I’m in London at my brother’s house where we are getting ready to plan the next three weeks. The brick homes with narrow streets and tiny cars make this an inquisitive european experience.
On the plane over here I sat next to a guy who lived in Istanbul Turkey, spoke 6 languages, and spent the past 6 years living in 5 different countries. He was an editor/writer who writes political and religious articles for a magazine in Istanbul (Turkey).
I’ve always imagined that as a writer I could use intellectual skills to support myself and have the freedom to travel (since writing doesn’t necessarily tie a person down to a specific office or location). Yet, this is just another great idea I have that is not yet a reality in my life, nor have I met anybody doing it, until now! He happened to be my age (28) and was from San Diego California. He graduated in 2003 and has been doing print journalism around the world ever since (it started with a year-long study abroad program when he said he caught the traveling bug). He was on his way back to Istanbul from a holiday in California. I’m sure I bugged him with all my nosy questions, including how he plans his travels, and advice on how to get started doing what he’s doing. His advice to becoming a good writer? “Write every day.” Makes sense, I do write every day but since it’s only in my journal, blog, or for myself, I can’t really use it as a portfolio. I suppose if I actually put up my resume and some samples I have online, I could land a job somewhere.
Anyways, we are here, and London is awesome. Definitely a different traveling experience than what I’m used to in Central America. But I guess that’s also why I love it.
–WBC–