Whenever I’m back in the US, 90% of the jobs and gigs I work come from Craigslist. I’ve found plenty of opportunities abroad as well. How did I find a position as the caretaker of a Buddhist monastery in New Zealand? Auckland Craigslist. How did I wind up teaching at a hagwon in rural...
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I have a problem. It’s one I’ve faced many times before for different reasons. When I was working on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska for a summer between semesters, I found myself running 8+ miles daily and avoiding unhealthy food at all costs; this included beer and salty snacks. As far as the other...
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There’s a game I’m forced to play with drivers whenever I walk across an intersection, and no one has the clear right of way. In America, I’ve noticed cars will dance with you if you try to cross the street: moving forward, thinking you’ll wait, seeing you won’t, moving forward anyway, being forced to...
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I recently had the chance to host a beautiful young lady as she was passing through Austin for the first time. As is often the case between Couchsurfer and Couchhost, we exchanged travel tales, and horror stories of Couchsurfing. Since she was a lovely woman, I asked her if she had ever had a...
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I need to be extremely careful in the coming weeks so as to avoid injury. My last serious workout in San Francisco was Fleet Feet’s Divis Up or Shut Up challenge in the Marina, which left my legs sore for three days… I still hope to do a few more loops in October to...
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I was extremely fortunate to be able to find an apartment in San Francisco – not the Bay Area, but the city – for less than $500/month ABP, and I didn’t have to be anyone’s man-whore. Bayview wasn’t exactly the ideal area and the house could have been cleaner, but I had my own...
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As many readers are aware, a few months after the earthquake and tsunami struck the Tohoku region of Japan, I volunteered to assist with cleanup efforts in Ofunato with All Hands, one of the few foreign-run organizations to make it past the Japanese bureaucracy. It was a remarkable experience, seeing the kind of people...
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Since returning from Korea, I’ve gone through quite the ups and downs in terms of training. I was in decent 10-miler shape when I landed in San Francisco, and having those massive hills to scale certainly helped improve my fitness. I kept up running in my Vibram Fivefingers and Sir Isaac Newtons for a...
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There are days in which I do things that defy common sense. I don’t know what it is exactly that brings these urges out. All I know is, when I was in Vegas and feeling particularly down that a friend bailed on me and I lost a few hundred at the tables, I didn’t...
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I appreciate your concern. Really, I do. But I want you to understand your expression makes me feel bad and doubt my choice in lifestyle. Why are you so worried about my future? Do you want me to have the same quality of life you when you were my age, or better? What were...
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