This Middle-Aged Woman is Back to Traveling on a Dime
A year of travel sits ahead of me.
No, I did not stutter. A year of travel is before me.
For the past six years, I have lived a life of visa restrictions while trying to relocate to North America. This has meant traveling for three to six months between stints in Canada.
This is the first time that I will be actively traveling for so long.
While I have no desire to give up my dream of settling in Canada, after four beautiful but very long years of trying to get a permanent visa to stay here, I’m just bone weary and need a break.
What does a childless middle-aged woman do when she needs a break? You got it — she travels with carefree abandon.
So, after Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany last year, and a three-month stint in Mexico earlier this year, where in the world is Vanessa off to next?
First stop: Brazil
My job as an online ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher has enabled me to make friends all over the world. Although I have taught almost nine thousand students over the past five years, less than fifteen have become good friends.
I will be heading to one such friend first, spending a couple of weeks with him, his wife, and his family (none of whom speak English bar his sister), followed by an additional two weeks in São Paulo.
One short flight later, I’ll be set for a month in Santa Catarina state in Southern Brazil with one of my oldest and dearest “student” friends where I’ll experience a true Brazilian Christmas with him and his family. There’s also a strong possibility that a dear friend of mine from Canada will be heading my way before we head to our next destination together.
Onwards and upwards: Argentina and Paraguay Calling
Buenos Aires is on my travel agenda once my time in Brazil comes to an end. I’m looking forward to wandering through the famous city which has been on my travel radar for years.
After I have my fill, it’s off to Paraguay to hang with another dear Canadian friend who has relocated there before returning to Brazil for a couple more weeks.
South America will be the sixth continent I have visited, leaving only Antarctica to traverse in the future.
Next Stop: South Africa
I plan to head back to South Africa, my country of birth, to spend a few months with my folks whom I haven’t seen since 2021. As my father will be turning eighty-nine in January, it seems like as good a time as any to visit.
My parents have decided to sell their house and move into something smaller late next year so hopefully, I can help with some of the arrangements. By this point in my immigration journey, I’m a packing wizard!
Hell, I should have a PhD in it considering how many times I’ve moved.
A friend of mine from Florida is desperate to see South Africa so may be joining me for a bit in my home country.
Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Are you singing the lyrics with me? No? Well, Men At Work seem to think that it’s worth a visit.
Having been gone for six years after living in Australia for ten years, I figure that it’s time for another visit. I still have a bunch of boxes cluttering a friend’s shed and it’s high time for me to take care of them.
My ostrich needs to pull its head out of the sand and deal with that little “spill on aisle five” before I can fully settle into my new life.
My American friend is also planning on joining me as I go walkabout on the sunburnt island.
To Infinity and Beyond!
Aren’t y’all loving all these pop culture references?
I have no idea where I’ll head to after Australia. Back to Canada to study? Back to Turkey to hang out with some of my closest friends? Germany? Spain?
I have absolutely no idea. I’ll figure that part out as I go along.
What I do know, however, is that I will not be returning to the only place that I have called home in the last five years, my lovely little basement apartment in London, Ontario.
My housemate is selling the house to downsize so that he, too, can travel a little more. Whether I’ll come back here to stay for a few more years or head across to “Wild Rose Country” — Alberta, remains to be seen.
My desire to settle in Canada is strong and it has not waned, only strengthened over the last four years. I just need a break from the rollercoaster ride of emotions that come with trying.
As I sit here penning this piece, my tickets are bought, my bags are packed and waiting by the door, my belongings are boxed up and sitting in a friend’s garage, and my first two months of accommodation have been arranged. Gifts have been bought and I am excited about finally seeing people that I care for in person.
My stomach is also in knots as it usually is on the days I travel, but I know from past experiences that I’ll be fine once my bags are checked and I’m wandering through the departure terminal.
Goodbyes have been said and people are waiting for me at all destinations — there is some solace in that.
While I may be a middle-aged woman traveling on a dime, I can also return home on one if an opportunity arises.
As John Lennon famously said, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.”
Until then I just need to keep calm and carry on.
Vanessa Brown is a book author, content creator, teacher, and recovering digital nomad. She has lived in six countries around the globe, five of them with her beloved Jaime, The Well-Travelled Cat.
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