Year: 2015

“I’m moving abroad at an older age by myself, and I feel like I might be too old for such an adventure,” Emma said. That sentence got me thinking long and hard about age and how it relates to travel. My conclusion? It doesn’t matter one penny what age you are. If your heart tells you to travel, you must travel.

Getting your students to give creative responses to questions can feel like pulling teeth. Even the shiest, quietest kid sitting in the back of the classroom has it within them to come up with unique insights and mind-blowing ideas. So why don’t they? Why does it feel like such a battle getting your students to do something as simple as make up a couple of sentences in a story?

Meet Jimmy Hunt, an Australian teacher who has been teaching at a Reach To Teach school in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Jimmy is a young and adventurous guy with a real thirst to see the world. He has explored a great deal of South East Asia, South America, New Zealand and the USA, and he has recently arrived in Taiwan.

Back in college, a cup of ramen and a lemon-lime Gatorade was all I needed to survive the dreadful “Sunday Hangover,” which always showed up after a fun Saturday night. You beg forgiveness and offer your first born in exchange of the relief from the pounding in your head. In Taiwan, there’s no need to go to such extremes because the cure to your dilemma is right outside your door. That cure is food, delicious Taiwanese food. The food is so good it has magical healing powers. Just don’t quote me on that last promise.

If there’s anything I’ve learned from the things life has thrown at me, it’s that people have their own reasons for making the choices they make. Moving to Korea as a foreign language teacher is no different; we’re all here for our own reasons, at varying stages in life, and with diverse intentions.

If you’ve been thinking of teaching English in Taiwan or China, you’ve no doubt come across the term Buxiban. These schools are a huge part of English learning culture in Taiwan and China, and they also employ a huge number of English teachers. So, what is a Buxiban?

Transitioning to the slow rhythmic flow of Taiwan’s lifestyle was confusing after living for a year in the balli balli (hurry, hurry) mindset of Korea. A place where people eat a breakfast of street food while speed walking to their morning jobs, push through crowds to get to their destination first, and have no concept of queuing because it’s considered too slow.

Another marvelous day has come and gone in 2015. March 8th marked International Women’s Day, and its significance isn’t lost on us females who are exploring the world on solo journeys. In honor of the beautiful day and celebration, I’d like to present some of the top fearless female bloggers who are out making a name for themselves as solo travelers. These women to me represent courage, ambition, and fearlessness.