WEBVTT
00:00:00.179 -->
00:00:06.214It was John Paul Sartre who said If you are lonely, when you are alone, you are in bad company.
00:00:06.214 -->
00:00:14.164My guest today, Deonnie Hall, has found herself as she has traveled alone in his living the nomadic lifestyle.
00:00:14.164 -->
00:00:18.681Hello everyone, my name is Jake Bushman and I am the host of Journey with Jake.
00:00:18.681 -->
00:00:23.596This is the podcast that inspires you to overcome challenges through adventure.
00:00:23.596 -->
00:00:32.744Deonnie Hall is the host of the podcast While she's Away, which is a podcast for women who want to live their best lives around the world.
00:00:32.744 -->
00:00:44.323While it is not always easy, Deonnie has had some life-changing experiences, as she has fully immersed herself in other cultures and has had a front row seat to witness how others live.
00:00:44.323 -->
00:00:47.448Let's get out and explore with Deonnie.
00:00:48.331 -->
00:00:49.512Welcome to Journey with Jake.
00:00:49.512 -->
00:00:55.508This is a podcast about adventure and how, through our adventures, we can overcome the challenges of life that come our way.
00:00:55.508 -->
00:01:00.405While I expect you will learn some things about different adventures, this show will entertain you.
00:01:00.405 -->
00:01:07.691Each episode will feature a different guest or guest, as they share experiences and stories from the different adventures they have been on.
00:01:07.691 -->
00:01:17.691Not only will you be entertained, but you will also hear the failures and trials each guest faces and what they have done or are doing to overcome the hardships that come their way.
00:01:17.691 -->
00:01:27.575My goal is to take each of us on a journey through the experiences of my guests, with the hope that you'll be entertained and inspired to overcome your day-to-day challenges.
00:01:27.575 -->
00:01:33.706After all, it's not all about the destination as it is about the journey.
00:01:46.579 -->
00:01:49.025Welcome back to another episode of Journey with Jake.
00:01:49.025 -->
00:01:55.789Thanks for indulging me each and every week and listening to these fantastic stories and experiences from my guests.
00:01:55.789 -->
00:01:58.441We are on episode 79.
00:01:58.441 -->
00:02:06.314A day I'm shaking my head not only in disbelief, but also just pure amazement and happiness.
00:02:06.314 -->
00:02:15.895I couldn't imagine the friendships I would make, the connections I would have and just the inspiration I would receive as I hear the stories and experiences of my guests.
00:02:15.895 -->
00:02:17.462It has been such a wonderful ride.
00:02:17.462 -->
00:02:19.854Thanks to each and every one of you for coming along.
00:02:20.616 -->
00:02:25.912If you want to get to know me and my guests a little bit better, give me a follow on Instagram at Journey with Jake Podcast.
00:02:25.912 -->
00:02:33.150This is a great way to see some pictures of my guests, view some clips from our recording experience and just get to know each guest a little bit better.
00:02:33.150 -->
00:02:36.544It's also a fantastic way to get to know me better as well.
00:02:36.544 -->
00:02:40.320I like to post some stories throughout the week and share some of what I am up to.
00:02:40.320 -->
00:02:42.986So check it out at Journey with Jake Podcast.
00:02:42.986 -->
00:02:47.183Okay, let's get to my fascinating conversation with Deonnie Hall.
00:02:47.183 -->
00:02:51.217Well, I'm excited today because I have Deonnie Hall.
00:02:51.217 -->
00:02:52.000I think I said it right.
00:02:52.561 -->
00:02:53.302Yes, yes.
00:02:53.783 -->
00:02:54.724Perfect, I love it.
00:02:54.724 -->
00:02:57.229Deonnie Hall is on the call with me today.
00:02:57.229 -->
00:02:59.093Welcome to Journey with Jake.
00:02:59.901 -->
00:03:01.487Thank you for having me, Jake.
00:03:01.487 -->
00:03:03.355You said my name correctly, so congrats.
00:03:03.355 -->
00:03:04.319Great job on that Great.
00:03:04.319 -->
00:03:05.665We're off to a good start.
00:03:06.027 -->
00:03:06.670Yeah, this is great.
00:03:06.670 -->
00:03:07.816I'm excited to chat with you.
00:03:07.816 -->
00:03:13.283We're going to dive into a lot about, like, solo female traveling and kind of what you're doing and some of the adventures you've been on.
00:03:13.283 -->
00:03:17.723Before we get started, though, I always like to know a little bit about who you are and a little bit about your background.
00:03:17.723 -->
00:03:20.531So, if you don't mind, tell us about who Deonnie is.
00:03:20.980 -->
00:03:21.802Absolutely.
00:03:21.802 -->
00:03:29.610Whenever I get this question, I'm always like do I just do like a full, like 10 minute rant on who I am, or do we going to start off small?
00:03:29.610 -->
00:03:30.655But I'll give a gist.
00:03:30.655 -->
00:03:37.594Basically, I've been nomadic for the past five years and it all started with a solo trip to India.
00:03:37.594 -->
00:03:50.542I was backpacking my way through Southeast Asia for about three, four months and that was the first trip that I did and that was supposed to be just like I said, three, four months and it ended up becoming my entire life.
00:03:50.542 -->
00:03:56.981So after those few months I wanted to just keep traveling more in whatever way that I could.
00:03:56.981 -->
00:04:13.991I had taught English in Spain a bit during the pandemic a bit, have backpacked more of Europe and now for the past year and a half, have been working in podcasting as a freelancer and that's kind of my bread and butter right now as I continue moving my way around the world.
00:04:13.991 -->
00:04:20.235And yeah, I'm a vegetarian, I'm a tourist and a full time traveler.
00:04:20.235 -->
00:04:22.461So that's a little bit about Deonnie, just to start.
00:04:23.223 -->
00:04:23.644I like it.
00:04:23.644 -->
00:04:24.084That's good.
00:04:24.084 -->
00:04:25.007That's a good little snippet.
00:04:25.007 -->
00:04:27.333Where are you from originally?
00:04:27.333 -->
00:04:29.223I guess we'll start with that.
00:04:29.223 -->
00:04:29.925I didn't cover there.
00:04:30.307 -->
00:04:30.848I didn't cover that.
00:04:30.848 -->
00:04:34.105I am originally from New Jersey in the States.
00:04:34.105 -->
00:04:36.471I'm second generation American.
00:04:36.471 -->
00:04:50.047My dad was born in Guatemala and my mom's side is Puerto Rican, so there's a lot of Hispanic influence in my upbringing and me being Hispanic, but I born and raised in New Jersey.
00:04:50.047 -->
00:04:50.548Yeah.
00:04:51.490 -->
00:04:52.872So did you grow up speaking Spanish.
00:04:53.579 -->
00:04:54.401It's a great question.
00:04:54.401 -->
00:04:57.350My parents I like to say my parents failed me in that.
00:04:57.350 -->
00:04:59.483No, we did, I did not.
00:04:59.483 -->
00:05:04.093They kind of used it as more of a way for us to not know what they were saying.
00:05:04.093 -->
00:05:07.009Yeah, that was kind of the way they used it.
00:05:07.009 -->
00:05:13.454A lot of my like my grandmother on my dad's side and a lot of my family members do speak Spanish and only speak Spanish.
00:05:13.454 -->
00:05:21.399So we were around it a lot growing up, but I didn't actually fully learn until I moved to Spain myself, which I mentioned.
00:05:21.399 -->
00:05:22.322I was teaching English there.
00:05:22.322 -->
00:05:29.370I lived in Spain for a year, so that was really when I, like, had started to learn and learned most of my conversational.
00:05:29.370 -->
00:05:40.295I wouldn't say I'm fully fluent, but that was when I when I really learned, and it was nice being able to come back home and being able to have conversations with my grandparents that I hadn't been able to have before.
00:05:40.295 -->
00:05:43.427So, yeah, that's a long winded answer to your.
00:05:43.488 -->
00:05:43.951That's awesome.
00:05:43.951 -->
00:05:50.240Well, when you said you went and taught English in Spain and you were have a Hispanic background, I thought, well, maybe you knew Spanish, so that was perfect.
00:05:50.240 -->
00:05:54.538You're right in the Spain, speak Spanish, teach English, yeah, but no, they.
00:05:54.538 -->
00:05:57.069I like how they, instead of you, know when you know.
00:05:57.069 -->
00:06:00.387When I was little, my parents would spell stuff out to each other and we didn't know how to spell.
00:06:01.351 -->
00:06:05.689Your parents just spoke Spanish to each other and like switch languages and you're like damn, all right.
00:06:08.420 -->
00:06:09.408But now they can't do that.
00:06:09.408 -->
00:06:10.877Now, I mean, they're going to say something for you.
00:06:10.877 -->
00:06:13.165You're going to be like hey, I know what you're saying.
00:06:13.204 -->
00:06:22.427It's funny because now my I have two younger brothers who don't speak Spanish because, like I, went out of my way, I learned, but they still know very limited, very basic.
00:06:22.427 -->
00:06:27.507It's funny because I was in the car with my dad and my youngest brother and my dad was talking to me in Spanish, so that my brother wouldn't understand.
00:06:27.507 -->
00:06:37.488So we've carried over the thing that my dad and my mom used to do and to now that me and my dad do, when we don't want my brothers to understand, which I think is funny.
00:06:37.930 -->
00:06:39.839Yeah, you got to keep that rolling might as well.
00:06:40.000 -->
00:06:41.384You've learned that you got to keep it rolling.
00:06:42.125 -->
00:06:42.826There you go, brothers.
00:06:42.826 -->
00:06:45.492So are you the oldest of three.
00:06:46.259 -->
00:06:49.750Yes, I am the oldest of three siblings.
00:06:49.750 -->
00:06:51.235The youngest just turned 20.
00:06:51.235 -->
00:06:53.925So they're still fairly like they're big.
00:06:53.925 -->
00:06:57.339But I always go say, like my little, my little, yeah, that's your little brother.
00:06:57.560 -->
00:06:58.846For sure, those are your little brothers.
00:06:58.846 -->
00:07:00.514Absolutely Very good.
00:07:00.514 -->
00:07:01.420Well, now yeah.
00:07:01.600 -->
00:07:05.276I feel like I kind of know you pretty good now, so thank you for sharing that, of course.
00:07:05.298 -->
00:07:15.315You said it's been like five years now that you decided to let me take this solo trip into India, of all places for a solo trip that's, I wouldn't think of that as a place to go for a solo trip.
00:07:15.315 -->
00:07:17.502But how did this kind of build in you?
00:07:17.502 -->
00:07:20.841Like what made you all of a sudden be like you know what I want to travel Like?
00:07:20.841 -->
00:07:21.622How did this build up?
00:07:22.002 -->
00:07:23.305Yeah, that's a great question.
00:07:23.305 -->
00:07:26.372I think it had built up for a while.
00:07:26.372 -->
00:07:28.346I think when I was younger I went to.
00:07:28.346 -->
00:07:39.307I was raised super Christian and so in my high school they did missions trips and so in my first freshman or sophomore year of high school I pretty sure I was 14.
00:07:39.307 -->
00:07:43.206It was the first time and I have had ever left the country I went to Honduras on a mission trip.
00:07:43.346 -->
00:07:46.725I will preface and say I am no longer a Christian and I find those very problematic.
00:07:46.725 -->
00:07:53.665So just Just to prep us with that, but at the time I was very unaware and I was raised in this religious home.
00:07:53.665 -->
00:08:00.449So I'd went on a mission trip to Honduras and it was nine days and we had, like no contact with our family.
00:08:00.449 -->
00:08:19.855We could only notify them when we arrived and at the end of the trip, like we got to do one call and I remember distinctly, like a lot of the other people on the trip, being like I miss, you know, home, I miss my friends, I miss my family and I was just so happy to like be away and to be seeing the world because it was the first time I had ever left the country.
00:08:19.855 -->
00:08:21.240I'd never seen anything else.
00:08:21.240 -->
00:08:27.624So we were doing all of these cool things and getting to see different parts of the world and I remember coming back and being like I want to go to other places.
00:08:27.774 -->
00:08:34.783But at the time I was, you know, finishing high school and after high school, going into college, and I think through college I was trying to figure out other ways.
00:08:34.783 -->
00:08:48.125It was like there was one opportunity that I could have studied abroad, in Italy, but it was a summer, so you kind of had to self-fund it and it was quite expensive and it's like maybe the Peace Corps, but then that was two years and I didn't know if I wanted to commit that long.
00:08:48.125 -->
00:08:53.886And so it always kind of been like a trying to figure out what possibilities were within the scope of like something I could do.
00:08:53.886 -->
00:09:00.682And I don't know I think it was Nomadic Matt, who I had come across, and that's when I was introduced to like backpacking and I was like, oh, people just pick up and leave.
00:09:00.682 -->
00:09:02.402This is a thing that I could do.
00:09:02.402 -->
00:09:07.640And at the time I had graduated university, I was planning on getting my master's in social work and I had gotten into the program.
00:09:07.640 -->
00:09:15.822I was like, picked my classes, had an internship, picked out, I like saw my next path for life About two weeks before that program was supposed to start.
00:09:15.822 -->
00:09:22.547I was like, okay, actually I'm gonna not do that and I'm gonna save up money for a year and just go backpacking to Southeast Asia.
00:09:22.547 -->
00:09:30.304I think it was just something that had built up over time and then it kind of reached a peak where I was like I really feel like I have to do this now or it's not gonna happen.
00:09:30.304 -->
00:09:33.203And yeah, that's kind of how it just like spiraled in.
00:09:33.315 -->
00:09:43.754And in terms of picking India, I was originally supposed to backpack South America with a partner and I had been saving money for that year that I mentioned before my backpacking trip.
00:09:43.754 -->
00:09:46.222I was like, working several jobs, trying to save a bunch of money.
00:09:46.222 -->
00:09:50.174They were like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm gonna save up too, but they hadn't been.
00:09:50.174 -->
00:10:03.043And because they couldn't really afford to, with paying rent and different things, and it was also more my dream than theirs and so a few months later and re-approach the conversation, they were like, oh well, I don't really have the money, I need some more time.
00:10:03.043 -->
00:10:07.667At that point I was just kind of like is this something that I'm still willing to wait for?
00:10:07.667 -->
00:10:11.894Because I feel like I've been waiting so long to be able to do this Maybe I'll just go by myself.
00:10:12.477 -->
00:10:25.806Through using the Nomadic Network and Nomadic Maths blogs and things, I found out that there was workaways and different forms of being able to save money while you were traveling and like volunteering, and I had found a place that I wanted to volunteer in India.
00:10:25.806 -->
00:10:29.673So I scratched South America and I was like well, I found this really cool place.
00:10:29.673 -->
00:10:35.620It was an ashram, an all-female ashram run by this Portuguese woman who'd been living in India for a really long time.
00:10:35.620 -->
00:10:38.080I was like I want to go here, like this sounds amazing.
00:10:38.080 -->
00:10:40.014And I did a FaceTime with her.
00:10:40.014 -->
00:10:50.104It worked out and then, just based off of that, I was like okay, well, I know I can go stay in in Varkala, india, for a month for free, so let's do that instead.
00:10:50.264 -->
00:10:52.014Wow, okay, so that's how that works.
00:10:52.014 -->
00:10:56.412You just figured out some way to volunteer, which would then allow you to stay for free.
00:10:56.913 -->
00:10:57.014Yeah.
00:10:57.318 -->
00:10:58.254And that's how the India think.
00:10:58.254 -->
00:11:00.743Because you know my mind, I'm thinking why would you pick India?
00:11:01.235 -->
00:11:02.961Yeah, it was mainly that.
00:11:02.961 -->
00:11:11.947It was like I found that volunteer and then I used to do a lot more volunteering than I do now, just because it was a great way for me to save money and also have really cool experiences.
00:11:11.947 -->
00:11:28.894During my time in India, I also volunteered at a dog shelter in Goa taking care of like like 50 plus stray dogs and I was staying in like a little hut on the beach and we were taking care of just feeding and taking care of all these dogs on a daily basis, and so that was kind of how I was moving around.
00:11:28.894 -->
00:11:34.508I'd like find different places to volunteer because I felt really like drawn to that place in India.
00:11:34.508 -->
00:11:42.174Now, looking back, I'm like that was a big jump for someone who had never left the country like alone before, but it was bold, it was amazing.
00:11:42.174 -->
00:11:45.905I say like those three or four months were the best three or four months of my life.
00:11:45.905 -->
00:11:47.039So worth it.
00:11:47.039 -->
00:11:48.461Crazy but worth it.
00:11:49.436 -->
00:11:54.024Wow, that's amazing, and I want to dive in a little bit more about India here in a little bit.
00:11:54.024 -->
00:11:56.360I kind of want to backtrack just a little bit, though.
00:11:56.360 -->
00:12:01.823When you're deciding okay, I have this itch, I want to go do something, do something for myself.
00:12:01.823 -->
00:12:03.038But here you are.
00:12:03.038 -->
00:12:04.566You know, you said your second generation.
00:12:04.566 -->
00:12:08.383You know you got Puerto Rican and Guatemalan in your background.
00:12:08.383 -->
00:12:12.145You did graduate college, which is great, but you're like, oh, I'm going to do this master's.
00:12:12.145 -->
00:12:14.198What was the family reaction like?
00:12:14.198 -->
00:12:19.455Were they kind of like wait, this is, you know, you're, you're getting a degree, you're getting education, which is probably something they really wanted for you?
00:12:19.455 -->
00:12:20.894What was kind of their reaction?
00:12:21.677 -->
00:12:26.134Yeah, I actually would have been the first person in my family to like get my master's.
00:12:26.134 -->
00:12:29.695You know my mom had me quite young and that was kind of like a generational thing.
00:12:29.695 -->
00:12:38.554My grandma also had my mom quite young and her grandma and I was just like well, that's not, you know, going to be my story.
00:12:38.554 -->
00:12:41.934I really was into my bachelor's degree in psychology.
00:12:41.934 -->
00:12:49.054You know my goal was to get my master's in social work and open up my own my, get my LCSW, become a licensed clinical social worker.
00:12:49.054 -->
00:12:56.812Like there was a whole dream path which is so funny to look back on because it looks, feels, like a past life.
00:12:56.812 -->
00:13:07.605Now I remember bringing this up to my family and I had only gotten the courage I'm not sure if you're familiar with Tony Robbins, but along the same time of me kind of deciding to make that switch.
00:13:07.605 -->
00:13:14.602I had gotten really into his work and his books and, you know, listened to some of his stuff and felt really motivated by it.
00:13:14.602 -->
00:13:20.265And then he was having a UPW event in New Jersey and I was like I'm going to go.
00:13:20.265 -->
00:13:29.206So he had one of those three day events and I went and it was super transformational in that it was the first time that I'd like sat down and been like, what is it that you really want to do?
00:13:29.206 -->
00:13:38.341Because you know, there's this thing nagging at the back of my head of like I really want to backpack and I have this itch that I, like you know, my life right now is not scratching but I should be doing this.
00:13:38.341 -->
00:13:44.259You know, my dad came here to this country like to give me that opportunity for an education and all those things.
00:13:44.259 -->
00:13:49.481It all kind of built up to that peak of me going to this event, really sitting down and asking myself what it is that I want.
00:13:50.466 -->
00:13:56.186After that, sitting down with my family and being like, hey, I'm going to do this instead.
00:13:56.186 -->
00:14:08.427And I do remember it was like five years ago, so it's a little fuzzy, but I do remember them being supportive and then being like, whatever is going to make you happy, and I think a lot of that was tied into, like me having gotten my bachelor's.
00:14:08.427 -->
00:14:14.505Like I did get my bachelor's degree, which is kind of like the minimum requirement for them, like at least like graduated.
00:14:14.505 -->
00:14:22.601It kind of felt like, okay, I did this for you, okay, now I can do whatever I want in terms of, like you know, backpacking or whatever.
00:14:22.601 -->
00:14:44.171And now it's funny because I'll have the conversations with them like my dad and I went out to eat recently because I am home in this moment, I come back every few months out of the year and we were talking about it and he was like it's so amazing to see this, you know, career and this life that you've built where you work remotely and you travel, because, honestly, when you first left, I was like, how do I get her to stay?
00:14:44.291 -->
00:14:45.451What the hell is she doing?
00:14:45.451 -->
00:14:47.419You know, he was a worried father.
00:14:47.419 -->
00:14:54.965He's a contractor and he would have his friends talk to him, be like you're just going to let her, you're just going to let her leave, but he's like there's nothing I can do.
00:14:54.965 -->
00:15:03.716You know she's 23, she's self-sufficient, she's paying for this by herself, she's you know there's not anything you can do, and so, of course, I think the biggest thing was worry.
00:15:03.716 -->
00:15:04.640It wasn't really.
00:15:04.640 -->
00:15:14.018Maybe there was some disappointment tied in, but the main thing that they had expressed to me was just concern for my safety and like are you sure you want to do this?
00:15:14.018 -->
00:15:15.042Are you okay doing this?
00:15:15.042 -->
00:15:19.961Okay, I mean, I guess yeah, that was the biggest, I think, feedback I'd gotten from them.
00:15:20.316 -->
00:15:21.578Well, that's great that they were supportive.
00:15:21.578 -->
00:15:23.745It sounds like they were just concerned parents.
00:15:23.745 -->
00:15:26.964I'm a little older so maybe I kind of can sense what they're feeling.
00:15:26.964 -->
00:15:30.047I have some kids so I kind of I kind of can side with that a little bit.
00:15:30.047 -->
00:15:37.640But that's awesome that they were supportive and that you've done it and you know it's been five years now and you're still doing it.
00:15:37.640 -->
00:15:38.813Yeah, just crazy.
00:15:39.176 -->
00:15:40.400Still moving and grooving.
00:15:40.400 -->
00:15:41.505Yeah, and they're.
00:15:41.505 -->
00:15:42.851They're still supportive.
00:15:42.851 -->
00:15:43.433They miss me.
00:15:43.433 -->
00:15:46.000It's difficult not being around.
00:15:46.000 -->
00:15:49.187I think as an older sister, I play like a huge part in my family.
00:15:49.187 -->
00:15:54.886You know they miss me, having me, and that's why I do make an effort to come back as much as I can and spend as much time with them as I can.
00:15:54.886 -->
00:16:02.267They're always going to be like as long as this is what makes you happy, and so, yeah, so let's dive into this, like India in this first solo trip.
00:16:02.287 -->
00:16:03.854I mean, what's it like?
00:16:03.854 -->
00:16:05.220What's it going through your mind?
00:16:05.220 -->
00:16:10.581I mean the culture, everything kind of, if you have any stories or some you know thoughts from from India.
00:16:10.581 -->
00:16:11.264I'd love to hear some.
00:16:11.654 -->
00:16:14.807It's funny because I do have journals from that time too.
00:16:14.807 -->
00:16:22.461I like have journals from all of my travels and recently coming back I was like reading through them and getting to see, just kind of relive it.
00:16:22.461 -->
00:16:26.519It's like reading it and watching this movie in my head and remembering all the things that happened.
00:16:26.519 -->
00:16:33.831But I remember first arriving and thankfully I didn't go to like Goa or New Delhi on that first trip.
00:16:33.831 -->
00:16:39.311I think I was aware enough to be like these major cities that are quite chaotic is maybe not a great first step.
00:16:39.311 -->
00:16:40.596We'll just do the south of India.
00:16:40.596 -->
00:16:42.760So Varkala is in the south of India.
00:16:42.760 -->
00:16:44.083It is a lot more.
00:16:44.083 -->
00:16:45.447It's like I was near a beach.
00:16:45.447 -->
00:16:48.441It's a lot more chill, like slower pace.
00:16:48.441 -->
00:16:52.580So it's not as when you think of India you think of like intense chaotic.
00:16:52.580 -->
00:16:57.197It wasn't, of course it had elements of that, but it wasn't to that extreme.
00:16:57.197 -->
00:17:03.440My initial reactions I remember like arriving at night, I'm pretty sure, which I always say now as a solo female traveler, is like a no-no.
00:17:03.440 -->
00:17:06.796But I arrived at night and I'd gotten in a taxi.
00:17:06.796 -->
00:17:09.739It dropped me off and I get to the place that I'm staying in.
00:17:09.739 -->
00:17:29.941It's this big kind of house like that's three floors, and she takes me up to the top floor and there's just mattresses lined up one next to the other, with mosquito nets around each individual bed, and there's maybe like 15 beds lined up, and that's why she showed me where my bed is, like this is your little mattress on the floor and this is like you know.
00:17:29.941 -->
00:17:45.339I put my backpack next to it and basically my job, since I was volunteering at the ashram, was to cook and clean and kind of take care of the house in terms of laundry and things like that, and it was about like five hours a day, and she just showed me around, and so she kind of showed me everything.
00:17:45.339 -->
00:17:47.539I think a lot of the other girls were still sleeping because it was night.
00:17:47.539 -->
00:17:53.138We had like a tea and kind of talked, and then I went and lay down in that bed and like the panic set in.
00:17:53.278 -->
00:18:00.900It was, though, that I remember very clearly that initial moment of being like what the hell did I just do like how I'm in India right now?
00:18:00.900 -->
00:18:09.799I did all of the things Because you're in the rush of all this traveling and the moving and the packing up your life and all the things, and I sat down and I was like, oh my god.
00:18:09.799 -->
00:18:13.954And I look back at my journals and there's this panic that sets in and I'm like what am I doing?
00:18:13.954 -->
00:18:14.636Why am I here?
00:18:14.636 -->
00:18:15.380What did I do?
00:18:15.380 -->
00:18:21.742But with time, the next day, like, I get to meet the other girls that are staying there and it turns out to be such a beautiful experience.
00:18:21.742 -->
00:18:33.779I, for the first time which also what is what inspired my podcast it was the first time that I'd met other women who were living life in the same way of just Backpacking and traveling in a way that I didn't really know was a possibility.
00:18:33.779 -->
00:18:47.124I didn't know that was a thing that people really did besides, like reading nomadic max blog, and so they were telling me like their different stories of how they'd moved around and I just felt insanely inspired and just kind of Started to create a little community.
00:18:47.785 -->
00:18:59.056And I think one of my biggest highlights from that Specific experience was shaving my head and I know people can't really see me, but you can see me and so I have like a lot of curly hair.
00:18:59.056 -->
00:19:01.022At the time it was quite long.
00:19:01.022 -->
00:19:23.203One of the girls that was staying with us she was from Germany, elena, she's 19, and she had these long dreadlocks and she had to like beautiful hair and we got along quite well and she got lights while we were there, and so I remember there were times that were sitting out on the balcony of this house and taking turns, picking lights out of her Hair with tweezers.
00:19:23.203 -->
00:19:27.539But it she's has dreadlocks, so they're like really, you know, in there, hard to get out.
00:19:27.539 -->
00:19:29.326She's trying all these natural remedies.
00:19:29.326 -->
00:19:30.289Nothing's working.
00:19:30.289 -->
00:19:33.440And we're like, babe, you're probably maybe gonna have to shave your head.
00:19:33.440 -->
00:19:34.867You know how to like get rid of it.
00:19:34.867 -->
00:19:37.039And she's like, no, I don't want to do it at all.
00:19:37.039 -->
00:19:40.770Like I've been growing out my locks for so long and I don't know where it came from.
00:19:40.770 -->
00:19:42.957But I was like, if you do it, I'll do it with you.
00:19:42.957 -->
00:19:44.984You know, it's just like a sense of solidarity.
00:19:44.984 -->
00:19:48.113And she's like, really, and I was like, yeah, but she didn't do it right.
00:19:48.134 -->
00:19:49.904In that moment there was a shaman that came.
00:19:49.904 -->
00:20:00.586She was a part of an ayahuasca ceremony actually that was several nights and After those ceremonies she actually came out with her head shaved and she had done it while she was on ayahuasca and I.
00:20:00.586 -->
00:20:05.877She just looked so beautiful and so radiant and I was like, okay, well, I told you that I would do it too.
00:20:05.877 -->
00:20:16.599And so the shaman who was staying with us downstairs he was the only one with like a razor, because we were all women and he had like a beard and stuff that he had to shave and so I went downstairs and I knocked on his door.
00:20:16.599 -->
00:20:20.619He gave it to me and it had one setting which was like as short as it could possibly go.
00:20:20.619 -->
00:20:22.310So I remember distinctly.
00:20:22.351 -->
00:20:35.532We went upstairs to the bathroom and there's a few girls around me like one of them was courting and I just start Like I'm in the mirror and I just start taking off my hair and I thought I was gonna cry and I thought it was gonna be super emotional.
00:20:35.532 -->
00:20:42.980But it was actually quite Freeing and beautiful and they were all so supportive and when I couldn't do the back, there's one girl grabbing it and doing the back for me.
00:20:42.980 -->
00:20:52.405It was just this really like freeing and I think it matched so perfectly with the beginning of that trip of like a complete New releasing.
00:20:52.405 -->
00:20:57.363You know, anyone that I met from there on out was meeting this different version of me that was bald and it was just it.
00:20:57.363 -->
00:20:59.627Yeah, it felt incredibly freeing, incredibly beautiful.
00:20:59.627 -->
00:21:02.782Now looking back probably for my family's you know version.
00:21:02.782 -->
00:21:05.872Back home they're probably like okay, she just left to India and now she shaved her head.
00:21:06.862 -->
00:21:07.605What is going on?
00:21:09.463 -->
00:21:10.266What is happening.
00:21:10.266 -->
00:21:14.400And I remember the first day after meeting people who I had met before and they'd be like you had such beautiful hair.
00:21:14.400 -->
00:21:15.060What happened?
00:21:15.060 -->
00:21:22.521But after some time I'd like gotten accustomed and kind of felt comfortable with this, like new me.
00:21:22.521 -->
00:21:30.049That was moving around and, yeah, that was like the the one Moment that I was like what, what did I just do?
00:21:30.500 -->
00:21:45.920But it was, it was beautiful and it was freeing and I and it's a big highlight of that whole trip- yeah, that's incredible and I appreciate that story because a lot of times, you know, when I talk to folks, they think, oh, they got to have something crazy that they've done or something Just, and that is kind of crazy if you think about it.
00:21:45.920 -->
00:21:48.750But but it's, it's something simple that was freeing.
00:21:48.750 -->
00:21:50.573Oh, it's just, it's quite the story.
00:21:50.573 -->
00:21:56.859I like the fact that you're normal, I like the fact that you got there that night and we're like, all the sudden you're like what am I doing here?
00:21:56.859 -->
00:21:58.045Like that feel.
00:21:58.045 -->
00:22:00.526I've had that feeling Move in somewhere doing.
00:22:00.526 -->
00:22:02.978You know, doesn't even have to be something wild like that.
00:22:02.978 -->
00:22:08.632So I'm glad, yeah, I can relate to that, because I know that feeling of what did I do?
00:22:08.632 -->
00:22:09.353What have I done?
00:22:10.299 -->
00:22:10.862100%.
00:22:10.862 -->
00:22:19.134It was like and I think that's important too, because I do really advocate for women and just people in general taking solo trips but it isn't an easy thing, you know.
00:22:19.134 -->
00:22:19.799There's a lot of fear.
00:22:19.799 -->
00:22:26.942We spend a lot of time like doing things with other people and we don't do things alone and set besides, like maybe going for a walk, I don't know simple things.
00:22:26.942 -->
00:22:33.383I really think it's important to emphasize like I was afraid and I was scared and I was like I thought I made a mistake.
00:22:33.383 -->
00:22:38.292But that just comes with the emotions of of doing something like that, of taking that trip.
00:22:38.500 -->
00:22:49.088You know, it's just part of it and it sounds like meeting these other women and things you've Grown yourself by meeting other people and making friends along the way.
00:22:49.088 -->
00:22:50.231Not, you're not just solo.
00:22:50.231 -->
00:22:52.449You talking to yourself all the time.
00:22:52.750 -->
00:22:53.515No, 100%.
00:22:53.515 -->
00:22:54.519I mean, there was a lot of solo.
00:22:54.519 -->
00:22:59.451I also did like a 19 hour train because I was we're on a super tight budget.
00:22:59.451 -->
00:23:02.006I think I'd saved like $3,000 for the whole thing.
00:23:02.006 -->
00:23:09.171So I was like we're just gonna make this last as long as it does and then, once it runs out, we're gonna, you know, make our way back home.
00:23:09.171 -->
00:23:24.476I guess I Was like traveling by train and I did 19 hours on the train to get from Varkala to Goa and I didn't get off the train once because I was scared because they would just stop sporadically but I never knew for how long the train was gonna stop.
00:23:24.616 -->
00:23:33.691For, you know, it's not like a train in like the US where you're like, okay, you know it's stopping for like 15 minutes and there's an announcement no, no, no, no, not the same thing at all.
00:23:33.691 -->
00:23:44.133And so every time it would stop like I didn't know and I didn't speak the language, so I couldn't like ask really anyone, and not, there's some people who speak English, but it's just very different.
00:23:44.133 -->
00:23:54.220So, out of fear, I just stayed and I remember like I was on this top kind of bunk, because there was different Bunk levels, and I was just laying on this bunk with my snacks and my backpack and my phone.
00:23:54.220 -->
00:24:01.582I had no um data so we were just laying there for like 19 hours going a little stir crazy but there.
00:24:01.582 -->
00:24:11.632So there were moments like that, too, where you're just on your own figuring it out amongst Amongst the time where you're meeting awesome people in and out, in and out of those experiences as well.
00:24:12.040 -->
00:24:16.583Yeah, those moments where you are by yourself, like that train, looking back on it.
00:24:16.583 -->
00:24:18.188What kind of things did that teach you?
00:24:18.188 -->
00:24:19.652Or what kind of things did that do for you?
00:24:20.000 -->
00:24:32.308I think sometimes being able to just witness what's going on around you as a traveler of like this is so outside of my norm because I can see it in my head and it's almost like hard to explain what was happening.
00:24:32.348 -->
00:24:55.483But there's, I don't know, there's just like children kind of running around naked and there's like Families and it's very like overly crowded and they're coming down like serving food, but it's not in the way that you'd have like packaged meals here in the States, it's like out of kind of these tin Tupperwares and people are eating, you know, with their hands and Japati and like the breads and stuff with.
00:24:55.483 -->
00:25:00.693And it's just just being able to sit and witness other people's norms.
00:25:00.693 -->
00:25:23.067You know, that's kind of one of those, those highlights of the I'm all the way on the other side of the world and getting to just see the way that people live so differently and not everybody gets to see, see this, you know, and the sights and the smells and the chaos of it all and the intensity of it all and it's just awesome to witness.
00:25:23.067 -->
00:25:29.525And I think in that moment that's probably not what I was thinking, but looking back now it's like really special, special moments.
00:25:29.545 -->
00:25:31.490I it's wild, very cool.
00:25:31.490 -->
00:25:32.835Thank you for sharing that, it's great.
00:25:32.835 -->
00:25:34.788So I know you also.
00:25:34.788 -->
00:25:39.472At the same time, you kind of you did your India thing and then you kind of went to was it Vietnam?
00:25:39.472 -->
00:25:42.369And some other Asia Spots, and what did you do in those spots?
00:25:42.369 -->
00:25:44.395Did you volunteer there as well, or what you do?
00:25:45.046 -->
00:25:58.333so I had moved around from I started in India, then to Thailand, then to Vietnam and then ended off in Laos and that initial trip in Thailand I did volunteering as well.
00:25:58.333 -->
00:26:07.809I found, like another dog, shelter in Pai in the north of Thailand that I volunteered at for two weeks and it was just like taking care of Dogs that had been rescued.
00:26:07.809 -->
00:26:09.865And the guy that ran at Pete's mission it's called.
00:26:09.865 -->
00:26:26.590He is really lovely and I would go around with him on trips to you know They'd key get calls from different people who would like found injured dogs or or puppies or things like that, and he would bring them and rehabilitate, rehabilitate them and send them back out if he could, or he would just keep them there and take Care of them.
00:26:26.590 -->
00:26:30.673Some of them were in like little wheelchairs, so you just like put them in there wheelchairs every day.
00:26:31.307 -->
00:26:39.265But one of the like intense things that happened while I was there at least intense for me I'm also vegetarian, like I mentioned, and so there were some like dog, not dogs.
00:26:39.265 -->
00:26:42.585There were some pigs that like lived there as well.
00:26:42.585 -->
00:26:45.435He just kept any animals that needed places to be.
00:26:45.435 -->
00:26:52.396One day we're taking care of the dogs and he comes and gets me and another guy who was from Spain I can't remember his name right now.
00:26:52.396 -->
00:26:56.468He's like I need you guys to do something and I'm like, okay, so we go with him.
00:26:56.468 -->
00:27:04.194And there's this pen where the pigs live and there's one laying there and it's not moving and he's like one of the pigs died.
00:27:04.194 -->
00:27:06.005I don't know what it's from, but I need you guys here.
00:27:06.005 -->
00:27:06.686There's two shovels.
00:27:06.686 -->
00:27:11.096I need you to dig a grave here and like, lift it up and bury the pig.
00:27:11.557 -->
00:27:24.326I'm like, okay, so it was kind of like when have you ever like dug a grave for a pig and and buried it, and it was just kind of a surreal moment of that.
00:27:24.326 -->
00:27:28.827We all had to kind of like lift it up and you're holding it and carrying it and I don't know.
00:27:28.827 -->
00:27:30.575It's just kind of like an intense, weird moment.
00:27:30.575 -->
00:27:35.998Besides that, my experience there was it's, I think volunteering a lot of times is just super humbling.
00:27:35.998 -->
00:27:40.473You're like a small area with like a lot of other people.
00:27:40.473 -->
00:27:57.313I was like sharing kind of a bed with someone, like a tiny kitchen, there's not really any hot water, and it's one of those moments like I think I said in India too where you're just kind of like Witnessing what's going on and it gives you a lot of like gratitude, and especially for what you have back home throughout that.
00:27:57.313 -->
00:28:03.416Then there was Vietnam, and Vietnam was one of my favorite countries because I did it mostly by motorbike.
00:28:03.846 -->
00:28:11.849Wow yeah, when I was in Thailand, when I was in Chiang Mai, I'd met this Italian guy and we became really good friends and we were like, okay, let's travel Vietnam together for a bit.
00:28:11.849 -->
00:28:17.935And my plan wasn't really to go to Vietnam, was to go to Laos first, but he was going to Vietnam and then heading off to Australia.
00:28:17.935 -->
00:28:19.484So I was like, sure, why not, let's do it together.
00:28:19.484 -->
00:28:36.537I did the two weeks at the dog shelter at Pete's mission and he was at a monastery, and then we met back up in in Vietnam and we traveled the whole country from South to North via motorbike and we'd go from one city to the next on a bike and then leave it there and you could rent another one to take to the next place.
00:28:36.537 -->
00:28:44.407And Vietnam was just, honestly, still to this day, one of my favorite countries because it's incredibly, just Stunningly beautiful.
00:28:44.729 -->
00:28:56.734And we did the Haizhang loop in the north of Vietnam, which is like this three-day motorbike loop around through mountains, through like little villages, and you're staying in like home stays with locals.
00:28:56.734 -->
00:28:59.704It's just, it's so incredibly beautiful.
00:28:59.704 -->
00:29:03.605It's, I think, one of like the highlights of of my entire trip.
00:29:03.605 -->
00:29:12.513But it was also freezing because we did it during the wrong time of the year I think it's like January, february and so you're driving through and I have.
00:29:12.513 -->
00:29:18.144I had to buy some things Before we went up north and I've got like as many layers like a fit on my body.
00:29:18.144 -->
00:29:21.265I've got like a long, too long sleeves, a jacket.
00:29:21.265 -->
00:29:27.598We've got like I've got hat, gloves, three pairs of socks, everything on and we're freezing, driving through the mountains.
00:29:27.598 -->
00:29:31.924It was so cold, but it was still so, so beautiful, so worth it.
00:29:32.568 -->
00:29:38.657That's funny too, because you're really cold, but you still, you know, you look back as one of your favorite places, one of the the best memories.
00:29:38.657 -->
00:29:40.265Yeah, I'm freezing to death.
00:29:40.686 -->
00:29:59.867You look, you look With, I guess like just some perspective of like that was amazing and I really enjoyed it, of course, when we'd like stop at the top of a mountain and get to get to look down, or moments where you got to interact with locals and and things like that like those, of course, are little highlights while you're doing it, but not until you're able to look back.
00:29:59.867 -->
00:30:03.536Are you like, wow, this was, this was really amazing.
00:30:04.037 -->
00:30:09.115I want to hear a little bit about Spain, if you don't mind, because you went in taught English in Spain.
00:30:09.115 -->
00:30:15.458But I know you also mentioned that you ran out of money at one point and you know you had different experiences in Spain.
00:30:15.458 -->
00:30:17.017Can you tell me a little bit about Spain?
00:30:17.359 -->
00:30:17.964Yeah, of course.
00:30:17.964 -->
00:30:29.275So I had actually applied to the English teaching assistant program while I was in Laos because at that point I had set, like I said, I was like I just want to travel More as much as I possibly can, like what can I do?
00:30:29.275 -->
00:30:35.775And so it's through the Spanish Ministry of Education I'd like filled out the application, wrote the essay, all the parts that I needed.
00:30:35.775 -->
00:30:44.777When I got back home, actually at the end of my trip, at the end of Laos, I was debating on going to Myanmar because I'd found another place to volunteer.
00:30:44.777 -->
00:30:54.044But I think at that point I had five hundred dollars left to my name and it was kind of like go to Myanmar, I have a place to volunteer, so I don't have to spend any money.
00:30:54.044 -->
00:30:59.404Or Do I take use that money to fly back home and kind of just like start again.
00:30:59.404 -->
00:31:05.317And of course you're talking to other backpackers while you're in a hostel and they're all like just go, it'll be fine, just go.
00:31:05.317 -->
00:31:11.493And Thankfully I came back, because two weeks after I got back the borders closed.
00:31:12.194 -->
00:31:12.936Okay, COVID.
00:31:13.397 -->
00:31:14.098Yeah, covid.
00:31:14.098 -->
00:31:26.978So all the borders closed and I actually had a friend who had Went to Myanmar and they got stuck there, for they were from Ireland and they got stuck there for eight months, yeah, and so if I had gone I would have had no money, I would have been completely screwed.
00:31:26.978 -->
00:31:56.258But anyway, I came back and I was working and I was nannying in between that time and then I found out that I got into the program and so I worked this summer and left in September-October and I was in a small, small city in the south of being called Welva, outside of about an hour south of Sevilla, and then my school was in Was in was in an even smaller town, in Cartaya, like a really small town, and no one really spoke any English and I had never taught in a school before.
00:31:56.258 -->
00:31:58.749I don't know what's happening.
00:31:58.749 -->
00:32:01.797So I had arrived there, but the regulations are still really strict.
00:32:01.797 -->
00:32:08.633We, you know, still had to wear masks and it was just definitely a different experience and I think it would have been if it wasn't outside of COVID.
00:32:09.034 -->
00:32:14.997But I Adore that time so much because I got so close with some of the kids.
00:32:14.997 -->
00:32:20.305I think that was like the highlight of my whole time there, like during my lunch and their lunch.
00:32:20.305 -->
00:32:23.151I would go outside to the courtyard and just hang out with them.
00:32:23.151 -->
00:32:36.193At that point, when I had first arrived, I didn't know that much Spanish I was still learning, and they didn't know any English and so we were sitting there just like playing games or like playing tag, which they called the epia and that we were.
00:32:36.193 -->
00:32:49.997They were teaching me and I was playing hand games with them and we were just interacting without language, in a really, in a really beautiful way, and I think kids allow you that space to just kind of like, be Free and not feel worried about like oh, are they judging me for?
00:32:49.997 -->
00:32:52.424Like not using the correct tense when I'm speaking or whatever.
00:32:52.605 -->
00:33:37.164It was just an open space, and so I would hanging out with them every day during lunch and I remember it was my birthday and I came into one of my it was a fifth grade class, my favorite class, and they had given me this huge, ginormous card that they'd all written in and they'd actually bought me presents, and so I Was like sobbing because I'd open up this box and one of them had made me like Bath salts, like to put in your bath, and there were other like little cards that they crafted and candies and I think some like lip glosses and a pair of shoes, like they had actually spent money on gathering together this gift for me, and I had just felt so insanely loved and had so much love for them in this like little classroom that I I'm like I had I would have never ended up coming to this place.
00:33:37.265 -->
00:33:37.768I would have never.
00:33:37.768 -->
00:33:45.496I would have gone to Madrid or Barcelona, really these main places in Spain but I would have never ended up in this little town with these kids in this little school.
00:33:45.496 -->
00:34:05.085And so to be there in that moment and have them just show so much love and I fell apart completely and that was such a beautiful time of like being there and spending time with the kids and I remember, towards the end of that, eight months of being Teaching English there, I didn't want to leave, just yet.
00:34:05.365 -->
00:34:16.215And we were getting a monthly stipend of 700 euros a month, which, in the south of Spain, was doable because our rent wasn't that expensive it was like 300 euros a month, I think and so it was quite affordable.
00:34:16.215 -->
00:34:18.125I was like, okay, I still want to go somewhere else.
00:34:18.125 -->
00:34:28.425So I ended up o' pairing and I found a family in the north of Spain and on the coast of Bravo to pair with that ran a scuba diving school and I had went and spent the summer with them.
00:34:28.425 -->
00:34:33.344I learned how to drive stick shift there, because I had to drive the kids around and I didn't know how to drive stick.
00:34:33.344 -->
00:34:36.954And I got to.
00:34:37.014 -->
00:34:46.797They ran a scuba diving school, so I got to get my scuba diving certification for free and I got to dive like whenever I wanted, for free because they ran the school, which was absolutely amazing.
00:34:46.797 -->
00:34:57.657I had never dove before and A friend that I was living with in the south of Spain to get to the north, we actually did a road trip through Spain to get there because he was gonna do a scuba diving certification.
00:34:57.657 -->
00:35:13.476So, yeah, my time in Spain, I'd really just try to like extend it as long as I possibly could because I just wanted to stay and Adored the country so much just the plethora of experiences you had, even when you think, oh, I'm interested in this little, teeny little town with this teeny little school.
00:35:14.128 -->
00:35:14.913It meant a lot to you.
00:35:14.913 -->
00:35:16.240You know, you're right.
00:35:16.240 -->
00:35:22.184I in my mind, I think Madrid and Barcelona and some of these places that are big tourist spots that I want to visit someday.
00:35:22.184 -->
00:35:22.748I haven't been there.
00:35:22.748 -->
00:35:23.813I definitely want to visit them.
00:35:23.813 -->
00:35:26.244Yeah but you had this rich experience.
00:35:27.148 -->
00:35:28.833Yeah, these wonderful kids and.
00:35:29.945 -->
00:35:32.635This is the part where I I wish it was this video and people could see your.
00:35:35.505 -->
00:35:39.005Do, because it's such a memorable time and just, I was in Andalufia.
00:35:39.005 -->
00:35:54.980That's the region of the south, and I think it's also funny to mention that was the first place that I went and so, as someone who, like, was still learning Spanish, I'm gonna see and have a really thick, heavy accent, I guess something you can equate it to Southern here in the States, like if you go real south.
00:35:54.980 -->
00:35:56.224They got a real southern accent.
00:35:56.224 -->
00:36:07.552It's kind of like that equivalent, but in Spanish, and they speak really, really fast and cut their words and have this heavy, heavy accent, and so I was having struggling to like understand them and understand their speech.
00:36:07.552 -->
00:36:10.469But they were also Welcoming that they would have.
00:36:10.548 -->
00:36:50.373There was Dia de Andalufia and they were a lot of the teachers came in in flamenco dresses and you know they're just I remember being in the staff room and they're Dancing around and the music's blasting and they're having like beers, you know, in in the school and on this day and just, you know, with, like I said before, in India and in Vietnam, like with witnessing people Live their culture and like live their lives, and yeah, it was just that was that was so, so, so beautiful to me and also connecting with a lot of other Americans who were doing the same program and Meeting other people from other places, and we were in this small town, so we were like the only foreigners really living in this place.
00:36:50.373 -->
00:37:13.235So any friends we did make were, you know, spanish, were and Lucie, and's where we're from well, but which I guess, and really enriched the experience because Getting time, spending time like hanging out, getting to know their holidays, getting to know their culture, doing things the way they do in the south of Spain, they eat dinner really late and they really, you know, everything closes on Sundays and so you're like I'm gonna go to the grocery store and never mind.
00:37:13.235 -->
00:37:15.172No, you're not, and it takes you a while to get used to that.
00:37:15.172 -->
00:37:31.990And there's siesta hours during the middle of the day when you like everyone kind of just eats and drinks and takes an app and then things open up again a few hours later, and so just getting accustomed to those like different parts of of culture was really really beautiful and such a highlight.
00:37:31.990 -->
00:37:34.016I'm so like, I'm like reminiscing.
00:37:35.686 -->
00:37:37.092I mean don't you feel like you're part of that?
00:37:37.092 -->
00:37:39.864Now, though, I mean don't you feel like part of you is part of that?
00:37:40.407 -->
00:37:41.088100%.
00:37:41.088 -->
00:37:41.751100%.
00:37:41.751 -->
00:37:47.231It's like developmental in In my life, in me being the person that I am now.
00:37:47.231 -->
00:37:54.554It's like it's where I learned the language, and Spain now holds such meaning and and I have so much love for it.
00:37:54.554 -->
00:38:15.385And now and Next week actually not next week, no, beginning of November I'm gonna be going back to Madrid for a week and I have friends there and I actually lived in Madrid for a bit too, I hope, paired with another family after that and and ended up living there with them for a few months and that's where I was like in an English teaching, a Spanish teaching school, and I had to take classes in order to be an au pair.
00:38:15.385 -->
00:38:21.516So Madrid, too, like having lived there for three months, holds a lot of a lot of sentiment, a lot of meaning.
00:38:21.516 -->
00:38:34.764I have friends who so live there, and so going back every time it's just this sense of nostalgia, because it is a part of me developing into the person that I have become, and I'm really Grateful for for Spain in general, to for for that.
00:38:35.367 -->
00:38:39.105So, as a solo traveler and we've already been rambling for quite a while here, but I love this.
00:38:39.105 -->
00:38:42.237I'm hope you don't mind, cuz I'm just taking this all in I love it.
00:38:42.237 -->
00:38:44.324I do want to ask about the money.
00:38:44.324 -->
00:38:46.235How do you, how do you afford this?
00:38:46.235 -->
00:38:46.858How do you do this?
00:38:47.400 -->
00:38:48.244It's so funny, okay.
00:38:48.244 -->
00:38:56.117So I think that's what I would do in the beginning of my travels was kind of go back and forth, because it would, I would Run out of money, go back and save money, run out of money.
00:38:56.117 -->
00:38:59.244But when I was in Spain I was really stretching it.
00:38:59.244 -->
00:39:04.244I was really really stretching it because I had saved up money and I was getting that monthly stipend.
00:39:04.244 -->
00:39:10.965But then after the eight month program, okay, I had, you know, I don't even remember how much I had left, but it wasn't that much.
00:39:10.965 -->
00:39:17.869But I was like I'm gonna go au pair and you get paid well as an au pair and I can live for free, so like that'll be enough to just survive.
00:39:17.869 -->
00:39:20.934Well, as an au pair, you make 70 euros a week.
00:39:20.934 -->
00:39:23.659So you do the math on that.
00:39:23.659 -->
00:39:24.001There.
00:39:24.001 -->
00:39:27.568It's not really enough to kind of be fully sustainable.
00:39:28.061 -->
00:39:46.442Up north on the coast of Brava, I had done English lesson, english teaching, with you know other like kick, I would do tutoring to be able to add a couple extra you know dollars to what I had on a weekly basis and I was really living on like no money, like my bank account was $20 at times.
00:39:46.442 -->
00:39:50.434I'm making 70 euros a week and I don't really have any other money outside of that.
00:39:50.434 -->
00:39:55.759So I was teaching English online when I was in Madrid to make some extra money that we were like, really, I was really broke.
00:39:55.759 -->
00:39:57.728I was like, as I was, there was nothing.
00:39:57.728 -->
00:40:00.523And then I kind of hit a point where I was like this isn't really sustainable.
00:40:00.523 -->
00:40:02.052I don't know how I'm gonna keep doing this.
00:40:02.074 -->
00:40:10.900And that's when, by the grace of God, my old family that I had nanny for in the States was like, hey, our nanny had to.
00:40:10.900 -->
00:40:12.085You know, she was from Brazil.
00:40:12.085 -->
00:40:14.297She's like she had to go back for visa issues, whatever.
00:40:14.297 -->
00:40:16.463You know, would you want to come back and work again?
00:40:16.463 -->
00:40:19.514And I was like, yes, absolutely, I don't have any money.
00:40:19.514 -->
00:40:23.028So I feel really bad about this.
00:40:23.028 -->
00:40:39.567Still, looking back, I kind of had like made up an excuse of why I had to leave, because I was supposed to be with this family in Madrid for a Year and I had only stayed for three, four months because yeah so that wasn't great, but I kind of had to because at that point I had no money and I couldn't afford to stay.
00:40:40.056 -->
00:40:48.811So I kind of, you know, came up with whatever excuse and then I the family that I was nanny for back in the states Booked my flight back to the States, because I didn't even have the money to book a flight back to the states.
00:40:49.253 -->
00:41:01.614Yeah, I didn't even have the money to book a flight back to the States, and so they booked my flight back and then I paid it back, like when I started working, but I was 11 for them, so I didn't have to pay rent and I was just working and I'd saved up a bunch of money.
00:41:01.614 -->
00:41:08.527And I think during that time I was like, okay, I don't want to keep having to get to zero and start over again.
00:41:08.527 -->
00:41:10.414We've got to figure out something else.
00:41:10.414 -->
00:41:17.737And that was also the time that I had started my own podcast and so got into podcasting and eventually found my way into Freelancing.
00:41:17.737 -->
00:41:23.063Because I'd worked for them for six something months, I'd saved up some money.
00:41:23.445 -->
00:41:31.481And then they were taking a trip to Italy and they were like come with us and, you know, be a live-in with us in Italy for a month and then after that, you know you're free to, you can go travel.
00:41:31.481 -->
00:41:36.355And I was like, okay, perfect, so then I'll make some money there while I'm in Italy with them and then I'll go off traveling through Europe again.
00:41:36.355 -->
00:41:54.514And so I did that and I was just kind of like hoping that like I would find clients along the way, and it was just kind of like a winging it very much winging it where someone connected me to someone else who was looking for help with social media stuff and Podcast editing and things like that and I was like, give it to me.
00:41:54.514 -->
00:42:00.175And so I had one client that I was that I was kind of working with along the way while I was backpacking through Europe.
00:42:00.175 -->
00:42:05.137This is last summer and so, yeah, it's just kind of been a series of fumbling.
00:42:05.137 -->
00:42:09.300Basically, I had to making it work as I go.
00:42:10.041 -->
00:42:10.563That's just it.
00:42:10.563 -->
00:42:11.286You're making it work.
00:42:11.286 -->
00:42:13.860You got into podcasting so you edit for people.
00:42:13.860 -->
00:42:19.565You do things like that, just social media, whatever I Mean yeah, there's people who need to help with that stuff.
00:42:19.565 -->
00:42:20.307I mean editing's.
00:42:20.307 -->
00:42:28.346I host a podcast, so I know what the whole editing thing is all about for sure, without a doubt it's a lot and yeah, and then that's just.
00:42:28.728 -->
00:42:41.603That was kind of like my case for several years and then over this past year and a half it's just been a consistent the fairly consistent stream of like clients in different work and enough for me to be able to afford living.
00:42:41.603 -->
00:42:44.440And Recently my trip was through.
00:42:44.440 -->
00:42:45.927I was in Mexico.
00:42:45.927 -->
00:42:48.094I was in Mexico City for about a month.
00:42:48.094 -->
00:42:56.655I was volunteering while working and so trying to see if I could do both, and that led me into Columbia and staying with a friend for a few months and then I was in Brazil.
00:42:56.655 -->
00:43:09.842I went to pride in Brazil and got my phone stolen and then ended up in Greece and Then in the UK, and so just a lot of a lot of Hopping around, basically.
00:43:09.862 -->
00:43:10.965Yeah, you're all over the place.
00:43:10.965 -->
00:43:13.199You kind of you mentioned podcasting.
00:43:13.199 -->
00:43:16.847Can you tell us a little bit about your podcast, what the name is and what it's all about?
00:43:17.110 -->
00:43:17.655Yeah, of course.
00:43:17.655 -->
00:43:20.101So my podcast is called while she's away.
00:43:20.101 -->
00:43:22.105It's specific for women.
00:43:22.105 -->
00:43:28.335I just my goal is to Help and inspire women to live their best lives traveling around the world.
00:43:28.335 -->
00:43:30.295It doesn't have to be broke like I do it.
00:43:30.295 -->
00:43:46.079So we talk about ways to do it while making money, but, just, we talk about traveling as a queer person solo female travel, digital, being a digital nomad, how to become a digital nomad, and just resources for women to be able to live a life of Travel the way they want to.
00:43:46.460 -->
00:44:09.775So, yeah, I get to interview a bunch of different women, which is awesome, which you probably understand of like interviewing people, and it's so fun to be able to have those Conversations and learn something new from each person that you got to talk to and share those conversations with, with other women, and it's always so rewarding getting feedback from women who are like, oh, I listened to your episode on house sitting and I didn't know that was a thing, and now I'm house sitting in Lisbon next month or this one.
00:44:09.775 -->
00:44:23.268I felt really seen by this episode where you talk about like Reverse culture shock when you come back home after being away for a long time, and thank you for sharing that and this is so helpful and so it's been super rewarding and I and I love creating it.
00:44:23.735 -->
00:44:25.219Yeah, it's a great podcast.
00:44:25.219 -->
00:44:27.746I've listened to a few episodes and you sound great.
00:44:27.746 -->
00:44:28.688You have great guests.
00:44:28.688 -->
00:44:31.463So, yeah, I mean, we have a guest in common.
00:44:31.463 -->
00:44:33.610We both talked to Emily Cooper on our podcast.
00:44:33.610 -->
00:44:34.894She was one of your guests.
00:44:34.894 -->
00:44:36.699So, yeah, it's, it's fantastic.
00:44:36.699 -->
00:44:37.101I love it.
00:44:37.101 -->
00:44:41.344Before we kind of wrap up here, what are some of the challenges you face going forward?
00:44:41.344 -->
00:44:41.715What do you?
00:44:41.735 -->
00:44:46.713think it's funny because the challenges that I face now are quite different than what they were back then.
00:44:46.893 -->
00:45:00.157You know, a lot of times, like you said, I was being really scrappy and just kind of figuring it out as I went and Taking different opportunities and kind of trusting in different scenarios, and now my challenges are Working at the same time.
00:45:00.297 -->
00:45:33.733You know, finding a balance between that old version of me that just wants to backpack and be free and you know, motorbike through mountains and Do different things like that, while also taking on the responsibility of doing client work and doing client work well and having reliable Wi-Fi and being able to get on meetings and Managing myself really well, and so that's kind of I think what my challenge more now is is finding that balance between the travel that I've always wanted to do and the work that I do now and the life that I want to, that I want to live.
00:45:33.733 -->
00:45:56.228Not and honestly, sometimes I do miss that old version that was disabled to like I've got a bank account full of money and we can just head off now and just, you know, be on a tight budget and figure it out, and sometimes they do miss that version because it was just very freeing, but I also feel super grateful to be where I am now and just like the um the sustainability this provides of being able to go for longer.
00:45:56.228 -->
00:45:58.233But yeah, that's different challenges.
00:45:59.780 -->
00:46:02.507And I can relate to that, because I love doing this.
00:46:02.507 -->
00:46:08.931I wish I could just do this all the time and just put all of my effort, 100% of my effort, into doing this podcast.
00:46:08.931 -->
00:46:10.365But I do have a day job.
00:46:10.365 -->
00:46:14.242I have to make, you know, pay some bills, and I got a family that relies on me and you know.
00:46:14.242 -->
00:46:15.246But it allows me.
00:46:15.246 -->
00:46:17.530That job does allow me to do this on the side.
00:46:17.570 -->
00:46:20.811So it's kind of that mix, but kind of dealing with it mentally.
00:46:20.811 -->
00:46:26.911For me it's more of a mental battle, like not resenting the other thing because I wanted to do this and that's been the challenge.
00:46:27.581 -->
00:46:32.300Refinding that gratitude I think of like okay, this allows me to do this other thing that I love.
00:46:32.521 -->
00:46:36.458So therefore, I'm grateful for it instead of like oh, I don't want to have to do this.
00:46:36.480 -->
00:46:46.561Well, no, this allows me the money to be able to do it and I mean for me specifically, like remembering not everybody gets to just take their laptop to different countries and open it up and make money from it.
00:46:46.561 -->
00:46:56.117Do you want me so like find a little bit of gratitude within it, because this is also like a beautiful way of living that you've created for yourself.
00:46:56.117 -->
00:46:59.646So, yeah, it's just constantly reminding yourself that you're grateful.
00:47:00.126 -->
00:47:01.048Yeah, without a doubt.
00:47:01.048 -->
00:47:03.742So let's move a different direction then.
00:47:03.742 -->
00:47:05.206What does the future hold for you?
00:47:05.206 -->
00:47:06.110Where do you kind of want to go?
00:47:06.110 -->
00:47:07.242What are you thinking?
00:47:07.623 -->
00:47:08.525That's a great question.
00:47:08.525 -->
00:47:17.976I have been contemplating this a lot because, you know, with more work now comes like needing to be stable a little bit more.
00:47:17.976 -->
00:47:20.041I've tried to travel really quickly.
00:47:20.041 -->
00:47:33.126I mentioned Brazil, and so from leaving Brazil I'd flown to Portugal and then took another flight to Paris and then from there took two buses to get to Germany and it was like 40 something hours worth of travel.
00:47:33.126 -->
00:47:38.733That I did recently, a few months back, but it was the cheapest way for me to do it and I'm still very much a budget traveler.
00:47:39.275 -->
00:47:41.487There was just one instance where it's like I needed Wi-Fi.
00:47:41.487 -->
00:47:44.786I thought my Flix bus was going to have Wi-Fi because I had to get something for a client.
00:47:44.786 -->
00:47:46.152It didn't have Wi-Fi.
00:47:46.152 -->
00:48:35.349So I'm trying to connect to someone else's phone and just like the chaos of all of that and realizing like okay, I can't travel the way I used to, now having responsibilities, and so I think, moving forward, I need to travel slower, and I think that might eventually soon kind of look like some sort of home base where I like have my stuff and I don't always live out of a backpack and I pay rent somewhere, not in the States, but I'm thinking Central or South America or maybe somewhere in Europe I really haven't decided, but I'm thinking Central or South America and just kind of having a place where my stuff lives and that I can work from, and it's still a new culture and a new city and a new language and all the newness and excitement of being in a new place but making it more of a home and then then adding trips and travel within that.
00:48:35.548 -->
00:48:37.333I think that's kind of be like the next stint.
00:48:37.333 -->
00:48:39.644But my next travel is coming up.
00:48:39.644 -->
00:48:50.043I leave in like two weeks to Portugal with some friends for a little bit and then visiting Madrid again because I love it there, and then in Germany with some friends again for a bit.
00:48:50.043 -->
00:48:55.204So just kind of revisiting places I've been and seeing some friends that I have been different places.
00:48:55.686 -->
00:48:56.028It's awesome.
00:48:56.028 -->
00:48:57.697You got friends all over, which is great.
00:48:57.717 -->
00:48:58.942I love it Very good.
00:48:58.961 -->
00:49:00.726Well, thank you so much.
00:49:00.726 -->
00:49:02.771So a couple of questions, just to kind of end.
00:49:02.771 -->
00:49:09.300If you only had one place that you could go back to of all the places you've been, which place would it be?
00:49:09.300 -->
00:49:11.065You don't like this question, do you?
00:49:11.166 -->
00:49:11.748Don't?
00:49:11.748 -->
00:49:12.590That's a hard question.
00:49:12.590 -->
00:49:18.507I think I mean we talked a lot about Spain.
00:49:18.507 -->
00:49:26.201I know I also said I love Vietnam and I adored Brazil, and I mean like you're not going to give me an answer, are you no?
00:49:26.201 -->
00:49:27.706Okay, okay, I'm going to say Spain.
00:49:27.786 -->
00:49:29.170And I think that's just because it is.
00:49:29.581 -->
00:49:35.686It is the place that, like, holds a really special place in my heart and that I have a lot of memories and just nostalgia with.
00:49:35.686 -->
00:49:38.217So that would definitely be if I could go back to one place.
00:49:38.217 -->
00:49:38.981It would just be there.
00:49:39.501 -->
00:49:43.211Now, of all the places where you've gone just by yourself, is there any place that?
00:49:43.211 -->
00:49:43.981What place?
00:49:43.981 -->
00:49:53.121Like it's probably a lot of places, but what place would you like to go back with somebody, whether that's your parents or your brothers, or a love interest, or whatever?
00:49:53.121 -->
00:49:55.032Which place have you gone solo, by yourself?
00:49:55.032 -->
00:49:56.239Or you're thinking, oh, I would love to go back?
00:49:57.181 -->
00:49:58.003with somebody that you love?
00:49:58.003 -->
00:49:59.927That's a great question.
00:49:59.927 -->
00:50:11.634All of my travels, almost all of my travels besides that like stint in Vietnam with some guy that I'd met in Italy, like that was the only kind of stint that I'd done with someone, but besides that, all of my travels have been solo.
00:50:11.634 -->
00:50:16.487And where would I want to go back with someone?
00:50:16.487 -->
00:50:20.815I think I would take my brothers like my family.
00:50:20.815 -->
00:50:28.269None of them have been to Europe and there's a lot of moments where you're like moving around and you're like I just wish they could see that.
00:50:28.309 -->
00:50:32.570you know, like this is just so beautiful and I don't think, I don't think they I not, maybe I don't know.
00:50:32.570 -->
00:50:41.025I don't see my dad kind of making his way over to Europe, but, like, maybe my brother's will at some point, but it's kind of those moments of like I don't know if they'll ever see this.
00:50:41.025 -->
00:50:42.949Portugal comes to mind.
00:50:42.949 -->
00:50:44.431Italy comes to mind.
00:50:44.431 -->
00:50:49.380I stayed in a hostel in Florence that was a bit outside of the city and it was up on a hill.
00:50:49.380 -->
00:50:52.748It was like an old monastery that had been converted into a hostel.
00:50:52.748 -->
00:51:01.947It was big and it was so beautiful and you just had this gorgeous view of Florence and you could watch the sunset over the city and it was just one of the most beautiful views.
00:51:01.947 -->
00:51:11.030And I think it would be like just one of those moments where I could just take them, be like, look like you know, look what else is out there, it's so beautiful, yeah, and show them something like that.
00:51:11.030 -->
00:51:13.302So I think, if I can do, I have to pick one person.
00:51:13.302 -->
00:51:14.507Can I take my whole family?
00:51:14.869 -->
00:51:15.713Take your whole family.
00:51:15.713 -->
00:51:16.958That works Absolutely.
00:51:16.958 -->
00:51:18.664Take your whole family, take them all.
00:51:18.846 -->
00:51:22.036Take them all with me to, just to just experience that yeah.
00:51:22.056 -->
00:51:23.762Yeah, have someone to share it with.
00:51:23.762 -->
00:51:24.583That's great.
00:51:24.583 -->
00:51:38.172And so then, just finally, just to wrap it up, since you do a podcast for women to kind of help women, what advice, any kind of just last minute advice you'd give for, for maybe there's some young lady out there who's thinking about.
00:51:38.172 -->
00:51:41.838You know, I want to do this, I want to, you know, do what Deon is doing and get out through.
00:51:41.838 -->
00:51:42.722What advice would you give them?
00:51:43.123 -->
00:51:48.844I think it's just that you and this may sound so cliche and I think it's different for everyone.
00:51:48.864 -->
00:52:08.166You know everyone's experience is going to be different, but I think it's just the idea that you can do it you know, like, if anything, if my story, if my experience shows you anything, it's that it's possible even with like next to nothing, and that doesn't have to be the way that you do it, but you can and there's resources and there's ways and there's okay, I can't afford to go really far.
00:52:08.166 -->
00:52:13.512You know, maybe you're from the States, I can't go go, afraid, goodness gracious, I can't afford to go really far.
00:52:13.512 -->
00:52:17.014Okay, maybe you go to Central America, or maybe you go to Mexico.
00:52:17.014 -->
00:52:20.981You know, like flights to Mexico are not as expensive or maybe you even go to, like a different coast.
00:52:20.981 -->
00:52:22.757If you're on the East Coast, go to the West Coast.
00:52:22.813 -->
00:52:50.007I think, just like making that attempt whether it's a weekend oh, I can't get off work, okay, a weekend alone in a new city that you've never been to, and figuring out what version of what it is that I do or what version of travel works for you, and fitting that into your life in some way, in a solo capacity because I am a firm believer that, like any woman that can, should take a solo trip that I think it just is such a way of enhancing your self confidence and believing in yourself and learning like what you're capable of.
00:52:50.007 -->
00:52:59.360You know, like I didn't think I could go and navigate India by myself, but like it's stuff that I've done and it gives me that thing to fall back on when I'm feeling insecure of like, oh, I've done x, y and z by myself.
00:52:59.360 -->
00:53:01.851All right, I can do whatever's next by myself as well.
00:53:01.851 -->
00:53:15.471And so if you can just do a weekend somewhere alone or a country nearby, and maybe you're on a budget and you volunteer or you find a house sit to do and that would just be like just just give it a try.
00:53:15.632 -->
00:53:19.007And if you have questions or need advice, my, I love talking to people.
00:53:19.007 -->
00:53:28.847My DMs are always open to give you more guidance and I know that's not super helpful advice, but sometimes you just need that like little extra push of encouragement to be like you can.
00:53:28.847 -->
00:53:30.612You can do it, you know it is possible.
00:53:30.612 -->
00:53:33.585So I guess that's that's not really advice, but that's like.
00:53:33.585 -->
00:53:37.804The thing that comes to mind is just like you can and you should.
00:53:38.565 -->
00:53:40.449I think it's just that self esteem, you can do it.
00:53:40.449 -->
00:53:42.304I think that's, and people need to hear that.
00:53:42.304 -->
00:53:43.509So I appreciate that.
00:53:43.509 -->
00:53:45.798This has been awesome for me.
00:53:45.798 -->
00:53:47.746I've been enlightened, I've loved what you've shared.
00:53:47.746 -->
00:53:52.324We've just been going on and I've could listen to all kinds of stories from you.
00:53:52.324 -->
00:53:55.400So, diani, thank you so much for coming on journey with Jake.
00:53:56.362 -->
00:53:58.005Thank you so much for having me.
00:53:58.005 -->
00:54:08.103I I it's been a while since I've got to like share some of this, and I do some podcast interviews sometimes, but I don't always really go into into depth.
00:54:08.103 -->
00:54:10.940So thank you for you know, holding a space where I can share some of that stuff.
00:54:10.940 -->
00:54:11.442Thank you.
00:54:11.922 -->
00:54:18.568Special thanks to my guest, Diani Hall, for coming on the show chatting with me about all of her adventures that she's been on.
00:54:18.568 -->
00:54:19.813She's done a lot.
00:54:19.813 -->
00:54:24.876She's out there traveling, seeing things, opening up a whole new world for herself, and I think it was fantastic.
00:54:24.876 -->
00:54:28.327I'm grateful that she was able to share that with all of us today.
00:54:28.327 -->
00:54:29.590Check her out.
00:54:29.590 -->
00:54:30.592Check out her podcast.
00:54:30.592 -->
00:54:32.744It's called while she's away Check it out.
00:54:32.744 -->
00:54:33.485Also.
00:54:33.485 -->
00:54:38.125You can follow her on Instagram it's while she's away pod, so go check that out.
00:54:38.125 -->
00:54:41.742She said her DMs are always open, so if you want to message her, reach out to her.
00:54:41.742 -->
00:54:42.603Please do.
00:54:42.603 -->
00:54:45.612I know she'll respond and she'll be happy to to get in touch with you.
00:54:45.612 -->
00:54:50.318Thanks to each and every one of you for listening to Journey with Jake each and every week.
00:54:50.318 -->
00:54:51.483I really appreciate it.
00:54:51.483 -->
00:54:56.422I would love it if you could leave me a rating review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcast.
00:54:56.422 -->
00:54:57.949That would mean a lot to me.
00:54:57.949 -->
00:55:02.063Just remember, it's not always about the destination as it is about the journey.
00:55:02.063 -->
00:55:03.003Take care, everybody.
