I'VE MOVED! Come check out the new page at www.daysofwandermust.com

I'VE MOVED!  

I just relaunched Days of Wandermust with it's own official domain. I'll be transfering the best of my articles from here and will continue to bring you travel stories, photography tips, Teaching strategies in ESL and how to live a life of travel!

Please follow me over at the new page and show some love! Don't forget to sign up for my e-mail list to get the latest tips and deals in travel and photography. 

Looking forward to seeing you there! 

A new Travel Story is beginning.

Hello Readers and fellow travelers!

I know I've been absent from blogging for the past couple of years but I'm about ready to take on a grand adventure of moving to Costa Rica with just $400 to my name. 

I figured this would be some blog-worthy material that many travelers and dreamers would like to hear about. So, until I get my official page www.DaysofWandermust.com up and running, I'll be blogging here and sharing my crazy adventure stories of survival and ingenuity. 

I'll be arriving in Costa Rica on Tuesday, July 22nd and begin settling down, making contacts with possible work opportunities, locals and expats. On August 30th I'll follow a couple who are taking the long walk from San Jose to Cartago for the annual Romeria Celebration. Some people walk the entire 24km on their knees! Even more, some people walk, go by horseback, etc from neighboring countries!  I'll be documenting the journey of one couple and sharing it here and on my flickr. I hope you enjoy it. 

Thank you!  
To ease you on the passing..here's some photos from the past several months since I returned to the USA.

Lights!!!

My brother's Prom

Light painting! More to come!

Selling prints from the Kahraman Dance Group

Horse back Riding on Father's Day

Mother's Day

Steel Wool Photography - more to come!

Riding with my sister

Doing some free-climbing

Hanging out after Pride Day 

Homeward bound!

I have just purchased round trip tickets to Chicago and back!

I'm going home for the summer!

I can't wait to see my family again.

Things I plan to do:

1. Hug my family more times than I can count
2. Take oodles and oodles of portraits of family members
3. Ride horses
4. eat pork
5. eat pancakes
6. eat eat eat lots of fatty, delicious foods.  TACO BELL!!!
7. Celebrate my Grandfathers...86th?!  Birthday by organizing and shooting a large family portrait
8. Go fishing
9. Go swimming at the park
10. play frisbee golf
11.  play video games and nerf wars with my brother David
12. Torment my sister with corny jokes and one-liners :-D  
13. Torment my dad with all kinds of recklessness and heathen behaviour
14. bonfire and cooking up hamburgers on the grill
15. Lay out under the stars at Kepler Observatory
16. Go hiking through my favorite paths in   Palisades-Kepler National Park.
17. Build up my Photography portfolio with Babies, Kids, Families, Portraits, Animals, and Event shots.  

So these are some of the things I plan to do.

Can you think of any more?


What are some things YOU really miss about home? 

Back to Georgia

Hey all, I've been off of here for a bit and not updating like I should. It's really like a journal it seems.  I have been taking photos just about every day with my iphone and I'll post those up sooner or later in a massive entry.

Did a photo shoot last week with the ever creative Xingxing and got some interesting results from that. I've only gotten one photo finished editing but she's gotten a few of her own edited.

My first attempt at hairstyling. This was edited by me. 

So now I'm about 10 hours off from being back in Tbilisi, Georgia.  Life has been treating me outstandingly good. I was really worried about this winter camp but it wasn't much of a problem at all. I was working with 5th graders this week and we all got on really well and they loved my lessons. It seems my superiors are taking notice of my improvements as well.  So all is good on that front.  Plus it seems that 'scare' that I had at work has taken care of itself.

I'll be enjoying the heck out of Georgia's countryside and plan to travel around Eastern Georgia first in the Kakheti region and then work my way west. I'll have 7 days away and then by the 6th it'll be back to work again.

This month promises to be a busy and productive one with some private lessons beginning as well as beginning my CELTA at the end of the month. It'll be a 3 month long course that I'll be doing from the internet with weekend classes. Not looking forward to tests and such again but it'll be good to have some new ideas on how to teach different levels of English Learners and to have an even better understanding of classroom management and have more educational tools at my disposal. Once I have that certificate I'll be able to work in any country.

However, the plan is to stay in Istanbul for a while longer as I've developed some great connections here and life has been treating me really good..so why change it?

Travel pre-planning thoughts

My mind has begun to kick into high gear as I edge closer to my departure date for Turkey.

If you've been watching any of my posts on my facebook you'd know I've been going crazy trying to find an affordable laptop that will let me edit photos but not cost me a grand. I actually came very close to buying a laptop or two but backed out or it fell through at the last moment.

However, tonight as I was cleaning my place up a bit and also trying to organize things in my mind, I realized that I'm thinking too much about what I need to buy for this trip. But, I've been contemplating the high-powered laptop, a tent, sleeping bag, a wide-angle camera lens so I can take some great city and landscape shots, and the list goes on.

What I haven't looked at is if I want to do all the things I've been planning which is to travel ALL over Eastern Europe before running out of money..I can't afford the things I want to bring.

It's a bit troubling. I really don't think I'll be spending much time editing photos on the road (as much as I'd like to) so I either can bring my big laptop or buy a really cheap netbook specifically for email and blogging.

I think the biggest thing I need to think about (and suggestions are MORE than welcome) is where exactly do I want to go and in what time frame. WHAT is my 'mission'  My original intent was to network with people, explore photography and possibly find work in a studio or a developing shop, work with humanitarian groups or NGO's and learn what they do while also getting great contacts for the future..and then of course traveling as much and as far as possible while photographing everything. 

I'm thinking now I need to choose what exactly it is I want to do so I know what I need to pack.
I also need to figure out exactly how long I want to travel and if I plan to stay in Europe to find work or study I need to choose a destination to work towards so I don't end up in a place with few opportunities.

Frankly, I have a lot to think about.

Any fellow travelers out there have some good advice for this first time trekker and wannabe travel photographer? 
It'd be great appreciated and noted.

Failure to liftoff

So this is what it must feel like when you are stuck somewhere and there are few if any options available to you.

As I blogged last night..my mind was a bit frozen and my head swirling from a person's sudden departure from my life. I didn't pack my bags but instead just sat in front of the computer trying to make sense of my trip. I made sense of it. Figured out my itinerary. However, I overslept this morning and ended up missing my flight. After checking with the airport travel agency I was told there is only 1 flight to Vietnam tomorrow for Business class. Price tag. 960,000won.  That's about $900.  I don't have that. So...It looks as if I'm stuck here..at the airport. 2 weeks vacation and nowhere to go. 

Hope I find a way to Vietnam soon. It's a well-deserved vacation and would be a crying shame to end up spending my entire vacation at home and out $500 from airline costs.

too be continued...