Travel Writing World

In this episode of Travel Writing World, I speak with Schirm about his experiences traveling and creating. We speak about his time as host on the Travel Channel show “5 Takes,” participating in the Auxiliar de Conversacion (Language and Culture Assistants) program for two years in southern Spain, mindfulness, and walking the Camino de Santiago, all of which proved to be rich sources of personal growth and creative inspiration.

Gabriel is a writer and entrepreneur based in Denver, Colorado.  His book, Sunrises to Santiago: Searching for Purpose on the Camino de Santiago, chronicles a wondrous journey of personal growth, physical pain, and outdoor adventure while teaching us all to enjoy life’s incredible journey.

Books about the Camino de Santiago mentioned in the show

* Sunrises to Santiago by Gabriel Schirm* Finding Tiger by Gabriel Schirm* Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl* A Million Small Steps by Kurt Koontz * I’ll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles by Patrick Gray and Justin Skeesuck* Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

We speak about:

* Camino de Santiago Statistics (in Spanish)* Auxiliar de Conversacion Program

Connect with Gabriel Schirm:

* Website: https://gabrielschirm.com/* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabrielschirm/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/gabrielschirm

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Have you ever wondered how to teach English abroad? Does the expat life appeal to you? In this episode of All Over the Place, I speak with Cat Gaa about the virtues and pitfalls living as an expat in Spain, her participation in the Auxiliar de Conversacion (North American Language and Culture Assistants) program, and her popular blog "Sunshine and Siestas."

Cat Gaa left Chicago for life in Southern Spain immediately after finishing college. Originally an English teacher, she has become well-known in the expat community in Spain through the work of her blog and residency services through COMO Consulting Spain. When she is not helping others with moving to Spain, she works as an international admissions counselor for an American university. She lives with her Spanish partner and child in Madrid.

Connect with Cat Gaa

* Sunshine and Siestas: http://sunshineandsiestas.com/ * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sunshinesiestas* Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/sunshinesiestas * COMO Consulting Spain: https://comoconsultingspain.com/ * Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/COMOSpain* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ComoConsultingSpain * If you're thinking about moving abroad, check out this page with an overview of some pros and cons.

Transcript

Jeremy Bassetti This is Jeremy Bassetti. And you're listening to All Over the Place, a podcast on travel, culture, and the creative life. This episode takes us to Madrid, where I speak with Cat Gaa about the virtues and pitfalls living as an expat in Spain, her participation in the North American Language and Culture Assistants Program, and her popular blog Sunshine and Siestas. Without further ado, enjoy the conversation with Cat Gaa. Welcome to the show.

Cat Gaa Thank you for having me.

Jeremy Bassetti So can you just give us a sense of who you are, where are you you are, and what it is that you do?

Cat Gaa Of course. So as Jeremy mentioned, my name is Cat. I am a Chicagoan in bread but not born. And I am currently living in Madrid, Spain.

Travel vs. vacation. What are the differences between these two ideas? I'll briefly explain these ideas from an etymological perspective. That is, we'll look at the origins of these two words when distinguishing their ideas from one another.

What is "travel"?

Travel is work.

The word “travel” comes from the French “travail,” suffering or to wear out, and is directly related to the English word of the same spelling, the modern Spanish word “to work” - trabajo -, and the modern French word for “to work” - travailler.

Etymologists trace the origin of the word “travel” all the way back to the Latin tripalium, a late Roman torture device. And any seasoned traveler will tell you that travel can be almost as unpleasant, pushing the limits of the body as much as the mind.

The word arrived in the English language with the meaning “to go on a journey” as early as the 13th century, but the word often held a connotation of difficulty and inconvenience. Combined were the idea of the physical act of moving from one place to another and also the idea of the perils, difficulties, and burdens associated with the actual movement. Imagine the amount of time, energy, resources, and work that it took our medieval ancestors to travel. Consider the number of pitfalls that our ancestors encountered along their way. What about the treacheries on the road like brigands, pirates, and storms? The fusion between journeys and difficulty go way back. Indeed, consider the ancient epics like The Odyssey, which involved heroes overcoming fantastic obstacles and hardships while on their adventures.

While modern technology and engineering have made travel easier and more comfortable, it is still a difficult endeavor that puts pressure on and stresses the body and mind.

Travel is work

Along the Dushanbe–Khorugh Highway by ​wikipedia user Alj87under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

What is a "vacation"?

The word "vacation" is almost as old as the word “travel.” One of the earliest examples of this word is found in Chaucer’s well-known The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer describes the Wife of Bath’s fifth husband, Jankyn, reading a book “When he had leisure and vacation / From other worldly occupation.” The implication here is clear. A vacation is a moment of relaxation. It is the very opposite of work in this early formulation. Indeed, it is precisely when there is no work.

This makes sense given the word vacation is related to words like vacuum, vacuous, and vacate. It refers to being free from something, being empty, or in a state of void. Vacations are thus defined as time when one is free from work, struggle,

Gabriel Schirm and I speak about his his time as host on the Travel Channel show “5 Takes,” participating in the Language and Culture Assistants program, and walking the Camino de Santiago, all of which proved to be rich sources of personal growth and creative inspiration.

In this episode, I speak with Cat Gaa about the virtues and pitfalls living as an expat in Spain, her participation in the Auxiliar de Conversacion (North American Language and Culture Assistants) program, and her popular blog "Sunshine and Siestas."

Travel vs. vacation. What are the differences? This introductory episode of All Over the Place touches upon the differences between the words from an etymological perspective.