The Travelers Podcast

Gemma Sheppard is an English teacher currently teaching in Hanoi, Vietnam. Originally, she is from the UK; and Gemma has now traveled to new places like India, Sri Lanka, and now Vietnam. Gemma has struggled with stress and anxiety since 2016, when a death in the family left her with pain and grief. She was struggling with my mental health and had panic attacks almost daily. Gemma wanted to physically run from her grief; which led her to her first solo trip to India on an ancient and holistic psychology program. Traveling really helped her find confidence in herself and look at life in a different perspective.  Connect with Gemma on Instagram @soulcarebygemma and also visit her website soulcarebygemma.com. You can read her blog at gingergemmagoesglobal.com. Gemma also has a short E Book out now, where she talks about her story and the 10 things that have helped her manage her anxiety. You can access it here.  Mental Health Statistics: In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4 percent) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime.5 percent of adults (18 or older) experience a mental illness in any one year, equivalent to 43.8 million people.Of adults in the United States with any mental disorder in a one-year period, 14.4 percent have one disorder, 5.8 percent have two disorders and 6 percent have three or more. Half of all mental disorders begin by age 14 and three-quarters by age 24.In the United States, only 41 percent of the people who had a mental disorder in the past year received professional health care or other services.Source: Mental Health First Aid

Brian Asher is a Spanish teacher from Sacramento, California. He has summited 550 peaks, ran 62 full marathons, and even more impressive is that he has been to 195 out the 197 countries in the world. If you were to look at his social media, you would imagine that Brian has been hiking, running, and traveling since he was a kid. But the reality is that he hasn't always been interested in travel and the outdoors. Brian’s younger brother had a great influence on the person he is today. Everything from being a Spanish teacher to almost visiting all of the counties in the world! Brian’s brother talked him into working as a camp counselor in the Colorado Rockies one summer and that really changed the direction he wanted to take. Brian’s fellow camp counselor had been to some amazing places like Nepal to work with grassroots organizations to train women to become sherpas and others who had done research down in Antarctica. This experience in the summer camp, in combination with his education in international affairs led him to live in Latin America for five years! Mostly in Mexico and Brazil. Brian was having a great time living and teaching in Latin America, meeting new friends, and was even playing in a local soccer team. Until one day he got a phone call from his father with some really bad news which led him to move back to Sacramento. As a Spanish teacher, he was able to travel to all the countries but 2!Read more about Brian’s travels and outdoor adventures on his website theworldhiker.com and you can connect with him on Instagram and YouTube @the.world.hiker. If you like today’s story, be sure to tell a friend about the podcast and leave us a five star review wherever you are listening. And be sure to follow us on Instagram @thetravlerspodcast.

Cassie & Nate Goodluck-Johnson are a traveling couple in their 30s currently living in Merida, Mexico; who care deeply about humanitarian and environmental work. Cassie and Nate first met back when they were in their 20s through a mutual friend in Portland, Oregon. They had an immediate connection and that is clear because now they are married living together in Mexico with their 2 cats. Cassie and Nate first visited Tulum, Mexico in 2017 on a 2 week vacation and fell in love hard with the land, sea, people and lifestyle that they saw around them. It was during this trip that they started considering moving down to Mexico and living a location independent lifestyle. When they got back to Portland, they started planning their big move which included packing up some of their stuff; giving some other stuff away and selling Nate’s beloved truck.  You can check out their website and blog at Nativenomadlife.com and you can connect with them on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube @nativenomadsvlog. Be sure to subscribe to their channel to watch their great content.  If you like today’s story, be sure to tell a friend about the podcast and leave us a five star review wherever you are listening. And be sure to follow us on Instagram @thetravlerspodcast.

Shelly Nyqvist is an expat and empty nester living in Helsinki, Finland. Shelly first traveled to Europe back in the 80’s after graduating from the University of Texas in Austin where she got a degree in broadcast journalism. She backpacked through several countries for 3 months and it happened that this would be the first time she visited her future home of Helsinki. After coming back to the States, Shelly moved to San Francisco and worked at a record label for a bit. She continued traveling to Europe every now and then, and during one of her trips she went to Helsinki where she met her future husband. Shelly did the long distance relationship thing for a while, but then got married and moved to Helsinki with her husband and had a daughter.  Shelly was really missing drinking coffee like he did in the US. During this time, the coffee scene in the states was really booming with new drinks like cappuccinos, lattes and espressos. Before this, most people primarily consumed instant coffee. Shelly opened up a cafe to bring specialty and to go coffee to Finland.  Shelly has stayed in Helsinki and has been developing a new concept. Your MEscape. Being an expat and empty nester allowed her to venture within to allow her to discover herself.  Shelly hopes to help others by combining her passions for exploring, people, and storytelling.  Connect with Shelly, visit: yourmescape.com If you like what you heard today, be sure to tell a friend about the podcast and leave us a five star review. It would mean the world! And be sure to follow us on instagram @thetravlerspodcast.

Kita Jennings is an accountant, photographer and explorer from Atlanta, Georgia who has been to 28 countries and counting. Kita had the opportunity to travel domestically and internationally as an auditor, where she worked through different work cultures and language barriers. She loves sharing her experiences on social media and YouTube, specifically focusing on the environment and the people. Her pictures have even been featured in Travel and Leisure and Atlanta Charm Magazine. Kita has been staying home in Atlanta during the COVID-19 pandemic and I had a chance to talk to her about her passions, travel experiences, and race in America.  Connect with Kita: kitatheexplorer.com Check out Kita’s new features on Travel + Leisure: China’s Stunning Red BeachNew Guidebook Is the Ultimate Resource for Black Travelers and Their Allies Other resources: Directory of Black Owned BusinessesHow to Support the Black Community Don’t forget to subscribe, rate, and share the podcast!

Jenita Lawal, is a single mother currently living in Merida, Mexico with her three sons. Since a young age, she always wanted to travel and move abroad. In fact, she moved a lot as a kid because she was part of a military family. Jenita and her 3 sons settled in Nashville where she worked in human resources for a couple of years, but she had always had that itch to move somewhere else. Jenita traveled to Merida, Mexico for her 40th birthday and she fell in love with the city. Soon after that she started planning her move down to Merida from Nashville. Which included quitting her job, selling her house, and preparing to home school her sons. She has found a great sense of community not only with other expats in Merida, but with Mexican locals as well. Connect with Jenita: lawaltravel.comjenitalawal.com Don't forget to subscribe and rate the podcast!

On August 31st, Armando Esparza is launching The Travelers Podcast. The show will feature some of the most amazing people from all over the world and their stories of how they found themselves through travel. If you love listening to travel stories or just want to get inspired to travel more, be sure to subscribe now.