1/19/09
This is the question I am asking myself at the moment. Am I the kind of traveler that zips from place to place or the kind that spends a good long while in a place and truly comes to know it. It’s a more complex question than it might seem at first. Here is my situation and my thoughts on everything at the moment.
After 24 hours in Spain, I feel like this is almost exactly what I am looking for in a place to call home. there is coffee everywhere, my poke (Hawaiian fish) lust is easily satisfied by cheap delicious ceviche, and last night when I got on the wrong train, a guy in a hat almost just like mine gave a long passionate speech and then picked up his guitar and started playing to everyone in the car. I watched parents smile, couples snuggle closer to one another, and smiles emerge on everyone’s faces. This is a culture that values art, music, and love. I feel like I am exactly where I want to be…but….
I also realize that at the moment I have some money and this isn’t necessarily going to be the case in the future. I have friends I want to visit in France, Germany, and Holland and I want to see these places before I lose the option through not having sufficient funds to go.
In addition, I want to go to Portugal and into Morocco before I choose to rent a little casa along the Mediterranean. Last night I met a fellow American exile who is taking a TEFL course in Valencia and he told me that finding work in Spain teaching English is easy and doesn’t really require a TEFL or much knowledge of Spanish. None the less, I am completing my TEFL course and cramming as much Spanish as I can while still taking long walks and exploring this incredible place.
So here is what I am thinking of doing. Enjoy Barcelona for a few days more, then head to Paris for a day or two, from there go to Holland to visit and from there to Germany, from Germany head back to Southern France to see my buddy Logan and then back to Spain. Perhaps then head to Madrid and then on to Portugal and from Portugal down to Southern Spain and into Morocco before heading back into Southern Spain to see if I can find a casa and a teaching job (unless I find a more perfect place in the meantime…which could happen)
And as a backup plan, I’ve been offered jobs in Syria and Korea teaching English. The job in Syria is a tad bit sketchy and pays mostly room, board, and arabic lessons….Korea there are several options. So, this is what is going through my head and it is all subject to change, but I’m curious what all of you think about all of this…it sounds crazy, I know, but this is my life in the rabbit hole.
Vago Damitio is the Vagabond in Chief. He is also a writer, blogger, traveler, adventurer and teacher. He has spent his life mastering how to have incredible adventures on minuscule budgets. Someday he hopes to have the option of using gigantic budgets for miniscule adventures.
