My Year Long Adventure
Balancing Work and Play While Abroad
In February, I embarked on a year-long adventure away from home, friends and family. I’ll be travelling to Asia, Europe and South America. I don’t have much saving to fall back on, but I’m lucky enough to work for an amazing advertising agency in California. They’re supporting me through this personally and culturally enriching undertaking by allowing me to pay my way and work for them remotely. So, I have to balance my adventures and partying with some productive time staring at a computer screen. It’s still better than a cubicle though. I’ve officially become one of those annoying digital nomads everyone hates that posts pictures of them “working” from a tropical beach.
Me sending a few emails from Koh Rong Samloem, a small tropical island in Cambodia.
I’m going to put in some solid hours for the agency and develop my professional skills during this trip. But, I’m stoked for the chance to test and hone my grappling skills with fellow BJJ fanatics all around the globe. As I visit 12 cities across three continents, I’ll make time between sightseeing and work to train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at every stop. Instead of jumping to from gym to gym, like the original BJJ Globetrotter, the plan is to take it a little slower and spend as much time in one gym as possible. That way I can get a more in-depth sense of their community and learn some of their favorite techniques. I’ll also take my gi with me on a few side trips and look for local gyms.
My Awesome Itinerary for the Year
If you know any good gyms in these cities let me know.
1 February—Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2 March—Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
3 April—Phnom Penh, Cambodia
4 May—Bangkok, Thailand
5 June—Belgrade, Serbia
6 July—Lisbon, Portugal
7 August—Prague, Czech Republic
8 September—Sofia, Bulgaria
9 October—Buenos Aires, Argentina
10 November—Cordoba, Argentina
11 December—Santiago, Chile
12 January—Lima, Peru
(I know I’m starting this blog a little late in my journey. I’ll make a post about my first international sparring session soon, which consisted of white belts mopping the matt with me in 32C heat and 80% humidity in Kuala Lumpur.)
BJJ: The Gentle Art that Eliminates Boundaries
I’ve been training in BJJ for about 7 years now at a handful of gyms across the United States. I’ve come to recognize an amazing, unifying factor of the gentle art: Everyone who sticks with it seems to become generally more at peace and happier in their day-to-day life.
Aspiring MMA fighters, ex-military members, energetically aggressive teenagers, single mothers — these are just a few descriptions of the eclectic bunch of friends I have called training partners throughout the years. Although they come from disparate backgrounds and have diverse motivations for training BJJ, every one of them has seemed to find more peace in their life after they stuck around long enough to earn a few stripes on their white belts.
Something transforms in them as they slowly progress on their individual BJJ paths. They find humility through defeats, relieve stress by chocking someone out, stimulate their minds with the chess game played with their bodies and gain self-confidence as they discover that they can do things they never thought were possible. All these lessons extend to life outside the gym to make them happier and more successful (however they define success in their lives).
These groups of unlikely friends, bonding and becoming better people through training, has been present at every gym I’ve sparred at in America. Now, I want to experience that same community at an international scale.
As I travel the world, I’m sure that I’ll find and embrace this same phenomenon existing across physical and cultural boundaries.
I’ll chronicle my amazing experiences with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners around the world and share some travel stories throughout the year on this blog.
Sick trip!
Awesome job finding a source to make the trip happen! See you in Belgrade
Thanks! I’ll hit you up when I’m in town.
Hey Danjerr, Are you still gonna be in Belgrade this month?