Teaching English as a second language can be anywhere from a fascinating lifelong career to a short stint while travelling, and in Episode 83 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three teachers who have taught both offline and online around the world.   First up, I talk to Cassandra Le about her two years of experience as an assistant English teacher in Spain. She learnt a lot about the English language itself, about how Spanish is different, and above all that an English teacher needs patience! I also chat briefly with Matt Treglia who began teaching English face-to-face in Korea but now teaches online and is location independent.   Finally, I chat with long-time English teacher and writer of some excellent text books and readers for English learners here in Australia, Clare Harris, who has a whole host of useful tips for people who may be considering teaching English somewhere in the world.   Links:

• Cassandra’s blog, The Quirky Pineapple -  http://www.thequirkypineapple.com
• Matt’s site Words with Winos - http://wordswithwinos.com
• Interview with Matt on The Offbeat Life - https://www.theoffbeatlife.com/episodes/makemoneyteachingenglishonline/
• Clare’s site The Book Next Door - Australian ESL materials for adults and young adults - http://thebooknextdoor.com/
• Clare Harris - Englishy Things - https://clareharris.com 
• MOOC on “Exploring the World of English Language Teaching” - https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/explore-elt/3 
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• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/83

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What do you love to do - other than travel - in your spare time? While my listeners and readers have a love of travel in common, they have a huge range of other hobbies and this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about combining hobbies with travel in various ways.   To kick it off I chat with Kelly Dunning who wrote a great post on her Global Goose blog about the importance of finding ways to keep up a hobby or two if you’re travelling long term - something I very much concur with. It’s easy to think that travelling “is it” but if you’re away for more than a month or so I think it’s important to keep in touch with other activities you really enjoy.   I then chat with Anna Kwiecinska who has made a business out of encouraging people to take their hobbies on holidays! She runs a retreat in Bali which offers art, yoga and soon blogging retreats, so this is focused very much on encouraging people to really indulge in their hobbies and interests and take them more seriously - or at least to really intensively enjoy them for a time, and travel as well!   Finally, I talk to Colin Clapp who has recently started leading a nomadic life with his partner and their young daughter. Even though time and finances might not enable them to really properly pursue a hobby right now, I was impressed with the thought he’s put into finding the right hobby, realising that it’s something important for him and his family.   Links:

• Thanks to sponsor Glamping Hub - https://glampinghub.com
• Kelly Dunning at Global Goose - https://global-goose.com
• Kelly’s post on keeping up hobbies when you’re travelling - https://global-goose.com/hobbies-long-term-travel/
• Anna Kwiecinska’s main website - https://www.annakwiecinska.com
• Brilliant Blogging retreat in Bali - http://www.villanilayabalibeach.com/art-and-yoga-retreats/art-and-yoga-retreats-at-villa-nilaya-in-2018/amanda-kendle/
• Colin’s site Parenting, Passports and Profits - https://parentingpassportsandprofits.com/
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/82

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Reverse culture shock - the kind of culture shock you get when you return to your home country - is worse than just regular culture shock, I think. If you head to a country with a significantly different culture from your own, then you’re expecting to be shocked. But if you’ve been travelling or living abroad for a while and you return home, you don’t expect to be the victim of culture shock - or in this case, reverse culture shock.   In Episode 81 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I speak with three guests who’ve all had varying experiences with culture shock when they return to their home country. Having been through it myself, quite strongly, when I returned to live in Australia after five and a half years away in Asia and Europe, I always find it so reassuring to hear that others have had similar experiences - though I wish I’d known more back when I was first experiencing reverse culture shock so I could have had some resources to help me get past it more quickly.   In this episode I start by speaking with Kati Craythorn. Born and raised in Germany, she now calls Queensland, Australia home, and experiences some interesting symptoms of reverse culture shock when she goes to visit family and friends in Germany these days. She also had her own experience of culture shock when returning to Australia after a stay in South Africa.   Next, I chat with Abby Lewtas who is also no stranger to reverse culture shock. Abby spent years travelling for various pursuits including a stint training for the Olympic bobsled team - obviously something that needs a colder climate than Australia can provide - and then struggled with the expectations of returning home to set up a life back in Australia. She’s now helping other people who go through the same shock and has a lot of great suggestions on how to deal with it.   Finally, I had a great talk with James Thomas who lives an interesting ex-pat life in Taiwan, after studying in China. When he returns to the United States to visit family, he finds even many of the conversations are tricky, and we chat in some depth about the feelings you experience when suffering from reverse culture shock.   Links:

• Thanks to sponsor Glamping Hub - https://glampinghub.com
• Kati at Queensland and Beyond - http://www.queenslandandbeyond.com
• Abby Lewtas’ website - life coach for travellers returning home - http://www.abbylewtas.com
• James at Four Seas, One Family - http://www.fourseasonefamily.com/
• Episode 51 on Reverse Culture Shock - https://www.notaballerina.com/2017/04/reverse-culture-shock-episode-51-thoughtful-travel-podcast.html

  Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/81

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Ever dreamed of a trip to Africa? Or have you already had the good fortune to visit Africa? In either case, Episode 80 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast will entice you, I think! I speak with three travellers who have extremely varied experiences of Africa, once again reminding me that it’s a truly vast content and that I need to plan a trip to Africa as soon as possible.

To start off, I chat with Ian of the Barefoot Backpacker about his trip to Benin. Now, the Republic of Benin is not somewhere on the top of most travellers’ must-visit list but it’s one of Ian’s favourite places and after chatting, I can understand why!

Following Ian, I talk to Linda Schlencker of Self Drive Adventures, who also surprises me by explaining what kind of treats would await me on a Madagascar holiday. I really had little conception of what travelling around Madagascar would entail (apart from expecting to see some of the creatures I knew from my son’s favourite Madagascar animated movies!) and it sounds like an amazing destination.

Finally, we head to the very top of Africa, and I chat with Anna Kwiencinska of Creative Living Retreats, who spends part of the year in Morocco, and has a lot of love for this northern African country.

A big thanks to GlampingHub.com for sponsoring this episode of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast!

Links:

• Thanks to sponsor Glamping Hub - https://glampinghub.com 
• Ian’s blog The Barefoot Backpacker - http://barefoot-backpacker.com/ 
• Ian’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/barefoot_backpacker/ 
• Linda’s site Self Drive Adventures - http://www.selfdriveadventures.com/
• Article about the turning of the bones ceremony - http://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-places-africa/turning-bones-and-madagascar-dance-dead-001346 
• Anna Kwiecinska’s main website - https://www.annakwiecinska.com
• Brilliant Blogging retreat in Bali - http://www.villanilayabalibeach.com/art-and-yoga-retreats/art-and-yoga-retreats-at-villa-nilaya-in-2018/amanda-kendle/ 
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
• Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod
• Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina   
• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/80

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I really love a good cultural difference. It’s true! I find the differences in everyday life around the world utterly fascinating and it’s one of the reasons I keep travelling, trying to hunt more down. In Episode 79 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast I chat with three other travellers who have also discovered some interesting cultural differences on their travels.

First up is Reeva Cutting, who now lives in Australia but grew up in South Africa. She experienced a few differences living in each of these cultures and they’re my favourite kind, about everyday things like filling a car with petrol and going shopping.

Next up, Luke Mackin compares experiences in rural Indonesia to his family’s return trips to the United States. His young kids have a different perspective because the US to them is just a place they visit, so it seems kind of amazing!

Finally, I talk to James Thomas, who has now lived in Taiwan for several decades after growing up in the United States, and has some interesting observations about the differences between the two places, as well as some of the differences between Taiwan and mainland China.

Links:

• Reeva at Proudly South African in Perth - https://proudlysouthafricaninperth.com
• Reeva’s post about putting petrol in your car - https://proudlysouthafricaninperth.com/life-in-perth/how-to-put-petrol-in-your-car/
• My post about washing dishes in Australia - https://www.notaballerina.com/2014/10/unexpected-cultural-differences-how-do-you-wash-your-dishes-your-country.html
• Luke’s Wild Sumatra site and blog - https://www.wildsumatra.com/blog/
• James at Four Seas, One Family - http://www.fourseasonefamily.com/
• Episode 12 - Culture Clash! https://notaballerina.com/12
• Episode 18 - Cultural Fusion and Confusion https://notaballerina.com/18
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• Tweet me @amandakendle
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• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/79

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Sometimes crossing a border into a new country is simple. Sometimes it’s not - and it’s the not-simple crossings that turn into great stories later! In Episode 78 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with several guests who’ve had some particularly interesting border crossing moments.

First up, I chat with Elizabeth and Jeff Newcamp, who are currently living in Europe and had something of a tricky experience trying to cross the border from Croatia into Slovenia. 

From Europe, I move on to Africa with Ian from the Barefoot Backpacker. He has some fun tales to tell about crossing borders between Ghana and Burkina Faso, and again between Benin and Togo. These borders are relatively seldom crossed by tourists so they’re not quite set up as clearly as you’d hope!

Finally, Matt Eakin has a hilarious story about the time he needed to enter Bangladesh and didn’t have the required visa. Let’s just say his method isn’t something I’m recommending you try (and he agrees!), but it makes for a great story.

Links:

• Elizabeth and Jeff’s site Dutch Dutch Goose http://www.dutchdutchgoose.com/
• Ian’s stories of Crossing the Border - http://barefoot-backpacker.com/category/border/
• Matt’s site Himalayan Schoolies - https://himalayanschoolies.com/
• Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers
• Tweet me @amandakendle
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• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/78

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Do you have an unstoppable urge to travel? You are not alone! In Episode 77 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with two fellow travel-lovers who just feel they must travel, as much as possible.   To start off with, I chat with Matt Eakin of Himalayan Schoolies, who started his real travelling adventures age 17, with no particular plan other than that he should catch a plane and go somewhere new with the expectation that something amazing would happen. Of course, he was right!   With Yasmin Newman, we talk about the influence of our families on our unstoppable urge to travel, and our fervent desire to pass this urge on to our children as well. Yasmin says that travel and her life trajectory are inseparably intertwined and I have to say the same is true of mine.   Links:

• Matt’s site Himalayan Schoolies - https://himalayanschoolies.com/
• Yasmin’s website - https://www.yasminnewman.com
• Yasmin’s new book, The Desserts of New York (And How To Eat Them All) - http://amzn.to/2shtR9u
• Yasmin’s first book, 7,000 Islands: A Food Portrait of the Philippines - http://amzn.to/2ucVBNB

  Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/thoughtfultravellers Tweet me @amandakendle Hashtag #thoughtfultravelpod Follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/NotABallerina    Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/77

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While sometimes we are inclined to feel suspicious of strangers, the fact is that 99.9% of people are good and when you travel, you will often come across some especially kind strangers. In Episode 76 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I chat with three travellers who have had some fantastic and even life-changing experiences meeting strangers on their travels.

First up, Kelly Dunning of Global Goose has a funny and heartwarming tale to tell of a day out cycling in Angkor Wat which could have ended badly, but really didn’t! 

Similarly, my next guest, Samantha Fisher of High Hopes Travel, ended up in Paris one summer night with no accommodation around, and this could have had an unhappy ended too but thanks to the kindness of strangers it was quite the opposite.

My final guest is Colin of Parenting, Passports and Profits who tells a tale of a bunch of strangers he met when he headed to the Rocky Mountains in search of a ski season job, and how these random meetings turned into a life-changing friendship. 

Links:

• Kelly’s site Global Goose - http://www.global-goose.com 
• Sam’s site, coming soon, High Hopes Travel - http://highhopestravel.com/ 
• Sam on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highhopestravel/ 
• Colin’s site Parenting, Passports and Profits - https://parentingpassportsandprofits.com/ 
• Thoughtful Travellers Meet Up in Perth - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/thoughtful-travellers-meet-up-tickets-39539451564 
• Episode about Unexpected Travel Friends https://notaballerina.com/07 
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• Tweet me @amandakendle
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• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/76

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Who doesn’t love nature - at least some of the time? Episode 75 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast is all about travels in nature, and the many and varied forms this travel can take.   It starts off in pretty extreme nature when I chat with Luke Mackin, who has a tale of confronting nature in rural Sumatra. But Samantha Fisher, my next guest, has another take completely and describes urban pockets of nature before waxing poetic about her experiences seeing the nature of New Zealand.   My final guests are Elizabeth and Jeff of Dutch Dutch Goose and they have yet another great take on travelling to see nature, with some fabulous examples of the kind of nature both adults and kids can enjoy in various parts of Europe.   Links:

• Thoughtful Travellers Meet Up in Perth - https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/thoughtful-travellers-meet-up-tickets-39539451564
• Luke’s site Wild Sumatra - https://wildsumatra.com
• Sam’s site, coming soon, High Hopes Travel - http://highhopestravel.com/
• Sam on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/highhopestravel/
• Elizabeth and Jeff’s site Dutch Dutch Goose http://www.dutchdutchgoose.com/
• Mugge Stutz “dwarf trail” example -  https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-au/muggenstutz-hiking-trail.html

 

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• Show notes: http://notaballerina.com/75

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Travelling for the first time is something you always remember. And travelling on your own for the first time is possibly even more memorable. In Episode 74 of The Thoughtful Travel Podcast, I talk with four very experienced travellers who all have very clear memories of their first solo adventure and love talking about it. The common theme is that all of them have gone on to travel a whole heap more, both on their own and with others, and their first solo trips had a big impact on their future travels.   First up, Jo Castro tells me a funny story about her first trip abroad when she went to be a horse groomer in Belgium - and it wasn’t quite as wonderful as she’d expected!   I then chat with Jo and Jeremy Duggan who both had the experience of taking a huge trip as their first time travelling solo abroad - and fortunately, both really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. Finally, Ian of the Barefoot Backpacker explains about his rediscovery of travel with his first proper solo trip to South East Asia.   Links:

• Jo’s website Lifestyle Fifty
• Jo’s travel blog Zigazag
• Jo and Jeremy’s website Coming Home Strong
• Ian’s blog The Barefoot Backpacker
• Ian’s Instagram
• Join our Facebook group for Thoughtful Travellers 
• Episode 68 on Solo travel tips

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