About Me

WHY A BLOG?

This blog was initially birthed out of my genius plan to tax-deduct my travels (more info on that to come in a future post).  My energy to keep up with it is generated by one of my biggest pet peeves: coming home from a long trip, rich with stories and experiences, only to face the dreaded question when I return: “How was your trip?” I mean really, it is next to impossible to do a trip justice in the 5 minutes that person can dedicate to actually listening to me in that moment. The thought of being able to simply say, “It was amazing. You can read all about it online,” sounds like sheer bliss to me.

THERAPIST WILL TRAVEL

So here’s a little bit about me. I’m a Licensed Professional Counselor who loves to help people.  I have loved my most recent job as a Bilingual Women’s Counselor working with Hispanic survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. However, I also love to travel. Somehow I’ve been fortunate enough to hit over 30 countries that I can remember in my 31 years of life. I unexpectedly moved back to my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2009 and eventually the itch to find new adventures and challenge myself returned. I’ve always longed to live in Spain again for a longer time period (I studied abroad in college), and since my dad is from there, I grew up going regularly.  But due to the realities of grown-up life and simply traveling to other places, I hadn’t been back in 10 years. This fact has been a constant dull ache within me, as Spain is literally and figuratively in my blood. It’s the kind of country that is filled with such passion that it seeps into you and is hard to shake it.

A FEW GOOD CONNECTIONS

Coincidentally, this year, I ended up with a few good connections with friends, friends of friends, and extended family in Spain who were willing to help me out. Remember though, I loved my safe, rewarding job. I had some clients who were at a critical point in treatment and I was concerned about transitioning them to a new therapist. I’ve also gotten to live near my family for the first time in 7 years and be a part of my niece and nephew growing up—my niece is just now getting old enough that she might remember that I’ve actually been around and involved. My nephew just figured out that I’m Aunt YaYa, even if he can’t say it yet. I had just finally gotten close with a great group of friends. So although traipsing off to Spain sounds exotic, there were still real world sacrifices to be made. However, after much agony, I realized that at the end of the year, I’d be happier for having tried to live in Spain and failed, than for never trying at all. I decided to quit my job, take a risk, and try to fulfill my dream.

THE PLAN…OR LACK THEREOF

I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen. I don’t really have much of a plan. I’m just going to Spain indefinitely and will see what happens. I left May 25, 2011, traveled for the first 3 weeks with my sister and 3-year-old niece. Then…I have no idea. My first stop will probably be living and possibly working in a resort outside of Barcelona. Otherwise, I will probably end up living with or near one of my contacts who are in various parts of Spain and try to explore my options for jobs in those cities. At some point, I plan to walk the Camino de Santiago for about a month. I’ll be traveling through other lesser known places in Spain and will give you all sorts of travel tips along the way.  Meeting interesting people, familiarizing myself with social justice issues, surviving on a shoestring, eating yummy foods, dancing everywhere I go, working on a farm…it will all happen. Seriously, my plans are so wide open, anything could happen. So check back often as things will be changing all the time.

THIS IS FOR YOU!

Anyone who has been a part of my life for any length of time knows that I am prone to having some ridiculous experiences and have a knack for keeping life exciting. So this blog is for all of you who have always pestered me to write about my travels and for new online friends who want to share in them as well. I hope to inspire you to have a little more adventures of your own.  I have a way of pushing people to face their fears and try new things, so beware…if you keep up with this blog, you may end up challenging yourself to say, “Hello Adventures!”