1. A Map For Saturday. This is the film that inspired me to write this post. It`s a documentary that follows a successful twenty-something as he quits his job to backpack around the world for a year. Watching it, I felt it really captured everything about travel and backpacking that I love. Amazing film. This is required viewing for anyone thinking about taking time off for an extended trip.

2. One Week. Follow Joshua Jackson`s (remember Charlie from the Mighty Ducks?) character, Ben,on a motorcycle journey across Canada after being told he doesn`t have long to live. Awesome soundtrack, beautiful Canadian scenery, and great cameos by Gord Downie, Emme Gryner and Joel Plaskett.

3. Motorcycle Diaries. A future revolutionary and his friend ride motorcycles across South America. Need I say more? The book was good; the movie, better. Great soundtrack too.

Consolation Prizes:

1st Runner Up goes to Into the Wild. Would have got the award too, if the idealistic protagonist didn`t die at the end.

2nd Runner Up goes to The Beach. As a film, it`s not bad. As inspiration for an adventure or a visit to Thailand, amazing.

3rd Runner Up is Y Tu Mama Tambien, which would have taken the prize save for the final sex scene. Shudder. Bad shudder.

And the award for least inspiring travel movie goes to…  Brokedown Palace. Thailand rocks. Thai prison, not so much. Don`t do drugs, kids.

What movies make you crave travel? Opinions please :)

This weekend has been a bit hectic, with all the earthquake and tsunami-related stuff going on not too far away. To be clear, I wasn’t directly affected here in Shizuoka (aside from feeling the earthquake), but it was enough to seriously change my weekend plans. On that note, my thoughts are with all the people affected by the tsunamis.

I decided to take a break from writing this week and introduce a monthly series, Unconventional Interviews: conversations with people who are living interesting, outside-the-box lives.

This month’s interview is with Tanissa. In the last ten years, she’s taught English in Korea and China, worked as a divemaster in Thailand, for an NGO in Azerbaijan, as a bike guide in eastern Canada, and even as a volunteer coordinator for the Olympics in Vancouver. She’s traveled all over the world, and she’s just an all-round awesome person. Here’s her interview:

Where are you and what are you doing now?

I am currently in Cape Town, South Africa, doing a three month term placement for my Masters degree.

Of all the places you’ve been, which is your favorite?

It’s hard to pinpoint just one, as every place is steeped with it’s own memories, relationships and experiences specific to the time and reason I was there, so every place has left a lasting impression on me.  I would have to say that I have really fallen in love with the East Coast of Canada and that the Caribbean will always hold a piece of my heart, likely because Jamaica was the first place I ever lived/worked in for an extended period of time.

Was there a place that was your least favorite, most disappointing, or most challenging?

Undoubtedly, my time in Azerbaijan was one of the most challenging and frustrating years of my life. The combination of crusty, old-school (Soviet) mentalities, heated tempers and difficult development work was much to endure, which I credit to the support and companionship of my colleagues and good friends there. Visits from family and friends, as well as holidays outside the country, also made a big difference. Despite the challenges and the grief it caused, I still value this time in such a unique part of the world and often find myself longing for a bowl of delicious lentil soup and the random, absurd encounters only found in this part of the world!

What are the rewards of your nomadic lifestyle?

Being stretched outside my comfort zone and growing in new ways. Continously learning more about myself and others. Meeting wonderful and interesting people I might not otherwise associate with, and experiencing the kindness of strangers.  A life where nothing is ordinary and every day is an unexpected adventure.

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With all of the things vying for our attention daily — a lot of it available for free — it can be hard to separate the merely good content from the amazing content. Once in a while you come across something free that is so beautiful, inspiring and full of life, that you just have to share it with everyone you know. Here are three free things that have made a difference in my life, available in download form:  (drumroll…)

1. This American Life, the podcast.

I’m not American — I don’t even currently live in North America. However, hands down, the most compelling and beautifully crafted stories (true and fictional) I’ve ever heard have been on this radio program.

You can listen to every episode online in your browser, or download each week’s episode (only that week’s episode) in Itunes for free.

Start with:  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/339/break-up (then click PLAY EPISODE)

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“Three! Two! One! Go!” In perfect unison, the six of us lick the salt from the backs of our hands and down our double shots of tequila. We give a gasp and a celebratory cheer, as we slam our fifth (?) round of shot glasses down on the bar. “Come with us, we’re going to a house party a few towns over!” the blonde says. We all stumble out of the bar and jump into a cab-van. I will my eyes to focus on the digital clock. It’s 2 am. I’m loving life.

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For an hour and a half every Wednesday evening, I am a private English tutor.

My student, Tsubasa, is 26. She just came back from a year studying in New York and wanted to continue her English.

Today, we were talking about how it is difficult to pursue a goal that not many other people can appreciate, and again she baffles me with using metaphors in English better than most native speakers.

I would teach her for free, simply to hear the metaphors and similes that she makes up on the spot (However, I do not tell her this. I simply smile and take her money)

“When you try to do something different from everyone else – like maybe start a business or something – it’s kind of like trying to become a professional high jumper – you know, the kind where they use the the pole (pole vault). And a lot of people, they quit while they are still learning how to run and use the pole — before they get good at jumping — they never even get to actually jump high. If you just push a little bit further, you can try to jump – then you do more practice and you can jump higher. Eventually you are jumping so high, you go over the top bar… No quitting while learning how to run.”

It’s a good thought for the day.