A Little about ME

I started traveling back in summer 2000 when Daddy Bundy decided we needed to go on Bundy Family Vacation every year. We started out with New York in 2000, then Hawaii in 2001, then left the country for the first time for St. Maarten in 2002, etc. etc. etc. (see the blog posts for details).

The summer trips continued through my senior year of college, when I had my pre-mid-life crisis and decided I wasn’t ready to take on law school and its $100,000+ debt commitment just yet. I originally majored in Political Science (nearly useless unless you're a pre-law student) and took “Politics of Latin America” which eventually led me to take Spanish as a second major. So it just seemed logical that I would go to a Latin American country after graduating to achieve fluency in the language that I had studied for so long.

That country turned out to be Chile. In short, English being the #1 international business language these days, there’s a huge market overseas for English teachers. It’s SO much in demand, in fact, that most countries don’t even require a degree in teaching. How convenient. I took advantage and enrolled in an online TEFL-certification course, which I finished around the same time I graduated in May 2010. One month later I was on a plane to Santiago, Chile.

My travels through Chile, Panama, and the other countries I have since visited have been, for the most part, self-funded and therefore “off the beaten path.” I never stay in resorts, rent cars, or buy expensive souvenirs. There’s no money for that, and even if there were, I could make it last longer by using it for hostels, cheap buses, and small trinkets.

I am writing this blog both because I’m not into journals and because I feel that not writing it would be selfish of me. (And also because it’s just easier to keep in touch with people this way...) I realize that I am at a relative advantage due to my lack of (1) a spouse, (2) children, (3) a big family, and (4) college debt, all of which have allowed me to travel extensively. I do not pretend to deserve the opportunity that I have been given. Instead, I attribute my good fortune to the many close friends and family members who have impacted me positively, made sacrifices, or taken an extra step to help me along the way. For that reason I write – because I am thankful for what I have been given and because I would like to share it with those who would like to receive it.

I sincerely hope that no one takes offense to my writings – it is not my intention to stir controversy or alienate others. I merely try, upon entering a foreign country, to deconstruct stereotypes, break down cultural barriers, and immerse myself as much as possible in a new and foreign (to me, anyway) lifestyle.

A final note regarding my future: Although my long-term plans have not changed (I am currently studying for the LSAT in February), I cannot say the same for my outlook on my career or for my motives for attending law school. I can only say that taking a gap year – or in my case, three gap years – is a great way to challenge your current outlook on life, reassess your goals, and find whatever it is that you’re looking for. Happy traveling!