Circumstances: Laid Off?

Don’t let it be life defeating – Make it life defining!

With headlines reading “U.S. Initial Unemployment Claims Jump to 26-Year High” and “Job-loss Data Are the Worst Since the 1930’s” it’s no secret that the country is in an economic crisis. Have you found yourself to be included in these headlines?

Well don’t sit around and be just another statistic – take charge of your immediate future. With the job market heading in a downward spiral, you could spend months searching for a new job. Rather than waiting for things to turnaround, this is a great opportunity to do something different with your life – why not use the time to take a cultural career break?

You may find that it is actually cheaper to travel than it is to maintain your current lifestyle, especially destinations like SE Asia. At the same time, you could be gaining some amazing insight into other cultures and yourself.

And when the economy does turn around, you’ll have some great interview material and a leg up on the competition. (See Next Steps: Getting Back to ‘Reality’ and Resumes)

What you do during your break is up to you, but our site is here to offer you the guidance and inspiration to figuring that out – every step of the journey.

We’d love to hear from you:

Have you recently been laid off and plan to travel? Tell us about your plans. Share your career break plans here

What to Do: Overview

If you are like me, you work hard – very hard. However, all of a sudden I was looking forward to a year of free time to do whatever I wanted – no work and all play! Yes, a dream come true but overwhelming at the same time. So many decisions to make.

My first instinct was to escape to a beach and relax, but I knew that I couldn’t simply ‘vacation’ for a year. And I knew it wouldn’t take long to get the ‘vacation bug’ out of my system. So after that, then what?

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Peru: Cusco

In 2006 I took a career break and volunteered in Peru for the summer.  This was the first time I really spent an extended amount of time in one place, and the experience was amazing.  The culture and people of Peru touched me in a way I never expected and this led me to my next job at Cross-Cultural Solutions.

For many years, Peru has called me – whether it was the spirit of the Incas, the mystery of Machu Picchu, or the magic of the Quechuan smile, I needed to answer the call.  In the summer of 2006, I did just that. But unlike other travels, where I tried to see and do as much as possible – never staying in one place for more than a few days – this time I wanted to have some roots.  I really wanted to immerse myself in the culture; experience life as the locals; and maybe pick up a bit of the language.

Cusco was the perfect place.  Chosen as the capital of the Incan Empire for a reason, Cusco has a spiritual essence that can’t be explained – it can only be felt.  But if I was going to take so much from this beautiful culture, I also wanted to give something back.  And that’s when I found Peru’s Challenge.

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Next Steps: Getting Back to ‘Reality’ and Resumes

I used to hate it when people would say to me while I was traveling “What will you do when you get back? You have to get back to reality sometime.” This really got my blood boiling – what did they think that I was living at that moment…some kind of fantasy? My travels were reality; they were real, and they had become my lifestyle. Why did people feel the need to remind me that I must work again? I always felt those people who made ‘gotta get back to reality’ statements just said it to make themselves feel better about their unhappy life.

Regardless, I did go back to the US, but I decided to change my ‘reality’ – I didn’t go back to what I was doing. How could I? I had vastly changed in those 16 months. That made my next steps rather difficult because the only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to go back to working for a large corporation in the US.

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Vietnam

We’re in the process of writing more entries for Vietnam, after all, Sherry’s an expert on Vietnam because she lives there now! In the meantime, check out Sherry’s posts about her career break experiences from Otts World:

8 Questions – Northern Vietnam
When I decided to go to Vietnam I realized that besides seeing a few Hollywood movies about the war, I knew very little about the country and the American history there. This was really the first country that I visited so far in my travels that was tightly intertwined with US History – all within my lifetime. I felt that I needed to educate myself if I was going to be traveling in such a hotbed of history.  Read More

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Nepal: Volunteering – Part 1

We’re in the process of writing more entries for Nepal. In the meantime, check out Sherry’s posts about her volunteer career break in Nepal  from Otts World:

Abrupt Transitions: Dhal Bhat Days – Volume 1
I arrived in Kathmandu after 27 hours of travel from NYC to Nepal…My body and mind felt like mush, on top of it I had cramps. I was excited to be in a new country again – yet a bit intimidated to be doing this all by myself. When I left on my around the world travel 2 years ago, I left with a group of friends who I could talk to and in some way that could comfort me and ease me into the solo adventure. Read More

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Nepal: Volunteering – Part 2

We’re in the process of writing more entries for Nepal. In the meantime, check out Sherry’s posts on her volunteer career break in Nepal from Otts World:

Barbot or Bust: Dhal Bhat Days – Volume 7
What the F have I done? Just when I was starting to settle in – I agreed to turn my little village world upside down again. I think the Dhal Bhat is making me crazy. I’m traveling through some of the worst conditions for the past 8 hours. Maybe it is more mental than anything physical, but after the 6th hour of sweating profusely, feeling disgusting, and now trekking in the complete darkness up a trail that I cannot see – I started to cry. Read More

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India: Volunteering

We’re in the process of writing entries for India. In the meantime, check out Sherry’s volunteer career break posts from Otts World:

Spice Diaries – Volume 1
I have arrived in India…everyone said that it would be an assault to your senses, that it would be overwhelming, that it would be hard – after all, India is the big leagues for vagabonds like myself. Yet, I arrived here 5 days ago – and I’ve felt none of this. It’s been a simple transition so far – yet I proceed cautiously. My only explanation for this is that my past travel experiences have seasoned me – and for that, I’m immensely proud. I wear a big grin on my face and think to myself…India…try to shock me! Read More

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India

We’re in the process of writing entries for India. In the meantime, check out Sherry’s posts from Otts World:

Spice Diaries – Volume 10
I woke up this morning, and went out to fetch the Sunday paper. The moment I stepped out on our little terrace I knew it was going to be a tough day…the air was thick and heavy. The weather forecast in the paper said that it was to get to 35 degrees in Delhi today – which is over 100 degrees to those of you living in a Fahrenheit world. Read More

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Indonesia

We’re in the process of writing entries for Indonesia. In the meantime, check out Sherry’s posts from Otts World:

Travel Slogans for Bali
Ahhh – Bali – peace, quiet, simplicity, cultural, relaxation, great food – and the home of the $8 massage….perfect. Bali was going to offer me some new culture again which I was really excited to see. It was also going to offer me some time with my favorite Belgian – no, not a waffle – my girlfriend Veronique! Veronique and I met a few years back through a mutual friend (Angie) while traveling through France (that was a mouthful) and we have remained travel buddies ever since! It’s always great to have a well traveled Belgian who can speak multiple languages to travel with! Read More

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