Have you encountered ghosts?

A week from now is All Hallows Eve “vigil of All saints” or commonly known in North America as Halloween. The holiday’s roots are of pagan Celtic origin; but it seems to be spreading around the world in modern fashion. When I was young, it meant dressing up in a costume and walking around my small town neighborhood, knocking on doors and gathering more candy than I’d ever eat. On October 31st my three … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | October 25, 2012
Category: Europe, General, Languages and Culture, North America

Send and receive postcards from all over the world

Who doesn’t like getting a postcard in the mail? With the overwhelming evolution of technology, the act of putting pen to paper almost seems old-fashion. Words have the same definition whether typed or scrolled by hand. But handwriting can reveal clues about an individuals personality where digital text lacks that touch.

  Years ago I discovered a … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | October 11, 2012
Category: General, Languages and Culture, Simplicity

Do you pick up accents while traveling?

My mother tongue is American English. According to my Swedish friend, I speak her native language with a Russian accent. In my own country I’ve been asked where in Australia I’m from. And when I met a guy on the road–who grew up less than an hour from me–I marveled at his strong accent. Why don’t I have the same one?

  Language mimicking is common, and often times unintentional. Apparently several years ago Read more »

Posted by | Comments (2)  | September 13, 2012
Category: Languages and Culture

Vagabonding field reports: a meditation retreat in Thailand

The 10 day silent meditation retreat I attended last July in Wat Khao Tham, a monastery in Ko Phangan, Thailand, was my 4th experience of this sort, all but one of them in the land of smiles, each of them in a different temple.

In this website Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagabonding field reports: a meditation retreat in Thailand  | August 11, 2012
Category: Asia, Languages and Culture, Vagabonding Field Reports

Book review: Dancing in the fountain by Karen McCann

Dancing in the Fountain how to enjoy living abroad written by Karen McCann Now available in print and on e-reader, August 2012

“Living abroad is an opportunity to reinvent yourself that rarely exists outside the witness protection program.” ~Karen McCann

From their first date, Karen and her … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (1)  | August 2, 2012
Category: Destinations, Europe, Expat Life, Languages and Culture, Travel Writing

Vagabonding field reports: the soul of Seoul

With over 20 million people, Seoul is the second largest urban agglomeration in the world, far behind the endless tentacles of that postmodern monster commonly known as Tokyo. But Korea beat Japan in something his neighbour is famous: in fact Korea is the most ethnically and linguistic … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagabonding field reports: the soul of Seoul  | July 14, 2012
Category: Asia, General, Languages and Culture, Vagabonding Field Reports

Vagablogging Field Reports: aprendiendo Español en San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala

Cost: $25 a day

The strangest thing I’ve seen lately

Few people outside of the small town of San Pedro la Laguna on the shore of Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan highlands have heard of the San Pedro Celtics basketball team. With a population of approximately thirteen thousand people, mostly of Mayan descent, one could be forgiven for thinking that there wasn’t a basketball team at all in this soccer (fútbol) mad part of the world. … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Vagablogging Field Reports: aprendiendo Español en San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala  | July 7, 2012
Category: Central America, Languages and Culture, Vagabonding Field Reports

Marco Polo Experiences, or vagabonding off the beaten trail

During my recent adventures in the Indian Subcontinent, I tried to steer off the beaten tourist trail as much as I could. Thanks to some contacts and friendships I cultivated in other parts of the world – very often a great key for successful connections in other places – I was fortunate enough to venture well far off the beaten path, in places so small that not even a detailed map would carry … Read more »

Posted by | Comments (3)  | June 21, 2012
Category: Adventure Travel, Asia, Languages and Culture, On The Road, Vagabonding Styles

Using computer translation: does it work?

The language barrier can be a challenge when vagabonding. At the time, it can seem frustrating. Usually, it’s funny in retrospect when you talk about it with friends. Technology is evolving fast, however. Smart people around the world are working feverishly to break down the walls separating us from communicating with each other. Voice and text recognition is improving at a rapid pace. Hopefully, a real-life electronic Read more »

Posted by | Comments (4)  | May 28, 2012
Category: Languages and Culture, Notes from the collective travel mind

Summer Travel Work, Part I: Teaching ESL

  It’s a fact that travel dreams begin to intensify when summer is around the corner. For me and most other inveterate travelers I know, every fiber is starting to vibrate with an anxious need to hatch a plan pack a bag, and head off to far-flung places. The passport sings to us, asking to be paroled out of the drawer it’s been kept in for months. … Read more »

Posted by | Comments Off on Summer Travel Work, Part I: Teaching ESL  | May 18, 2012
Category: General, Languages and Culture, Working Abroad