Ottsworld Travel Experiences » Sherry

Growing Up, Growing Scared

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:10:03 +0000

I had all the kids stand up and one by one they sat down…

“If you haven’t been outside of Lincoln, Nebraska – sit down.” I stated.
Everyone remained standing…phew.
“If you haven’t been outside of Nebraska – sit down.”
I lost a couple.
“If you haven’t been outside the United States – sit down.”
They started dropping off rapidly now.
“If you haven’t been outside of North America – sit down.”
There were a meager 4 students left in my nieces 6th grade class of 60.

This is how I started my presentation to the 6th graders at my niece’s school. This wasn’t to embarrass anyone. Instead I then went on to tell them I had been to 34 countries and the first time I ever went out of North America was when I was 30 years old. Clearly, they had time to build up their travel resume; but I wanted to provide some inspiration to do so.

Letters of Thanks

I passed around my passport so they could all see what one looked like; they flipped through it eagerly. I went on to give a photography and activity-laden Power Point presentation about 3 countries I had been to: Vietnam, Nepal, and Mongolia. I compared the countries on their food, transportation, and school/family/home life. At the end, the class had to vote where they’d rather be an exchange student.

Giving this presentation was one of the most ‘non-travel’ rewarding things I did this year. The kids loved it, and I loved teaching them about parts of the world they had never heard of and leaving an impression on them that would fuel their travel desires as students and adults.

I was thrilled when I received a standing ovation at the end and kids came to talk to me in the hall about how much they liked my travel presentation. But the real treat came when I received a package from the teachers with 60 hand-written thank you notes.

I sat up late into the night, as I couldn’t put them down. They were rewarding, funny, and passionate; and peppered with many spelling mistakes. All the notes were brightly colored with stars and rainbows; it reminded me of what it was like to be a kid again.

Some of my favorite excerpts were (I left in the spelling errors for authenticity):

“During that one hour that you were there we learned alot more geography then we were taught the whole year, no joke!”
“I also thought it was pretty cool that you just quit your job to do what you wanted to do. I think that would be fun but challenging to do.”
“You inspired me to do what I like to do, instead of what makes money. Well, you make money but not as much.”
“I think I want to be a nomad to.”
“I never thought that you were a nomad because you have nice clothes and stuff.”
“You are so courageous!”

These were lovely compliments – however my thoughts really lingered on sentences like these:

“I would have liked to live in Vietnam the most. It definally looked like a lot of fun with those motorbikes!”…”and what about them holding all those things on their bikes? If I could do that I’d love it so much.”
“It sounds like fun to try all kinds of different food.”
“I like that they ride motorbikes even though there aren’t any rules.”
“It would be so interesting to visit 34 countries. The beautiful sno-capped mountains in Nepal, the flat, sandy plaines in Mongolia would be so cool to see!”
“Was it fun to have a motorbike? I think it looks really fun to have one.”
“I think it is awesome that you got to live in Vietnam.”
“I think it would be fun to try a whole new lifestyle every day!”
“I think it would be awesome with no traffic laws.”
“It is cool, but gross how you had to eat a rat! But that’s really cool!”

I lingered on the use of words like “awesome”, “cool”, and “fun”. Yes, they screamed youth in all of its glory; but they also made me think about how most kids are fearless. I thought about the comments I would have received if I had given this same presentation to my old work colleagues. I don’t think they would have unanimously thought it was cool and exciting to ride motorbike in chaotic traffic in Vietnam; or eat rat; or live with nomads in the Gobi Desert.

When did life stop being fun and start being scary? Is there a magic age where we start to worry? Where we start to conform? Where we start to be fearful of things that are different instead of embracing them?

I don’t have the answers, but I know that somewhere along the way to adulthood we change; we become scared.

As adults we look before we leap, and kids just leap. My nieces jumped into their swimming pool when it was 65 degrees for the fun and love of swimming. As an adult – who out there would do that?

The whole experience reminded me of why I love to travel and do what I do. I want to bring you another view of the world and hopefully show you that it’s not as scary as you think. I want us all to try to embrace youthful attitude again; be fearless, be open-minded.

Back when I had a home with furniture, I used to have a magnet on my fridge that said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Try it – it may take hold. It may make you feel like a kid again.

The experience also reminded me of why I love spell-check functionality too! I had to include this one comment from a student as it had me double-over, laughing out loud. I laughed so hard, I felt like I was 11 again!

The teacher even thought it was funny...

Itinerary Update – Boston to Europe

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:44:28 +0000

Greetings from New England!

It’s time for a little Sherry update. I try not to do these too often so that I can remain a mystery and therefore more interesting…but here goes – the mystery is revealed in a short post.

Waiting for the fireworks in Boston

Where am I now?

I’ve been in Boston now for 5 weeks house-sitting and haven’t really written a thing about it.
Bad, bad, travel blogger.
My lack of Boston writing has been due to my lack of Boston activities. I’m not looking for pity, but it’s simply a fact. I’ve kind of chosen not to go out much because I took the opportunity to work on some other writing/website projects. However all of this online, inside time has taken its toll. I lack a nice bronze summer tan and I’ve been through a bottle of eye drops already thanks to staring at this screen.

My pale skin and dry eyes are because my other project, Meet Plan Go!, is coming along nicely. I’m working harder than I ever have…but the difference is that I’m absolutely loving it. It’s amazing that when you start working for yourself, how much more fun work becomes. It’s exhilarating, scary, and challenging…and it’s for me.

My Virtual World

Brian, Amy, and I drinking patriotic beers on the 4th.

I attended the Travel Blog Exchange Conference in NYC at the end of June. This was a chance for my virtual life to collide with my physical life as I met online travel friends I’ve known for 2 years, but never shook their hand or gave them a hug. The collision resulted in a Super Nova of travel blogging goodness. It also made me realize once again that I really do love what I’m doing.

I’ve had more virtual/physical world collisions lately as I spent the 4th of July with my longtime online friends and Ottsworld enthusiasts, Brian, Amy, and Marty. I totally believe in the fact that you can meet people and make friendships online. After meeting Amy in person after conversing with her for over a year and a half online, it was like meeting a long lost friend. Everything clicked. And to top it off – it not only clicked, but it banged…with a great fireworks display along the Charles River in Boston!

Where Next?

Heading to the flower capital of the world!

I’ve also been working on some of my upcoming travel plans. They are still rather fuzzy to share everything, however my next immediate move is to head to Europe at the end of July for the month of August! I haven’t been to Europe since 2007, so I’m pretty excited to get across the pond again; especially since the Euro has tanked a bit.

I’ll be hitting two brand spankin’ new countries for me – Netherlands and Belgium. Hard to believe that I’ve never been to Amsterdam, but finally I’ll be setting foot in that eclectic city full of art, and freedom of expression. I’m even going to try couch surfing for my first time ever in Amsterdam., so expect more info on that shortly.

I’m also continuing my house-sitting gigs as I house-sit for a family in Brussels for 1 month. I’m loading up on my allergy pills and taking care of 3 cats while exploring Brussels and the surrounding cities and countries via the fabulous European train system. My two priorities in Brussels are chocolate and beer – the rest is just icing on the cake.

NYC to Midwest

I’ll be back in the NYC in September to kick off Meet, Plan, Go! in 13, yes – 13 cities across the country. I’ll spend the fall in the midwest house-sitting while I work on launching a product after Meet Plan Go that will hopefully be just as amazing as the event itself – stay tuned for that announcement!

That brings me to November – then what?

The Big Bang of Boston

Well, all I can say is that I will be dusting off the passport again for some grand new adventures in new parts of the world; I promise you it won’t disappoint!

On a happiness quotient – it’s over the top. I realize that as I am coming up to my 4 year anniversary of leaving Corporate America (that deserves a few fireworks!), I’m happier than I’ve ever been. I’ve completely transformed my life; something that I didn’t even think was possible.

But it is…

With a little time, determination, perseverance, and lots of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it is possible to move yourself in a whole new direction.

Before I head to Europe, I’m determined to bring you Boston over the next few weeks! So – stay tuned to learn about my experiences in the ‘mother city’ of America!

Saying goodbye…

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:54:00 +0000

Leaving for my career break 2006

At the end of my career break travels 2008

In Memorandum – Saying goodbye to a dear friend

My throat immediately tightened and my swallowing became slow and laborious. I could feel the familiar sting in my eyes and my abdominal muscles contracting into a knot. I was going to cry; dammit, I was going to cry! I tried to hold back the tears, but somehow it made it hurt more. I took one last look at my dear friend, gently ran my fingers down the back remembering all of the fond memories, and turned around and left; knowing I’d never see my friend again.

After 4 years of living out of my Eagle Creek suitcase, our relationship was over.

Sure, there were signs of it aging now for some time, but I chose to ignore them. The Eagle Creek label was the first thing to fall off, but I didn’t need to label to recognize my old, loyal friend. Next it was scarred a few times, but the durable fabric never actually was punctured. It was tattooed with stickers from various customs and security agents, making it completely beautiful and unique in my eyes. The extractable pull-handle started sticking a year ago; but I knew how to wiggle it just right to make it work.

When the zipper that held the daypack on to the bigger backpack broke, I knew it wasn’t a good sign, but I still wasn’t willing to give up on it. There are always rough times in a relationship, and I knew we could get through this zipperless bump in the road. I simply used the nylon straps to secure the daypack instead.

The broken wheel... 4 years of nonstop travel mileage on that wheel...it held in there as long as it could!

Occasionally the other zipper would get off it’s track, but I was always able to fix it; a labor of love. However, the day when the one of the two wheels fell off – I knew it was the end. I had to put it out of its misery and put it down.

Down in the garbage room of my friend’s apartment.

I remember when I first got it. I must have talked to the REI salesperson for at least an hour trying to pick the exact right pack solution for my upcoming around the world travels in May of 2006. The salesman and I filled the pack with heavy weights and put it on my back to see if it would be comfortable. I walked around the store to test it out. I was nervous about the decision to let it into my life, but that was to be expected. This was my first big career break trip I was ever taking in my life. I was full of nervous excitement for the 6 months leading up to my career break departure.

When I brought it home and put it in my bedroom I would look at it every day trying to get my head around the idea that in 4 months I would be living out of this lovely aqua blue bag every day; this thought terrified me. How would I ever fit everything into it? How would I downsize my life enough to make this work?

I did my test packing a month before and realized it would never work. I had to downsize more. I did. It worked. Soon I found myself in Penn Station with my beautiful new bag ready to depart on my adventure of a lifetime…just me and my Eagle Creek bag.

At the beginning of this epic journey, I had no idea how much of a fixture this bag would become my life. This is why today, as I had to leave it, I felt like I was abandoning it. I thought about everything it carried for me, how it never got lost (a miracle!), how it always stood out in a crowd, and how when I asked and pleaded really nicely, it would fit one last impossible thing inside and still allow me to zip it up.

Oh – the memories.

The final resting place...

Goodbye dear friend, I will remember you forever as you will always be my first around the world bag. Thanks for the memories.

You can find my more formal review of the Eagle Creek Switchback for extended travel on Briefcase to Backpack.

This means I’m in the market for a new bag – can anyone hook me up?! Help a nomad out!

Tiger Balm Tales E-book – Annapurna Circuit with my Father

admin — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 04:55:00 +0000

Dad and I being welcomed to Nepal

Father’s Day was last Sunday; what better time to reflect upon my recent travels with my father.

Last October I traveled to Nepal to hike the Annapurna Circuit with my 73 year old father. We hiked for 21 days with many ups and downs…quite literally. I blogged about each step of that journey here on my website. However I feel like I put so much into that writing that I wanted to offer it to my readers (or whomever is interested!) in a non-blog format!

My first e-book is here – the Tiger Balm Tales from beginning to end with a few pictures in between.

The book is great for anyone who:

Will be hiking the Annapurna circuit and wants more info on what to expect
Enjoys heartwarming stories of family travel
Has ever considered traveling with their parents
Loves hiking in general

Download the Free ebook now!

It’s in pdf format – so you can simply download the file and read it at your leisure on your computer, your ipad, your Kindle, or whatever device you read on these days. Heck – you can even print it off if you like the feel of paper between your fingers!

It’s completely FREE – I simply wanted to provide it to my readers to give something back. However, I would of course appreciate it if you continued to support me and my other online travel ventures by:

Signing up for my newsletter

Following Briefcase to Backpack on Facebook

Checking out Meet, Plan, Go!

At the end I’ve also added a resource section for those who are looking for information on doing the hike themselves. However, I will also give it a a plus here. The trip wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing planning done by my friend Giri and his company. He organized everything for us and treated us like a part of his family in the end. I can’t say enough good things about our experience using Nepal Tourism Company.

Click here to Download the Tiger Balm Tales

Planning a trip to Nepal? Please consider utilizing Giri’s services:
Giri Gurung
Nepal Tourism
www.nepaltourismtravels.com.np
Kathmandu Office – Nurshing Chowk, Thamel 17
+977-1-426-1114

My Virtual Life

admin — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:18:19 +0000

Virtual and Physical Worlds Collide at TBEX!

This week, my virtual life is going to collide with my physical life…and I’m a bit nervous.

Will it be a supernova or a black hole?

What if the physical me isn’t as interesting and likeable as the virtual me?

This weekend in New York City not only will the city be welcoming gay men and women from all over the world for Gay Pride, but Chelsea will also be welcoming Travel Bloggers from all over the world for the 2nd annual Travel Bloggers Exchange Conference (TBEX). I’ve been looking forward to this conference ever since I returned to America in December. In fact, it’s the only thing in 2010 that I have actually planned in my life more than 2 weeks in advance.

I’m excited to go learn more about travel blogging. However since I’ve been doing it for 4 years now…yes it’s been 4 years…I kinda feel like a veteran. I choose the word veteran carefully; I didn’t say that I know everything, because I certainly don’t! But what I’m really excited about is to meet people that I’ve known virtually now for 3 years!

As a blogger, world traveler, and expat; I spend a lot of time online. In fact, I actually studied this one day and came to the conclusion that on an average day, 85% of my interactions in a day (including ones with the bus driver and grocery store clerk) are with people I’ve never physically met. Yet these are all people that I refer to as ‘friends’.

How did I get caught up in this virtual world? Did I take the blue pill and end up in the ‘Online Travel Matrix’ on accident?

My form of communication

No, I did it for sanity. When I quit my job and started traveling all of my friends and family followed along and kept in touch. As my traveling lifestyle has now gone on for 4 years – they’ve lost interest and have a lot of trouble relating to the blogging world which I live in. It’s not corporate, there are no cubes or business deals happening, there are no 401k’s. None of my old existing friends in the corporate retail world can relate to my world now. They may be interested in it – but can’t relate. So when I talk about extended travel, blogging or twitter, they lose interest. That’s completely fine – I don’t blame them. After all, I’ve kind of lost interest in their world of 9 to 5.

I found when you change careers or direction, you need to surround yourself by people who can relate to your new direction so that you have a peer group. That’s why my interactions are virtual…my peer group is also online scattered throughout all corners of the globe. They understand what my days are like because they are living the same life.

So why am I excited and nervous about meeting my virtual peers?

It’s kind of like online dating, which I did my share of in NYC when I lived there. I wonder if I’m representing myself truthfully. What if they expect me to be funny and they don’t know that many times it takes me a long time to be funny…I often have to sit and think about being funny. What if they expect me to be smart(er than I am). After all, I often have to look things up and research them writing them. (truth be told I had to research which pill Neo took to enter the Matrix – I don’t pull this stuff from the top of my head!) What if they expect me to be younger…then again – I’ve never lied about my age online; yet I’d like to! What if they expect me to be taller? I guess I could put on heels if that’s the case.

You get the picture…there are lots of virtual expectations that I’m worried about living up to.

This goes the other way too…what if the people I’ve known for years online and talk to everyday aren’t what I expected? Sometimes it’s nice to simply live behind the cloak of a keyboard and craft your life one keystroke at a time. But the cloak comes off on June 25th – for better or for worse. I’m still super excited about meeting everyone…I just hope I’m what they expected!

Then again, it’s no different than traveling. You have expectations about a certain country and then you get there and they are blown away – sometimes negatively and sometimes positively.

I guess if the physical me is feeling inferior to the virtual me, I will just have to go down the street and join the gays…they’ll accept me no matter what!

I’m excited about meeting everyone, but some people I’m really, really excited about meeting:
Craig and Linda from the Indie Travel Podcast – I’ve been working with them for 2 ½ yrs now in various capacities – all virtually.
Lisa Lubin of LL World Tour – Our virtual relationship has been short, but I feel like she’s me…our paths are quite similar
Barbara from Hole in the Donut – How I love Barbara and her wonderful writing. I’ve spent hours on skype with her but have never been able to give her a hug!
Anil from Foxnomad – I have a little celebrity complex with Anil. I have so much respect for what he does and the information he puts out on his multiple websites! He puts out some of my favorite and most useful content in the travel space.
Gary from Everything Everywhere – he’s bigger than life on the internet…so I’m intrigued to what I’ll find in person.
I’m also really excited to meet all of the Meet Plan Go hosts attending TBEX. I’ve been conversing with them daily in my virtual world: Jeff Jung, Janice Waugh , Sonia Zamborsky, Michael Tieso, and Teresa Gotay.

If you are going to TBEX this week – who are you excited to meet?

Building an Empire – One Day at a Time

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:03:02 +0000

When I was a kid I used to have a vivid imagination and would always beg people to play in my imaginary world. I would play library, school teacher, office (my personal favorite); I think I was a natural builder of empires, whether they be books, homework, or filing.

However, recently I’ve had the pleasure of taking my ‘play’ dreams and slowly making them come true one day at a time…I’m building an empire of career breakers,one day at a time.

How does one learn how to build a real empire? They go to the Caesar himself, Chris Guillebeau.

Slowly I’ve been dipping my toe into the online lifestyle/travel guru world and it didn’t take me long to find Chris Guillebeau’s Art of Nonconformity website where he writes about how to not be average in life. Not only does he speak eloquently on the benefits of not conforming, but he’s also a marketing, lifestyle product, launch, and travel guru. I’m not sure that he puts all of that on his business card though!

One fascinating thing about Chris is that he has a goal to travel to every country in the world before he’s 35. I love lofty goals, and I love following his progress on this in his newsletters and blog posts.

So – we’ve established, Chris is a cool guy with a lot of cool ideas, and if you haven’t read any of his work, then you are missing out. You can get a taste for it at his website – The Art of NonConformity – and check out his most popular articles on the bottom right. That will provide enough motivation for the next month at least.

One day at a time!

However I recently signed up for one of his products called the Empire Building Kit (EBK) where he provides you one lesson a day (via email) on how to build your own lifestyle business.

EBK was only available for 24-hours during both of the earlier launches. However, on June 16, 2010, it’s finally going to be released it into the wild, where it will be available on a long-term basis. Chris offers 3 different pricing levels with different benefits; I am doing the Hail Caesar EBK and feel that it is just right for what I was looking for.

A few things EBK Hail Caesar includes:

Case Studies (including $’s earned) of how others have started their own empires (businesses)

Video interviews with some of the leading online lifestyle entrepreneurs (these are my personal favorite)

A launch checklist (I found this very valuable since I knew nothing about launching a product!)

A full year of inspirational, educational, and task oriented emails from Chris

This combo of items has really opened up my mind to the possibilities and steps that I need to take to get Career Breaks into the mainstream!

Plus – he’s even throwing in some extra products for incentive to purchase on June 16th only.

I’m not going to say anymore about the product since Chris does the best job of selling it – check out his website to be wowed.

Build Your Own Empire in 1 Year

The only thing I will say is that on Ottsworld – I only recommend things in which I believe in and use. I wouldn’t be taking the time to write about this if I didn’t believe 100% in it. However in full disclosure – I’m a part of the affiliate program for Chris which means that any sales I refer for EBK, I get a percentage. I’ve given up on most affiliate programs on Ottsworld and no longer offer them on my site as they don’t really yield much – only Smugmug Photography Storage/Website and Empire Building Kit will remain as they are two products that I love and would recommend regardless of any affiliate program.

So if you have entrepreneurial aspirations, are full of great ideas, want to stop ‘working for the man’ – or simply dabble in being your own boss, need some inspiration to keep you on track, or simply want to learn how to create and launch an online business – then check out the Empire Building Kit – Build Your Own Empire in 1 Year

One last thought to leave you with…

Is this what you really want?

A Disappearing Town

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 04:23:47 +0000

This says it all...

I remember the streets crowded with people for Pilger Days, a weekend celebration which happened once a summer. There was cotton candy, music, families walking hand and hand, a cake walk (my personal favorite), a dime toss and a myriad of other carnival games. However, now I walk through the streets of Pilger looking at the run down buildings, closed businesses, houses for sale, and the empty main street; it feels like all of the air has been let out of it, and it’s on it’s last breath. It feels like it’s dying.

Pilger is a small town in Northeast Nebraska with an ever decreasing population of 328 people. It’s your typical farm town; a gas station, a main street, a church, the grain elevator, a small park, and a big water tower. There’s one school serving 5th and 6th grades, there’s a brand new town swimming pool ,and a ball field. I guess that actually sounds like quite a lot of a population of 328.

The feeling is a bit eerie....

However it’s missing something crucial, there are no kids running around playing. The park is empty and the main business which is actually still open and running on main street seems to be the Senior Center. The population of Pilger is aging.

Why do I care about Pilger, Nebraska? It’s my parent’s home town – sort of. It’s actually the closest thing to a home town they have as they both grew up on farms about 3 miles outside of Pilger. But for them, Pilger was their ‘big city’. Back then it had a population of 537, and farmers from all around the area gathered there to conduct business, attend social functions, provide their kids an education, and of course to worship.

My parents went to high school in Pilger and had a graduating class of 11 people. My dad played sports there, and my mom was on the cheer squad. The school was brimming with excitement and life. However a number of years ago they moved the high school to a bigger town as there just were no longer enough students in Pilger to keep it running. Pilger now struggles to keep its grade school running. They split up the grades and share the overall schooling with neighboring towns

I found myself in Pilger recently visiting my aunt and took the opportunity to walk around it with my camera. I of course had a few locals stop me and ask me what I was doing…they don’t see strangers walking around with a big camera every day…or ever!

Photography from my Pilger wanderings

The cemetery on the edge of town seems to be getting bigger and the town seems to be getting smaller. The decreasing population in Pilger has left it with an empty feeling. As I walk around, it feels no different than a town in a foreign country. In fact the lack of energy in the town reminds me of villages in the Gobi Desert. I find the whole thought a little depressing as I see this small town farming culture disappearing in the US – right before my eyes. Is this happening to all small towns in America as the big farmers/companies/cities take over?

The tallest structure - the water tower

The remaining population of Pilger is gearing up for it’s 125th year anniversary in 2012 and my aunt is on the planning committee. I am hopeful my vision of the ‘old PIlger’ will come back to life; the main street full of people and pick-up trucks, a cake walk, and farmers walking around socializing. I have a hard time imagining it now, as I walk around the edges of town surrounded by corn fields. I can’t help but wonder how long it will take for the corn fields to eventually take over the town. All that will be left is the water tower and fuzzy memories.

If you ever find yourself in Northeast Nebraska – I suggest you stop in the small towns and have lunch at the local cafe – it will be a truly cultural experience you won’t forget. You’ll meet some really nice people and probably learn a little history too! Heck – you may even make it into the local paper! In all honestly – I find Northeast Nebraska’s rolling hills to be one of the most gorgeous landscapes I’ve encountered in the world. Yes, not all of Nebraska is flat plains!

Some links on Northeast Nebraska:
Northeast Nebraska History and Culture
Northeast Nebraska Travel Council

If you’d like to read more about small towns in America you can check out some of my other posts:
Farm-sitting – a Cultural Adventure in Owatonna
Corn and Cowboys – Mitchell, South Dakota
Sex in The City Small Town Style – Twin Brooks, South Dakota
Chasing Wabbits in Ozark, Arkansas

Tree near the cemetery

The Ecstasy of Unpacking

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:45:30 +0000

I have a new appreciation for hangers

When I meet people, I live in fear of people asking me ‘the’ question; but eventually after some small talk, the question always comes.

“Where do you live?”

It’s an innocent question, but it throws me every time. I normally look at the person and size them up before I answer. I try to determine how deep I can go with them.

If I don’t think they would understand or be interested in my unconventional tale, I tell them that I live in New York, but travel a lot.
If I think that they may be interested in travel or world geography, or simply know where SE Asia is, I tell them that the last place I lived was in Vietnam.
If I think they have a passport that has taken them beyond Mexico or the Caribbean, and they have ever picked up a National Geographic magazine, then I tell them that I live out of a suitcase.

Reactions tend to vary. Some people want to know more and some just go oh, and move on; too much for their brain to comprehend. Or maybe they are just trying to figure out if my answer is the politically correct way to say “I’m a homeless person”.

My mailing address

I have struggled to give my ‘situation’ a name and tried out a few words such as:

Nomad
Vagabond
Hobo (my niece’s personal favorite)
Homeless
House-sitter

Nothing really feels right. However the fact is I don’t have a home. I have an address where my mail is sent, but I don’t live there.

It’s become the norm for me to live out of a few suitcases now for about 3 ½ years. Yes. While living in Vietnam I did have some homes where I actually unpacked and stayed for a few months. But they were always semi-permanent and I never seemed to stay at any apartment or room for longer than about 3 months. I’ve been back in the US for 6 months, yet I’m still moving from place to place every 2 weeks, never staying anywhere long enough to unpack.

Right now everything I’ve been living off of since December fits in 2 suitcases, a small backpack and a purse. In the new ‘green’ terms, I have a small footprint. Overall, I love having the freedom to move around, house-sit and try on different lifestyles. I love not having to shop for home stuff (it saves a bunch of time in your week…think about it). Plus, it’s a good workout lugging suitcases around! However, on the flip side, you never get the joy of hanging your clothes on a hanger…ever. Since I’m normally a guest in people’s (or my family’s) homes, I always have to be the ‘good guest’; never leave things sitting out, always clean up, always make up the bed/air mattress, and never leave your toothbrush on the sink in the bathroom.

The best thing about living out of a suitcase is…

…the complete new appreciation you develop for closets

I currently find myself in a situation that I haven’t been in since August of 2009 – I’m in one place for 6 weeks. I’m in Boston house sitting for a friend who’s in San Diego. I have her beautiful apartment to myself.

Utilizing the counter

Week one in Boston and I’ve practically had orgasmic experiences simply unpacking my entire suitcase and hanging my clothes on hangers. I’ve unpacked my toiletry bag and yes, my toothbrush is sitting on the bathroom counter. My lotion is in a cabinet, my dirty clothes get thrown in a proper bin as opposed to a plastic sack, my shoes are in the closet, and once this week – I didn’t make the bed. Joy!

It’s not just about unpacking, it’s about ‘living’ in a community as opposed to visiting it. I now have a plastic card dangling from my keychain which provides me discounts at the local grocery store. I joined a gym in the neighborhood for 2 months. I have a bus pass.

I’m ‘normal’…well….at least for 6 weeks!

Let’s here from you world travelers out there – what’s the best thing about living out of a suitcase?

Grounded for Meet, Plan, Go!

admin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 05:36:14 +0000

The Iceland volcano grounded air travel in Europe last week; it was a frustrating week for travelers. I know their pain because I too am grounded…here in the US. I’m waiting to travel. It’s hard for me to stay grounded and be patient waiting to travel; I have trouble taking my own advice -> Have a Little Patience. However there is a good reason why I’m waiting. I’m waiting because I’m working on a project that will help others travel. I feel like a martyr after writing that last sentence; willing to sacrifice for other wanna-be travelers!

I’ve been in the US now for 5 months, which is about 2 months longer than I would have liked to stay – but a new project is keeping me here. My start-up venture, Briefcase to Backpack, has partnered with Three Month Visa Coaching & Consulting to hold a national conversation about long term travel. This whole idea was sparked by the upcoming realease of the movie Eat, Pray, Love (first a best-selling book). A very popular travel book that follows a mid career woman through travels around the world as she resolves her mid-life crisis. It’s not my favorite book, but I love it for the interest it creates in long term travel.

As the movie hits the theatres in August, it will hopefully spark interest in long term travel and hence that’s how our Meet, Plan, Go! event was born.

Meet, Plan, Go! events will be held with travel experts in major cities across the country on September 14th. Each event will be designed to help participants get inspired to follow their travel dreams as well as connecting them with useful resources and contacts that will make planning that trip of a lifetime that much easier.

I get letters every week from people who read this website or Briefcase to Backpack saying, “I wish I could travel like you do.” This breaks my heart because I know that in reality most people CAN travel like I do, but they are being held back by our own society and way of thinking about work, vacations, and time off. We put so many road blocks in our way, it’s hard to accomplish anything!

It’s great to interact with people on the web and via social media – however the opportunity to have a live ‘real person’ travel discussion is another avenue which we can use to inspire people to travel and help them realize the benefits of career breaks! We can’t do it alone, so we are enlisting the help of well known travel bloggers and experienced career breakers throughout the country to facilitate these events in their home cities.

You can read all about the national Meet, Plan, Go! event being held on September 14th at our Meet, Plan, Go! website. In addition, consider joining our Meet, Plan, Go! Facebook Fan page or our newsletter signup so that you can get the latest updates on new Meet, Plan, Go! locations and sponsors.

As much as the world is calling to me to get out and see it, I’ve decided that getting more career breakers out into the world is more important.

So mark you calendar for September 14th and attend a Meet, Plan, Go! event in your city. Or consider becoming a host, a sponsor, or simply tell others about it. By doing any of these things, it will make ‘staying grounded’ worth it for me and you will be a part of a cultural shift in how we look at travel in America!

Blowing out Candles

admin — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 14:03:09 +0000

Graffiti in Saigon

They’re leaving…I can’t stop em. No matter how much I beg and plead for them to stay, I can’t change their mind. The memories are vivid now, but they’ll be a distant soon. I’ll look at the pictures and try to relive those times, but it’ll never be the same.

Leaving....

I’m sad to see my 30’s go.

However, I’ve decided that I can wallow and be sad, or I can embrace. And if there’s one thing I learned in my 30’s – it’s that I’m an embracer!

As I’ve been reacquainted with my family and friends over the last 2 months in America, there’s one question that I’m ALWAYS asked, “What’s your plan?”

I’ve been taking a my time to determine that plan, and finally I got so sick of having to sidestep the question, so I thought I better finally have an answer. I figured that a milestone birthday is a good time to make a plan so here ya go…

I’m entering my 40’s in a vastly different situation than entering my 30’s. I’m doing what I want; and that’s damn empowering. I’ve tasted the sweet nector of being my own boss, simplifying, and living for today and I’m not ready to give that up.

Me and my bags

I realized that I didn’t give up all of my possessions in order to just turn around 2 years later to start nesting again. So first and foremost, I’ve decided that I will continue to be nomadic for a while. Sure, living out of a suitcase (actually 2 suitcases, a backpack, and lovely CAMENAE bag) isn’t easy – but I love the freedom that comes along with it.

“You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.” –Chris Guillebeau, Art of Nonconformity

Taking a leap...yes - that's me

I spent the last 3 ½ years challenging myself thru my travels and living abroad. However, there’s one thing yet that eludes me. I haven’t really went out on a limb with my entrepreneur skills. Like most people, I have a million ideas, but seldom follow through on any of them. I’ve started down the creative, entrepreneurial path with Briefcase to Backpack and Ottsworld but I’ve just been dipping a toe in. It’s time to jump in. I’m working on (with the help of my business partners) making Briefcase to Backpack profitable.

“If you never begin, you’ll never know what could have happened if you tried.” –Chris Guillebeau

When it comes to travel, there are so many places I want to go – Bolivia, Antarctica, Sweden, Ireland, Russia, Poland, and so many more! However in order to pursue my goals for Ottsworld and Briefcase to Backpack, I need to spend some time in the US working on developing them. For those of you in the US, that means you may see me as I show up with my 2 suitcases and a backpack hoping for a place to sleep! I’ll take this time to do some travel thru the US, couch surf and explore my own culture. However I will also cross the border a bit later in the year no doubt. After all, I will need to have a postponed 40th birthday celebration somewhere fabulous in the world!

“Traveling in many ways is walking inside of you and finding yourself, but on the flipside it is also running away from a number of things. So we need to balance it out and stay put once in a while.” –my dear friend Veronique

What motivates me is remembering that when I entered my 30’s, I didn’t even have a passport. I had never really traveled. I’ve done a lot of amazing things I never thought were possible in the last decade, and I will also do a lot in this decade.

My personal Fan Club in India

If you want to wish me a happy birthday – then I can think of no better birthday gift than supporting my ventures. It will cost you…

absolutely nothing.

Read my writing on Ottsworld, sign up for the newsletter or email RSS feed. More importantly, follow Briefcase to Backpack and become a fan of us on Facebook or sign up for the RSS feed. If you’ve already done this, then be a disciple and tell a friend! I know you have friends that would love to learn more about career breaks!

After all, “A small, devoted army is far better than a large, uncommitted mob.” –Chris Guillebeau

But I don’t want you to think it’s all about me.

The world awaits your help

Give me this gift – Make this the year you get a passport if you don’t have one, volunteer in your community or somewhere and turn around and tell me about it! That would be the best gift of all.

“The world is desperately, impatiently waiting for you to figure out what you can give it.” — Chris Guillebeau

No Related Post

Lonely Planet Wants You…

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:03:19 +0000

Me visiting Lonely Planet offices in San Francisco

You may have noticed that little blue banner on the left side of my home page…yes, there…that one…the one that says “Lonely Planet Featured Blogger 2010″. What does that mean? Well, it means that I’m a part of a beta program for Lonely Planet where they post my blog posts on their website under the destination that I’m writing about. I’ve been a part of the program now for 6 months and it’s been a great way to add visibility to my site and my adventures.

As a Featured Blogger, they’ve asked me to put out this request to my Ottsworld readers…’Joe Average Traveler’ – a chance to be a part of a travelers discussion forum! So, if you love travel, love to talk about travel, love to think about how travel can be improved, or simply want someone to listen to you becuase your family is tired of hearing you – then read below and see how to sign up! If you are chosen, you’ll even get some free gifts! You can’t lose!

To my dedicated Ottsworld readers (mom, dad, Miles, and ummm – is there really anyone else?) – don’t say I never gave you anything!

Calling all travelers!

Lonely Planet invites you to join our Travelers’ Pulse Panel!

Our panel is a discussion forum where we engage travelers and listen to what you have to say about travel – where to go, how to plan, and other creative travel ideas. We’ve always got interesting topics up for you to comment on, like our current survey on what you’re looking for when you take a trip to a theme park.

Joining the panel is free and if you’re accepted to be a panelist, we’ll send you a free Lonely Planet 2010 calendar (as supplies last) as a gift to welcome you on board! Not only will you get to talk about travel, but we regularly run promotions exclusively for panelists where you can win prizes like Lonely Planet products and Amazon gift cards.

If you’d like to join this panel (numbers are limited) all you need to do is click the link below and take a short survey to register. We’ll look at your responses and depending on your age, travel experience and country of residence you might be one of the people we’re looking for! The type of people we need on the panel changes from time to time, so if you aren’t suitable for our panel this time we may contact you to participate in future.

https://www.travellerspulse.com/R.aspx?a=56&Source=BLOG

Thanks again!

Regards,

The Lonely Planet Travelers’ Pulse team

A Look Back and Forward for 2010

admin — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:36:07 +0000

Years seem to slide in and out of my life like visits to countries; they are often too short. Plus, when you look back at them they always seem better than the actual moment.

I have been busy working on some new resolutions for the year for my other website, Briefcase to Backpack. In fact, we’ve collected an amazing list of New Years travel and career resolutions from some of the top Travel, Volunteer, and Career Break bloggers active now. Go check out what amazing adventures they have in store for 2010; it’s a bit exhausting! Of course, I’ve also included my own resolutions in that post – but will also share them with you here:

Travel: I have my eye on South America (specifically Bolivia) or potentially Eastern Europe. I’d like to find a place that I could do some volunteer work for a month or two and then travel around the area if possible. My travel plans are always based on feel – they typically evolve with my mood and a glass of wine. In addition, I’ve been known to travel to places just based on a photo I saw (which is how I ended up in Fez Morocco a few years back). So, we’ll see what calls me; suffice it to say that I’ll know it when I see it – and it will be off the beaten path for sure! As for an actual resolution – pack less.

Work: My resolution for work is to stop worrying about it! In 2010 I want to focus on my websites which means making them better so that more people will read them. I’d also like to make a resolution to submit an article a month to a magazine or website (that actually pays money for stories!) to try to increase my travel writing portfolio. Finally, I have a resolution to put Briefcase to Backpack and the concept of career breaks into American’s vocabulary! I want to start a revolution! Don’t you want to be a part of it too?!

The New Year is also a time for me to look back and see how far I’ve come. Last year, I made two resolutions; learn Vietnamese and learn how to drive a motorbike in Saigon. I’m happy to report that I was 50% successful! I never learned more than taxi directions in Vietnamese; however I did successfully assimilate into the Vietnam motorbike culture in my year there. I documented the whole harrowing experience in “The Motorbike Diaries” and it ended up being the most popular posts on Ottsworld last year. In the spirit of looking back, I’ve compiled the posts from the beginning to the end for your reading pleasure. If you didn’t catch the series last year, then you have a chance to experience them now. You are guaranteed to at least laugh once at my scary experiences!

Happy New year to all of you and thanks so much for sticking with me for another year of travel and photography adventure! I hope to hear from you in 2010!

Happy Holidays EGreeting!

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:02:33 +0000

For the 3rd year in a row, I’ve decided not to purchase stamps and instead send my Holiday Greetings electronically! I seem to live my whole life virtually anyway, why should this be any different! This video card was created on my new Christmas present to myself – my new macbook – the learning curve switching form pc to mac has been challenging – but totally worth it!

The video card is less than 4 minutes -I hope you enjoy hearing my updates from my never-dull and travel-filled 2009!

If you have trouble viewing the video or prefer lower quality – then you can use this link and view it on YouTube directly:
Holiday Card from Ottsworld

Taking Flight

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:03:46 +0000

As I spend Thanksgiving at home in the US with family this year, I certainly have many things I am thankful for. The normal – family, friends, and health; and the not so normal – brushing teeth with tap water, pedestrian right of way, and indoor heating. However, just recently I was reminded of something that I was not only thankful for, but truly amazed with.

In the matter of one day I went from a sunset here in the Himalayas of Nepal:

Nepal Sunset

To a sunset here on the beach in Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka Sunset

As I viewed these pictures I was in awe – I could hardly believe that I could be so lucky to be in two of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes in the world in the matter of a day.

This comes down to the power of flight; and for that I’m thankful for those brilliant inventors – the Wright Brothers.

Thank you Orville and Wilbur (they must be smart with those names!) for putting us in the air and giving people the ability to see different parts of the world. If it weren’t for them, I’d still be back in the Midwest! Back in 1903, no one could imagine that human flight could be possible and 100 years later we are flying planes from Singapore to New York non-stop. Sure, planes have downsides to them – I’m well aware of that after my week of jetlag and flu caused from my 36 hour flight home last week. However – it was worth it; thanks to plane travel, I’ve been able to see all corners of the world, meet thousands of people from different cultures, and have the time of my life.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving – take a moment and share what travel thankfulness you have!

Blogging and Living in Vietnam – Interview

admin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:38:47 +0000

If you’ve been missing the sound of my voice, or you can’t remember what I look like – then check out the video interview I did for a great new blog by Will Peach! Will has started a super new blog with a unique concept. He lives in Saigon and instead of writing about travel in Vietnam and surrounding areas, he instead interviews people as they travel through Vietnam. I just love this conept – it’s fresh and new; and lord knows there are many interesting people traveling through Saigon!

He recently contacted me to do an interview and I hopped at the chance to be a part of his concept. The interview is mainly about how to run a blog, and how Ottsworld was formed in addition to some tidbits about living and bloggining in Vietnam. Click on over and check out my video interview and enjoy some of his other great interviews!
http://d2point0.wordpress.com/2009/10/03/one-blog-at-a-time-sherry-ott/

Toot Toot!

admin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:50:45 +0000

Sometimes you have to ignore the signs...

A quick little post about tooting my own horn…hell – if I don’t do it – then who will? This summer I was lucky enough to be featured on some other websites, in magazines, and even a travel radio show! This summer may very well have been my 10 minutes of fame; poof – it’s all gone and used up, so I might as well relish it for a while! Toot!

Escape from Corporate America:
Pam Skillings did an interview of my Corporate Escape on her website recently. If you’re new to my blog – you can actually read this quick little article and get my background of how I ended up here bloggin in Vietnam.
Daring Tales of Corporate Escape – Sherry Ott, World Traveler

Photographer of the Month on the Wandering Educators:
I gladly accept this honor of Photographer of the Month…wait a minute – where’s the red carpet? Regardless, I was thrilled to be chosen and have a chance to talk about my photography and share it with a new audience!
Wandering Educators Photographer of the Month – Sherry Ott

Vietnam Blogging:
AsiaLIFE Magazine recently interviewed me for an article they were doing on Bloggers Abroad. AsiaLIFE is a Vietnam English magazine simliar to TimeOut. It’s essential to learning what’s going on in HCMC and HaNoi! I was thrilled to be included with a small group of expat bloggers in Vietnam – I was in great company!
Bloggers Abroad

Why we Travel:
Transitions Abroad and author Nora Dunn interviewed me for an article on The Motivation for Long Term Travel. I was included with a great group of other long term travelers and we gave our insights into why we do it. A question I”m sure you’re all dying to know – so check out my response!
The Motivation for Long Term Travel – by Nora Dunn

KPAM Radio:
For the record – I also recently did an on air interview on living in Vietnam for a travel show on KPAM Radio in Portland, Oregon. I haven’t figure out how to upload that here – so you’ll just have to take my word for it!

Three Glorious Years!

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:18:14 +0000

Happy Anniversay to ME!

My parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next week – amazing. I find it really hard to believe that my parents could stand anything for 50 years, let alone each other. This is especially difficult for me to understand considering I, their flesh and blood creation, am incapable of staying committed to any place or job for longer than 3 or 4 years it seems. Obviously patience and tolerance didn’t rub off on me.

As my parents celebrate their golden anniversary, I’m celebrating my 3 year anniversary (that’s leather in case you wanted to send a gift!) No, I’ve not been secretly married; instead I’m celebrating my separation from corporate life! It’s been exactly 3 years since I quit my corporate career and ran away in search of an adventure. What was supposed to start off as a one year career break has taken many twists and turns full of excitement and tears and somehow it has landed me in Vietnam for a while. The one thing I’ve learned in the past 3 years is how to embrace the unknown; a necessary skill for my nomadic lifestyle.

Even though I escaped from corporate America, I haven’t been a complete slacker as most of you (aka my parents and family) think. In fact, if you think that all I do is travel around the world and take pictures, that’s just one small piece of my life over the last 3 years. Instead I do many different jobs; teach ESL, manage a website for a handbag company, keep up this blog, and write for other websites (and sometimes I even get paid money for that…woohoo!).

To top it off, last March a partner and I started a website about how to inspire others to take a career break and travel. Granted, we’re not advocating that you leave your job and never go back as I did, instead we are helping people understand how to take a break and come back to a career, or start a new one if you want! The site inspires and (hopefully) demonstrates that a career break is not going to destroy your career; in fact quite opposite, it can boost it! If you haven’t checked out Briefcase to Backpack yet, then take a moment now to do so! At least I’m trying to help others escape a bit – I figure that’s my way of giving back to the poor, overworked cubicle dwellers out there. It’s not been easy starting a business as Michaela and I are in two different parts of the world and struggling to keep it all moving along while holding down our other jobs; but it’s gaining traction and that’s what makes it worth it! So – I may not be in Corporate America any longer, but I’m certainly bogged down working. However, the beauty is that I can do my jobs from anywhere in the world!

Enough about work…lets celebrate the real fun stuff – 3 years of traveling! While in Mongolia, I took some time to reflect upon my 3 years of travel. Wonderful memories came floating back – some good, and some that were memorable due to the struggle. I decided to jot down some of the first things that came to me. Here are some of my favorite memories over the past 3 years of traveling. If you have been following me for 3 years, then this is old news. However, if you joined me somewhere in the middle, you may want to check these old posts out.

Being banished from Kilimanjaro due to altitude sickness and watching the rest of my group summit.
My last day of volunteer teaching in India. One of the few times that as an adult I couldn’t hold back tears.
The smell of the Mombassa market.
Struggling for answers on what to do with my life while on a vomit filled bus in Morocco.
Being jumped by a monkey in Bali and losing an earring in the scuffle.
My first hilltribe trekking and homestays in Thailand I’ll never look at a rat the same way again.
Living in Sorrento, Italy for a month eating, drinking, and murdering the language
Going on a massive hunt to see the goats that climbed trees in Morocco – success!
During my USA road trip – stopping in Ozark Arkansas drinking Bud Light with the locals.
Sleeping ouside under the stars in the Sahara Desert
Playing volleyball in the Gobi Desert (That story is coming out this month!)
Turning the corner on a grueling hike and seeing the jaw dropping Batad rice terraces.
My Mongolian bus ride where the whole bus joined in and sang songs.
The freak blizzard in China praying I would get back to Shangri-la alive
Bac Ha Market – still my favorite market in the world
My isolation in Nepal and learning how to remove leaches
Taking my motorbike out on the streets for the first time in Vietnam
The moment while on a bus in New Zealand, looking out across the stunning landscape knowing that I would never be satisfied with ‘normal life’ again. A scarey and exciting thought. I never actually wrote about it, but it’s a very vivid memory that I refer to often as one of my most memorable moments of traveling.

I invite you to sit back, relax, have some cake and ,and toast the celebration!

Help Send Me To Antarctica!

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:45:02 +0000

A Glacier in New Zealand is the closest I came to Antarctica...until now!

An Antarctica cruise line provider is putting on a blogging contest that caught my eye and tugged at my travel heartstrings! A free trip to Antarctica for me and a friend if I win. All you have to do is vote for me, and tell all of your friends to vote for me, and have them tell all of their friends to vote for me…and maybe, just maybe, I might end up in Antarctica! Now, I don’t think I ask for too much from my readers, I just hope that you enjoy what I write and post. However, now I need something from you…your votes!

Here’s my entry I submitted – please go to this link and vote for me! You have to register – but it’s totally simple and will take 3 minutes!
Quark Expeditions Blog Contest

I’m an American living in Vietnam. I’m a blogger, an auntie, a chronic singleton, an amateur photographer, a martini lover, a former IT executive turned English teacher, a world traveler, a twitter addict, and I turn 40 in February 2010. Do you think they have martinis on the ship to celebrate my birthday among penguins, ice caps, and polar bears? Help me find out!

I quit my job and left corporate America behind 3 years ago in search of adventure. I’ve been traveling, living, blogging, and photographing around the world ever since. However, I’m not one of those seasoned travelers – this is all new to me. I got my first passport when I was 30 years old and my eyes were opened to the world. I want to share the world I see with others, which is why I blog and do photography. I don’t make money at it; I do it for the love of it.

Who would I take with me – that’s easy – my Dad. I think he’s the one person that would appreciate a trip to Antarctica more than me. He’s 73 years old and once traveled around the world on a freighter. Adventurous travel is in my genes!

I just renewed my passport this month for the first time. I would love to lose its virginity to an Antarctica passport stamp this February! Please send a middle age nomad and an old man to Antarctica! You’ll be able to be a part of it too as I share the experience with you – hell, I’ll even send you a post card and save you a piece of birthday cake if the penguins don’t eat it all!

Someday is a disease that you will take to the grave with you – so vote for me today!

Some Recognition!

admin — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:00:20 +0000

Tripbase Blog Awards 2009
I just had an email telling me that I was selected as a finalist in a technical travel blog category in the TripBase.com travel blog awards! I didn’t even know I was nominated – so this was stunning news!
If you haven’t figured it out yet – I work hard at this…really hard – so it’s great to get a little surprise recognition! I’m getting very close to my 3 year anniversary of blogging; a word that I didn’t even know the definition of 3 years ago! I moved to Asia and took on this budget lifestyle and part-time ESL teacher so that I could chase my dreams and see what happened. I wanted to explore the idea that there is not only one path, not only one way to live; I wanted to see if I could change the direction of my life. I’m still chasing, still changing…but it’s always nice to know that I’m gaining a bit of ground!
For those of you who want to know more about what the technical travel blog category is, here’s exactly what I received special mention for:
Technical Awards Category

This is the award for the best looking/most accessible travel blogs. The award is handed out to the sector’s stars; those who lead the way in terms of graphics, layout, accessibility and design. It takes a creative touch to stand out from the crowd and only the leading inspirational travel bloggers will survive the rigorous selection process.
Our panel of travel industry experts have scoured the internet to search for the biggest and the best technically impressive travel blogs. The initial long list is then discussed and whittled down to the shortlist of award winners. We believe that each of our chosen bloggers is at the head of their field. The winners deserve the public recognition for their hard work and are worthy recipients of this prestigious accolade.
Traveling is aspirational, it is creative, and it is about adventure and learning new things. Bloggers in this category will have the rare ability to convey this to followers through page design, images and layout. A travel blog is also a forum for advice and tips on destinations, accommodation, modes of transport and things to see and do. Therefore we also look for a blog that can facilitate easy access by those looking for help or information.

Alphabet Soup

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:10:44 +0000

Plan A, B, or C?

Life is full of turns, twists, and curves. I recently listened to one of my favorite podcasts, This American Life, they did a show on Plan B. They explored the idea of what we thought we were going to do and what we actually did; plan B, or C, or D. It gave me a lot to think about. In fact, I started to mentally go through my alphabet of plans trying to understand how I ended up here; in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam teaching English, writing, doing various computer consulting, and practicing photography.

When I was a young girl, my plan was to be the Abominable Snowman, you know the one from the classic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer special. My plan B was to be a grocery store check out clerk. As I entered my teen years my plan was to become an interior designer and live in a NYC penthouse.

Hmmm – maybe I’m starting too far back. Sure, as children we all had some crazy plans I suppose. However I think the real interesting plans lie in our adult life. The exuberant plans, the dashed plans, the changes, the realization that you never achieved plan A, and the acceptance of plan G in it’s place. Life is a wild ride and if you can be open to change then you never know what plan you will end up on. Here’s a rundown of my adult plans to the best of my memory!

Plan A: Go to college, get an accounting degree, become a CPA. Eventually get married in my late 20’s, have kids in my 30’s, and own a house; white picket fence, happily ever after.

Achieved? Ummm, partially…I did graduate in Accounting. No CPA though…the rest…well, read on.

Plan B: Take my recent MBA and minimal computer experience gained working as an Accountant and move to Minneapolis to become a computer consultant. Serious relationship getting more serious and moving towards marriage, kids, and house (see plan A).

Achieved? From a work standpoint that was all achieved, but the relationship fell through after a long ride of 6 ½ years sending me into a bit of a spiral of “what now?”

Plan C: I made a promise to myself that I would only work at companies where I was really interested in what they did/produced. I wanted to enjoyed my single status and make up for my lost 20’s singledome. The marriage/kids/house goal was starting to fade. I honestly just didn’t think about it any longer. At that point my social goals were to try everything that I had missed out in while being in a relationship. You can read into that whatever you want…basically my goal was to have fun.

Achieved? Yes! I left consulting and started working for retailers in Information Technology taking a job at Best Buy. I bought a new tv and a first generation tivo. On the social front this is when I came out of my shell and started my life of clubbing, hanging out with gay men, and traveling around the US. I escaped Minneapolis in the winter frequently to go to Vegas baby!

Golden Gate Sunrise

Plan D:

Leave my Midwestern roots and start to explore the world. I’ve always had an unexplainable draw to newness and change. I knew that I wanted to remain in Information Technology, not because I loved it, but because it was a lucrative career. I still had the same goal to work for a company which I liked what they did. Finally, my social goals hadn’t really changed – have fun.

Achieved? Yes! I moved to San Francisco and took a job at another large retailer and loved what they sold. I found that as I climbed the IT ladder, it became less and less enjoyable for me and more of a management task. However, this is the plan where I finally got a passport and left the country for the first time. In addition, I established a really fun life for myself in San Francisco, including a sporty one as I not only kept on clubbing, but I also was constantly training for marathons.

The Big Apple

Plan E:

The next plan wasn’t really planned out by me, it actually fell into my lap and I followed it and adopted it as my plan. On the career front the plan that was ‘given’ to me was to climb the corporate ladder so I moved to NYC to take a job in the same field at another retailer. As a side note – in some weird way I was kind of achieving that childhood plan of becoming a grocery store checkout clerk as my new job was responsible for POS (point-of-sale) systems. Social plan hadn’t really changed except that I needed to build a new network of friends in NYC, easily achieved for a social person like myself. However by this time I was 34 years old and the idea of marriage still wasn’t that terribly appealing to me and kids and home were becoming even less and less appealing.

Achieved? Sort of. I arrived in NY and immediately went – “holy crap…what have I done?” Work was all consuming and I wondered why I had moved across the country to do something I wasn’t nuts about. I was starting to resent IT.

Plan F: Finally confront what I have knew for the last 6 years, I don’t really like working in Information Technology. I don’t like climbing the ladder. I don’t want to have kids. Marriage – I can take it or leave it, but it certainly wasn’t a goal. This was the time in my life I realized I couldn’t do this for the rest of my life. I was tired of being scared of finances and social pressures. I guess my plan was to have a mid-life career crises at 36 years old.

Achieved? Yes! My life took a drastic change here at F…I quit corporate America and took off to see the world for 1 year. I consider this the “Oh shit, I’m 35 years old and I don’t like what I do” phase of my life. Still no relationship, but I was traveling around the world…who cared about a relationship?!

Plan.....Z

Plan G:

One year turned into 1 ½ years of travel. My plan now was to try to not really make any more plans. I wasn’t ready to go back to a corporate job, so I explored the idea of living abroad and teaching.

Achieved: Well, I’m sitting here writing this from Vietnam…nuff said.

Plan H, I, J, K, L: Yes, I think I’ve had about 5 plans here while in Ho Chi Minh City, they change daily now. Maybe that just means that I’m in a state of flux. Hopefully I will figure it out soon.

What about you? What was your plan A and plan B….and plan H?! Life is a wonderful journey, so share it!

Paying Respect

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:59:11 +0000

There are many hard things about being halfway around the world on your own – many. But I unfortunately am going through one of the hardest things right now and the only way I know how to deal with it is to write. I know this has nothing to do with travel, nor anything to do with being an expat in Vietnam, and I am not posting this for sympathy or to hear from people about how sorry they are; this is just something I have to do because I don’t know any other way to handle it. I need to pay respect, and if I can’t do it in person, then I will do it virtually; as that seems to be how I live my life these days – virtually.

My Grandmother - taken last month

My grandmother, Evie Ott, passed away on Sunday. She was 98 years old so this wasn’t a huge surprise. In fact, I knew that is was probable, the way that you know that it’s going to rain….you just know. Knowing that she was 98 and not in the best of health, I was able to visit her before I left the country. I wanted to see her while she was still spunky and could get around – that’s how I wanted to remember her while I was in Vietnam.

My grandmother was a strong-minded lady, but she never wanted to appear that way. Her husband, my grandfather, passed away over 16 years ago; from that point forward, she wanted to die and join him. But her body had other plans for her; it wasn’t ready to go – it still had a great engine. So as sad as I am about her passing, I know that’s she’s wanted this for a long time; and most importantly I know she’s happy.

Out of all of my grandparents, my Grandma Ott always had the most distinctive personality to me. My feeling about her changed considerably as I grew up. As a child I feared her. We’d go visit my grandparents on their farm in Nebraska a couple of times a year. I remember the smell of that farm, and the fact that you could see it from the main road about a 1 ½ before you actually arrived there. After a long 500 mile trip across the Midwest stuck in the back seat with your older brother and sister and no air conditioning, you were always looking for that first glimpse of the farm house – it meant that you were about out of your 4 wheel steel prison. Grandma Evie was a no nonsense woman who expected a lot of people. She expected so much of people that to me she was the definition of a nag. She was always telling my grandfather what to do and he was so kind-hearted that he did what she wanted and never spoke up about it. Yet as I got older, that ‘nag’ image went away and was replaced by a very interesting, caring woman. My simplistic child view was changing.

Grandma Evie also was constantly trying to get out of her reality. She lived on the farm for years and years – they were farmers. However, more than anything she always wanted a life in the city; a nice house so that she could entertain other housewives in town properly. I always remember her as the most sophisticated farm wife I knew. When she went out to gather eggs or feed the chickens she always had on make-up and looked good. Even at 98 years old she still refused to have gray hair, so it was colored until the day she died. She was always worried about how she looked…always the lady.

My father and grandmother

It wasn’t until my grandfather passed away that I really started to bond with my grandma. When I would see her she would always remind me how much she missed grandpa and wanted to be with him – even 16 years later – this was always the first topic of conversation. We would sit in her basement and go through old photos that she wanted to get rid of because she thought they were ugly and old, but I was enthralled with hearing the stories she would tell that went with the pictures. I came to realize that she was a pretty strong woman and certainly a persuasive woman.

After my grandfather’s passing she also seemed to become more adventurous. I still remember when she was in her mid 80’s and we somehow convinced her to drive her own snow mobile in Wisconsin. She was hilarious. We once stopped on a frozen lake (as you do up North) and I told her she was on a frozen lake and she absolutely wouldn’t believe me. At the end of the snow mobile ride, she even had a small crash as she tried to ‘gun it’ to come up out of a ditch. Before I knew it the snow mobile came out of the ditch, but grandma was no longer on it! The force of the acceleration made the snow mobile accelerate right out from underneath her and she lie in the ditch laughing as we all freaked out, terrified that she was hurt!

One of the hardest things to watch her go through was losing her sight. As she aged, she remained very healthy mentally and physically; except for her eyes. It’s depressing to watch someone go from seeing the world to slowly seeing a blurred world. As her eyesight degraded, we had to constantly change how we interacted with her; we got her big print books, then to magnifying glasses, then eventually went to the Bible on CD. Every time we saw her she could see less and less. I think her failing eyesight made her rely on her memory more and hence she was a smart as ever. The last time I saw her in August of 2008 she and I debated about who the next President should be. She loved two things – Nebraska football and politics. She would listen to both on her radio religiously. It was fun to debate with her as our political views were quite different! She never believed that a woman should hold a presidential position – in her eyes it just wasn’t right; it was a man’s job. This also makes me recall the time when I held a Director position at Coach and she asked me if I was doing secretarial work. Ah – she was 97 – I could forgive her for this and find it actually quite touching as it reminded me of the time she grew up in and how far we’d (women) had come.

So – on this day where my entire family gathers together for her funeral, I pay my respects from Vietnam by honoring her here on Ottsworld. After all, she was always rather distraught that the ‘Ott’ name wasn’t going to be carried on. My father was the only son and my one and only brother has all daughters. I bet she never thought that it would live on with me…and the internet; Ottsworld.

Evelina Ott
October 30, 1911 – February 8, 2009

Grandma Evie with all of the granddaughters

No Comments please. Thanks, Sherry

A Little Shout Out

admin — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:08:01 +0000

I recently recieved a little recognition from one of the volunteer companies I worked with in 2007. Cross Cultural Solutions chose me as their ‘Alumni In Focus’ for their newsletter. I was rather stunned, but I think they wrote a very nice article that highlights some of the high points of my volunteering with them. Cross Cultural Solutions is a US based volunteer organization with volunteer opportunities throughout the world. Volunteering with them in Delhi was the highlights of my around the world travel! Plus, I am still in touch with many of my old students yet today. I hear from them all about once a month on email and they are doing wonderful; they moved on to various jobs and studies. I am so proud of them! If you are considering taking some time and giving back, check out Cross Cultural Solutions!

Here’s the link to the “Alumni In Focus” article – Enjoy!

15 of the Most Read Articles on Boots-n-all

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:58:41 +0000

Squatty Pottie popularity!

I recently found out some surprising news. Bootsnall, where my blog was originally hosted, just published their year end newsletter and included a story to the 15 most read articles on Boots-n-all from 2008. I was scrolling through the list and there my article was at the bottom – Pee Pee Island: A Girls Guide to the Asian Squatty Potties! I was a bit stunned! I actually wrote/submitted that article back in 2007, so I guess it’s still popular!

Here’s what they had to say about it:

Of all the articles on listed here, this easily has the best title. It’s possible it’s one of the best-titled articles ever published on BootsnAll, in fact. And the subject isn’t just funny to read about – this is practical information that a girl’s gotta know.

So – go check out the other 14 articles and browse around Bootsnall – its a wonderful resource for long term travelers!

You can’t handle the truth…

admin — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:30:37 +0000

Happy Buddha or Crazed Buddha? Hard to tell...

I must apologize, I’ve been withholding the truth a bit. I love having a blog but there are times where I really feel that it is a huge burden; the last 4 months was burdensome. Let me back up – I started journaling 11 years ago to cope with an emotional time of my life. The only way I could get through it was to write down what was going on in my head else I think I might have went crazy; or some might say crazier. Journaling was my medicine, my way to stay sane and understand my feelings and emotions; my pen was my therapist. In 2006 when I decided to take off from my work life and travel I decided to keep on online journal – Ottsworld. At that time I put this together for a few friends and family to follow my journey. I traveled to 23 countries, and it grew into a large number of people reading about my journey and my personal life; people I didn’t know. However, through Ottsworld they cam to know me and make assumptions about my character; which were normally rather flattering assumptions that painted me a better, stronger person than what I really felt I was.

However, when I started Ottsworld, I stopped my physical journaling. I fired my paper therapist and outsourced it to my keyboard and Ottsworld. Actually, this was fine since I needed very little therapy at the time; I was literally having the time of my life traveling around the world. Sure, there were tough days and weeks, but I was able to get through them. 2008 marked the beginning of my ‘what’s next?’ phase of my life and I wish I could say that it’s been as stable as the last few years, but it hasn’t. 2008 has been a challenging year and those challenges seemed to multiply these last few months when I moved alone abroad. But I still didn’t journal, nor did I really let on to many people what was really going on in my head as having a mental melt down for the internet world to see isn’t really what I wanted to do.

I miss my emotional outlet. Maybe this is because I don’t have any close friends in Vietnam to talk things through and I’m tired of burdening my close friends back home, or maybe because this year was harder than most, or maybe because I’m finally in over my head with challenge; whatever it is, I need to get it out. I’m tired of being guarded, it takes so much time and energy; therefore, I will let my guard down a bit and see if it helps.

While in Hong Kong, I picked up a local free paper of events to find out what cheap thing I could do on NYE and came across this horoscope for 2009. It stopped me in my tracks. Here it is – word for word:

Free Will Astrology in HK magazine.
Aquarius – Imagine you’re driving down a very wide highway that’s 50 lanes across even though there are no lines dividing one lane from another. Speed limit signs aren’t posted, and some vehicles are zipping along in zigzag paths at over 100 mph while others crawl along like old-lady turtles. Now and then you’ve got to weave your way through a congested area where many on-ramps all feed into the road simultaneously. You haven’t seen an off-ramp yet, and you’re not sure where to get off anyway. I figure, Aquarius, that 2008 had some resemblance to the scenario I just described. Luckily, I predict that no later than your birthday, you will find an off-ramp and exit onto an uncluttered backroad with great scenery.

Feeling a bit unfocused...

I read this and thought, I couldn’t have put it any better; and it’s a traffic reference – perfect for Vietnam. This last year has been hard mainly because there are so many options and I just don’t know what to do. Giving up my possessions and my home was one of the first challenges. It’s great to be unencumbered, by property but it’s also harder than you can imagine. The real challenge though came with my move to Vietnam. I have so many different options here that it makes my head hurt. Some of them involve living frugally, some involve taking risks, some involve getting back in the corporate world; all of these things are terrifying to me. There is no clear answer and as I sit and wonder what to do, I feel like I lose a little piece of myself every day. I don’t know if I’m a business woman, a backpacker, a city person, a country person, a writer, a photographer, a teacher, an independent person, a social person, a positive person or a pessimist. I feel like I am a little of all of these things, which means that I do many things, but I do nothing REALLY well. This conflicts with my type A personality that desperately wants to do everything REALLY well. Most of the time I feel like I know nothing, and I’m simply masquerading as all of these things just waiting for someone to blow my cover.

The worst part about it is that I have no one to help me understand what path to take. Many people ask me if I ever get lonely. My answer prior to this year was “no, not really. I enjoy being on my own and having immense freedom. Sure there are bad days, but they go by quickly and they don’t outweigh the good days.” However, the bad days don’t seem to go by so quick in Vietnam. It started with Nepal and has continued in Vietnam; I’ve never felt more alone in my life. Sure, I know that it’s an effect of moving to a new place/country and not really knowing anyone, but this on top of trying to figure out answers to my life direction isn’t helping. I’m just going in circles and not getting anything done. I don’t rest, and I don’t relax. When I travel I can find beauty in many things, but those beautiful things now seem strange, confusing, and frustrating. How quickly we lose our innocence.

I used to say that a good relationship was one where you liked the person you were when surrounded by that person. Some people bring out the best in you and some bring out sides of myself that I’d rather not see. So far, Vietnam and all of this massive change has brought out sides of me that I’d rather keep rather buried; it’s not a healthy relationship. After a really terrible Christmas Eve where I missed my family, friends, and felt more alone than ever; I woke up Christmas day and decided to take control of my life again. I’m tired of being a person where things happen to me; I want to get back to being a person that makes things happen.

I still don’t have any answers, but I am trying to get back to the person that I am proud to be. I know that this is all a part of the culture shock of relocating; I understand this, but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. I will wait for my off ramp and see where it leads me; hopefully into the arms of a decent living, some new friends/relationships, and much needed sanity.

New Year…New Resolutions

admin — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 12:24:24 +0000

Resolutions

2009 – How did that creep up on me? Considering my 2008 challenges (it’s not going down in history as my favorite year – that’s for sure) I thought I better try to get my life and mind pointed in the right direction in 2009 and make some resolutions. I normally don’t do this as a habit, but since I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels in Vietnam, I had better try to get some traction; or else I will lose my sanity.

When there is something that I want to do, but am intimidated to do it, I publicize it. I am a person of my word and when I say I will do something, I do it. This is how I handled running my first marathon, quitting my job and traveling around the world, getting my ESL certification, and moving abroad to Vietnam. I merely told people that this was what I was going to do, and once it was verbalized and out there, it was something that I had to follow through on no matter how scared or unsure I was about it.

So – here goes….

My first resolution is to learn how to ride a motorbike in Vietnam – specifically HCMC. I will rent my own motorbike and become a member of Vietnamese society by joining the masses on two wheels…no matter how terrified I am to do this…I will. I even started the year by purchasing a new full face helmet; a proper helmet for biking. Most of the motorbike helmets are no more than glorified bike helmets; and I’ve seen too many accidents here to test my fate any longer. Step one is accomplished, step two is to rent the bike…my goal is to do this by my birthday in February.

My second resolution is to take the free Vietnamese lessons that my language school offers. Learning Vietnamese is not a requirement to live here; you can easily get around HCMC without it. However, if I’m going to live abroad, then why not learn the language? I know that I will probably suck at it since I’ve never been able to successfully learn another language; but hopefully I will know more than I know now.

So that’s it…it’s in black and white now for the whole world to see….I must do it! After I successfully complete these resolutions, I will be able to drive the streets of HCMC AND yell at people in Vietnamese when they cut me off!

Travel Ink

admin — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:51:23 +0000

Check out my latest article written for The Indie Travel Podcast. It’s all about the tattoos you get while traveling. Did I get inked??? Read it and find out – Travel Ink!

While you are on the Indie Travel Podcast site – browse around and check out the new design. Craig and Linda did a fabulous job of designing a new site that makes all of their great travel advice, podcasts, interviews, videos, and travel articles easy to find! Let them know what you think of the new look!

If you are interested in seeing all of the articles I’ve written for the Indie Travel Podcast – you can go here!

Happy 2009 and Happy Traveling!

Holiday Video 2008!

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 03:22:20 +0000

Happy Holidays from Vietnam! Click on the video to hear and see my Holiday message for 2008!

You still have shopping to do?!!

admin — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 05:47:29 +0000

What’s this – it’s the last weekend before the Christmas holiday and you still don’t have a gift for those loved ones?!! I can solve that problem and it doesn’t even require you going to a store with masses of people in a panick looking for Wii’s.

Photography

Thailand Sunset

Give the gift of travel this year. Sure, the economy is in the toilet, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t travel…in your mind. Browse through my photography at
Global Photography by Sherry Ott
and take a journey in the mind. Maybe the photos will remind you of a past trip, or provide some incentive for a future trip. On the website you can fin photography from 26 countries; landscapes, cutlural portraits, and artistic shots. You can purchase high quality matte prints in a variety of sizes and even have them printed on canvas. If you are looking for something more unique, you can purchase merchandise in the form of luggage tags (finally a way to uniquiquely identifity your luggage with style!), mugs, and postcards. Go browse the site and support my travels by purchasing an original by Sherry Ott!

Books

If you have a young niece of nephew, then consider purchasing my Circling the Globe photography book! They will enjoy seeing the world and finding circles in the photography on each page! Also great for adults who enjoy cultural photography. You can purchase preview and purchase

Circling the Globe here!

Photography Storage
If you are shopping for a photo enthusiast, then consider getting them a year membership to smugmug where they can store, share, and even sell if they wish their photos on a super site made for photo enthusiasts!

The beautiful thing about Smugmug is that there is no advertisements, and you can protect your photos from being ’saved’ by strangers! There are different types of accounts for photo enthusiasts, amateurs, and professionals – you choose which is best for you. I’ve been a smugmug user now for 2 years and I love it! It is an easy way to store and share photos while I’m on the road!

Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping!

I Will Survive

admin — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 08:52:19 +0000

Sticky Situation

Let’s take inventory. I’ve been in Saigon for two months now. It’s honestly been good and bad. Maybe bad is the wrong word…it’s more like “challenging”. Considering I’m a challenge junkie, one would think that I could have rolled with all of this massive change in my life a bit better, but alas…I am human.

I met a roommate and that ended up falling through (not off to a good start)
I went to a huge Ball the first weekend I was here (forcing me to shop…oh darn)
I know three people that have contracted Denge Fever (and unfortunately I’m living with them in the same house)
I’m the proud owner of my own motorbike helmet (I’m a safety girl!)
I’ve been caught in downpours while on motorbike taxis at least 8 times showing up to work dripping wet.
I have had one ‘nice attempt’ at an American cheeseburger, a pretty good Ruben sandwich, and tons of great Asian food – and have still managed to lose weight!
I am getting very little sleep thanks to the stress of trying to figure out answers for my life.
I have met the head of at least 6 companies here. (Networking has been a breeze in such a small expat community)
I have had 2 job offers outside of teaching.
I’ve eaten in establishments with rats running around at least 3 times. (keep in mind, these are only the ones I saw)
I’ve had one bloody bike crash. (but did end up with a nice pedicure when the day was over)
I have seen at least 3 other people crash or get hit by cars. (yes –I have insurance)
I have one friend who was hit crossing the street – and then had his wallet stolen on top of that!
I still don’t have a place to live!

I suppose things could be better, they could be worse; regardless, it’s definitely an adventure. At least I’m not living over a buffalo barn any longer. That is a phrase that I will take to my grave I’m sure.

A wet Commute

It’s strange, I have really good days when I’m on the back of a motorbike and feeling on top of the world; loving the fact that I am somehow conquering all of my inhibitions and fears and tackling the unknown. Then the next day, I hit a low; a day where I really wonder if I can make it. The mind games begin and intensify when you are solo. I wonder if I want to teach. I wonder if I can deal with all of the hardships of living in Vietnam (and there are many). I wonder if I’ve made a mistake. I wonder if there’s any way that I will be able to really stick it out. I’m coming to the sobering realization that I not only took on a new career that I am unsure of, but I’ve moved to a foreign country where the culture is very different. There is a vast difference between traveling in a country and living in a country; I think I knew that before I came, but now I really know it. It’s no longer a simple thing to go buy milk at the store. In fact, buying milk at the store can now take me all day. That last statement is probably pointless since I can’t buy milk anyway as I don’t have a kitchen or fridge to put it in!

He's definitely having a bad day!

I honestly hate this roller coaster that I’m on; mainly because I hate to feel weak and I hate to doubt myself. Yet both of those feelings tend to creep in and send me in a downward spiral about every other day. I hate feeling distraught with no one really to talk to except my computer.

I don’t mean for this to sound gloomy, because I suppose if I really think about my time here – it has been pretty damn good. I have met some super nice people that will remain friends for life and who have taken me under their wing. These friends have graciously let me stay in her home with her family until I find a place to live. I have met friends that include me in social outings such as an opening of a new restaurant and boutique hotel and ate free sushi all night…I never complain about free sushi. So – things could be worse…much worse. I could be back in America being inundated with elections coverage and bombarded with news on how our economy is crap and taking down the rest of the world with it.

Overall, I’m surviving, trying to figure out how to stand still for a while. Thanks to everyone who has weighed in on my VOTE of what to do with my Vietnam life. I have made some decisions which really incorporate all three options – they involve still teaching part time for a while, doing business/IT consulting off and on, and working on writing…none of this yields very much money – but at least it all yields freedom.

The View From Across the Pond

admin — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:39:48 +0000

Founding Father

This was a really exciting day. I have been marveling at just how far-reaching the US Election is/was. There is a weird excitment in the air – even in the polluted Vietnamese air! One of the fascinating things for me is to understand just how global our US election really is; it’s overwhelming.

I talked to each of my classes today about it. The fact that some kid in Vietnam that barely speaks any English and has never traveled outside Vietnam knows Obama’s name is really interesting to me. The fact that they are excited that he won is even more interesting.

The impact globally is HUGE. All of the other teachers today were totally into the coverage; not just the ones from America. The teachers come from the UK, Italy, S. Africa, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. It actually made me proud to be an American; something I normally don’t feel when I am traveling abroad. The rest of the world is buzzing with excitment over the decisions that we made. We did the right thing, we are on a road to global recovery and improving out international image; that’s extremely exciting to me.

I just watched Obama’s acceptance speech on the Internet. I marvel at what an eloquent speaker he is. This is really the first time that I’ve actually missed America…not my friends…but America.

McCain, Obama, and I; Cast your Vote

admin — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:34:00 +0000

Decisions...

Decisions

I look at the presidential candidates from a far and the meltdown of the US financial markets (as well as my own net worth) and wonder to myself who in their right minds would want to be President? What are Obama and McCain thinking about in the deep, dark recesses of their brains. If you dig past the big egos that must be required to run for President, I imagine they are having this inner conversation with themselves:

“Maybe I don’t want this job after all? Why do I want the hassle? I could’ve just kept doing what I was doing and enjoy vacations with my family. I was comfortable. This Presidential job seemed life a fun idea – leader of the free world – but now I’m staring down the barrel of the Nov. 4th gun and it’s not looking like what I imagined it would be. The economy is in turmoil, and the whole world is expecting me to do amazing things to turn everything around. Maybe I should bail.”

But they don’t and I’m fascinated by that; because in some small way, it mirrors my story.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about throwing in the towel. I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into and what the hell am I doing here. Why did I give up my cushy life in NYC, why did I give up my career, why did I throw away my degrees, why did I leave my friends who know and love me, why did I choose Vietnam, why am I doing this to myself? Wouldn’t it just be easier and less turmoil to simply go back home and find a job and a boyfriend and live comfortably? God – I wish I knew the answer to that question. Why do I need this hassle? I can hardly stand the feeling of isolation that creeps over me most days and this self doubt wondering if I’ve made a huge mistake. Starting anew is never easy – and it’s that much harder when you are solo. I feel like I have no one to talk to that really knows me, and that can be a really bad vortex for your mind to stall in. I feel like I’ve been stalled in it for 3 weeks now.

I have these wild swings of decisions – one day I think “Yeah, I’ll stick it out and do this teaching thing and just accept the fact that I’m not making any money, have little free time, and that I’m smarter and more talented than what this job requires. Maybe I can overlook the fact that I don’t have the money or the time to do all of the things I originally wanted to do in SE Asia. Maybe I can also overlook the fact that I’m not real sure that I like to teach for a career and ‘babysit’ kids.”
Day two brings, “I should get back into a proper job that utilizes my experience and education. I can make some money so I can save up and then do what I want again - travel. However, should I get a corporate job here in Vietnam or go back home…why stay here if I have no social structure here? Then the BIG question, if I go back into corporate; am I selling out? That is the question that weighs on me like a ton of bricks on my chest leaving me gasping for air.”
Day three then bring the massive swing to “Maybe I should just not teach or do a corporate job and instead try to really work on my freelance writing and photography career. Work on my book proposal, publish more photography books, do some freelance portrait photography, raise money to do volunteer work, etc. I can do that here in Vietnam as it’s cheap to live while I figure things out. I would go into the red…but not as much as if I had stayed in NYC.”

I’m left having no idea what my platform is or what party I belong to any longer.

It all just gives me a giant headache and it leaves me wishing that I didn’t make things so complicated. I know there are no wrong answers – but why am I so paralyzed by this? I will say that it was much easier to follow my heart when the economy wasn’t in a nosedive and I had a savings to support me. These days, it’s much harder. Dipping my feet back into the working world, even though it is the ESL working world has left me confused as to what I want and what I should do. All I do know for sure it that I need to make a decision soon or I’m going to explode.

I wonder what would happen if I put it to an online vote on Nov. 4th – should I stay or should I go…I have a feeling I know what the outcome would be though; you all would have me stay and stick it out. Yet if my parents came from a state with a large number of electoral college votes – it may actually be a close race!

Upon second thought – I will let you all weigh in on this decision…cast your vote for what I should do on my survey in the lower left hand corner of this page…we’ll see what happens!

Delicious Ambiguity – Relocating

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:25:27 +0000

Taking the plunge into a new world

It’s been over 5 years since I’ve moved. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been on the move continuously for the last 2 years; I’m talking about actually moving to live in a new place where I have an actual rent payment. I’ve had many homes after I moved out of my childhood home in Peoria, IL at the age of 18.
Lincoln, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Minneapolis, Minnesota
San Francisco, California
New York, New York

Now I have to get used to saying the phrase “I live in Ho Chi Minh City.” I can’t say that it easily rolls off my tongue; in fact it’s a mouth full. You (my loyal readers) will soon come to know it as HCMC or Saigon…much easier and to say!

I normally love moving in a weird painful way. I’m one of those strange people that enjoys the challenge of turning my world upside down, even though it means that it will be painful at times and there will be many occurrences of tears and doubt. But don’t get me wrong, I do love it. I love the result – even though it normally takes 6 to 12 months to realize. I don’t think I’ve ever been the type of person that gets super excited about a move, I’m more reserved, cautious, and cynical than the average person; causing me to be constantly cautious and guarded in my emotions. I’m obviously excited about making the move else I wouldn’t be doing it; but I have moved enough to know that there are a lot of difficult things that come with moving which is why I don’t get all excited and say in a high pitched voice “I can’t wait to move to Saigon!”. Instead, people ask me if I’m excited about moving to Vietnam and my reply is more of a subdued “Yes, I’m excited about it. It will be challenging and fun.”

This move is full of many firsts. The most obvious is that this will be the first time that I live overseas. Following that, it will be the first time I’ve moved somewhere they speak a different language. It is also the first time that I’m moving somewhere with only 2 suitcases and absolutely no furniture besides this laptop (which can sorta double as a desk). This is the first time I’ve taken a job solely based on a phone interview and never visiting the company.

So – back to the question – “Am I scared?”
Hell yes – who wouldn’t be?
I’m sitting here in the plane flying over Thailand freaking out a bit. I was trying to read my English grammar book for a while until I realized the futility in it; as if I can cram 500 pages of grammar into my head before I start teaching…it was worth a try. Then I tried to listen to my Learn Vietnamese Podcast in vain. I watched the Sex in the City Movie (bad idea – that just makes me homesick and wonder what the hell I’ve done). Finally I turned to the only things that calm me down…wine, Billie Holiday, and writing; I’m feeling better already; at least until I take my first step off the plane.

This move is full of a lot of ambiguity. I don’t know much about my job except that I’m teaching a subject that I use everyday but hardly know. I don’t have a place to live. I don’t know how to get around. I don’t have a map. I don’t know anyone in HCMC. Ok – I’m lying…I know one person in HCMC, a woman that I met in my around the world travels who I have done some computer consulting work for, and I’m so excited about that I could literally burst. I don’t know if I’m cut out for teaching. I don’t know if I’m cut out for any of this weird adventure. One of my favorite quotes talks about how delicious ambiguity is; so instead of being scared shitless, I will try to embrace it.
Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. –Gilda Radner
Nepal did exactly what I needed it to do. Strip my western conveniences down to nothing and force myself to reset. It was a severely painful process, but it worked. I will be thankful if I have hot water. I will be thankful for a bed that has some sort of padding. I will be thankful not to have to bath in public. Nepal also taught me how to be alone again which was probably the hardest lesson that I had to learn. I have realized that this keyboard is my best, most reliable friend. God that sounds pathetic doesn’t it? But it’s absolutely true. It can talk me off a ledge, it can bring me calm and sanity, and strangely is listens well…in the form of these words. It will continue to play the role of closest confidant until I can meet some new friends.

One of my favorite things about moving is remembering my impressions of the first day/night in a new home. I remember my first nights in San Francisco and New York vividly…they will stick with me forever. I’m sure that the moment I step off the plane HCMC will start carving a place in my memory bank that will be with me until I die.

So I guess I’m prepared as I will ever be for this next chapter in my life. Sufficiently scared and excited. The glass of wine helped prepare me too….that always seems to calm my overactive mind. Here I go again…

Abrupt Transitions

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:36:14 +0000

Dhal Bat Days - Vol. 1

8/30/08

New Cultures

Oh my God – what have I done? I kind of feel like it’s my first week at college again where I miss my friends and my comfortable life and wonder how the hell I’m ever going to make it.

I arrived in Kathmandu after 27 hours of travel from NYC to Nepal…My body and mind felt like mush, on top of it I had cramps. I was excited to be in a new country again – yet a bit intimidated to be doing this all by myself. When I left on my around the world travel 2 years ago, I left with a group of friends who I could talk to and in some way that could comfort me and ease me into the solo adventure. Plus – I went to a country where I was taken care of by a friend who lived there; once again preparing me gently for what was to come. It was a nice transition.

However, this transition was anything but nice; in fact the whole thing has been terrifying to me. Maybe I got to cocky and thought that I was tougher than I really am. Maybe I got too soft in the US where life is easy. I’m not sure what it was but this transition has knocked me on my ass and has left me freaking out thinking “What have I done?” Going from shiny, bright, clean, NYC, the epitome of western culture, to Kathmandu Nepal felt as if I had left this planet and traveled light years away. Nepal is like India. I’m not sure why I hadn’t realized that before I stepped off the plane, but I didn’t. I was thinking that it might be a bit more developed than India…but trust me – it isn’t. In fact, in some ways – it’s harder than India. Delhi had pockets of calm and of places you could go to get some western pampering…but I’ve yet to find anything like that here…then again I haven’t been looking too hard either I suppose. The streets are terrible and the traffic is crazy – beyond crazy; trying to walk down the muddy ‘street’ is a death wish. It’s monsoon season so it’s muddy and wet and you share the road with bikes, people, motorcycles, cars, buses, cows – it’s a massive mess where every step is possible death – or at the very least a severe injury. I remember India like this, but for some reason it seemed a bit more civilized there – maybe because there seemed to be more open space. Here it’s a 1 ½ lane road surrounded by buildings with no where to go to get out of the way. It’s dirty, it smells, I have no hot water, I’m just waiting to get sick, the bed is a foam pad. Sure, I’ve dealt with all of these things before, but not after I had spent 8 months of easy living in America. I had normally come from one bad condition to another…so it never seemed that shocking before. This time I was shocked.

Holy Men

I all of a sudden was flooded with memories of what I left behind and thought why did I do this to myself? I’m all alone in a challenging situation and regret starts slipping into my head….but I can’t let it….yet it really, really wants in.

I met with the man that runs the volunteer organization. I knew this would be very different from my last volunteer experience. When I volunteered in India with a US organization, I knew I would be taken care of well, doted on even – after all – the cost was $3000 – which was really because they had staff to completely support us. This volunteer stint that I as doing in Nepal was $340 – so I knew that you get what you pay for…and I thought I could handle that. Yet now I’m really wondering if I can. Once again – on top of it all I am reminded that I’m on my own, which can make a difficult situation ever more difficult. Let’s just say that there isn’t much support here…it’s ok while I’m in Kathmandu, but once I get to this village – I’m terrified. In fact, the more I hear about the village I get even more terrified. I think I‘m tough – but I am currently doubting that right now as I sit in my lonely room awake thanks to jet lag.

In the ‘orientation’ that I was put through, I learned that I will be eating rice and beans every day for 2 weeks; a type of real life Survivor. They told me that I should expect to get sick at some point too thanks to all of the new bacteria waiting to invade my virgin western stomach. In order to get to the village, there is a jeep that runs but the road is quite poor and steep; they told me that if I was scared, I should just tell the jeep to stop and I could get out and walk. First I should learn the Nepali word for ‘stop’ I suppose. Oh yeah – and I also found out that there will be a community bathing area in which I will need to bath in front of everyone from a large bucket of cold water. Then I was informed that the village that I will be living in has many leaches, but I simply have to pull them off. Mind you, leaches were never in the brochure. Yet, maybe the most terrifying thing to me is that I will be completely shut off from the outside world. No internet, no friends, nobody to converse with in English. My two days of Nepali language class while I was severely jet-lagged isn’t going to get me through any meaningful conversation besides ‘my name is Sherry’.

On top of this – I have to figure out how to teach…I honestly don’t know what to worry about more, eating beans and rice for 15 days, bathing in front of everyone, leaches, having diarrhea, falling off a cliff, or teaching kids everyday. It’s all a toss up.

Bhuddist Prayer Wheel

I’ve been trying to remind myself that the first few days in a new country/city are always like this – very shocking and very scary; but eventually you get used to it and ease into it. It never seems as bad as it first did when you arrived. So I’m really hoping that that feeling takes hold and this immense load of worry that I’m carrying on my shoulders goes away. I know that at some point your brain just gives up and resets itself – much like when I was climbing Kilimanjaro. You stop fighting it and just give in to your surroundings. Unfortunately, I haven’t stopped swinging yet…

This whole process has made me totally forget about my fears of Vietnam for now, yet it is there in the back of my head. What if I can’t live like this? What do I do?

To top things off tonight, I wanted to get some stories posted that I had been working on – and I wanted to check email before going into the hell that I have subjected myself to. Little did I know – there’s a daily power outage in Kathmandu and as I was writing my email to my friend in the hopes of feeling better getting some of this off of my chest – the power goes out and the whole city is black. I am writing this by candle light right now. My cell phone doesn’t work – and the fact that I’m completely cut off makes me want to cry; but I won’t. Why won’t my brain just give in? Maybe it would if there was someone to talk to about all of this…to laugh about it…to commiserate with…but there is no one. Just me and this keyboard. Instead – I didn’t even get to feel like I could say goodbye for two weeks. I just hope that I persevere and make it though.

Tears for Fears

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:20:35 +0000

The view over Central Park

One year and fifty weeks ago I was in the same place. Sitting in a plane preparing to leave US soil for an unknown amount of time. The last few days I have bounced between feeling scared, sad, excited, and mad. I don’t know what to expect on my own, I’m terribly sad to say goodbye to friends yet again, I’m thrilled to be chasing a dream, and I’m mad because I’m on this roller coaster of tears when I should be excited beyond belief. This just once again reminds me that nothing comes without a price.

My various suitcases

I’ve spent the last 5 days running around trying to prepare to leave. For those of you who pack the night before a trip, you probably think that 5 days of prep and packing is absurd. Well, then you’ve never been on a long term trip. Just try to imagine trip prep for a journey duration of one to two years. I am not simply talking about packing a suitcase; I’m talking about administrative stuff such as taxes, voting, insurance, banking, medical files, phone numbers, and getting all of the items that I won’t have access to in developing countries that I may need/want. To top is off, imagine doing all of this when you don’t really have access to your stuff or your home (mine is all in storage). I felt like a raving bitch most days, but I was perplexed when my friends kept telling me how amazed they were that I was so calm and in control. I was completely paranoid when they told me this as if it were their way of making fun of me. I was positive I was the embodiment of Cybil this last week no matter what they said to me.

NYC Skyline over Central Park...Goodbye..

I find it disturbing that tears are in my eyes now as I depart the skyline of NYC fading into the distance and trying to squeak in one last cell phone call with friends before retiring my US phone number yet again. It’s disturbing because 8 months ago I was in tears when I was flying back to the US after being gone for 16 months. I was scared to come back to NYC, sad that my journey had ended, intimidated to see my friends again after I had been so self sufficient for so long. I don’t consider myself an emotional person, but if I’m crying leaving and crying coming back; maybe I just need to come to grips with the fact that I am an emotional mess. No wonder why I’m single…this is everything men hate about women…crying, for no good reason.

Regardless, I feel better now; a few tears always seem to help. What lies ahead is scary to me and I know that the tears don’t represent sadness; the tears are tied to fear. Whether it is fear of returning or fear of leaving and embarking out into the unknown, fear is a powerful thing. Hell, just ask any political campaign manager, they’ll tell you how fear can get votes. I don’t know that I will ever conquer the tears and the fears; but I know that I won’t let it control me. That’s why I’m on this 25 hour flight back into developing countries starting a new job that I’m terrified about. I want to be free; even if the price is a few tears.

The Next Journey Begins

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:52:41 +0000

The day is finally here – I have a one way ticket out of the country again. I don’t expect to return for another 16 months. One would think that I was used to this feeling…but do you ever get used to leaving your friends and family? No matter how excited I am to start a new journey – the word “last” as in ‘last day’, or ‘last time I see you for 2 years’ is always a bit sad.

For those of you who haven’t kept up to date on my whereabouts and plans – here’s the scoop:
I’m leaving to fly to Nepal tonight. I will be doing volunteer work in Nepal for 2 1/2 weeks teaching kids in a remote village. I will be living with a family in the village – I don’t really know any more than that. Some people would be freaked out by that, I on the other hand am a bit excited about the unknown adventures in my future…good and bad. I am volunteering through Hands for Help Nepal; a local Nepal organization. After I am finished with my Nepalese village adventure, I will be moving on to Vietnam’ my new home for a year. I have taken a job teaching English to adults at ILA Vietnam – an English Language School in Ho Chi Minh City (otherwise known as Saigon). I will be living in HCMC for a year. I’m not really sure what to expect, I don’t have a place to live yet, but I know that the school is big and I should meet plenty of other people like myself…even though they are all probably 10 yrs younger than me!

I will be doing a ton of writing and photography now since I’m back on the road – so please check out the site and sign up for email notifications!. I bought a new camera this summer, and will be uploading some of the photos from my last days in NYC so check out the new photography! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate hearing from people when I’m on the road. It really does make my day and remind me that I’m not all alone out there halfway across the globe!

Ottsworld Under Construction

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:01:49 +0000

I’ve been talking about it for a long time, and finally some progress is being made; my new website is underway! Moving the site and all of the old posts, pictures, and comments has been quite a task. As you can tell, it’s not fully completed yet, but I decided to cut over to it anyway.

This construction should be finished before I leave on the 26th, so the true unveiling will be next week! In the meantime, have a look around at the new organization, and feel free to sign up to receive updates via email automatically via feedburner! The signup is easy (to the right of this post).

Check back in a few days and hopefully I’ll be fully up and running again! Just in time for blogging about my big move overseas, volunteer work, and my new career! Lots of great stories to come.

No Related Post

Travel vs. Motherhood

Sherry — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:27:32 +0000

Is motherhood for me?

I’m doing a different type of travel these last few weeks. I’m traveling to catch up. Catch up to what you may ask; friends. This summer is about enjoying the cool summers of the northern US, fighting off mosquitoes, and having reunions with old friends. I’m staying with my sister and her kids at a lake cabin near Minneapolis and taking this opportunity to reconnect with my old colleagues and friends; after all, I spent 4 ½ years living in Minneapolis back in my 20’s. This journey through time has really made me think about the choices I have made in my past, as well as the choices I have made for my future. It has also made me think about motherhood since most of the friends that I’ve reconnected with are now mothers of multiple kids at various ages – a foreign concept to me.

When I was a little girl, I had an active imagination and generally figured out ways to entertain myself since my brother and sister were older and I was considered an annoyance. I loved playing house. I loved pretending I had kids to take care of, to cook for, to clean up after, and to tell people what to do. Then I graduated on to Barbies where I had a whole imaginary life of families, homes, relationships, and picking the right outfit to wear for the right fictitious occasion. Then I moved on to playing ‘work’. I would play at my dad’s old desk, make a rol-a-dex from scratch and pretend that I had important meetings to attend, people to see, people to fire, things to staple, and reports to create. At that point, I don’t ever think I thought about playing house again.

However the last few weeks have landed me back in my imaginary world of playing house. I’ve been surrounded by kids and families. I’ve been entertaining kids, cooking for kids, disciplining kids, teaching kids (mostly appropriate things)…and I generally have no idea what I’m doing. I am the youngest in my family, so I never really had any young kids or babies around me. Instead, I was too busy trying to be more grown up so that my sister and brother may be interested in playing with me or at least stop teasing me and beating me up! These last few weeks of being surrounded by kids and families has been fun, yet exhausting. It’s a bit reminiscent of being a middle manager in corporate America, so I’ve had to dust off my managing skills. Motherhood or Management – it’s all the same to me.

These last few weeks I’ve done things that are scarier and more challenging than climbing Kilimanjaro. I found myself driving a minivan full of kids to Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping. My latest adventure was to take 4 girls to 3 different softball practices in different locations, cheer them on, yell at them to play nice, tell them to stop fighting with each other, and then going for pizza at the local pizza joint. It freaks me out to think that the strangers that look at me think that they are my kids…how can that be when I still feel like I’m 22 and I clearly don’t look like a mother…or do I? God help me. We’ll delve into that in another post when I have a drink within reach.

Photo: Drained lake Delton – all that is left is mud.
I even drove out to meet my best friend from high school, Audra. She lives in Milwaukee so we decided to meet halfway across Wisconsin. She brought her young kids (2 ½ yrs and 14 months) with her for the 2 hour drive, and they watched Dora the Explorer. I on the other hand drove 3 hours and listened to a gruesome book on tape about children soldiers in Sierra Leone in the 90’s. We were worlds apart. Our worlds intermingled in the heart of cheesy American resort towns – Wisconsin Dells. Some of you may have heard of the Dells recently in the news when rains of biblical proportions dumped so much water into Lake Delton that it literally burst its banks. Tens of thousands of gallons of lake water barreled through the woods, taking with it a roadway, several houses, boats, fish and lake bed. It emptied into the nearby Wisconsin River and was gone in hours. Definitely a site to see.

We met at the Copa Cabana Resort and water park so that the kids could be entertained between us trying to catch up on 4 years of not seeing each other. There was no Barry Manilow or Pina Coladas at the Copa Cabana….instead there were pirate ships and kiddy slides. I channeled my motherhood genes that had long ago shriveled up and dried out and played as if I were Captain Hook on the high seas in between talking to Audra about travel, New York, motherhood, her career, and diapers.

As I drove back to the other side of Wisconsin after lunch, I thought about just how challenging and hard motherhood is. I frequently have people tell me how brave I am for doing what I’m doing with my life and travels. But as I watch all of my friends as mothers, I am in awe. That is one challenge that I wouldn’t be able or have the desire to meet. I find it much easier to fly off to strange countries and new cities and try to integrate in foreign places as compared to changing diapers and raising kids. Sure, that makes me a bit unusual, but I’m ok with that. I much prefer being Aunt Sherry than “Mom, (insert name here)’s hitting me!!” Plus – if I were to be a mom, that would necessitate me actually having to find someone to date that I didn’t get annoyed by eventually…and that may just be impossible.

Photo: My 6 nieces – all together for the 4th of July
Thanks to all of my old friends who have come on out to see me – it’s been like a giant summer reunion for me. Sometimes it leaves me a bit baffled, wondering how in the world I have ended up on the small path that I am on and not on the interstate of motherhood and familydome. I guess I just figure that someone has to take the path less traveled.

Family Ties – Singapore

Want to take a Career Break and Travel?

Sherry — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:48:07 +0000

If you are sitting at your desk, stealing away a few minutes of sanity from meetings, your 4th cup of coffee, emails, the blackberry, and deadlines – then read on…

A few years ago when I started researching my career break, I quickly realized that for a corporate American – I was exploring new territory. There were very few books or websites that addressed how to plan and take a career break. Sure, there were that covered the topic, but they were all written from a British perspective. Now I don’t have anything against a British perspective, in fact I find it rather humorous normally – but the British and American take on careers are different. Brits travel – they use their vacation, they take long trips, their careers aren’t thrown into jeopardy if they take a year off. Americans – well, we don’t have those luxuries..or do we?

When taking a year+ off and traveling long term, I struggled with finding others like me from my culture. I struggled with simply planning the endeavor of long term travel. Yet at the same time, I heard from so many people through my blog that wanted/hoped to do the same type of thing I was doing. They were longing for a career break and had many questions on how to make it happen.

I always believe that life provides the path if you just open your eyes and are open to it. When I met two other Americans with similar backgrounds as mine that had also just completed a 3 month career break, the idea was born…Briefcase to Backpack – a website for corporate Americans who wanted to escape for a while.

My partners and I are working on putting this new travel website together and have a preview site up and running at www.briefcasetobackpack.com. It is a small look into what we intend to provide on Briefcase to Backpack in the future, a background on how it all came together, and a way for you to get on our mailing list to stay up to date on our progress.

I know many of you are contemplating a career break and wondering how to do it – then go check out www.briefcasetobackpack.com, sign up for our email, provide us some feedback on the idea, and save the url as a ‘favorite’! Briefcase to Backpack – the first stop on your escape from Corporate America!

Sherry Has Left The Building

Sherry — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:03:03 +0000

Photo: Shutting the door on my 5 years at 74th and Columbus…

There’s something surreal about seeing your bed wheeled down the streets of NYC on a dolly. Really – a sobering situation.

There I was, walking down the street with friends after dinner seeing my life possessions being carted down the street – God…this isn’t happening…is it?

My friends have been amazing – and have benefited quite a lot from my liquidation of my life. Many of them have taken/borrowed furniture, art, and electronics. This is all great as is means that it’s less stuff to put into storage…however in another weird way it is terribly painful. I realized just how painful it was when I saw my mattress being wheeled down the street past the Museum of Natural History…which may be quite fitting for my mattress!

Photo: Me working my ‘home office’…what’s left of it.
Slowly – every day more is taken away…I’m left with a beach chair – my only piece of furniture to sit on, paper plates, and plastic silverware as I’ve sold all the rest.

Sure, it’s great to have the money from selling things…but it goes so fast. It’s strange thinking that your bed is the same value as a dinner and a nice bottle of wine in NYC.

I’d like to sit here and say that I liquidated my life with ease and confidence, that I was the model of composure; but I can’t lie. There have been a few tears shed about the loss of my possessions. As it gets closer to nothingness, more tears seem to come, but that is more about me wanting this whole process to be over – I’m just tired of it. I’m tired of living like this slowly watching things disappear and crumble around me. The rub is that as bad as it feels – it feel equally good and freeing. Sometimes I think that tears are necessary though…it’s a mourning process that we have to let our bodies go through….and mine has been working overtime.

Photo: My dear friends doing some ‘Sherry Shopping’ – at least I know it goes to a good home!

Seeing my bed on the street…well, that was a whole new level. I was already a bit apprehensive about selling my bed, seeing it on the street made it even harder. Your bed is precious. Just think for a moment…think about your bed….and then think about never sleeping in it again. But not because you are replacing it with a new fluffier bed, instead it is because you are choosing to give up normalcy. From this point forward for the next few years you will be sleeping in multiple beds – some good, some bad. But never the same bed for long; and it’s never YOUR bed. That is the challenge of traveling.

It’s weird to be going through this again – leaving again. I have this ‘here we go again’ feeling as I pack up my suitcase full of rolled clothes – my dresser on wheels. It’s easier since I know what to expect, but harder also because this time it’s for real….there’s nothing but friends and a small storage space in Manhattan to come back to.

Homeless Again

Sherry — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:40:29 +0000

My posessions…no longer…

A friend recently asked me if I ever felt an overwhelming social pressure to get married and have kids.
My answer, “Not really.”
Sure, there’s pressure from a social norm standpoint, but I seldom let it get to me. However, recently I have felt a great deal of social pressure with my current life decision; to not go back to my corporate career and instead sell 90% of what I own to go make slightly over $15000 a year. I am truly going back to square one, the square I was in when I graduated from college.

Today there are an increasing number of women not getting married or having a family. But I don’t know many other people who have decided willingly to go from the making of an extremely comfortable lifestyle with a 6 figure salary to practically nothing. No home, and few possessions. Sure, when I used to have really terrible days at work I’d fantasize about giving it all up and living a simpler life – but deep down I didn’t think it would actually happen.

When I refer to social pressure, I’m not saying that people are specifically putting pressure on me telling me not to do it. In fact my friends and family have been very supportive through my struggles, indecision, and tears. The pressure is coming from myself and what I see around me. Ever since I graduated from college I have been on a quest; a quest to be ‘grown up’ and successful. A quest to own furniture that doesn’t come with assembly instructions.

I still remember the first piece of furniture I ever purchased; a couch from Sears. Then came a bed, some side tables, kitchen appliances, works of art, pottery, clothes, more clothes, handbags, and a shitload of shoes. Some how I moved from my apartment in Omaha, NE, which was furnished with furniture from garage sales and posters that I put in a plastic frames to a beautiful loft in Manhattan with real wood furniture and actual art on my walls. I had a real ‘grown-up’ life I purchased for myself.

Now I look around at all the stuff I have acquired through the years and realize that it’s really my enemy. It’s holding me hostage. But who at 38 yrs old in their right mind gives it all up?

The progression of my disappearance of ’stuff’…from every angle…click on the picture to enlarge.

I had to make this weighty decision while I was away from my stuff – it’s too hard to do while you are sitting on your perfectly good couch that you are deciding whether to give up or not. I’d like to say that my time back in NY since January has been fun and carefree – but it hasn’t. I’ve been weighted down with big decisions – what do I do next, how will I live, how do I avoid corporate America, where will I live, how will I make money to live? This constant bombardment of difficult questions that I submit myself to has been a slow torture. Coupled that with being in NY where you tend to bleed money – it has really sucked.

In order to not lose my mind I’ve had to make some decisions and my first step is to cut free of the shackles of my stuff and rent payments.

Selling my ‘stuff’ off to my family, friends, neighbors, and strangers creates a weird feeling. It’s certainly not a comfortable situation. As I hand over the items that I worked so hard to acquire I try to think of it as if I’m getting rid of a disease and now it’s someone else weighty shackles. They will have to house it for years and be tied down to it. By looking at it as buying my freedom, it doesn’t feel as pathetic.

As I look around my comfortable apartment, I wonder for a moment just how much my stuff defines me. It’s a fact that stuff doesn’t make you happy, so why not cut free? As I watch my things march out of my life I have to change my mindset. My stuff and my apartment doesn’t define me. Instead, it’s my writing and this blog that defines me. I don’t need stuff…I feel lighter already.

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“You don’t have to live your life the way other people expect you to.” –Chris Guillebeau, Art of Nonconformity

“If you never begin, you’ll never know what could have happened if you tried.” –Chris Guillebeau

“Traveling in many ways is walking inside of you and finding yourself, but on the flipside it is also running away from a number of things. So we need to balance it out and stay put once in a while.” –my dear friend Veronique

absolutely nothing.

After all, “A small, devoted army is far better than a large, uncommitted mob.” –Chris Guillebeau

“The world is desperately, impatiently waiting for you to figure out what you can give it.” — Chris Guillebeau

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