Expedition 9 to 5

My ideal job would be to travel around the world— hiking, camping, and skiing. I haven’t quite figured out how to monetize that yet, so while I’m working it out, a good solution is to travel around my city.

Sounds cheesy in theory, but this has enhanced my quality of life tenfold. For context, I have been craving a move out west since graduating college. I took six months off between graduation and starting a full-time role in Austin and moved to the mountains to work in a ski shop. The decision to take some time off between school and work fostered a new sense of adventure in me. Ever since I got back to Texas, I knew I wanted to accomplish the goal of moving closer to the mountains and inch my way into the outdoor industry. However, while I progress on this goal, I want to enjoy where I live. I do that by traveling Austin. 

What appeals to me most about travel is trying a new experience and getting outside my comfort zone. That can be difficult when you feel well-adjusted in your place of residence. I have had an especially difficult time “blooming where I’m planted” as they may say. I forget that Austin has a lot to offer, and like any city, you have to seek out adventure. These are a few new activities I have tried in an attempt to seek the thrill of travel in my own city:

Spanish class:

I grew up hearing I was terrible at Spanish. As a kid, I moved around a bit and always felt behind in the foreign language subject area. Knowing it was my lowest grade in high school, I believed I was hopeless and eventually stopped trying. As I began to travel more and more, I realized how inadequate Americans are in language proficiency. I felt embarrassed meeting people abroad who had 2, 3, or even 4 languages under their belt while I could only get by on English. I had done what everyone does *downloads duo lingo* but felt I needed more motivation to practice daily and conversate with others. Last year, I finally decided to sign up for classes. I considered going the community college route, but after realizing I had to request transcripts and apply, I decided to look up other learning methods in Austin. I quickly found the Language House and got on the waiting list for Beginning I Spanish.

To say I was panicked for my first class is an understatement. I felt like the new kid in school all over again. When I walked in, I was immediately comforted by Virginia, who owns and teaches class at the Language House. The community she has created for those wanting to explore learning new languages is unlike anything I ever received in school. She conducts her classes with warmth, acceptance, and understanding that each individual has a unique reason for wanting to pursue education. Whether you desire to learn a language for social purposes, travel, or communicate better with those around you, you have a place here. Am I fluent in Spanish? Not even close. But I found a community where I feel comfortable practicing and being myself. The weekly classes also gave me a newfound purpose to practice and work towards a goal. It fulfilled my need for an exciting learning experience and created an opportunity to gain a new skill that will enhance my future travels.

Photography: 

Learning photography has always been something I wanted to do. I missed out on the classes you could take in high school and never figured I was good enough to pursue it in college or was too embarrassed to try. I’ve since decided I don’t care if I look like a dummy learning something new. It was a downright pleasure to look silly, dragging a camera around and taking pictures. That is the only way to learn and grow. In summation, I was also nervous signing up for this course, but I could not be more delighted that I did.

I pulled up to class at the Austin School of Photography with a 2012 Panasonic Lumix FZ-200, an outdated camera I inherited from my grandfather. I’ve always been too sheepish to use my camera because it was obsolete, and the user interface confused me. You can imagine the relief I felt when the first lesson of the class was on how every camera’s user interface is inherently confusing. It brought me comfort to learn that there is a science and a language to photography. You don’t just buy a camera and start taking breathtaking photos. I walked into class every Tuesday, having spent the weekend practicing different shots and feeling insecure, only to realize my classmates were struggling through the same challenges I had. This venture not only catapulted me outside of my comfort zone, but showed me that there is a wealth of people chasing the same thrill of discovering a passion. I enjoyed the trial and error of success and failure so much that I decided to sign up for Photography II in January.

The only way to find out if you like something is to try it. This is the same theory I apply to buying plane tickets. How will I know I like it if I don’t go myself?

Music:

This is an Austin favorite. This city has abundant, affordable live music — debatably one of the biggest draws to ATX. My roommates and I like to look at who is playing at Scoot Inn, Parish, Emo’s, Mohawk, etc.- always sending each other who is coming to town or checking out different updates on Austin indie Music. This may be the perfect way to push your boundaries if you’re not ready to commit to an entire class schedule every week. Sometimes, we play a game of Russian roulette and just show up at a random venue and hear something new. Creates a bit of a thrill, if I do say so myself. Somewhat similar to a feeling you may get when traveling to a new place. We once walked into Hotel Vegas on a Saturday night to see a concert, only to see the same band playing at ACL 5 months later. They didn’t recognize us or anything, but being an original fan counts for something, right? 

Restaurant of the Month:

This is something you can do anywhere, with anyone, but I have especially enjoyed this activity in Austin, Texas. I’ve heard Austin described as a “culinary adventure,” and I don’t disagree. My roommates and I have a rule that we try one new restaurant a month in an attempt to cover all our bases on our hometown culinary adventure. The rules are simple:

1. It must be a restaurant in which no one has eaten at before.
2. The type of restaurant must vary from month to month. For example, we can’t have Italian in February and March. 
3. There can be no influence from other “restaurant of the month” members. You have to decide on your own in order to have a diverse set of restaurants to try.

You can also make your restaurant of the month a surprise to add a little bit of excitement to the game. One of my favorites was a vegan sushi place chosen by our very own Paige. I have never eaten out at a purely vegan restaurant, let alone realized there was such a thing as vegan sushi. It was phenomenal.

Dog Parks:

I’m not saying you must get a dog, but it does beg the question: would it not enhance your life? All jokes, people, but I will say the dog parks in Austin are the best locations to make friends organically. Zilker is, of course, a classic. Head there any morning before work or hit the park at 5 PM, and you will find a plethora of folks looking for a chat. You could even show up without a dog; people are so kind they won’t even notice your lack of furry companion. Also, rumor has it, that it’s a great place to meet those of the opposite gender (I wouldn’t know Pippen has NOT been putting in the work lately). But you can imagine how easy the conversation starter is. “Your dog is so cute… You’re so cute…”