How to Earn like a Beggar and Live like a Baller

Portugal

My husband and I didn't have to file income tax this year because we didn't make enough money. In fact, we haven't made enough money to file taxes in a few years. And still we manage to travel. A lot. In the past six years, we've been to the Philippines, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, Palau, and Thailand. People often ask how we're able to travel so much, so we put our heads together and came up with some things that make our gypsy lifestyle possible—a few tips for anyone who is looking to do a little vagabonding. Jason wrote some of these and I wrote others, in case the narration gets confusing. Most of these tips have to do with either saving up for a trip in advance or staying thrifty while you're on the road. Not all of these tips will be practical for everyone, but they work for us and a lot of people we know.

Interlude

If you've ever listened to music, you know what an interlude is-- a short piece (usually either music or dialogue) inserted between songs on an album. It's an interruption, or sometimes a connection, of sorts to the flow of the songs. Of course the word not only applies to music, it can apply to other things as well.

Right now, my life is in its interlude.

We've been everywhere and back, going from one country to another. We've been living in the Philippines for 3 months now and we've decided we're going to live here for a while. We have a pretty good set up-- we have a nice house, we're surrounded by family, and we're taking a step forward to being more self-sustainable with our garden (being self-sustainable has been one of our goals for our lives).

So, Philippines is our interlude in our mixtape of traveling and always being on the go.

With this being said, this blog will now mainly consist of my endeavors/doings/adventures here as we start our home in the Philippines.

Since living here, my days have been filled with being a housewife. J is outside with his cousins working on the garden all day, I'm inside cooking, cleaning, doing laundry-- the whole deal. All I have to say is mad props to fellow housewives, especially those with kids. I now know it's no easy task. And I'm grateful for having the best example of a great housewife/homemaker my whole life-- my mother.

Anyways, I don't know how long this interlude will last... months? Years? Forever? Who knows.

Why the Philippines?

...and the answer-to make a long story short- is that we're helping my family open up a hostel!

It's always been my dream to run my own hostel, and this opportunity came up so we got out of South Korea early and headed to the Philippines. And I must say, it feels good to be living my dream.

We're currently in the painting stage of the hostel. We should be opening in about 3 weeks or so. More information and pictures will be coming soon.

Our last jam session

Our last few hours in South Korea was spent hanging out with some cool people and having a mini jam sesh. Here's a video:

Happy July!

Wow- 2012 is just flying by. I can't believe it was a year ago I was doing some last minute planning for my wedding and getting ready for Costa Rica. It really seems like yesterday. Crazy.

The weather here has warmed up- a lot! And the humidity is in full effect. Yesterday was the worst-- it was the first time it was really muggy and I felt gross and sticky everywhere. But at least it's been cloudy, so we have some shield from direct sunlight. But I will take this hot, humid, mugginess over snow and cold ANY DAY.

It's July 1st, which means Jason and I will be embarking on our new adventure in 2 weeks! What is our next adventure?? Well, stayed tuned to find out. =)

Hostels

Jason and I are backpackers. When we travel, all we have are our large "backpacker" backpacks. And the only accommodations we seek are hostels. This is for a number of reasons. Here are a few:

1. They're cheap! I think the most we've ever paid to stay at a hostel was 15 Euros in Dublin and the cheapest was $6 in Bocas Del Toro, Panama.

2. The vibe is much more our style. .. and our style is chill and laid-back. Most hostels have many common areas and/or activities in which you can interact not with just the staff, but with other like-minded travelers.

Welcome!

I'm excited to finally start this thing! I should have started it years ago, but was too lazy, and now I have so much to backtrack on. My plan with this blog is to not only talk about my present travel experiences, but also my past travels (and future travel plans).

I can say that I became addicted to traveling in the summer of 2006, when Jason and I went to Costa Rica. From there, it just took off. Since then I have been to Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Philippines (I've actually been there 3 times), Palau, Costa Rica (again). Ecuador, Peru, and in a week and 2 days Jason and I move to South Korea.

I feel kind of sad because I have seen and experienced so many incredible places and never documented anything- except for a couple of photos. (Although- some experiences need no documentation and will just stick with me forever).

I'm hoping this blog will help me feel a little better and a little less sad as I try and remember things from my past travels. I'm also excited to start writing about my experiences in South Korea.

So if you want to come along for the ride, feel free. If you have Blogger, you can follow this blog, or follow by e-mail (via the buttons on the right column).