TravelBio

Ah, you gotta love government security measures. Has anyone ever uttered those words? No, I’m not talking about taking your shoes off at the airport, or being frisked by an obese man wearing delicate white gloves; I’m referring to security measures surrounding the G20, an annual meeting of the political movers and shakers from the world’s most powerful countries. The 2016 G20 summit happened to be in Hangzhou during the first week of September. The high school year typically starts end of August/beginning of September here in China, but since the G20 is such as big deal, and China being China, the entire city was shut down that week. Well it’s not just China: I remember the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, back when I was backpacking there in 2014, when the government closed off downtown (or the CBD for you abridged-loving Aussies) for security reasons. The Hangzhou Expo Center, built specifically for the G20, lies south of downtown across the Qiantang River World ...

That's me, being my idiot self on a weekend school trip So, did you miss me? Tomorrow will mark six months to the day since I last updated the blog; I promise the next one will come faster than that! Here’s a fast forward of what’s happened, which I will outline in a bountiful bunch of posts over the next few months: I made it back to China, worked here in Hangzhou until the end of December, and then flew to India for the Rickshaw Run, which consisted of driving 2,500 kilometers in, to borrow from their website, a “glorified lawnmower.” From India I flew to Myanmar, explored for two weeks, stopped over in Thailand, and bounced around Cambodia. I arrived in Hangzhou last week and am working again at the high school where I was last semester. Soon will be a trip to Hong Kong, followed by crossing items off my China bucket list this spring, and before I know it I’ll be leaving China for good (well nothing is set in stone…) But I’m getting ahead of myself. First I...

After the school year in China, and after traveling to England and Ireland, it would be nice to relax for awhile. I flew back to Ohio on the 21st of July, happy to be home and to see my family. I didn't have much time to unwind though, because on the 24th - a day after my birthday (28) - I was back in the skies. This time my parents, sister Anna, and I were all flying to Las Vegas! Vegas isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind when I think of destinations to go with my family, although it was a fun trip nonetheless. My parents aren't teetotalers, but they aren't wild late night people either (and I'm glad about that...who wants to party on the Strip with their 60-year-old mom?). So in other words, I expected the trip to be low key. It was laid back - we spent a good chunk of time exploring the strip, playing video poker, and hanging out in our room. We stayed at the Jockey Club, next to the Cosmopolitan, in an apartment with two bedrooms, a living sp...

My flight back to the States actually left from Dublin - I'd booked an award flight on American Airlines and the additional taxes out of London were $200 more, out of Manchester an extra $100 - so I figured why not make a stop in Ireland? Dublin has a reputation for good bars, live music, and late night fun - maybe too much, since room prices over the weekend were crazy expensive (I couldn't find a hotel for two nights less than 200 pounds, and Airbnb wasn't much better). So I ditched the weekend idea and booked an Airbnb apartment for the following Monday and Tuesday. Instead of flying directly to Dublin, I went Manchester to Belfast that Saturday, where Trevor and his mom met me at the airport. If you read my China posts his name might sound familiar; Trevor was the school's PE teacher and was home for the summer with his mom, who lives a town outside Belfast. She agreed to host me and even chauffeured us around the countryside Sunday. That Saturday when I ...

  The school year is nearly over; I feel like a kid again—yeah, summer break! The students will be in school until July 4 th , but I’m finished on the 29 th of June. So, what’s on the agenda? Earlier this year I had a bunch of different ideas in my head as to what I could do when my contract was finished. Maybe I’d travel in Eastern Europe. Maybe I’d have another job lined up. Maybe I’d visit home and then go traveling in the fall. I hadn’t given much thought to coming back for another school year, and when Sisley, my boss, asked me I initially said I wasn’t interested. Sisley even said I had the option of coming back for a semester, but by that point Mike had invited me to travel with him to India for a rickshaw race in January (more on that later), so I told Sisley I had plans at the beginning of 2017. She surprised me with an offer to stay through December, basically for the fall application season. This spring Joanna and I have also grown close, and I hoped that ...