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Tonight I watched an interesting movie, it was called "Unknown Man." Oddly I cannot find any record of it on imdb/google. It is a documentary of a true story of a man who, for no apparent reason, lost all of his memories (2004). He is reverted almost to the state of a baby, but with the intellect of a grown man, he experiences and marvels at the complexities and wonders of the world anew...mesmerized by snow, fireworks, water lapping at the feet, male/female interactions, etc.

Although the people I was watching it with did not seem to enjoy it much, I did...and I felt a bit jealous of his ability to take such joy out of the simple things that are life. It made me realize that I feel like I am creating an artificial cage for myself, and I want to be free.

I was planning on getting a local job that would be good for my career over the summer during the break from my studies, but now I am thinking...who cares? More money, more career experience, sure...but I think maybe what would be better for me is just a bit more freedom, so I am considering taking a trip to somewhere in the world and getting some kind of a job that just supports my cost of living for the time being so that I can become, for a short while, someone completely new.

I would probably do something like apply for a work visa online and then see where that takes me, I think that is possible. Now I am wondering, where would be a good place to go? I would like to go somewhere where the cost of living isn't too unbearable, where it is beautiful, where there are lots of people and they are friendly, where I can take it easy. What do guys think would be the best places for that?

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So, you've gotten over the woman in a day and a half and now want to venture abroad?

I'm not argueing with that, but give yourself some equilibration time. I'm not against venture either. Just saying, don't hide in adventure, or, better word, burrow in it.

Time to go for long walks and talk with yourself. Then work around to doing.

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Spain- along the coast. If I was your age, free to go anywhere with no responsibilities, I'd go to this little village named Tarifa on the southwest coast of spain-a thirty minute water taxi ride across the strait of Gibralter to Africa (Morocco).

http://www.tarifa.net/

This is a quiet, more rural area (though with a lot of water/wind sports) which appeals to me, but it's close enough to the Costa del Sol that if you wanted more nightlife, etc. you'd be able to find it.

I don't even know that you'd have to get a work visa-although that would be the safest thing to do. What I'm saying is, I bet you could just get a travel or student visa (if you're a student) and someone somewhere in the tourism industry would hire you and pay you under the table.
I've worked in England at several job where I wasn't asked for paperwork (if you make less than a certain amount-they don't bother with any taxes).

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osso, well I still think about her but I'm trying to change that. I don't think I'm exactly trying to burrow myself in adventure, I've been having a growing sensation of caged-ness for some time now that has been bothering me. Even if I were trying to "burrow myself" in adventure, what would be so bad about that? I'm thinking about it and this seems to be the most logical time to travel. I don't have any strict commitments during the summer yet so why should I not use this as an opportunity to expand my horizons? I passed up a free ride to Africa last summer for a career move, that I didn't really NEED. I think, maybe, it's possible that part of my attraction to her may have been due to an underlying desire for escapism. Oh, and I go on long walks and talk with myself plenty. I'd much rather do. I have gone on "crazy" adventures in the past and never regretted any of them.

Aidan, thanks for the great detailed selection. I'll look into it. I have a friend who traveled to Morocco on a similar type of exploration that I am planning and she spoke highly of it as well, although I'm not sure about the language barrier...I guess it is a problem that I am not really fluent in anything other than English.

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Stuh, I was teasing.taunting you, as you just asked for hugs, in apparent decimation row, so difficult you couldn't talk about it, a day ago.

Whatever, none of my business. I suggested a walk, will leave it at that.

I am never against travel. Travel should be my middle name.

thinking... trevelyan...

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Stuh- The huge majority of people I've run into in Europe are at least bilingual ( and sometimes trilingual-puts the average American to shame) to the point that there's a lot of communication that happens in English no matter what country you're in. I was in one place and it was me, a person from Germany, and a person from Spain and the language we could all participate in a conversation in was English.

In the Netherlands, (it just hit me, Amsterdam would be fun for the summer too Laughing

) I don't think I met anyone who didn't speak fluent English as well as Dutch and German.

But, I spent a good amount of time in Tarifa, and though it is rural and kind of out of the way, I got by on my pathetic rudimentary fragmented little pieces of Spanish and I almost never felt that I wasn't understood, as almost everyone I spoke to could communicate in English as well.

In my experience, France is a country in which, though I think a lot of the people know at least the rudiments of English, they want you to at least try to speak French. They kind of look at you blankly until you at least look like you're searching for the appropriate word-but as soon as you show you are trying-they'll help you.

The good thing for you is, if you're immersed in a language for a few months, if you have a good ear, you'll probably start picking it up. That's a bonus in my book.

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Spanish I can flounder around in a little but that's it. I can usually cobble together some kind of a half-sentence saying what I want if it's basic enough...but that's it. I've traveled to Puerto Rico, Peru, and Mexico...so I speak from experience when I say that being exposed to it for a few months, I will pick up nothing. The only thing that seems to make a difference is the amount of time between when I took those courses years ago!

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Quote:

It made me realize that I feel like I am creating an artificial cage for myself, and I want to be free.

I guess it all depends on why you would be doing this. Like I said, there are a lot of English speaking Europeans-especially in the tourist areas where you would need to go in order to get a job. They'd probably love to hire a native English speaker just to have on hand to talk to tourists who only speak English. You'd be a valuable commodity.

But then again, I know there are people who don't enjoy visiting countries unless they know they can speak the language, or that the food will be familiar, etc. etc..
If you're the type of person for whom this would produce major anxiety, it's probably not a good idea, and probably wouldn't result in fun, adventure, and the new lease on life that you spoke about.

I probably interpreted what you said through my particular lens-and to me-part of the fun of going someplace totally different is embracing the differences-music, food, customs, language-but I pick up on at least understanding what people are saying to me (if not actually being able to speak the language myself) pretty quickly. I guess it all factors in...different strokes for different folks..

You have to do what feels comfortable for you, or it could go from being a wonderful experience to just the opposite of that.

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If money is not an issue, why not consider a volunteer vacation? There are any number of charitable organizations who need people like you to put global projects in effect. You could teach English to kids in Borneo, or help preserve some ancient ruins in Turkey or Peru, or dig a well for an African village. Closer to (your) home, The Sierra Club runs some volunteer vacations for different habitat conservation projects.

The organizations will take care of work visas and paperwork like that. You'll be in a very different milieu, doing important work, with other like-minded team-mates, most of whom will speak English. Your personal health & safety will be looked after. The downside is that you pay them (to cover the cost of your bed & board).

Just google "volunteer vacations" to start.

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I'll finish my bachelor's degree next December but after that I'd love to forget about my studies and teach Spanish, maybe even introductory English, for a year or two. Shake my life a bit.

But I haven't taken the time to investigate about work permits and visas, anybody have any idea where I can start?

Will take a look at those volunteer vacations. Might prove more difficult to find resources on the net being a mexican.

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http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/choosing_your_program/volunteer_abroad/default.asp?siteID=otuk_international_volunteer&OVRAW=International%20Volunteer&OVKEY=international%20volunteer&OVMTC=standard

Here's the link (it's a long one!) for an organization called volunteers for peace-this goes specifically to the cross cultural, international program.

They have programs that last anywhere from one to twelve weeks- so it may be a good way to do a short term stint, maybe this summer, to see if it's what you really want to do on a more long term basis. I'm sure they'd also be a good resource for information and networking, as well as looking good on your CV when/if you do try to do something overseas.

In terms of a visa- if you found an English or Spanish as a second language program to hire you- they'd take care of your work permit and visa.

I remember when I was in graduate school, I'd see notices on bulletin boards all the time for ESOL teachers abroad. I'd check with the foreign language and or English depts at your university or college.

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aidan wrote:

But then again, I know there are people who don't enjoy visiting countries unless they know they can speak the language, or that the food will be familiar, etc. etc..

I was one of those: there have been a couple of years when I didn't want to go to countries where I couldn't understand the language.
Which limited the range to English and French speaking parts of the world and the Netherlands. (Besides Austria and Switzerland.)

But since English is common now everywhere ...

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Go for it, stuh!

Do it now before life becomes too complicated.

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Well things seem to be working out pretty well. I've got funding to do 2 months of research and then for the 3rd month I'm planning to get a euro pass with a good friend of mine and we will travel around between england, france, spain, italy, and greece Laughing

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