Who am I?

When I was 12 I dreamed that for my 18th birthday my friends and I would acquire a bus, refurbish it and take a 2 or 3 months long road trip across the USA.  (Clearly I had been reading too many Sweet Valley High’s and Baby Sitter’s Club and was infatuated with seeing all the places I read about.)

By the time I was 16 I changed the road trip in the USA to a gap year in Europe with my best friend. To be enjoyed when we finished high school of course. I could go on with my traveling dreams but suffice it to say that  I have dreamed of taking long trips all my life.

Soon after my 29th birthday I decided it was time to stop dreaming and take action. So I crunched some numbers and came to the realization that: 1-  going through all my savings wouldn’t kill me 2- I could take a 6 month break in south-east Asia (the cheapest possible destination according to all my hours researching online).

But that wasn’t enough, I knew, even then, that returning home to the same routine would be devastating so I continued researching, I wanted a way to travel for ever, to fund my travels while continuing to travel… and then I discovered TEFL and it made all my dreams come true.

Nearly 7 years have passed since I stepped on that first plane with nothing but my backpack and a thirst to know the world. I have since visited 18 different countries, and lived and worked as an English teacher in three of them.

Besides the above, the fundamentals of who I am could be summarized as:  the product of a Chilean father and Mozambican mother I grew up in both countries and don’t remember the first time I was on a plane. I attended international schools, which basically means I always knew there was a BIG world out there plus I have friends from all over. Consequently I’m fluent in 3 languages (Spanish, Portuguese and English) yet I don’t think any of them could be labeled my mother tongue.

The one other characteristic I believe helps to define me is that I’m an avid reader, in special circumstances aka a magnificent novel I have been known to read 500 pages in 24 hours…. in other words, given a good book and comfy spot I will forget to eat or drink, where I am, and even who I am. 🙂

57 thoughts on “Who am I?”

  5. Ana,
    I really enjoyed to read about you 🙂 your words are an inspiration!!! I’ve been travelling in the last years and I plan to do a round the world trip starting in 2015 🙂
    enjoy your way and keep talking in portuguese 🙂
    beijinho
    PedroL

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. português cinco estrelas 🙂
        depende, se poupar o dinheiro todo até Junho de 2015 quero começar pelo Cáucaso, caso não consiga, e só tenha dinheiro no final do ano, vou começar pela Austrália/Nova Zelândia 🙂

        Like

        Reply

  9. Reading your blog, Thank you for sharing, I’ll be following your adventures and live vicariously through your eyes! One thought, in your mention of the USA, along the western US, there is a trail that you can hike from Mexico to Canada, all along the crests (Okay, not all the crests) of the mountain ranges. SOmething to consider. 🙂 Call it your Earthquake walk! or..mm.. you decide.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thank you for the follow and the suggestion. My favourite thing after traveling is major natural manifestations (earthquakes and thunderstorms mainly) so a trail called the “earthquake walk” sounds superb!! will def add it to the list!

      Like

      Reply

      1. I’ll endeavor my best to keep you entertained on your travels with all the fiction I write. If you hike in the wilderness, I’ll avoid such stories as things that jump out from behind bushes in the dark and subsequent missing people. (Lions or tigers or bears- oh my!)

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  12. You are an inspiration. Like you, I read too much Sweet Valley (and quite a lot of other things, probably just read too much, period?). Like you, I am the product of one culture, now living in another. And like you, I can’t stay still.

    Right now I am working in IT, which is interesting but can be a pretty draining industry. I’m looking at moving on and it’s hard. Would love to connect about TEFL… I’ve heard many things and am becoming intrigued!

    Like

    Reply

  14. Oh that is awesome ! It’s a bit like living the dream 🙂 You can travel and experience the local culture, and at the same time, having a job. Have you been to other places in Asia than China?

    Like

    Reply

    1. I’ve only lived in China but before settling in China I backpacked through South East Asia for 6 month so that means : Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Bali. Loved them all!!! oh, and on another occasion I spent a month in India. And yes, it is living the dream! 🙂

      Like

      Reply

      1. Singapore is pretty amazing for the food ! I loved the food court and hawkers over there, even if the humidity is quite difficult to cope with. My boyfriend’s parents are living there, and we went there last xmas. I think i put on weight after only a week.. everything is so tasty 😀

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  16. I already love this blog just from reading this! There isn’t a better mix than an adventurous traveler & an avid reader 🙂 Got on my first on-my-own flight at 14 and haven’t stopped exploring since, you definitely got a new fan here!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you! It takes me forever to write up a post so your words are really welcome. having said that I can’t load your blog!! When I click or your gravatar it leads me to a blog page that says “deleted by author”… As for meeting I’d love to meet a fellow traveler and blogger so yes, if we are ever in the place lets met up! 🙂

      Like

      Reply

      1. That’s weird.. I used to have another one years ago that I deleted, but that should be for another profile. You can check me out here if you want https://imwillwerth.wordpress.com/

        Takes me ages too sometimes, but I love spending time on it 😀 Even if it’s just for me. I loved reading what you said about discovering TEFL. I feel like I’m you just delayed haha. I’m getting into TEFL now so that when I leave Malaysia I can continue traveling and working around the world.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

        1. ok perfect!!! now I finally got to your blog which I now realize I had already been too… already following you… and we do have loads in common!! p.s. you should see about the links to your gravatar, you dont want other people being taken to your old retired blog!!

          Liked by 1 person

  18. Olá! 🙂 Antes de mais, obrigada pelo te comentário no meu blogue. É bom saber que, em qualquer parte do mundo, há pessoas que apoiam os nossos sonhos e a nossa vontade de viajar e que, sobretudo, são sonhadores como nós e têm esta vontade de correr o mundo também.

    Está frio e chuva em Portugal e é possível que vás sentir uma grande diferença de temperatura! Traz casacos! 🙂

    “When I was 12 I dreamed that for my 18th birthday my friends and I would acquire a bus, refurbish it and take a 2 or 3 months long road trip across the USA.” Identifiquei-me tanto com o que escreveste aqui: eu, quando era mais nova, tinha o mesmo sonho. Ainda não o concretizei mas continuo com vontade de ter uma carrinha para viajar por todo o lado.

    Um beijinho! Vou seguir as tuas viagens! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Brigada pela tua mensagem. Penso eu que enquanto houver mundo por explorar nao faltaram pessoas que o queiram fazer 🙂

      Fico feliz por saber que se algum dia me decido e compro o carro de viagem pelo menos uma companheira terei 🙂

      E do frio que vou sentir dentro em breve prefiro nem pensar!!! mas sim, levo bastantes casacos!! 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  19. Bon dia!

    Yep – that’s all the Portuguese I can speak, much to my Grandma’s annoyance (she’s from Lisbon).

    A wonderful story – I teach overseas as well, in Bangkok at the moment but lived in Guangzhou in China for two years. Not a bad life, is it?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Hahahaha I have Austrian and Czech grandparents and don’t speak a word of either so your grandmother should be proud! As for Bangkok I’m so jealous!! Did my CELTA there and loved it!!! And according to me its the best life ever!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  23. Hi

    I came across your website after a comment you made about Mozambique on another website

    Spent 6 months in Africa about 5 years ago and looking to go back soon, spent some time in Mozie while we were there

    Interested to hear about places you been and sites u have seen etc

    Like

    Reply

    1. Yes and No. I started it in 2014 but then for a myriad of reasons (main one being I moved to China where wordpress is blocked) I stopped and only just now picked it up again. And I’m loving it! Part of me can’t understand how it took me so long to find myself way back to blogging.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  25. Pingback: A reading conspiracy – A Restless Traveler

    1. I spent a weekend in Athens 2 years ago but thats obviously not even close to enough time to explore the magic of a place with so much history. Your blog seems like a perfect starting point for a future trip!

      Like

      Reply

Leave a reply to joanagoeszen Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.