Asian In Asia: 60 and 61

by Ari

Every time I sit down to start one of these recaps, I feel like it was just yesterday I was writing one from the previous month.

Since I wrote last, I had my 5 year anniversary abroad and I finally went on a vacation I’ve been dreaming about since I set foot in SE Asia! So let’s recap.

September and October were two really big months for me.

I:
-finished my Blog like a Boss 2.0 course
-traveled to Singapore for my first travel trade show
-traveled to Myanmar and watched countless sunrises and sunsets
-wrote more blogs in the past few months than I have in the past year
-made VIDEO content for y’all that I shared on the gram

all while holding down my full time teaching position.

It’s been a wild ride and I wouldn’t dare trade a single second of it for anything.

But I’ll quickly break down all of the above.

So, the Blog Like A Boss (BLAB) course….

I believe I’ve mentioned the course before, but it’s run by Gloria Atanmo, aka The Blog Abroad. She basically breaks down all the things that you need to be successful in this business and teaches you how to MONETIZE the stuff you’re doing. Which, as someone who has been on the fence about this business for a long time, this was the push I needed. There was a winner at the end of the course and I was not one of the winners. Which, after all the work I did, was, of course, sad, but not undeserved. I couldn’t be more happy for the people who did win and KNOW that this is so huge for them.

That being said, it brought up a lot of feelings on how I want to really earn something. I want to know that I deserve it because I’ve worked my ass off and there should be no other winner but me. That was SO not the case with the course. There were weeks where I would forget about a challenge because of something at work. The week where I did win a challenge, it was because I had meticulously planned out what I was going to do and had it in way before I needed to. But I digress because this course was still exactly what I needed and I don’t regret for a second taking this course and getting to know these people.

If there is a chance for you to take this course in the future, I strongly recommend it.

ITB ASIA

One of the things Glo challenged us to do, was get to a conference. Get to a place where like minded people were going to be. Get in the rooms of places where you might not think you belong.

So I found out ITB was going to be in Singapore and I took the time off and went! I’m in the middle of writing more about my experience, but I’m so excited to share with y’all how it went! I was able to meet all these companies I might not have had I not gone to this conference and I got an insider look at this industry and was assured that this is something that I do want in my future. I was tired and exhausted by the end, but I can’t wait to do it all over again in a year.

A week in Myanmar

The third week of October, right after ITB, was spent in Myanmar. A coworker and I took on 4 cities in 10 days and MAN what a trip. Myanmar is one of those places I want to encourage you to travel to now, while it’s still relatively unvisited.

We traveled to Yangon, Inle Lake, Bagan, and Mandalay. I would 100% go back if possible, the trip was really that great.

I’m currently working on some guides and will be posting those very soon!

I have been creating content!

The idea of creating content for contents sake has never resonated with me. I never understood why people wanted to create for the sake of the gram or their blog. But now I’m realizing that they weren’t just creating of those things, although that might have been their medium to share their creations, but they genuinely LOVED the process of creating.

Over the past year, I’ve really fallen in love with what sorts of things I can create behind the lens of a camera and the pictures I can paint with my words. The past few weeks have made me realize that this is something that I want to make a career out of. That doesn’t mean I want to quit teaching, but rather, do both.

I love the idea of having two careers, rather than having to choose between the two. I’m unsure how this will work in the future, but it’s something I’m keen to make work.

Anyways, you might be able to tell that mind is going a mile a minute. I love doing these Asian In Asia series because they allow me to share more intimate parts of my life with you. I’m excited for y’all to be a part of my journey here.

Here are some of my favorite photos from my recent trip to Myanmar; and links to the blogs that have been written.

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