wonder-filled

 In the midst of all this travel talk, I thought I'd squeak in a post about the life happening around me lately.

 It has been filled with wonder.

wonder-filled. 

You see, Kevin and I are in a "sowing" season now. 

A time where we buckle down and do the hard work, 

get our hands dirty, 

and put in long hours,

so that in the future, we will reap what we have sown.  

For us personally, this means Kevin going back to work full-time at our family's restaurants, 

and me going back to school full-time to get my masters in counseling (MFT). 

These are long days, filled with reading and errands, and well, life. 

And for a couple who has spent the last few years traveling the world,

 exploring and meandering, 

working on our own time,

and discovering all things "new"

this shift to schedules and routines and a long road of commitments

could seem, for lack of a better word, boring. 

But instead, God has dipped this meaningful chapter in a golden hue. 

He has taken the mundane, and literally flipped the switch of mediocrity into an illuminated mercy. 

I  have had the most incredible ride just sitting back this last month and watching God show himself to be nothing less than fantastically in tune with our hearts… 

blessing us with gifts that surprise and leave us in awe

at his tender love and unique care of the things that make us happy.

life, while more structured in one sense, is never without wonder. 

Remember how I told you I was starting school to get my MFT? 

welp, i'm now in my third week and LOVING IT! 

Friends, school is my JAM! Everything I am learning to so relevant and fascinating:)

And, as many of you know from experience, school is not cheap. In fact, it's downright expensive! 

But what do you know...lo and behold…a few weeks before school started, I received an email from one of the directors of my program asking if I would be interested in applying to be their graduate assistant! The short story is that I was hired for this position, and now receive a lovely reduction in my tuition!! I was literally humbled as I watched the Lord just outdo himself and provide for Kevin and I in such a beautiful way. 

wonder-filled

If you've been following my blog long enough, you'd know that Kevin and I lived the last 5 years in a low-income neighborhood. The kids and families we met there, changed our lives. This past weekend I visited our complex for the first time since we've been back from Nepal. As I parked my car, I caught one of the little boy's eyes, who literally LIT UP and ran straight to me. In a matter of seconds, all the kids started yelling "Katie's back!!!!" and running and giving me hugs. Old and young, I sat tethered in a stream of arms embracing, wishing I could have bottled up the love and sheer joy I felt. And it reminded me that the way of relationship is the most beautiful and profound thread of our lives. All those hours of baking with neighbors, and reading books, and playing tag, and hosting dinners…it all mattered. It mattered because I mattered to them, and they mattered to me. And we, together in the business of doing life, mattered to God. You guys, it was so, so holy. 

wonder-filled

and then there have been the little tender mercies from above. 

visits from out of town friends. love notes from my husband. fresh fruit and veggies.

sunshine the entire month of January. 

being hired to capture memories of love-filled events,

absolute peace in my heart, the gifts of the Proverbs, 

in-laws that fill us with laughter and let us live rent-free,

and now house-sitting with Kev at a most beautiful retreat-like home. 

really, it all is 

wonder-filled. 

I hope you find wonder in your daily tasks. Because our wonderful God pours life into even the most boring of days:) Happy Thursday friends! 

Love Katie 

ps- I'm flying to northern california this weekend to visit my family and watch the Olympics! My dad and I are die-hard olympic fans, and for his Christmas present I told him I would come up and be his olympic watching buddy! My two sisters are also driving home this weekend, and together the three of us are playing on a basketball team, in a city league my dad has been organizing for the last 5 years! Should be fun and hilarious, as i'm so out of shape, haha!! 

How to Pay for Travel, Part 4- Teach English Abroad

In case you missed it…"How to Pay for Travel" {Part 1} {Part 2} {Part 3}

One of the easiest ways to kickstart your traveling career is to actually MOVE abroad! Now obviously if you move abroad, you will need to work abroad (unless you have a secret stash of unlimited money…in which case, we should be friends:) haha, j/k!)

Teach English Abroad:

Without a doubt the easiest way to find a job is to find a position teaching English. English is the international language of the world and therefore English teachers are in high demand, specifically in Asia. Fresh out of college, I accepted a position teaching English in Thailand. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. If you are at all considering teaching abroad, DO IT! Living abroad lends itself to the convenience of traveling to new places, meeting new friends, and experiencing culture in a profound way (all while getting paid! Yee-haw!).  

Here are a few things you need to know if you are considering teaching English abroad:

1.    Are you TESOL certified? Typically to teach English, you need a certificate that states you have completed a course on how to teach English. These courses are referred to as TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Lanugages) or TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Fortunately for us, getting a TESOL certificate really is not that hard! I chose to move to Thailand through a program called TEFL International. I was trained and certified in one month, and then moved on to teach at a school. There are also TESOL certificates you can receive through online programs. Some schools will even train you as part of their package. Just check into different programs and see what the best way to earn your certificate might be! Just as an FYI, getting certified does cost money, but in the end it absolutely pays off!! {And as a tip, I have seen these types of courses on sale through third party discount sites like groupon! So keep your eyes out if you are interested!!} 

2.    Some Countries offer Higher Pay than Others: In considering where you want to teach, you must keep in mind that different countries offer different salaries for their teachers. Japan, South Korea, and China offer some of the highest paid positions, while Thailand and Cambodia offer lower rates. However, it is good to keep in mind that places like Thailand, while they offer lower rates, also have a cheaper standard of living. I’m sure I got paid way less to teach in Thailand than I would in Japan, but eating out for meals was usually a $1 and transportation was very economical. Some of my friends that have taught in South Korea were able to use the money they saved to pay off student loans! Do your research on different jobs to see how much income you will be earning!

3.    Do you want Part-Time Work or Full-Time Work? If you are looking to live abroad AND save money and pay off debt, than working full time fits the bill (no pun intended!). It truly is a great way to kill two birds with one stone! However, if you are looking to live abroad and travel as much as you possibly can, then working part-time is a killer option! I worked part-time in Thailand, which gave me the luxury of soaking in the sites around Chaing Mai where I lived, AND allowed me to explore a lot of cities off the beaten track! Most full time positions will be at government and public schools {some privates!}, and most part-time English teaching positions will be at private schools (at least this was my experience in Thailand. If you are a teacher in another country, feel free to tell me how that works for you!).

My own experience teaching English in Thailand was wonderful. Yes, it is a lot of work, takes a lot of energy {teaching alone is hard enough, much less in a language the kids don’t understand!}, but the relationships you forge and the adventures you have far outweigh the difficult parts! I will say this, I realized once in Thailand, that while I love teaching, English was not the subject for me. And I realized, that’s ok too! At least I got an amazing journey out of the deal:) 

If you have any specific questions about teaching English, or about teaching in Thailand, feel free to send me an email! I lived predominantly in Chiang Mai (Thailand's second largest city…and very beautiful I might add!). I worked at a private school and taught English part time. I had a class of beginners, and tutored advanced students. The great thing is that you really can vary the avenues in which you teach. 

While in Thailand, I also taught at: 

- Summer Camps: Thailand has a variety of English and Summer camps for school kids. These were a fun way to get involved in Thai culture! One particular camp I was the only native English speaker on a bus with 200 Thai Children, yep, and I had a jolly but clueless old time! We rolled up to a gorgeous resort and I taught my classes on the patio overlooking the ocean (not too shabby, eh?). I also got to participate in all the crazy exciting games the Thai counselors had planned for the kids, like laser tag on the beach and scavenger hunts. Most of the time I had absolutely NO idea what was going on (like for REALS!) but I suppose that's what made up the adventure!! 

- Refugee Camps: To the west of Thailand is the country of Burma. The instability of the government and its violent treatment of many ethnic groups has contributed to a rise of Burmese refugees to Thailand. While there, I spent some time teaching English in a large refugee camp for the Karen people group. I will admit it was one of the most humbling and difficult places I have ever traveled to, but it changed my life in a profound way. Volunteering your English skills, and more importantly your friendship and listening ear will go a long way:) 

- Language centers: For a time, I supplemented my hours at the private school by also picking up a job at a language institute. Typically Thai families will take their children to these institutes to be tutored in English for an hour (give or take). My job would be to create cohesive lesson plans for kids once a week, and personally tutor them. This is a great option if you want to pick up a few more hours in your schedule!! 

Lastly, you don't have to be an English major or a grammar pro to teach English. I am neither, and yet was able to get the hang of it! Schools are just so grateful to have a native English speaker on staff. So be kind and generous, work hard, and open your heart, and you will be terrific! {and have COUNTLESS hilarious stories from your students to pass on to your friends and family!}

And you will get to travel like crazy! 

Teaching for the WIN!!!!

{to see more Thailand pictures, click here} 

love Katie 

How to Pay for Travel, Part 3: Food

If you missed Part 1&2 on “How to pay for Travel” see {Part 1} and {Part 2}

Today we are talking about my favorite thing…FOOD! To me, food is culture! Not too many things excite me more than sampling local flavors! However, eating out can get expensive! Especially if you are in Europe…our poor dollar loses so much value to the Pound and Euro! And eating out adds up fast…a breakfast here, a lunch there, throw a snacky snack in, and dinner there…and soon just your food tab alone exceeds $100 for the day! Yikes! Kevin and I realized this pretty quickly and devised a few trips to help cut down the costs! 

**As a note, most of these tips work best in Europe or other more expensive countries (like Australia, NZ, Japan). Traveling in SE Asia, Africa and S. America is a lot easier with food, as meal costs are very cheap! But these tips work well wherever you are:) Enjoy! 

1)   Stay at a place that offers breakfast: You can find very affordable places that include breakfast with the lodging! This is a great way to factor in a meal so that you don’t have to go out for your morning munchies! We found this to be especially lovely in Ireland, where Bed and Breakfasts were the lodging of choice, and you received a very hearty breakfast, and sometimes items to take with you for lunch! Often, because the breakfasts were so big, we didn’t need a huge lunch, only some snacks! And…if you are anything like my sisters, you can even sneak a few pieces of bread into your purse to take with you the rest of the day:)

2)    Pick one meal to eat out: When in extremely high priced countries (such as France) Kevin and I decide to pick one meal to eat out. This allows you to savor the ambiance of local eateries and sample specific delicacies, but also doesn’t break your budget! Typically we choose to eat out for dinner, but depending on where we are it will swap. In Belgium, we knew we had to sample a Belgium waffle for breakfast! Eat the rest of your meals from grocery stores….

{my sweet parents below…eating out in Delft, Holland}

3)   Frequent grocery stores & Open Air Markets: I cannot stress this enough! Grocery store snacks will go a LONG way both in your budget and in your stomach. Our go-to snacks when traveling, which we find the perfect combination of both tasty and filling, is a loaf of bread, cheese and salami. (If you are gluten free like me, Europe is seriously legit at having g-free bread at grocery stores!)This trio is easy to store and take out when your hunger gets the better of you. Add in a few pieces of fruit, some dark chocolate for the sweet tooth, and some carrots, and you are ready to go! Open air markets are abundant all around the world, and picking up some lovely produce and fresh fruit is a perfect way to enjoy the ambiance of the markets, as well as save a few pennies! (fresh nectarines, peaches, apricots, and cherries are the most delicious summer fruits to pick up at markets!) In Paris, Kevin and I spent a romantic evening picnicking in front of the Eiffel tower with our delicious store & market bought food, and wine {when in France, right?}.  This to me was just as special as dropping $100 on a nice meal:) except you save AND the Eiffel tower is your view, hello!!!!

{our lil' french picnic above…and another shot of our janky "picnic basket" aka trash bag, below! ha}

4)   Prepare your own food: Every once in a while you might happen to stay in a place that has its own kitchen. USE IT! This past year my family rented a quaint multi-level home in Delft, Holland from AirBnB (which I will talk about more later!). It had a giant kitchen, and so my mom bought groceries for the week and we cooked different meals every day! Our family also stayed in a dormitory at an old Monastery in Belgium. We picked up groceries before we arrived, and that night my mom made a delicious dinner, and lovely breakfast each monring. This works especially well if you are cooking for a larger group of people! Eating out with 6+ people WILL be expensive, so consider making meals.

5)   Bring your own small packaged condiments from home: That’s right, I’m literally telling you to steal those crushed red pepper packets at the pizza parlor, and your salt and pepper packets off your airplane tray! Am I a red-neck yet? Haha! But, if you know you will be cooking while on vacation, pack a zip lock bag full of tiny packets of condiments you would get at restaurants Our go-to condiments include crushed red peppers, parmesan, and salt and pepper (but others could include ketchup, mustard, mayo, relish, etc). This money saving trip keeps you from having to buy a whole big bottle of any of these items, only to use them a few times! {and really, do you want to put a huge salt dispenser in your purse to take home?}

6)   Pack Snacks! I almost always pack snacks in my suitcase when I travel. Buying a bulk box of granola bars from Costco before your trip can do wonders! Snack items I can’t live without include: trailmix, gluten free/vegan granola or energy bars, dried fruit, rice cakes and inner peas (my favorite snack from Trader Joes). Often I’ll use ziplock bags to divide the trail mix, dried fruit and rice cakes into daily allotments, so that I only have to grab one zip lock bag instead of the whole big bag of granola, fruit or rice cakes! Prepping these items makes snacking a no-hassle job once on your adventure! Snacks also come in extra handy when the food in a particular country is doing a number on your stomach. I can think of times in both Kenya and in Nepal where I literally was not keeping anything in my system (if you know what I mean!), so eating some comfortable food for the body helped keep me going!

If you are all about food when you travel, never fear, I will have a future post on all the most delicious items to eat in each country!  However, I hope that this post just sheds some light on how to save money when it comes to food!

Bon Apetit!

Love Katie