Piece of Me

A little history about ME

Hello everybody, nice to meet you! This is just so you can get to know my journey a little bit better and why I have decided to record it for the world to see.

I’m passionate, sarcastic, optimistic, over-thinker, adventurous, never a planner, go with the flow, definitely stubborn, and strong believer of standing up for your beliefs. I grew up in an amazing small town in Colombia, called Popayan. My mother is Colombian but my father is American. Although, I was born in Florida, USA I have a stronger connection with my Colombian heritage. To me, Colombia will always be number one. I was devastated to hear from my mother that my parents were going to get a divorce and that we were moving back to Florida due to the violence Colombia was experiencing, she wanted us to have a better life, let’s say “The American Dream”. That to me, was the biggest tragedy that could have ever happened. Mostly, because I was leaving the town I loved and all my family to go to an alien land where I didn’t speak the language or knew anyone.

I won’t go into details but I will say a single mother starting all over again in a new country with three children and no help at all was incredibly tough. We didn’t just make it out alive but we succeeded, that’s for sure. I owe it all to my great mother, always instilling in my sisters and I that education is the only thing no one can take from you and to always follow my dreams. After the legal working age, I got my first job at McDonald’s and saved it all up for my first trip back to Colombia, then it was a trip to Spain and I haven’t stopped since. I had my fun and bought myself cute shoes every once in a while but my main objective was always to save up enough money for my next trip. I was completely addicted! I would get back from one trip and then started to think where I would go the next summer.

I went to University with a four-year scholarship that covered my tuition and worked on the side as a waitress to pay for my books….and travel (Duh!). I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Global Business and then when you think you can go out into the job market you find out that you somehow need 8 years of experience for an entry-level job….Geeez! So, that’s why I went out and got my TEFL so I could keep following my dreams of traveling while making money and gaining experience.

Currently:

Wow….So I’m teaching in my second country at the moment. I taught in China and now I’m teaching in the middle of nowhere Thailand. Seriously this town is interesting….it’s really hard to describe but after my first month I decided I’m definitely leaving after the first semester but….then girl meets boy! I stayed that semester and another haha. We have currently been traveling all over Thailand in our 10 months here and have seen some unbelievable sights, experienced many firsts, and have met some of the greatest people. In March, the school year will be over and it will be time to moe to Taiwan next. It will definitely be a bittersweet moment leaving Thailand, it was a truly magical experience to have had the pleasure to live and work here.

Why write a blog?

Literally, I could talk about travel 24/7 with a little too much passion. Honestly, I just want to encourage you all to travel and see what this amazing world of ours has to offer. Many people spend their lives just following routine and never leaving their little bubble that it truly saddens me. Travel changes you so much! We become listeners, story tellers, activists, teachers, friends of strangers, so much wiser,less ignorant, we realize that the world has more good than evil and sometimes we even become better cooks. I would love for you to join me on my little escapades and to inspire future travels and instill the necessity of learning about our world.

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