Author: rttglobal

Traveling is a lesson in the art of simplicity. After all, this is your life in a bag we’re talking about. Your choice of items is the nitty-gritty of what matters in serving your purposes abroad. Woe to the one who skimps on preparation. Thinking ahead, doing your research, and making wise investments are absolutely key in learning how to pack for a year abroad.

How do I cope with missing holidays/celebrations whilst living abroad? Well aside from walking around on an Easter egg hunt singing Christmas carols, doused in tinsel, with baubles hanging from my ears carrying a birthday cake, I try to first breathe and think about the long run.

All of us, teachers and students alike, are just people. People with backgrounds and histories. People with families and fears. People who are influenced and have an influence. Now that I’m on the other side of the desk, I am still learning to see the raw humanity in all those I influence. Especially students with behavioral issues.

There’s enough in this world to oppress us into cowardice and fear. We get to choose otherwise. We can take hold of life and embrace it in all its messy, hurtful, beautiful, weird, poetic brilliance. Traveling sets a sublime stage for such bold encounters of abundant life. And no matter what last year looked like for us, we can choose to make a change.

Mongolia has awoken me to a divergent reality and shown me how human beings have lived for thousands of years…and how some still do. Thanks to the steppes and the nomadic families who welcomed me into their homes and fed me around their fires, my understanding of the spectrum of societies all over the world will never be the same.

Asia is a big place. With lots of people. A staggering variety of culture. A massive amount going on. Big money. Heartbreaking poverty. It’s a bit overwhelming, honestly. Where does one to go to getaway, to breathe deeply, to seek peace where it may be found? Here are five peaceful places in Asia, just waiting to be discovered.

This month Reach To Teach interviewed Brett Mandel, an American teacher in South Korea teaching with the EPIK program.

Last month we decided you were coming to New Zealand, so I showed you around the South Island a bit. That was fun, wasn’t it? But I don’t want to leave you hanging without showing you around the North Island. There are some real gems there, too.