interview by Prime Sarmiento
I always loved interviewing fellow Filipina travelers for The Gypsygals – not only because I'm a Proud Pinay myself but moreso to counter the negative misconceptions against us.
Filipinas are intelligent, beautiful, successful and accomplished career women. And In this latest edition of Q & A, I'm happy to have interviewed one such Pinay, solo female traveler and ESL teacher Angela Avida.
Angela has a communication arts degree from De La Salle University. After a short stint working in a call center, Angela left Manila for Vietnam in 2008. She taught ESL in Ho Chi Minh city, biked around in Siem Reap and developed a taste for bahn khot – yummy savory fried pancakes filled with shrimps and veggies and sold in Vietnamese stalls.
In this interview, Angela talks about her journeys as an ESL teacher and how teaching opened the path to adventure and fun!!
Q: So where are you now and what do you do?
A: I'm in Tanzania, employed by the British Council. Right now, I'm teaching but I'm also Marcomms (marketing communications) for BC Tanzania.
Q: Why did you decide to become an ESL teacher? Are you a teacher by profession?
A: I certainly wasn't a teacher back home. It was something I fell into because I wanted to live abroad for a while. I quit my job in the Philippines in 2007 not really knowing what I wanted to do. I went to Vietnam to visit friends and my cousin and I ended up getting a job as a teacher and here I am now.
Q: How did being an ESL teacher help you in crafting your own journeys as a solo female traveler?
A: Working as an ESL teacher funded and paved the way for my own journeys. Vietnam was the perfect springboard for travel because it was cheap to travel to several destinations from there. I also met amazing people along the way, encouraging me to keep doing what I'm doing.
Q: So apart from traveling, what do you love to do?
A: I can't let a day pass without reading a book, dances in the shower, incessantly plans trips around the world in my head, worships the beach and die hard fan of my friends' music.
Q: What's your advice to all solo female travelers out there?
A: Be adventurous enough to try things at least once, be cautious enough to take precautions and do some research. Don't over research that it clouds your opinions and impedes your decisions. Never forget who you are but be open to new things, people and culture. Also remember that you're pretty much an ambassador of wherever you come from. 😛
####
Resources:
1. For the first time solo female traveler:
The Art of Solo Travel: A Girls’ Guide by Stephanie Lee is ideal for the woman traveling alone for the first time but has no idea how to go about it. The guide answers all the questions that you have on traveling alone as a woman – from saving money for your travels, to advice on relationships and health on the road and even advice on how to deal with dream crushers.
2. For that "Wild Woman" in You:
Are you ready to nourish your mind, body and soul? Are you a woman who doesn't fit into any box or stereotype – and don't want to either? Do you want to follow your bliss and change the world. Then Wild Sister is for you!!
