Willing To Do Whatever It Takes
I am originally from the beautiful river valley area of Cincinnati, Ohio. I worked on and off as a sales executive in the technology sector for 17 years. I left the job several times for adventures like the Peace Corps because I was driven to experience cultures different from my own. I felt a deep yearning to see the other side of the world. I often return to my previous career because it feeds my ego to delve back into something I am good at and it fills my coffers. My travels serve to enhance my business relationships as I am able to see alternate outcomes, solutions and respect my clients differences.
In my 54 years, I have traveled to 21 countries in search of the people and their relationships with nature. I took the necessary steps to surround myself with what is truly wild because, after searching in various other environments, I was certain I would find the answer to my existence there. Now, I wake up every day to bird sounds which are much louder than traffic used to be and decide for myself what each day will bring. I walk back and forth to the ocean with my dog who shares my space, taking a breather from the heartache that happens to the rest of the world.
Leaving the Corporate World: You Have to Start Somewhere
My first “let’s see how I can function outside of the corporate world” experience was in Tanzania, East Africa during a two and a half year assignment with Peace Corps in 2003. As an environmental volunteer, I was assigned to a village named Ibatu. Ibatu has a total population of 1100 people. I lived in a house made of mud brick and had no running water or electricity. I read some amazing books by candle light, busted three teeth on rocks in rice and learned to be comfortable with just myself. My responsibilities included educating the families of Ibatu on various subjects such as nutrition, disease prevention, food preservation, English, and female equality and empowerment issues. I wrote grants for the local school and worked with the community to budget the dollars for projects when the money was granted.
Njombe District, Tanzania
Ibatu, Mafinga, Tanzania 2004
Following My Dream of Writing for Money
My lifelong dream of being paid to write was realized here in Costa Rica. The farm, in Matina, Limon, is out of the way for most expats and it was very difficult to find news and information, in English, about the area. So I took the actionable step of contacting an English-language online newspaper about the possibility of writing articles about Limon. I have since written about the future Limon International Airport, APM Terminals in Moin and about the adventurous week of celebrations at the Carnival in Limon.
Currently, I freelance for Podfly, a podcast production company and for various bloggers who want to add a little pizzazz to otherwise boring posts. This work allows me to be creative without busting the pavement looking for a story.
English is my native language. I get by most days in Espanol, and I can still greet people in Swahili, but I haven’t had the opportunity to use it very often so it fades, much like my memories of East Africa.