, thank goodness. After a rather tiresome day of doing the things I thought I should do and battling Saturday crowds and not entirely not enjoying myself, I retired to my hostel to write. Mind you, something I very much anticipated doing a lot of, only to find myself feeling guilty that I was not out and about ‘enjoying’ my last day in Budapest. At which point I decided, or rather my heart did, to go to a riot bar. The most famous in Budapest.

Here I have written on my novel and surpassed 50,00 words, a milestone I have been working towards for more than three years, drunk incredible beer, met an Irish couple and three dock men from Denmark, all while people watching and admiring the crazy riot bar that is Szimpla (surprisingly translated to ‘single’ rather than ‘simple’ as I had assumed. Perhaps more fitting for me, the solo traveler.) Should I regret that?

Of course not. So perhaps the solution is to drink at least two beers daily and as early as possible to avoid this traveler’s regret. Or perhaps a simpler solution would be to come to terms with the very thing I did ten years ago and simply decide that what I want to do is exactly what I should do. And if, I ever make it to my goal, perhaps Budapest, or Puerto Rico, or Saigon, or Buenos Aries will be the very next place I shall go.

Z is for Zumba

We have finally come to the end of the A-Z challenge. I am so happy to have completed my second challenge. It feels good. However, I think it will feel even better to get back to my novel, This Story Takes Place in a Bar. I spent the past weekend in Colorado Springs at The Pikes Peak Writing conference which I left inspired and motivated and ready to finish my novel. After this final blog post, I can!

Most of my bucket list items have been in some way travel related. This makes sense of course since my passions are traveling and writing.  But aside from writing about wanting to visit Zimbabwe, which of course I do, I could not think of another travel related Z, so I choose to write about Zumba.

I’ve been doing Zumba now for at least four or five years.  I go three to six times a week depending on my schedule. A great week is when I can go six times.  I’ve even been known to go twice in one day, once in the morning and once in the evening. I simply cannot get enough of it.

I’ve entertained the idea of actually becoming a Zumba instructor.  It makes sense, I go all the time, know the dances and love it, might as well get paid to have fun, right? It’d be great to make some extra money while getting fit and having a blast.

I’ve looked into trainings. There are whole day trainings that cost about $300, after which you are certified to instruct. $300 seems like a lot. And while I like the idea of being done in a day, I am not sure how confident or comfortable I would feel teaching after just one day of training.  Of course, I suppose my years of attending classes do count for something. 

This is a bit what it is like in my head when I simultaneously try to talk myself into and out of becoming an instructor of Zumba.  For now, I will keep attending classes, cue moves in my head while I dance and work up the courage to one day be in front of the crowd shaking my thing. 

X is for Xanadu

Dictionary.com defines Xanadu as ‘a place of great beauty, luxury and contentment.’ Whose bucket list isn’t that on? I think we all just might call it something different.

I’ve already discovered several of my Xanadu’s. The nearly empty beach on Vieques, Puerto Rico where I can sit for hours in the sun listening to the waves kiss the shore or any concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre where I can dance surrounded by natural beauty everywhere, or camping on the Poudre River sitting around a camp fire with good friends late into the night.

But that doesn’t stop me from searching for my next Xanadu. One can never have enough Xanadu.

W is for Whale Shark

I think it’s every diver’s dream to dive with a whale shark.  It’s most certainly mine. As the largest extant fish species, its average length is 46 feet. 46 feet! It can weight up to 15 tons.  It is rather docile, and it is quite common, once finding one, to swim along with it. Talk about realizing just how small you are while swimming about with an almost 50 foot giant in the ocean.

In Honduras, where I learned to dive, whale sharks are quite commonly spotted during the spring months.  And while I dived a lot during that time, I was never lucky enough to find one.  So, I’ll keep diving and perhaps on that live aboard, or perhaps somewhere else on my adventures around the world, one day I’ll swim with this gentle giant in the sea.

V is for Vendimia

While living in Chile I became great friends with twin brothers, Esteban and Luis. We have kept in close touch since I left over 10 years ago now.  I visited Esteban in Canada when he went there to study, returned once to Chile and traveled around with him a bit and showed Luis around when he trained around the United States and spent a week in Colorado with me.

The brothers and their family have a farm in Cauquenes, Chile. In the ten years I have know them, I have listened in awe to the stories they tell of Vendimia.  On their farm, they grow grapes. Once a year, around this time, family and friends from all over, meet on the farm and harvest the grapes. 

During the days, they hoist baskets up and down the rows of grapes collecting the delicate fruit from the vines.  In the afternoon, they put the grapes in giant barrels and stomp them. Just like in I Love Lucy. Really! In the evenings, they have huge asados with all the Chilean foods I miss. And at night, they sit around a huge campfire drinking wine and pisco enjoying the company of each other. When it is time to go to bed, everyone retires to the various tents set up around the farm.

The boys invite me every year, and it has been a dream of mine since I first heard about it, to go. I really cannot imagine anything more amazing than being back in Chile with my old friends and their family, picking grapes and stomping them, sleeping under the southern sky, soaking it all in.

The way my terms work at my teaching job, and in order to keep my health insurance, I’ve never really been able to go when it takes place.  But we are soon moving to semesters which may allow me to take a semester off while teaching shorter four week terms upon my return. Thus making it very possible.

I have set a time limit for this one contingent upon the length of my visa for Chile which expires in 2018. I will take a term off. I will return to Chile, the only country I will allow myself to return to. I will spend a couple of weeks there, one on the farm fulfilling a dream, the other around Chile visiting old friends. I will then visit Paraguay and Bolivia for two weeks or so and finally see all of southern South America.

My eyes tear up as I write this, thinking of how long I have been dreaming of doing this, returning to Chile, seeing my friends, doing something I’ve only ever seen in pictures.  So Esteban and Luis, watch out. I’m heading your way. 

U is for Unicorn

I’m pretty sure there aren’t any actually unicorns to be found anymore, except on that one Noah’s Arc game I used to play at Godfather’s pizzeria when I didn’t like pizza, and in The movie The Last Unicorn which I watched in the theaters and first realized that a unicorn was not, in fact, a Thanksgiving decoration.  And so I’m not talking about finding a real live unicorn (though I reserve the right to still look every now and again), I’m talking about that which we think cannot be attained.

Isn’t that what a bucket list is, anyway? And just like that game I used to play, every now and again, you get the Unicorn, and bring it back to Noah’s Arc just in time, and it’s possible to imagine a whole new world, one that contains unicorns. And I like that world. Don’t you?

T is for Travel to All 196 (recognized) Countries in the World

I’ve been looking forward to writing my T since this whole challenge started. This is my biggest and toughest bucket list goal.  It is quite close to my heart. It is also the goal I will be most proud of once achieved.

After I made it to my seventh continent, a goal I thought I would achieve some time in old age and not when I was 28, I had to think of a new even crazier goal.  As avid of a traveler as I am, it wasn’t a far leap to decide to visit every country in the world.

Sometimes it seems oddly possible.  I’ve made a rule for myself that, with the exception of Chile (a piece of my heart is still there and one must always return to where they left their heart) and Vieques, Puerto Rico as mentioned in a pervious post (an exception made because I would actually move there and live and therefore travel from there), I will not return to countries I have already visited.  If I always go to new countries, then if I travel to 2-4 countries a year for the rest of my life, I can do it. I’ve been traveling to at least two countries a year since I’ve been stateside. Also, since I plan to live abroad again, that 2-4 countries becomes much bigger when I travel from wherever it is I move. It’s all entirely possible.

I know some people think this is crazy, and I understand that it is fun to go back to a place you know and love. But I am the same way with many things, books, for example. With the exception of The Catcher in The Rye, which I read yearly, I do not re-read books. There are simply too many books in the world, and I will not read all that I desire to read, if I repeat books. This is how I feel about countries. There are simply too many amazing places to see and discover that I cannot allow myself to revisit any until I’ve seen them all.

I am currently sitting at 44 countries, Cuba being my last. In two short weeks I will fly to Eastern Europe where I will travel around Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, The Czech Republic and Poland for a little over a month.  That will put my number at 49.  This winter, I will travel to The Dominican Republic where I will spend one week celebrating my 50^th country in style at an all inclusive resort with several friends joining me. I think having traveled to 50 countries is certainly something to celebrate, and I intend to fully commemorate it. From The Dominican Republic, I will spend another week in Haiti touring around. Number 51.

The adventure never stops when you’re trying to see as much of the world as you can in the short life we live, and I don’t want it to. I am fortunate that I have a teaching job in which I can take a term off, unpaid mind you, but off. I am also fortunate that I can return to this job after seven weeks gone.  It is also a job that gives me a lengthy, albeit unpaid, winter break as well.  This gives me lots of time to travel.  And although I don’t usually think of it as lucky that I do not have kids and a family, for purposes of traveling, it sure is convenient.  It also helps with the money it takes to get to all these places.  Though I will still travel once I have kids, they will just make it even more of an adventure.

And while putting it all out here on the page and thinking of the logistics of doing this makes it seem almost easy, sometimes it feels entirely overwhelming and even impossible. Can I really keep up with 2-4 countries a year once I’m older, or have kids and other obligations?  Will some countries be impossible or off limits?  But then I just remind myself how impossible I thought it would be to get to Antarctica, my seventh and final continent, and I am renewed and re-motivated and for a tiny moment I remember that I can do anything I set my mind to.

S is for SCUBA dive on a Live Aboard

I first got certified to SCUBA dive in 2006 in Útila, Honduras.  Since then, I make sure I can dive wherever I go. I’ve dived in Honduras, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Chile, Colombia, and Cuba.  I even plan to dive in Poland when I go to Eastern Europe in a couple of weeks.  All of these dives were either shore or boat day trips out to sites. The most I’ve ever dived consecutively is when I got certified in Honduras and dived five or so days in a row. It was amazing.

 My bucket list goal is to dive on a live aboard boat.  Live aboards are trips in which you stay on the boat for five to seven days and dive pretty much as much as you want the whole time. You eat, dive, eat, drink, dive, dive, sleep. Then you wake up the next day and do it all over again.  The boat tours around the whole time so you’re diving in different sites.

I’ve never considered myself all that avid of a diver. It is hard to be when you live in land locked Colorado, but of course, I make it a point whenever I can to get a few dives in whenever I go anywhere near water.  I would love to stay on a live aboard and really devote myself to honing my skills underwater, not to mention see more underwater life than I’ve ever seen.

Live aboads are everywhere there is diving. They are not cheap, but I think they are usually worth it if you add up the cost of each dive individually.  I’m thinking about Bali or The Philippines or Thailand. I’ll spend a week on the boat and then travel around a new country.  

R is for Return to Semester at Sea

Pretty much since the moment I stepped off ‘The Great White Mother’ as the SS Universe Explorer was affectionately called by its 600 plus voyagers, in December 1999, I was plotting my return.  Never has an experience changed and formed my life path more then that of the voyage around the world Semester at Sea took me on in the fall of 1999. Quite frankly, Semester at Sea ruined me. I would never again live a simple, easy life. I would always be seeking new worlds, new cultures, people, food and experiences.

It was on the ship, in the early get to know you days on the Bali deck where my cabin was located that I formed my first seemingly unattainable goal to visit all seven continents.  Semester at Sea had brought me to Africa, my fifth continent. It was five years later that I stepped foot on the continent of Antarctica (#7) having sailed from Ushuaia, Argentina (#6).

I became an ESL teacher as a result of having seen the world through Semester at Sea. It was the best way I knew to travel and see the world while actually making money. I taught and lived in Chile and Honduras and traveled extensively from both.  I simply could not shake the wanderlust that Semester at Sea had planted in me. And truthfully, I didn’t want to.

Upon returning to the states, the dream to return to Semester at Sea was still there.  I researched several ways to return to the ship (now a new ship called the MV Explorer.)  I could return as a travel agent for the various field excursions in port, or as the shipboard store clerk or any of the various jobs needed on essentially a cruise ship. I was open to anything that would get me back and traveling around the world again.

But the one job I had become particularly fond of, especially now that I was a teacher, was that of professor. I felt it was the most prestigious for sure, and as such, also the hardest to get. When I got my current job teaching ESL at Colorado State University, I felt a little closer to that goal.  Not that Semester at Sea is looking for ESL teachers, but I felt I had my foot in the door a little bit more now that I was teaching at a university. I envision teaching creative writing and literature onboard, just like the teachers I had while sailing around the world.  

I am not sure how I will eventually get back on the ship that ruined my life and set me on a path of adventure and discovery, but I know that one day the recurring dreams I have of being back on the ship will come true.

Q is for Quit my Job

Don’t get me wrong, I actually like my job. I even considered myself a little lucky that I found a career that I am both really good at and enjoy.  It is also, thankfully, a job I can do anywhere in the world.  That’s what first drew me to English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching.  I’ve been teaching for 10 years now, and for the most part I love it.

But, it’s not my passion. It is simply something I got into in order to travel the world and make money.  Traveling is my passion, but you don’t very well make money simply traveling, unfortunately. But my other passion, is what I’m doing right now, writing. 

I write short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. I am working on a novel called This Story Takes Place in a Bar, for which I now have nearly 50,000 words.  I get up at 5:30 most mornings in order to write for two hours before I go to my day job. It works for me, but it is not ideal.  It kind of sucks to have to leave in the middle of a really good part because I have to go to work. Two hours a day is more than I’ve ever been able to dedicate to my writing, but it is still not enough. It is never enough.

My ultimate goal, of course, is getting my novel published, having the world read my writing and being validated as a writer.  Along with all of this, is a rather large paycheck.  Then, I quit my day job. I’ll have full days to write whatever I want. I’ll travel the world and find inspiration everywhere. Then, I’ll write all about it. But first, I have to quit my day job.

P is for Peace Boat

Peace Boat a ship that sails around the world promoting peace wherever it goes.  It sails out of Yokohama, Japan and travels to 20 some countries in three months.  This means you don’t get too much time in each country, but it’s one of the best options I have to get closer to my 196 country goal.

 I’ve applied twice now to be a volunteer English language teacher.  They pay your room and board on the ship. I just have to get to Japan and pay my way in each country.  I made it all the way to the videoed lesson plan. I had thought I would be a shoo in, having traveled as a student on Semester at Sea and therefore understanding life on board a ship. I also thought my 10 years of teaching experience and my maturity (most people applying are just out of college) would be a huge selling point.  I guess they weren’t.  Apparently they want to you to have had teaching experience in Japan.  I do not have this,

however, I’ve had plenty of experience teaching Japanese students at my university in Colorado. I made sure the lesson video I sent was filled with Japanese students so they would know this.  It did not seem to help.

I haven’t given up. Getting so far along in the interview process just makes me want it more.  Now that my job will soon be moving from terms to semesters, I think it might be easier for me to take a whole semester off.  Owning my home also makes it easier to find someone to move in temporarily, pay rent and watch my cats while I’m gone. 

The program is entirely volunteer. I don’t get paid anything except for room, board and a trip around the world. I’m not complaining about this of course, but there is a lot of money that needs to be saved to afford the flight to Japan and whatever expenses I’ll have in each port along with keeping and maintaining a house in the states all while not earning a pay check for three months. So if everything lines up, I’ll call it kismet and know I was meant to go.

Semester at Sea was one of the best times of my life and I cannot imagine anything better than being back on a ship traveling around the world, visiting more than 20 countries, learning about and advocating peace and teaching English.  It’s like this program was made for me, and I am determined to be a volunteer on Peace Boat one day.

O is for Obliterate Obstacles

Bonus points for alliteration! There are always bonus points for alliteration.  Here’s your monthly dose of inspiration coming at you simply because I already talked about Opening a bar, and there’s nothing else I really want to Own now that I recently bought my first house, and there’s only one country that starts with O (can you guess it) and I just recently talked about moving to the Middle East (Opps, did I give it away…. There’s another O.) So, ya, O was a bit of a struggle, and though it’s not a bucket list item, it Offers (there I go again) some advice on how to accomplish all those bucket list goals we all have.

Obstacle is defined as something that obstructs (ohh, another O) or hinders progress.  With a bucket list like mine, you can bet there are more than a few obstacles that stand in the way of completing my goals.  Age, time, and money to name just a few.  But you may have noticed with each post I have a plan, a ‘when’ and a ‘where’ and sometimes a ‘how.’ This plan is how I will obliterate obstacles in my way.

The truth is, any goal you may have will have obstacles, otherwise it wouldn’t be a goal, and you would have already done it by now. It’s a goal because it’s not easy. I met a guy in Costa Rica who left me with a quote I’ve always remember, “The view from the top looks better when you worked hard to get there.”  It’s true. There’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you toiled, you sacrificed, you ate canned food for months, you missed your favorite concert, you worked three jobs, you didn’t sleep.  When you reach that goal, everything seems more worthwhile and you wonder if it wouldn’t feel as good as it does here at the top, because man it feels good, if it didn’t take so much to get there.

Obstacles are just things, usually tiny things that only seem big because they’re blocking our way at the moment. They can be obliterated if you want it badly enough. And I want it badly enough. 

N is for Northern Lights

Magical lights in the sky and I’m not tripping? Yes please.  The Aurora Borealis has always fascinated me.  It just seems so unreal and unnatural, yet it is completely pure and absolute.  The pictures I’ve seen, while incredible, I am sure do not do justice to the real thing.

I simply must see the northern lights. I wouldn’t mind seeing them in Alaska, but rather, I envision seeing them somewhere more exotic, like Iceland. I could kill two birds with one stone this way. Visit a new country and see the lights.  I feel it will be one of those very present moments in which I do not even want to take photos, but rather simply watch, and enjoy and be in awe of what this world can do.

M is for Move Abroad (Again)

I really, really love the idea of being an Expatriate.  I have always been fascinated by those who have made another country their own. I considered myself an expat the whole time I lived in Chile and Honduras, but I questioned it. Could I really be an expat if I always knew I would be returning to the place I originally called home?  It felt a bit like cheating.

I think I’ve finally come to terms with it. I am pretty sure I will always call The United States home, no matter where it is I live.  I am just too patriotic and there are just too many creature comforts I can’t live without for too long like ice, Campbell’s Tomato Soup and the simple conveniences that come with being in a country you spent the majority of your life and where you speak the language.  As a former expat, I can tell you, nothing compares to being able to order a hamburger, no mayo, extra pickles, medium rare and a fountain coke with lots of ice and getting exactly that.  It’s the little things.

I’ve learned I don’t need to be a long term expat, but I would like to move abroad again for a year or two, or longer if I love it. I like the idea of being open to whatever comes.  I imagine moving to the Middle East. ESL teachers get paid ridiculously well there which would fund all of my travels around the Middle East. I imagine staying at least until I visited every country in the Middle East. I’m not sure I would ever see these countries otherwise and if I am going to visit all 196 countries, this is the best way to do.

My preferred method of travel has always been to move abroad and then visit all of the surrounding countries while living wherever it is I am.  It is cheaper and easier and I can make money along the way.  I visited every country in Central America, except Belize, while I lived in Honduras, and while living in Chile I managed to visit Peru, Argentina, Uruguay and Antarctica.  I will do the same in whatever Middle Eastern country I land in, all while making more money than I’ve ever made!

L is for Learn Spanish Fluently

I spent nearly two years in Chile, and another year in Honduras. I take advantage of the work study privilege the university at which I work offers, taking a few Spanish classes a year. I travel yearly to Spanish speaking countries so that I can practice the language, and yet still, I haven’t mastered it.

I understand how difficult it is to learn a language. I teach English every day to students who are learning it to eventually attend university classes in English. I see their struggles, and at the beginning of each term, I tell my students that I too am learning a language. I want them to know that I truly do understand the enormous task it is to learn a foreign language.

And, as a second language teacher, I’ll tell you something not many want you to know. I fully believe that some people truly are just better at learning a language. I do not know what it is in the brain, nor do I have scientific research to back this up. What I do know is what I see every day in my classes, and what I myself have been through. Some students just get it. They enjoy it. They push towards it. I am not that student.

One would think, after having lived abroad for nearly three years in Spanish speaking countries, that I would be much more fluent than I am right now. One would especially think that after taking so many university level Spanish classes that I am more than half way to a minor in it.  But I sadly, am not.

I am most certainly better than I was when I first stepped foot in Chile ten years ago, knowing, quite literally only the words for ‘bathroom,’ ‘beer’ and ‘apple’ (not sure why I knew ‘apple’-not exactly as necessary as the other two.) In fact, I recently traveled around Cuba for a month quite competently and confidently using my Spanish in a country where very little English is spoken. I understand much more than I speak, but I can also get said what needs to be said.

All of this, I feel, is a great accomplishment, but I can’t help but think, that after 10 years of living and learning Spanish, I would be a bit further along.  It’s discouraging, yes, but not defeating.  I remember my father once told me how proud he was of me (words not often spoken by him to me.) He told me that the people in our family were not good at learning languages and that he thought it was a great feat for me to have tackled.  For whatever, ‘I’ll show you’ reason, it helped to make me even more determined to become fluent. I’ve got time and several more Spanish speaking countries in which to practice.

K is for Kiteboarding

When I travel, I usually like to do something new adventure wise. Apparently just traveling isn’t adventurous enough for me anymore. This is how I began SCUBA diving and also how I tried cave tubing, cenote exploring, snorkeling, sunrise hiking, white water rafting, and volcano climbing among other crazy things.

The first time I saw anyone kiteboarding, I was in Belize, on Caye Caulker.  I instantly wanted to do it.  Unlike the fears we talked about in H is for Hot Air Balloon, I have no fears in the water. Most of my joy in life comes from water.  Unfortunately, there on Caulker, I did not have the money to afford the expensive lesson. I had not planned for it in my budget for that trip because I didn’t even know such a thing existed at the time.  But perhaps on my next beach adventure I’ll be flying through the water.

J is for Join the Peace Corps

When I was in high school, I was voted most likely to join the Peace Corp.  It made sense. At the time, it seemed like a very good way to see the world.  What eventually turned me off back then was the two year time commitment.  Even after college, two years seemed like too long to commit to anything. Then I moved to Chile to teach. I had no return flight. I ended up returning nearly two years later. It didn’t seem that long after all.

What I like most about the Peace Corps is their intensive language program. I would hope to go somewhere Spanish speaking so as to continue my language learning, though it’s not exactly the volunteer’s choice. The two year commitment still seems a bit overwhelming at times, but now I envision going when I older, perhaps retired and with a partner to join me. I hear they prefer couples because they’re much more likely to stay the full two years.  Perhaps one day I will fulfill my high school destiny and join the Peace Corps.

I is for Island Life

I’m not sure where exactly my affinity for islands came from. Perhaps it started while growing up in Hawaii, or perhaps my being a Pisces has something to do with it. Who knows? What I do know, is that islands have been a significant part of my life for a very long time and that the longer I am on an island the longer I’d like to stay.

Aside from Hawaii, where I spent two formative years, I’ve spent time on Roatán and Útila, Honduras when I lived and taught there. I would go to the islands often to dive and get away from the tiny town I lived in. One of my favorite places when I live in Chile is the little known island of Chiloé off the coast of southern Chile. I had the unique experience of staying with my good friend, Belén in her family’s cabin for the better part of a week. It was magical. I traveled the island nation of Cuba for a month last summer. I traversed the length of the island discovering all that has been kept from Americans.

Most recently, I’ve fallen in love with a different island. It is an island off an island.  The island of Vieques, Puerto Rico captured my heart in 2010.  I traveled there and immersed myself in a Spanish language program in San Juan and then took a ferry to one of two islands off of Puerto Rico. With just over 9,000 people, Vieques is tiny.  Very few cars are on the island, and it is the only place I have ever seen wild horses roaming the streets.  Every beach I laid on felt like my own private beach.

I saw more conch shells than people. The few bars on the island were full of welcoming locals and ex pats.  Simply put, I felt at home, instantly.

I understand the trials and tribulations of island life. I experienced rolling blackouts in Útila often.  I know that if I ever want to go to a movie theater or eat something different than what the five or so restaurants on the island offer, I must head to the mainland.  I know this is not exactly a fast journey, nor a dependable one. I understand the isolation of island life. In fact, that might be what draws me most.

While on Vieques, I couldn’t stop thinking about one day returning. This is something I usually do not do.  I can’t return to a place when there is so much I haven’t seen. Yet something about the simplicity and ease of the island kept the idea fresh in my head for weeks and months after I returned, and I started planning. 

I thought about my snowbird folks, splitting their time between Colorado Springs and Palm Springs, California.  Of course, being retired makes this a bit easier, but I don’t think I have to be retired to make this work.  I envision starting out with just a few months. Renting a temporary place (which abound on islands) and bringing just a few possessions, mostly my laptop and books.  I would use the isolation to write my novel.  I picture myself at a table in an outside bar just steps away from the beach, drinking Don Q and coke and typing away, taking refreshing breaks every now and again in the ocean. For money I could teach online, tutor whoever I could find on the island, and even possibly bartend (I’ve always wanted to do it again.) I could make it work. I know I can.

Eventually I’d like to make it more of a full split, half my time in Colorado where I would teach the remaining semesters and tutor as much as possible to save up for the move, the other half in Vieques, while traveling here and there throughout of course.

It surprises me that I am so keen to return to a place, but I pretty much cannot stop thinking about it and know it’s what I need to do and will do one day. The island life is the life for me!

H is for Hot Air Balloon

I’ve noticed the older I get the more fear I collect. When I was younger, jumping off a cliff into water was fun. Now it sounds terrifying. I remember my brother and I used to freak my mom out by standing too close to the railing of hotel room balconies.  She would tell us to step back, her knees were shaking. I laughed then. I get it now.

So many of the things I used to want to do when I was younger like skydiving, bungee jumping, or more cliff diving, I now have no desire to do.  Fear has taken over.  But one thing I still want to do, and I believe, right now, I am not too afraid to do, is take a hot air balloon ride. I’m not sure why I haven’t developed a fear of being in a wicker basket under a giant balloon filled with hot air from burning hot flames yet, but I haven’t.

I imagine this being some romantic date with a picnic breakfast and mimosas. We launch super early to catch the sunrise from high above the ground in the basket of the balloon. We sip mimosas as we take in the scenery around us.

One day!

G is for Greece

I’ve traveled. A lot. I’ve been to Europe three times, yet in all those times, I never made it to Greece. I have a feeling this was, at least slightly, on purpose.  For as long as I can remember I’ve dreamed of honeymooning in Greece.  I don’t know where the idea came from, or how I picked Greece out of all the countries in the world to travel to with my new husband, but it is for this reason that I think I have been ‘saving’ Greece.

It’s not as romantic as, say, Paris, but I think it is much more my style. I’m in love with the Mediterranean sea, the deep blues and greens of the water. I imagine lazy days on the beach and other days diving to see what there is to see underwater.   The architecture makes me think of fairy tales.  I cannot wait to roam the intricate streets to seemingly nowhere.  And don’t get me started on the food. My mouth waters just thinking about all the dolmades, saganaki, and mousaka I will eat while there.

Now I just need to work on the husband bit (perhaps that’s tomorrow’s ‘H’.)

F is for Finish my Novel

I always marveled at author interviews where the writer reveals it took her ten some years to write her first novel. Can that really be possible? Can one really focus and concentrate and work towards one thing for that long? I’m starting to answer that question for myself. And the answer is ‘yes.’

I have been working on my novel, This Story Takes Place in a Bar, for over six years now.  It started even longer ago as a short story I wrote.  I stumbled upon it again and decided to see what else I could do with it.

It is only in the past two years that I have gotten more serious about my write and carved out two hours every morning to write.  It is two hours in the early morning which I mostly look forward. The getting out of bed part is the hardest, but I’ve learned, once I get to the desk, the rest just follows in a weird, but I’m not going to question it kind of way.  The worst part is tearing myself away once I’ve just gotten into the groove of things, to get ready for my day job.

The problem with having a ‘real job’ is that that two hours goes awfully quick. Especially when I take on challenges such as this A-Z challenge  Or I get an idea for a new short story I just have to write. Or a new contest comes out. Or a new literary magazine is accepting submissions. All of a sudden that two hours devoted to my writing gets taken up with other worthy literary pursuits. What is a writer to do?

Right now I have 47,733 words. I am so close to the 50,000 mark I can taste it. My goal is to finish up the story by the end of the summer. I think it will take more than 50,000 words, but that is still the milestone I am aiming for.

I have already begun the revising process in slow 20 page chunks with my writing group. To my surprise, I am actually enjoying revising, which gives me hope. My ultimate goal is to have my novel ready to pitch by next March, at which point I will pitch it to agents at the Northern Colorado Writer’s conference.

Who knows, maybe some years from now you’ll be watching an interview in which I’m talking about how long it took me to write my first novel.  You’ll smile and nod and say ‘I remember when.’

E is for Easter Island

I lived in Chile for nearly two years, yet it’s not surprising that I never made it to Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, as natives call it. That’s because it is 2,336 miles away from the mainland country. But it’s always been a dream of mine to visit.

I am fascinated by its stories and history and of course the moai, the giant face statues that seem to have been on the island since its beginning. I am also quite fond of the idea of an island in the middle of nowherhttps://wordsandothersuchthings12.wordpress.com/e. I find the isolation enchanting.

Now, as you may know, I have a rather strict rule about returning to countries I’ve already visited. There is just simply no way I can make it to all 196 countries in my lifetime if I spend time traveling to a country I’ve already been.  Chile, however, is and will always be the one country I will allow myself to return to. (Stay tuned for V is for Vendemia, another bucket list goal of mine that takes place in Chile.)

 Having lived and loved Chile for almost two years, it stole my heart. I have several amazing friends there and have already returned once since living there. I’m pretty sure I will always be returning to Chile in one way or another.  Add to that, the fact that Rapa Nui is so remotely removed from the actual country of Chile, and therefore seems as though it is indeed another country, and I can very easily rationalize this trip.

It’s the cost of getting there that’s rather prohibitive. That’s why I envision doing this while I’m traveling around the world on Peace Boat (stay tuned for P is for Peace Boat.) There are a few voyages that sail to Easter Island which would make it all very worthwhile and affordable. 

I cannot wait to have my toes in the sand of this great and mystical island while moais look on and the sun sets into the ocean.

D is for Dolphin

I’ve always wanted to swim with dolphins. I’m a SCUBA diver and I’ve dived with all sorts of amazing underwater creatures, but never dolphins. They tend to stay towards the top of the water. I’ve seen several dolphins as they’ve followed my dive boat out to a site. I’ve watched on as they’ve preformed a private show for me off the coast of southern Chile. Yet I’ve never swum with them.

In Cuba this past summer, I had the chance to. In fact, it was meant to be one of my splurges on that trip.  But after seeing the condition of the two places I was going to do it, I changed my mind. I didn’t want to spend money towards places that I was pretty sure were not treating their animals well.

Instead, I’d like to swim with them naturally, in the wild. Perhaps at the beginning or end of a dive, near the surface, they might find me. Or maybe on a sailing trip, I might stumble upon them and jump in to join them.

This is not something I am going to make happen like some other bucket list goals, but rather, I hope one day it will simple occur organically like so much of life tends to do.  

C is for Catch a Flight to Anywhere

 Catching a flight to anywhere is something a friend brought up as something on his bucket list. At the time, I thought he was crazy.  I like to plan my trips. In fact, I think the planning and anticipation beforehand is a big part of the fun of any trip.  I want to pack appropriately and know what route I’ll take and places I’ll see.

I’m not exactly spontaneous. Though it’s something I’ve been working on (which I suppose kind of defeats the purpose.) I do, however, like surprises, so I guess it is this side of me who would be open to showing up at an airport and taking the next flight available, wherever it is it may go.

When my family and I lived in Hawaii, we took a few MAC (military airlift command) flights. I remember my mother packed two suitcases for us. One was for warmer climates, if we should find out we would be flying to Australia, and one was for colder climates, should we be going to Japan.  As a child, this didn’t seem strange to me, but rather, exciting and adventurous.

I envision it like that. Driving to the airport with the entire globe a possibility.  Going to the counter and buying the next flight out of town. Waiting in the terminal wondering what the destination has in store for me. Discovering the world on a whim. 

B is for Bar

I’ve always wanted to own a bar; I just don’t want the hours that go along with it. I imagine this bar in a foreign country, preferably an island somewhere where the ocean is steps away from my bar. I want to have every bottle of rum there is on my shelves and maybe even a few tiny umbrellas for cocktails.
I bartended and waitressed for 10 years on and off throughout college and beyond. I was good at it. I enjoyed it. And I made great money. During all those years, I’d daydream about how I would do things differently (don’t we all) if I owned a bar. It would be nice to one day put all those ideas into action.
My bar would be called The Circle Bar. It would, of course, have a circle bar in the middle of the room. I’ve seen very few of these in my life. I know it is the hardest to man, but I love the idea. Every chair or bar stool would be different. There would be no table configurations necessarily so as to allow strangers to become friends. There’d be plenty of space to dance and we’d have open mics, a lot.
I’m not sure the logistics of owning a business in a foreign country. Right now it’s just a B on my bucket list. But maybe one day you’ll be drinking a cocktail with a tiny umbrella on a tropical island and notice how all the chairs are mismatched and you’ll know I’ve crossed that B off my list.

• A-Z CHALLENGE- FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW I AM PARTICIPATING IN THE A-Z BLOG CHALLENGE. THIS TIME OFFICIALLY. FOR THIS YEAR I WILL BE WRITING MY A-Z BUCKET LIST. I’LL BE WRITING ABOUT ALL THE THINGS I WANT TO DO AND SEE IN THIS WORLD BEFORE I DIE. THANKS FOR READING AND IF YOU LOVE IT, PLEASE FOLLOW ME AND LEAVE ME A COMMENT OR TWO!

It’s fitting that this is the first thing on my bucket list, not just because it is an ‘A’, but also because it is indeed top on my list of things I want to do before I die.

I’ve always wanted to take an around the world trip. On my several mini trips, I’ve run into so many people who’ve taken a year (or more off) to discover the world and I’ve always been a bit jealous of the adventure they were on. Mine often seemed to pale in comparison to theirs.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the way I travel. One month in a country gives me lots of time to see nearly everything I’d ever want to see. I am not rushed and I have the comfort of knowing I will be back home and in my own bed soon enough.  But I really like the idea of being gone for a year.  I like the idea of not working for a year, of calling the world my home.

It’s just never worked out for me really. As an ESL teacher, I’ve had the opportunity to live abroad in Chile and Honduras, and I did the majority of my traveling from those countries. It made sense. It was cheap. It was easy and I could remain working and making money for all the trips I was taking.

And while most people seem to take this kind of giant trip when they’re younger, perhaps on their gap year, or simply before they’ve gotten a ‘real job’ and acquired things like cars and cats and houses, I envision doing this when I’m older (mostly because I am older.)  I’d love to do it with a partner. It seems easier, logistically speaking at least, and cheaper and much more fun. I also see me doing this when I am closer to my goal of hitting all 196 countries and can travel around the world hitting the remaining countries on my list with an around the world ticket.

Until then, I’ll save and dream and live vicariously through all the travelers I meet along the way.

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Cuba Revisited

It’s been nearly seven months since I returned from my adventure in Cuba. Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago. The thrill and excitement of the trip have worn away now that I am not talking and writing about it as much as I had been. I wonder how it is we keep it with us.

I liken this after effect to the excitement pre leaving.  There’s so much to do to get ready, planning and packing and organizing, that those months leading up to the trip are filled with anticipation and are nearly as exhilarating as the trip itself.

Afterwards, it is possible to relive the trip for months in the sharing of it.  It never quite gets old showing pictures and telling stories of the places you’ve been and the things you’ve done, does it?  I can tell the same story of diving the cenote or salsa dancing with the bartender over and over again. 

Recently a friend returned from a legal trip to Cuba. She actually flew direct from Miami, something I didn’t know was possible. She has a step brother living and working there which made the trip legal.  She even has a stamp in her passport.

When she told me she’d be going, I was thrilled. It was another opportunity to share my experience and relive hers.

She went at the exact right time.  A month or so prior, President Obama announced plans to improve relations with Cuba. She got there before everything changed; a huge reason why I went when I did as well.  A huge reason why anyone, I imagine, goes to Cuba; to see the pristine country untouched by commercialism and progress.

But she also got there on the cusp of change.  Listening to her stories brought back a flood of excitement for my time in Cuba, and a sense of awe at how quickly things can shift, perhaps especially when The United States is involved.

The propaganda posters and billboards that I was so fond of photographing while traveling in Cuba were suddenly gone just a month or so after the news of the decision to establish a US embassy in Cuba.  American flags swiftly joined Cuban flags on poles outside of hotels and other establishments, something I never imagined possible, at least not so soon.

The few Cubans who were willing to speak with her, most still in their pre announcement fear, spoke a bit of hope and progress.  There was excitement over the eventual access to the world wide web and cell phones to call family members in the states, even the possibility of seeing loved ones again.

I’m glad I went when I did. (Don't get me wrong, I see all the benefits of where Cuba and the US are heading. I think it's about time really. And mind you, it hasn't gone unnoticed, the fact that all these changes mean we might one day be able to purchase that most precious of liquors, Havana Club, right here in my own country!) I got to see the Cubawe all think about when we think of Cuba.  I had a strong feeling things would be changing very soon and therefore bumped up my travel there, deciding I couldn’t afford to wait.  I’m glad I didn’t.  My friend got to see the beginning of a new era, and those who travel after her, will not see the Cuba she and I saw.

Cuba Revisited

It’s been nearly seven months since I returned from my adventure in Cuba. Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago. The thrill and excitement of the trip have worn away now that I am not talking and writing about it as much as I had been. I wonder how it is we keep it with us.

I liken this after effect to the excitement pre leaving.  There’s so much to do to get ready, planning and packing and organizing, that those months leading up to the trip are filled with anticipation and are nearly as exhilarating as the trip itself.

Afterwards, it is possible to relive the trip for months in the sharing of it.  It never quite gets old showing pictures and telling stories of the places you’ve been and the things you’ve done, does it?  I can tell the same story of diving the cenote or salsa dancing with the bartender over and over again. 

Recently a friend returned from a legal trip to Cuba. She actually flew direct from Miami, something I didn’t know was possible. She has a step brother living and working there which made the trip legal.  She even has a stamp in her passport.

When she told me she’d be going, I was thrilled. It was another opportunity to share my experience and relive hers.

She went at the exact right time.  A month or so prior, President Obama announced plans to improve relations with Cuba. She got there before everything changed; a huge reason why I went when I did as well.  A huge reason why anyone, I imagine, goes to Cuba; to see the pristine country untouched by commercialism and progress.

But she also got there on the cusp of change.  Listening to her stories brought back a flood of excitement for my time in Cuba, and a sense of awe at how quickly things can shift, perhaps especially when The United States is involved.

The propaganda posters and billboards that I was so fond of photographing while traveling in Cuba were suddenly gone just a month or so after the news of the decision to establish a US embassy in Cuba.  American flags swiftly joined Cuban flags on poles outside of hotels and other establishments, something I never imagined possible, at least not so soon.

The few Cubans who were willing to speak with her, most still in their pre announcement fear, spoke a bit of hope and progress.  There was excitement over the eventual access to the world wide web and cell phones to call family members in the states, even the possibility of seeing loved ones again.

I’m glad I went when I did. (Don't get me wrong, I see all the benefits of where Cuba and the US are heading. I think it's about time really. And mind you, it hasn't gone unnoticed, the fact that all these changes mean we might one day be able to purchase that most precious of liquors, Havana Club, right here in my own country!) I got to see the Cuba we all think about when we think of Cuba.  I had a strong feeling things would be changing very soon and therefore bumped up my travel there, deciding I couldn’t afford to wait.  I’m glad I didn’t.  My friend got to see the beginning of a new era, and those who travel after her, will not see the Cuba she and I saw.