Thinking of Seeing More of the World

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Originally Posted by Drewbacca

But other people are different. They want to breath the air on the other side of the world. So do it. Live the way you want to live today. No excuses.

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Exactly. If you want to do it, do it. Live life with no excuses and no regrets. My sister quit a 6 figure job, gave up her car, apartment, belongings, and everything else she had to travel. If you ask her she wouldn't regret it for a second. It's not something that everyone can do, and it's not something everyone would want to do, but if it's something you feel strongly about go for it.

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Originally Posted by Rumpy

He did the hostel route, spent something like 20k for the whole trip (some places he could live on 5 USD a day).

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Truth. The most expensive parts of these trips are the flights. I have no doubt the guy spent $10,000 on airfare alone, considering he went to Australia. Traveling around Asia from what I have heard is by far the cheapest. Cost of housing, food, and transportation on an expensive day can be as little as $15-$20. $5 is a little extreme and would be the bare minimum one could live on, but I'm sure it's entirely possible.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

Full of shit, eh?

I've tried for the Peace Corps and it's much more competitive than you seem to realize. I have a 3.5 GPA, volunteered for six years (not the last two of college because I had too much on my plate), am a member of a national honor society, have tutored ESL (English as a Second Language) kids for four years, and was PUBLISHED in newspapers and magazines and worked as a reporter for many years part time while attending college and working another job. I did all of this while still jamming with a band and a drinking/drug habit and I STILL didn't get in.

You didn't do shit worth talking about until we all made fun of you in New York. You're not getting in.

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maybe they didn't let you in because you look like a poof and act like a jackass?

I wear a shirt and tie almost every day. The jackass part I won't argue with but I'm also a person who has sold himself more in interviews than your mother on the street.

Watching Whale Wars made me want to work and live on a ship for a while. I say do it.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

I've tried for the Peace Corps and it's much more competitive than you seem to realize. I have a 3.5 GPA, volunteered for six years (not the last two of college because I had too much on my plate), am a member of a national honor society, have tutored ESL (English as a Second Language) kids for four years, and was PUBLISHED in newspapers and magazines and worked as a reporter for many years part time while attending college and working another job. I did all of this while still jamming with a band and a drinking/drug habit and I STILL didn't get in.

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LOL.

As for joining the Peace Corps, a few pointers from ppl that are in the know:

1. Marketable skills (teaching English is NOT a marketable skill as far as PC is concerned) are in high demand. Depending on your IT skillz, Thief, they may be interested in you.
2. Be yourself in your interview. Don't "sell" them on you so much as present the real you. Be sure you can articulate precisely why you would be a good Corps member.
3. Some previous...activities...are verboten in the Corps and will DQ you from Day 1, including hallucinogenic use of any kind, criminal activities, etc. In addition to the obvious stuff, the use of anti-depressants, including most SSRI's (you know if you're on them) will DQ you. Certain medical conditions will as well (the Corps' rationale is that you need to withstand being in remote locations with no medical care - this includes relatively benign things like diabetes).
4. Don't have sex w/the natives in Africa; it's a one-way ticket home.
5. If you are planning on using the Corps as a springboard to a new, non-education career, DO NOT teach English. You'll spend too much time in classrooms w/kids, and not enough working w/business people/community members and improving a skill set.
6. Some govt agencies have a mandated "cooling off" period after you've been in the Corps, so keep that in mind if you're wanting a job w/the Guv'mt.

Go for it.

Good luck.

Here's my quasi-solicited advice:

If you want to join the Peace Corps or be a global vagabond for the right reasons, then do it.

If you only want to join the Peace Corps or be a global vagabond because you find your life unfulfilling and feel that this would correct that, then these may not be the right reasons. It doesn't mean they're not the right reasons, but it should compel you consider some alternatives and do some more soul searching, which is what you're doing now via TNL. Intuitively, this tells me you have no genuine incentive or motivation for either option.

What people often lose sight of is that life is nothing but a series of moments. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, next week, or the next year. When we start focusing on the moments, making them meaningful, making them special, that's when life starts trending upwards, because it's made up of the aggregate of those moments. Sometimes we forget that life is this series of moments and feel inclined to swing for the fences and do something extraordinary, perform an incredible singular act, hoping it will not only be life changing, but also be of a large enough magnitude that it compensates for all our previous years of unfulfillment. Probably not going to be the case.

You don't have to swing for the fences. You can travel and see the world without dedicating your life to it. You can just start by improving your series of moments. You're going die, maybe peacefully, probably horribly. Live accordingly.

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

Full of shit, eh?

I've tried for the Peace Corps and it's much more competitive than you seem to realize. I have a 3.5 GPA, volunteered for six years (not the last two of college because I had too much on my plate), am a member of a national honor society, have tutored ESL (English as a Second Language) kids for four years, and was PUBLISHED in newspapers and magazines and worked as a reporter for many years part time while attending college and working another job. I did all of this while still jamming with a band and a drinking/drug habit and I STILL didn't get in.

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You pissed in the cup, didn't you?

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Originally Posted by Razor Ramon

I'm also a person who has sold himself more

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ah, you're one of those people. You must have maxed out your asshole stats early in life.

how you've managed to continue living without killing yourself is beyond me.

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Originally Posted by Thief Silver

SHould I see the world?

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Yes. Leave immediately.

Fuck anyone who says otherwise.