Interview With Emily of Teach Travel Play
•Please give my readers a background about yourself. What made you want to start teachtravelplay.com?
I graduated university in 2009 with a degree in Art History and a minor in modern dance and thought “Well that was fun, I should probably start working.” My partner is a certified teacher and it was his dream to teach around the world before signing a contract in the states, so I followed him really. teachtravelplay was really a journal at first, and then I started enjoying the idea of sharing resources for travelers and for teachers so now it is sort of a hybrid of the two.
•In all of your travels, in your opinion what country has the best food? and the worst food?
Korea has got some AMAZING grub! Snacks, ten-course meals, soup, sauces, drunk food, hung-over food…you name it! I am Italian though and lived in Torino for a year in college, so I have a bias when I saw Northern Italian cuisine is at the top of my list. As far as bad food goes, maybe Filipino. I think this has more to do with us going to the cock fights and then eating rooster after.
•When you first started teaching/traveling, did your family support your decision?
My parents are travelers, trekking through South America in the 70s just out of high school. They understand both the desire to get out and see the world and the need to earn an income in an economy that is not so welcoming to University grads at the moment.
•Did you always have a love of travel or did you develop your passion for traveling as you got older?
My travel tastes have changed, and the more I see the larger the world becomes. I started out travelling Western Europe. Saw inspiring art and architecture, ate delicious food. And then I got a bit more adventurous, wanting to see how the rest of the world lives. That is how I like to travel now, checking out real people, their homes, their food, their lives, around the world.
•What impact has teachtravelplay.com had on your life?
I always wish I could do it all as a blogger: travel, teach, play, AND write…unfortunately writing sometimes takes a back seat. It has been great making contacts with other bloggers and following their journeys.
•What has been the least exciting destination you've traveled to?
Hmmm… maybe Sutherlin Oregon, but my grandma lives there so at least I got to see her ?
•What has been the most surprising destination you've been to? Meaning, you had a specific mindset about a certain destination but it was totally a different experience than you had imagined.
Probably Oman. I currently live in the UAE, just over the border from Oman so I assumed they would be mirrored images of each other. Oman has some of the most unique and beautiful landscapes and architecture I have seen anywhere. The beach in Muscat was also great!
•If you had to decide which destination has been the most influential in your life, which destination would you chose?
A relatively quick trip to Vietnam woke me up big time. I saw some of the most povern-stricken neighborhoods that I have seen anywhere and yet met REALLY happy people, ate unbelievable food and got to see a part of the world that existed only as a rumor to me before I wised up and went to check it out.
•If you could travel with any celebrity for one week, who would you chose and why?
Probably Anthony Bourdain because I like to have my boundaries pushed, and there is a man who can probably talk you into at least eating something weird!
•What advice would you give to a newbie traveler?
Eat everything!
•In 10 years, do you see yourself still traveling or slowing down?
I am hoping to do a bit of both. On my list are to take the trans-Siberian train across China and Russia, and a few big sailing trips…both relatively slow forms of travel.
Thanks Emily for the interview. Visit Emily's blog @ Teach Travel Play