We are very happy to announce a brand new, regular blogger to Unexpected Wanderlust! Amile, tell us about yourself!

Where have you been?

Europe: The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, England, Scotland, Belgium, Monaco

Africa: Morocco

Asia: Israel

North America: USA, Canada, The Bahamas

South America: Peru

Central America: Costa Rica

Welcome to Unexpected Wanderlust!

Who are you?

I was born in the cultural melting pot of Hollywood, Florida to parents who met abroad working on the living-learning farms of Israel. Traveling was our family obsession and I grew up hiking, eating, and dreaming my way through the American West and a few other places around the world.

Travel has shaped my identity and lifestyle as one which embraces low-maintenance simplicity, willful perseverance and self-discipline, ecstatic wonder and self-deprecation. My bliss is found meandering through gas-lit streets at night with a good friend who will discuss social theory with me and then sit down for a good meal filled with silly jokes.

Where are you now and where are you headed?

Currently, I reside on the magical bayfront of Sarasota, FL where I’m finishing up my last year of school writing a thesis on travel theory, literature, and Orientalism. In the mean time I’m applying for a Fulbright to teach English in Vietnam (fingers crossed!) with my backup as teaching English in either China or Japan.

With all of these travel plans, are you the secret love children of aristocrats?

Excuuuuuuuse me! I have been working and saving all my money for travel since I was 15. While I feel incredibly privileged to be able to make this choice (sometimes more than others), I think I’ve earned my stripes as well.

What do you hope to learn by traveling?

Good question. I’ve learned through my studies on travel that it takes much more than just going to a place to actually understand a culture. However, travel is also a paid transaction to ensure experience. When I travel I force myself out of my routine to actually pay attention and be inquisitive about the world around me. I am a visual and experiential learner so for me travel is an amazing opportunity to learn about life.

Why is traveling important to you?

Traveling allows me to go through life with a strong back. Every day I travel I encounter a surprising new challenge which tests me emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, socially, etc.. Sometimes the appropriate reaction is tears and sometimes it’s laughter but no matter what I always come back home a stronger person with a renewed perspective on what is important in life. Travelling allows me to see how far my limit is: how deep my shortcomings run, how high my spirit can soar, and how diverse my personhood actually is.