Hi, I’m Brittany!  I’m a Canadian with a passion to travel and a love for photography.  When I’m not travelling, I’m often looking at maps, and planning trips I wont get to for years. I’ve travelled to over 30 countries and have had the pleasure of temporarily calling three of those countries home.  I think, eat, and sleep travel, and hope I can inspire you to join my journey or start one of your own!!

Nerves of Silk

I tend to be a nervous traveller or as some of my fellow travellers may think, a terrified traveller. I’m the absolute definition of a scaredy cat and completely okay with that.   Its not the travelling that scares me, I absolutely love it.  I just scare easily ALL the time.  My friends and family enjoy making me the brunt of their pranks, just to hear my panic, shrill-induced scream. 

When it comes to travelling, there are a few things that illicit my eternal fear …boats, snakes, heights, MONKEYS, the dark, waves, climbing, anything that makes sudden loud noises or moves too fast, mud, large rocks, bugs, brown fish.  Okay, basically the list never ends.  I’m always finding something that scares me.  

Don’t be alarmed if you see me white knuckling just about anything I can get a hold of with a sheer look of panic on my face, hear me screaming, see me crying or sprinting in any direction.  This is all part of the process.  During certain encounters, my heart tends to race, my nerves get jittery and I often run on adrenaline. 

In the past I used to let my nervousness stop me, but now, I just “embrace” things in a full on fear mode.   After any sort of fear inducing activity, my mind somehow forgets I’m a big chicken and I think, “WOW! That was cool!”, and I’m keen to try something new.  If you’re interested, you can read some of my Chicken Soup moments to get a better idea.

International Exchange Student

My passion for travel soared in my first year of university. During a lecture, a faculty member came to give a brief run down about the amazing travel opportunities the school provided. I was hooked!  Immediately, I started Googling international schools and I was determined to take advantage of this opportunity.  I made a meeting with an academic advisor and was ready to make this dream a reality. 

To my surprise, the academic advisor informed me that with the course I was enrolled in, an exchange wasn’t likely.  My program required a number of placements and specialized courses, that required me in Canada.  Crushed, I left defeated and was more than ever determined to make this work.  I meet with a number of academic advisors, rearranged the rest of the courses I need to take over my five-year degree, and enrolled in summer courses to make sure I didn’t miss any course work.  A year after numerous meetings, scheduling mayhem, and summer courses, I was granted a space in the International Student Exchange Program! 

My next big decision was, where am I going to spend part of my third year of university? Europe, Australia? BARBADOS? The most obvious answer to me was Barbados! Life on a tropical island? Yes, please!!

In January 2009, I packed up my things and headed off to Barbados for a semester in paradise.  Within the first few hours on the island, I made a new best friend, Kalen (9 years later, he’s still my bestie) and was bit by a serious travel bug.  I had no idea how I’d ever return home after exploring such an amazing place, I wanted to keep exploring!

Living the Ozzy Dream

It was then time for me to return home and finish my last two years of university in Canada.  The next two years consisted of me dreaming of my next destination.  I graduated with a Bachelor of Education and this gave me another amazing opportunity to GO.  I got myself a job as a Casual Relief Teacher (Supply Teacher) in Melbourne, Australia.  Off I went for a year of adventuring Down Under, while getting paid! This was it I thought, a job and travel! I spent an amazing year teaching and exploring the Great Oz and my itch to travel was still twitching.  My year in Australia came to a quick end and my visa expired, so back to Canada I went to enjoy a summer at home.

Off to England

During my few months home I managed to land an Occasional Teaching job and quickly thought my days of travelling were over and it was time to start working full time at home.  That’s what we are suppose to do, right? BUT my best friend, Kalen (same one I met in Barbados), who happened to be living in London, England, convinced me to move to London.  Not just move to London, do the unthinkable, share a tiny room with him, and live on an air mattress behind his cupboard. Glamorous, ehh?

Luckily, my new job was flexible, so that’s exactly what I did!  I got another Casual Teaching position and was off to England to spend just under half a year cramped in a corner, behind a cupboard, and sleeping on an air mattress.  London gave me an amazing chance to spend more time with my bestie, who I so desperately missed and to travel to many European countries, definitely another adventure for the books!

Life After Living Abroad

Back home again, I still work as an Occasional Teacher, but only in Canada now, and as the title of the job states, it’s occasional.  I can work five days a week or I can work none, I just don’t get paid for the days I don’t work. Oh and I get 13 weeks of holidays a year! The perks of being a teacher!  Occasional teaching gives me great flexibility and allows me to scratch my travel itch almost whenever I want to.  I work as much as possible during the school year and spend a good portion of my school holidays travelling with my husband, Thruxton.  

Occasionally I sneak a few extra weeks of adventuring in during the school year, but for the most part, travelling is done on my school breaks.  Like my first major travel experience, I now rearrange most things in my life to make travel fit.