Digital Nomadism for this TCK

A vicious cycle for a TCK: Packing up, Unpacking, Moving, Transporting, Goodbyes and Hellos

My tiny hands are worn from carrying multiple bags

My arms are filled with big bruises

I beat myself up with my luggage

My heavy load. 

Head heavy, eyes tired. 

Thinking: "I hate this moving business"

Like a drunken haze, we have all said "Never again"

Do not believe it. 

The stares from other travellers at the train, bus, plane

I'm embarrassed and flushed. 

Sweat beads form and my clothes are starting to stick to me. 

Why, oh, why me!? 

Moving again. 

Saying good bye to beautiful places. 

See you soon to my dear friends, colleagues, and acquaintances.

Hello again to another location.

My unsightly bruises on both arms. June 2016.

I've been a digital nomad for the past few months and my body is weary but I am also a typical restless TCK who just can't seem to find home or stay put. A few things, I've learned from being a digital nomad and working from "home" is that 1) I like being able to be mobile. 2) I can live a peaceful existence and work efficiently on my own. 3) When I need to see people, I need to make an effort to see them. 

Working remotely from the Swiss Alps. May 2016.

I question myself every single day: how did I get here? The past several years has been such a challenging and trying time for me. A career change is difficult. Combined with a changing world and never being satisfied with where I am.

The world is changing and becoming incredibly volatile. I'm uneasy about it all because it is affecting me on a personal level. I have such an awful time when it comes to applying for visas and whatnot. Sigh. This is not a post for my rant. I am sure there are TCKs out there that can empathise with me on this. Feel free to drop me an email or a Facebook message if you'd like to commiserate.

Atomium, Brussels, Belgium. June 2015

Digital Nomadism. 
Its a thing and so many more companies should embrace this. If there is anything I've learned from my internship is that THIS is possible. I wish more companies would embrace this concept. For starters, I'm currently "funemployed" so decided to embrace this concept of digital nomadism and expand my network reach around the world through my social media channels. Its a dream of mine to be able to work anywhere and inspire others to embrace travel and adventure.
Can one truly work remotely and live a comfortable life? The answer is YES. Its been done and there are so many successful people doing it. I aspire to be able to do this so I'm not a prisoner of location and limited in my career and life aspirations. I just need to find the strength to shut everyone who tells me that its impossible, that I can't do it, that I'm too old, that I'm wasting my time, that I'm running out of time, and to settle down to a mediocre life that everyone else has that I don't want so I can be miserable. I don't want to be miserable.
There is really nothing tying me down and I'm not in the rat race so why not embrace a life that is colorful.
Another thing I learned in 2016 is that I cannot plan my life beyond a few months at a time because something is always going wrong and sh** hits the proverbial fan. Too many things have happened this year in the micro and macro scale that have affected and impacted me on such a personal level that all I can say is c'est la vie.

The life is short, death is inevitable, seize the day.
Malmö Slott, Malmö, Sweden. Feb. 2016

I am a Nomad

Wandering planet earth

Stopping for shelter, food, drink, company, and stories.

Neither here nor there.

Homeless.

Belonging everywhere and nowhere.

Learning languages

Studying cultures

Observing people

And making friends wherever I go.

Missing friends around the world.

I want to be there, there, and there.

I want to go somewhere far 

Finding little rocks I can settle down on for a while.

Settling my weary body, mind, and spirit. 

Blending in

Not blending in. 

Repeating my story. 

No, I don't want to give you my life story but you asked

"Where are you from?"

Are you actually interested?

Or is that a form of small talk and you don't really care.

Or you could also be a wanderer too.

Lets talk.

Lets be friends.

Keep in touch, k? 

Why you should absolutely date a woman who travels

I've been wanting to write this blog post for a while and will write another one about dating a TCK soon...

There was a blog post that has been making its rounds that is titled "Don't date a girl who travels" written by Adi Zarsadias. I shared this post on my facebook wall and it created a little bit of a anxiety among my fellow single women travelers. I can see why it would cause some panic. I think the author of this post has cleverly scripted some reverse psychology. 

Lets dissect the blog post and analyze it here.

Don't date a girl who travels. She is hard to please. The usual dinner-movie date at the mall will suck the life out of her. Her soul craves for new experiences and adventures. She will be unimpressed with your new car and your expensive watch. She would rather climb a rock or jump out of an airplane than hear you brag about it.

There is a bit of truth to this. The likeliness of a girl who would rather go spend her money on travel will not be impressed by materialist items that are flashy for the sake of being flashy. I think if an item has a story behind it, then she would be interested in hearing about it. I like to purchase fun souvenirs that aren't exactly stereotypical as a souvenir when I travel. For a long time, I had an extensive shot glass collection but had to stop purchasing them b/c I never got the chance or had the space to display them proudly after several major moves (I lost count!).
I've always like purchasing a piece of clothing or accessories while traveling and lately have been into purchasing fun pieces of jewelry. On any given day, I could be wearing an outfit that is entirely purchased from different parts of the world without even thinking too much of it. Earrings from Scotland, bracelets from New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Amsterdam, dress from Canada... This is super normal for me.

Souvenir clogs in Amsterdam. Cute stereotypical souvenirs right? I couldn't picture anyone actually wearing these out.

So Date a woman who travels because she will regale you with tidbit stories of her material possessions collected from different parts of the world. I hope you will share your stories too. The traveling woman will appreciate that you took time to tell her a story about your life.

Don't date a girl who travels because she will bug you to book a flight every time there's an airline seat sale.

The woman who travels will encourage you to plan and purchase tickets for trips because she wants you to join her. Take it as a compliment that she likes you enough to invite you along. But whether you accept the invitation or not, she may just go and book her trip without you if you wait too long to reply. This woman knows what she wants, and she wants to travel. Date a woman who travels  because she is an independent woman who will have fun on her trips with or without you.

hmmmm...

Chances are, she can't hold a steady job. Or she's probably daydreaming about quitting. She doesn't want to keep working her ass off for someone else's dream. She has her own and is working towards it. She is a freelancer. She makes money from designing, writing, photography or something that requires creativity and imagination. Don't waste her time complaining about your boring job.

Ok... This one hits a bit close to home. I choose to be a freelancer because it keeps my life interesting instead of mundane and I've got many talents, strengths, and interests that I like to explore all at once. Perhaps its just my ADD talking or scared of bricks and mortar commitment. All I can argue with this is... Date the woman who travels because she is flexible. Her career is mobile, so if your career takes you elsewhere in the world she would be ready to move with you (if she thinks you're worth it!)

Don't date a girl who travels. She might have wasted her college degree and switched careers entirely. She is now a dive instructor or a yoga teacher. She's not sure when the next paycheck is coming. But she doesn't work like a robot all day, she goes out and takes what life has to offer and challenges you to do the same.

I don't really see this as a negative or special. There are lots of people who switch careers in their lifetime and do something entirely different than what their college degree. Why would anyone want to date someone who works "like a robot all day" - I have met interesting folks who work at so-called "boring" jobs but they are interesting because they have other aspects of their life that gives them passion. The reason why they have a "work, life balance".
This statement hits a bit on a personal level for me as I have an "interesting" career (according to people I meet at happy hours, networking events, bars, parties, etc.). There are similar responses from people I just met a) "Wow. You have such an interesting life!" b) "I am so jealous you get to pursue your passion" c) "Do you make enough money doing that!?" d) "What kind of dance do you do? (I'd answer) "What's that?" and there are combination of all the above. This amuses me endlessly. :-)
Date the woman who travels because she craves an interesting life.

Don't date a girl who travels for she has chosen a life of uncertainty. She doesn't have a plan or a permanent address. She goes with the flow and follows her heart. She dances to the beat of her own drum. She doesn't wear a watch. Her days are ruled by the sun and the moon. When the waves are calling, life stops and she will be oblivious to everything else for a moment. But she has learned that the most important thing in life isn't surfing.

We can plan our lives out as much as we can but the girl who travels a lot has realized that we can drive ourselves into a panicked frenzy if we are so adamant to sticking to the plan without room for flexibility and spontaneity. I absolutely believe that we should make plans for the future but also leave lots of room for "going with the flow". Life has a funny way of throwing curve balls and we just have to roll with it because its too short and time is precious to dwell on what went "wrong" in our plans. This is easier said than done of course. Its human nature to worry about the future. Thats because we're scared of the unknown. My favorite thing to do when I travel is to just go with the flow and plan for one major activity must-have for that day but then just get lost in the exploration of a new place.
Absolutely date the woman who can just be spontaneous and know that life is the journey. A woman who travels often understands this.

Don't date a girl who travels as she tends to speak her mind. She will never try to impress your parents or friends. She knows respect, but isn't afraid to hold a debate about global issues or social responsibility.

This woman sounds awesome! There is nothing wrong with being able to speak up. The woman that can do this knows what she wants and isn't afraid to voice her opinions. Debates about global issues or social responsibility or philosophy or policies are excellent and makes for a good evening in my opinion. Why would anyone want to date a wallflower unless that person just wants someone to sit there and look pretty. I wouldn't want to date a man who was a wallflower and wouldn't want to be someone's wallflower either. That would make for boring evenings.
Date the woman who travels because she can hold a good conversation.  She will automatically impress your parents and friends. 

She will never need you. She knows how to pitch a tent and screw her own fins without your help. She cooks well and doesn't need you to pay for her meals. She is too independent and wont care whether you travel with her or not. She will forget to check in with you when she arrives at her destination. She's busy living in the present. She talks to strangers. She will meet many interesting, like-minded people from around the world who share her passion and dreams. She will be bored with you.

Neediness is not sexy. The woman who travels wants a companion and partner not because she needs one but because she truly likes you around. If you don't mind dating "a bird", you will be her nest and sometimes travel partner then absolutely date that woman! She won't be bored with you because though she may like floating around, she needs a nest to rest her tired legs and someone to listen and share stories with.



My favorite quote from the post is this ending line.  "So never date a girl who travels unless you can keep up with her. And if you unintentionally fall in love with one, don't you dare keep her. Let her go."

By letting the bird be "free" to come and go, she will always come back to you.
Absolutely date a woman who travels because she will be the most awesome woman you'll ever meet. 

Wanderlusting after places you've been and place you'll go

Its that moment when you discover how much you miss being on vacation that you start looking up when you can escape again and the choices are endless because your bucket list is long.

On the train in Switzerland, Dec. 22, 2013

You look at pictures of places you've just been to and vow to return again soon because you had such a great time by the sites you saw, people you met, experiences you just had.

Berliner Dom, Dec. 23, 2013

And then you obsessively think about the stuff you missed out on so you plan your next visit and/or pick another place on your bucket list.

Rundetårn in Købehavn, Dec. 26, 2013

So the best cure for Wanderlust is to plan ahead and dream of the next adventure. :-)

Leidseplein in Amsterdam, Jan. 1, 2014

Who's joining me?