would you rather backpack or be an expat?

Among those who have left home behind to experience and see the world, there are the backpackers and there are the expats.

A backpacker is a master of minimalism - he takes the bare essentials on the road with him and embraces the nomadic lifestyle. The expat arrives in a new country and carves out a home for himself. The expat adapts to his surroundings and takes in the new culture within the context of work, school or family.

Neither way of seeing the world is superior, and indeed, at times the lines blur between the two.

While I was teaching in China, I had the chance to explore Malaysia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam for a total of six weeks. Beautiful, mind-blowing and exhilarating, all of it. But every new place I visited, I knew I wasn’t staying long enough to truly understand the what I was seeing or experiencing. I was left with the feeling that I was merely brushing the surface of something spectacular.

That’s why, in my second stab at hoisting the pack on my back for some nomadic wandering, I promised myself I would take it all in at a slower pace.

And yet, even with my newfound snail-pace, exploring Buenos Aires and Argentinian Patagonia for over two months, I never quite got into the swing of the backpacker lifestyle.

I would say it was a disappointment that I’m a failure at long-term backpacking, but if I’m being honest with myself, I’d have to acknowledge that deep down I’ve always known that my style is much more suited to the expat way.

At all of this brings me to my biggest piece of news.

I live in Chile now.

I’m teaching English and living in Santiago de Chile. I’ve found myself an apartment, unpacked my backpack and settled into a discovery of a new country at my own speed.

Stay tuned for more about my Chilean adventures!

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Thank you all for your concern and support in the ordeal with my cousin's detainment. He is home safe now thanks to you and everyone who helped sign the petition and spread the word.

Please keep his colleague and friend, Anton Hammerl in your thoughts and prayers. He was a photojournalist killed in the capture. He leaves behind his wife an kids.

3 brave women: a mother's day post

From left to right: My aunt, Diane; my grandfather, Elliot;

my grandmother, Olga; my mom, Rita

This post is dedicated to three special mothers in my life.

Olga

My grandmother, Olga, is a remarkable woman. Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador she moved to the United States at the age of 20 when she married my grandfather. She became the young mother of two beautiful daughters and brought them up with love. Olga was widowed at a young age, but her strength and resilience kept her going.

She is now the matriarch of a large and growing family. She is greatly loved by 2 daughters, 7 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.

Olga, we look up to you for your strength, your great ability to love and your courage. We love you for your sassiness, your laughter and your warmth. Happy Mother's Day.

Rita

My mother is my best friend and I am the luckiest girl in the world. The youngest of two daughters, she was brought up in the small American town of Keene, New Hampshire.

After graduating from college she bought herself a one way ticket to Spain - and act of bravery that has inspired me and shaped the way I have chosen to live my life.

My mother is good. She knows how to speak to people and make them feel special. She loves her children with all of her heart and would do anything for us.

Mom, they say girls worry about becoming their mother. I could only hope to be half the person my mother is.

Diane

I saved my Aunt Diane for last on this Mother's Day post because she needs our prayers the most at this time. And she needs to be recognized for the truly amazing person that she is.

Diane is my mother's older sister. She is a nurse practitioner who was made for the job. She is intelligent, caring and good. The mother of 5 children, she has the strength of ten mothers and is braver than anyone I know.

When her son was captured in Libya over a month ago, my heart went out to her. It has been over a month since Jim's capture and Diane is proving to be as strong and full of faith as ever. A mother's capacity for love is so great. Jim is loved by so many, but especially by his mom.

Diane, you are amazing and I love you like a second mother. We are here for you and we are praying for you.

The world needs more mothers like the three amazing individuals I've introduce you to today.

Do something for me. On this Mother's Day, tell your mom you love her.

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If you want to help support the release of my cousin, Jim here are some things you can do:

1) Sign the petition

2) Print out the poster and post it on the facebook page

3) Write a letter or make a phone call directly to your US congressional representatives, supporting their diplomatic efforts to secure a timely release. You can find their contact information here.

4) Use any personal contacts you have with media outlets and the government to publicize the issue. Let's keep the issue in the public eye!

Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.

free james foley, journalist held captive in libya

Me, my brother and my cousins in 2003. Jim is on the far right.

My cousin Jim is the bravest man I've ever known. A freelance journalist, he has travelled to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya in an effort to share the most pressing news with his unique first-hand perspective.

His videos, expertly filmed in the heat of battle have always sent a chill down my spine because they truly bring home the fact that my dear cousin is in the thick of protests, war, bombs and gunfire.

On Thursday, April 7, we received word that he, along with 3 other journalists, has been captured by forces loyal to Gaddafi. They are said to be in government hands and they are expected to be taken to Tripoli today which will be the safest place for them at the moment. Despite this report, we haven't heard any confirmation of this. Their exact location is not known at this time.

James Foley, American Clare Gillis, Spaniard Manu Brabo and South African Anton Hammerl need your support.

I ask two things:

Please take a few seconds to "like" the Help Free James Foley and Clare Gillis facebook page for updates on the situation.

And most importantly, please sign the petition that will be sent to organizations that may be able to secure Jim's freedom.

And tell all your friends and family to sign it. Please. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

argentina's ruta 40 and the romance of the open road

There’s romance in a love song and there’s romance in a rose, and then there is romance in an open road.

As an American, over the years I have developed a love affair with the Road Trip. As a kid, my parents would pile us into the family car for what seemed an interminable voyage. Once a year we would visit my gram in Dallas, then slug onto New Mexico or Colorado. I didn’t enjoy it then. Even my brother’s and my attempt to break up the monotony by singing The Song That Never Ends, playing “I spy”, and a healthy dose of bickering (our poor parents) did little to ingratiate the institution of the American Road Trip with the younger me.

It wasn’t until I went to college in Oklahoma that I gained a true appreciation for the art of long car rides. My school campus was on Route 66, that offbeat grampa of great American highways. I quickly came to love loosing myself in landscape and began to look back on my childhood trips with fondness.

In my 8+ hour rides between campus and my home in Houston, the freedom I felt on that road felt like a special treat just for me. Life became simple. Nothing to worry about but the next gas stop, what music to listen to and what I want to eat for lunch.

But I’m not alone. Americans have been enamored with traveling the open road for years. The works of Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, Larry McMurtry and Bill Bryson have all found a way into the hearts of American readers.

A road symbolizes a journey, a fact that makes it perfectly suited for story telling. A road carries a character forward and offers endless possibilities of encountering adventure after adventure. And isn’t there something appealing in that?

Yes, I, like many Americans, love a good road trip. So, when I heard about Ruta 40, Argentina’s “notorious” highway, I knew I wanted in on it. Notorious, because it is kilometers and kilometers of nothing, notorious because good portion of it is unpaved, notorious because few towns are to be found along the way.

I took a bus from El Chaltén to Bariloche along this mammoth of a road and soon found that everything I had heard about it was true: it was lonely, boring, dusty and barren. And I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you’ve ever been on a farm road, you can start to have an idea of what we are dealing with here. Imagine an interminable farm road that works its way up all through Argentina. The landscape is brown, and the sky is blue. That's about it.

With nothing for miles around, the solitary stretches this legendary road crosses serve as a reminder of how small we really are. And somehow, it all comes down to the bare essentials: food, water and where this road will take you.

monday red: chocolate from bariloche, argentina

Bariloche is a beautiful town and it knows it. Overlooking a gorgeous lake, views throughout the city take your breath away. Dubbed “Little Switzerland" in South America, the town and the surrounding area has a feel that is decidedly Alpine - green trees, snow-capped mountain tops and, come wintertime, some of the best skiing around.

Bariloche is also known for its chocolate. For a refreshingly affordable price one can sample three or four delicious chocolates at any number of chocolate shops around town.

I took it upon myself to find the very best chocolate Bariloche had to offer (I take my job of tourist/traveler very seriously) and decided that the winner was Mamuschka.

You step into the cheerful shop and behind a wonderfully large counter that fills the room are countless heavenly chocolatey creations. You make your selection. The possibilities are endless. Chocolate covered orange slices or dulce de leche in white chocolate? Lemon mousse filled or coffee flavored? Yes, it might feel overwhelming, but you can take some consolation in the fact that you can’t really go wrong - whatever choices you make will be delicious.

But don’t take my word for it, you might have to try all the other chocolate shops as well.

Mamuschka

Mitre 298 (esquina Rolando)

San Carlos de Bariloche

02944 423 294

* I post a picture most days inspired by the color of the day. Sundays are Black and White, Mondays Red, Tuesday Orange, Wednesday Yellow, Green on Thursday, Blue on Friday and you guessed it, Purple for Saturday.

see the perito moreno glacier near el calafate, argentina

A friend told me that Argentina has three must-see tourist destinations: Iguazu Falls, Salta and the glacier at El Calafate.

Some of you may remember El Calafate from my post a few weeks ago on the dangers of being dumb and loosing your debit card in a foreign country. But this town has another claim to fame which far more exciting. El Calafate is next to a National Park which is home to a most spectacular glacier.

The Perito Moreno glacier is approximately 250 square kilometers and is an impressive sight to see. Throughout the day huge chunks of ice come thundering down to splash into the water below.

You can take a boat to get a closer view and let the magnificent formation tower above you. For a price you can even take a trek over the ice field.

Although my time in El Calafate was marred by the unfortunate loss of my debit card, I know in years to come, it will be the glacier I remember.

see commerson's dolphins in the strait of magellan

If you travel by bus to Ushuaia, you will get to take a ferry across the Strait of Magellan

The first time I crossed the strait to Tierra del Fuego, I didn't have my camera and it didn't matter anyway because it was raining.

On the way back over the strait, I made absolutely certain I brought my camera with me. Why was it so important? I wanted to get some shots of the Commerson's Dolphins that so playfully showed off for us by racing and leaping through the water.

Commerson's Dolphins are the dolphins that are stylishly dressed in black and white. Often in packs of two or three, they sped along side the ferry eager to keep up with the ferry.