I Found My Best and True Self While Teaching Around the World

Kat Oystryk left her native Canada in her early twenties to teach in Seoul, South Korea. She went on to teach in Japan, Spain, and Canada. She wanted to travel and teaching helper her to that, and get paid for it. After a divorce, she left for Mexico and fell in love and her life took a different way. Listen to our podcast interview for the full journey of our guest Kat Oystryk

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Transcript

Dawn: 0:02

Welcome. You are listening to the overseas life redesign podcast where you'll hear fun relaxed and inspirational interviews with people who are really living the dream. I'm Dawn Fleming an attorney turned alchemist and your host for the show coming to you from the tropical Island paradise of Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Listen to conversations with courageous souls who stepped out of their comfort zone and designed a new way of life. They'll share their experiences, wisdom and offer practical steps you can take to redesign your life overseas. Listen, and you'll believe if you can dream it, you can achieve it. All right. I'm here with kat oystryk and we're going to share her overseas life redesign story, which is actually multiple overseas lives. I'm so excited to hear about all of them, which is you'd like to share and you're Canadian.

Kat: 1:01

Okay. Sam? I believe and actually from the same region that our friend Linda Locke, who I interviewed previously. Exactly. It will come in Valley. Yeah, and that seems like I've heard from other people that are from that Valley too, so I might have to go visit it one day. It sounds like it's pretty lovely. You're more than welcome.

Dawn: 1:19

Great. So, um, you started the living overseas quite some time ago?

Kat: 1:26

Oh yes. Uh, the first time that I lived overseas, I was 25 years old and I, at the time I was at teacher, I had a degree, actually at that time I had not finished my degree in education. Um, and I decided to go to Korea and I taught in Seoul, Korea for a private company. Um, I was just finishing up my degree at that time. And uh, yeah, I originally wanted to go to Japan, but, uh, at the time that I applied for Japan, I didn't not have my degree yet. And they did not the care that I was in a qualified teacher. What they cared about was that I had a piece of paper that said that I had a bachelor of something. It did not matter in what. So I decided to um, change gears and there was a very nice, uh, couple that I met in one of my education classes who, uh, was already a teacher and she was just finishing up her degree. Cause at the time in British Columbia, you only needed a teaching certificate, which was four year, um, secondary education certificate. And then at, you had to do a fifth year and specialize in something in order to become a bachelor of education graduate. So, uh, that was what I was completing when I met this woman and her husband and they had just gone with their two grown kids, the four of them, and had lived in Seoul, Korea for a year working for this company.

Dawn: 2:58

Okay.

Kat: 2:59

So I decided to follow in their footsteps and they gave me the application and two weeks later I had a job in Korea. Wow. Did you speak Korean? No, I did not. Uh, let's say that this first overseas experience was a huge high learning curve. Um, it was my first time being in Asia. It was my first time living overseas. It was my first time being in a really large city.

Speaker 3: 3:30

I believe at the time. Um, Seoul and area were around 14 million people. Uh, and, and it was my first time traveling alone. So there was a lot of things, uh, looking back on it, people just go, how did you have the courage to do that? Or, you know, were you scared? And I don't know. I don't ever remember feeling scared. I remember feeling more excited than anything that, uh, I think I was just so compelled to want to travel more that, um, that was, uh, a larger driving force than in anything that could frighten me.

Dawn: 4:08

You didn't think about,

Kat: 4:09

I'm not in that way.

Dawn: 4:10

It should be afraid of.

Kat: 4:11

not in that way. I locked that I s hould h ave been afraid of. Right. Like my family and your friends kept telling me, well, t he things that I s hould h ave been afraid of, but to me I just felt like I, I was taking what I call calculated risks and because I did love to travel so much, u h, what I found was no matter what amount of time that I traveled, it never seemed to be long enough. I never seem to be able to learn enough about the culture, um, about the geography of the places that I was traveling to. So I, after spending a month in Australia, I think when I came back from that experience, I said, that's it. I need to go and live in the place that I'm going to go travel it because it's the only way that I'm going to satisfy my need to feel that I weren't, was it taken away from that experience to suit and actually got a chance to really fully explore what it was that I was looking for it. So you were there for how long a Korea was there for one year. One year.

Dawn: 5:14

Okay. And then you went back to C anada?

Kat: 5:16

I did. I went back to Canada and u h, promptly started teaching on Vancouver Island. My first teaching job was actually a one, two split grade one, grade two. Okay. U m, on a small little Island off of Vancouver Island called Denman i slands. And u h, I had 13 students who were grade one and three students who were g reat t oo. U h, and if you know anything about the islands off of t hat g round, it's a very much a c an b e environment.

Dawn: 5:50

Okay.

Kat: 5:50

So, um, after much debate with my principal, um, he had asked if I wanted to be called by my last name or my first name with my students. And I thought as a 26 year old woman, I'm too, in order for me to have a little bit of respect to my classroom, I definitely want to be called by my last name. Uh, the parents out-voted that and I was called by my first name for my very first teaching job. So, uh, this, to give you an idea, they said it was too totalitarian for me to go by. My last name was I think the direct quote from my principal. I'll get that. So that was a very interesting, uh, Explorer, my first teaching job in Canada.

Dawn: 6:36

So how long were you there?

Kat: 6:39

I did one year teaching there. It was a temporary placement of all, u h, the teacher was, u m, pregnant. I had just had a baby, so it was a pregnancy leave. And, u h, so t hen I did stay on the Island for four years and taught and various other grades and substitute taught, u h, in other grades as well. I taught a grade four class in Royston, I believe it was, u m, which was a wonderful, wonderful class. And, and then I did a lot of, u h, substitute teaching and everything from kindergarten grade 1 2. And, u h, all of the schools in this school district.

Dawn: 7:17

Did they ever call you by your last name after that?

Kat: 7:19

Yes. It was always by my last name, G od. And you know, my last name is not the easiest last name. So often times the kids would just call me miss it all a lot easier.

Dawn: 7:33

So then was that the extent of your teaching for you or an old,

Kat: 7:38

you know, and um, I then, um, at the time I was with a boyfriend on the Island who was also a teacher and we broke up and, uh, I ended up going back to my hometown, which was kimono in the Oklahoma Valley. And, uh, when just before we'd broken up, we had talked about the idea of going to Japan and perhaps using our teaching as a means to do like a, a teacher exchange and whereas usually what you do is you apply. And then t wo teachers that are a couple in another country will apply to come to Canada and you can apply to their country and t hey just switch i n. S o you live in their house and they live in your house and y eah, you just, yeah, it's really nice. And you teach in their school and they teach in your school kind of thing. So we've talked about doing that. Um, however, uh, turns out my, uh, boyfriend had no intention of actually following through with that, which was one of the main reason so, um, when I went back to Colona, I ended up, I had my, my parents' next door neighbor. She was a very wonderful lady named Bebe parks. And, uh, I think she'd always took a special interest in me and she had always known that I was a traveler and she picked out a little thing out of the newspaper that said that they were having a meeting to go to Japan to teach in this program called the jet program, the Japan exchange and teaching program. I'd never heard of it before. And so I decided to go to the meeting that was held at the university and took an application. Um, it was quite upset cause my breakup and I almost didn't apply. But in the end I finally just decided what the heck, why not, why not go for it. Um, and maybe it was just what I needed was a any focus. So I applied and it was very, very tough program to get into. A little did I know at the time that only about 50% of the applicants actually get accepted. Um, but it is the largest, uh, exchange program that Japan has where they have an any given year between five and 6,000 teachers that they hired from English speaking countries around the world. Um, so I ended up getting accepted and uh, in a few short months I was on a plane going to Japan.

Dawn: 10:18

Wow. And that's kind of cool because that was your first choice before. So it ended up coming to fruition after all.

Kat: 10:24

Exactly. And you know, the funny part is if you'd ask me at the beginning where I wanted to travel to Asia was not on my radar at all. It wasn't something that I was interested in. I was interested more in Europe or um, I dunno, I guess things that at the time I was more familiar with. Um, Asia to me was a big mystery. It was a big, like exotic and it almost, it had no appeal to me cause I didn't know anything about their culture. I didn't know anything, um, about their, their Homeland. I just really knew nothing. So it just didn't have an appeal for me. And after Korea, uh, I had a lot of negative experiences there. And, uh, so I, I found when I, when I left Korea, I didn't think that I would be interested in going to Asia again. However, the forces that be put me and to go to Japan. And this time the program was different. It was a cultural exchange. It was through the Japanese consulate. It was something where you were very much taken care of every step of the way. And I felt that it was perhaps a little, a little more my, my style if you will. And it felt, uh, prestigious. There's no doubt about it. It felt, uh, that it was something that, uh, I was sort of, you know, honored to teacher to come as a special guest, you know, who was a native speaker from, from an English speaking country. So, and they was nice because they really encouraged us to teach our cultures and to learn about their culture. So really it was an exchange. It really was. Yes. And uh, that, but having said that, the one thing was happening, you could not choose where we were going to placed. We could request, but we, they made it quite clear that the chances of you getting the request were slipped it up. So it was, and they literally said, you know, there, there is no changing. It's, and you decide now whether or not you still want to go through this process. And so it was a big gamble and I was like, okay, are we in for this adventure? Is this going to be a total adventure? It's like rolling the dice and yeah, yeah. And seeing where it's gonna where it's gonna land. And so that's why I looked at it was I was like, this is just going to be an adventure. It's for one year minimum, you know, and I can do more if I wanted, but it was one year minimum. Then it's like, Hey, it's going to be whatever it is. It's going to be an experience. So a, I'm so glad I did, but the first year was definitely challenging because I was in a very small little country town. I was the only one in town that spoke English. I was definitely the only one who was non-Japanese. Um, and.

Dawn: 13:19

tall blue eyes, blonde haired green girl sticks out like.

Kat: 13:24

you got it. You got, I literally think I almost caused car accidents that first year and I'm not joking. I, I'm sure, but it, but it was looking back on it, it was a very, I'm very glad that I had that experience. It's a small town, maybe 7,000 people, a farming community. So, uh, my apartment, I had a big rice field out my backyard. I can hear cows, I can hear pigs. Um, in the distance. You know how Japan is famous for vending machines? Well, the nearest vending machine to my apartment, you could buy farm fresh eggs individually. So though I wanted to rush it, I never did get one out of there though. It was a little bit concerned, but an egg and a vending machine would be like, but you never know they were salad and so somebody was buying them. That's money. So that was my first year. Um, I did not plan on doing a second year. We could do a maximum of three years and we had an option to, uh, reapply each year. And uh, what happened, it was again, it was, uh, a gift from above that I decided I'm just going to go back home. I had my year and I was good. And then I found out that my, um, my town hall had decided they did not want to have, uh, someone, a teacher from the jet program, uh, at, at their schools for the, for the next year. So they said you could either go home or we'll transfer you and they were going to transfer you to exactly the place that I wanted to go to, which is where all the people that I've made friends with over the year lived in this city that was in the South. And I believe it because I couldn't have asked for that transfer. Right. They gave it to me on a silver platter.

Dawn: 15:17

Do you think? They knew.

Kat: 15:19

no, no, no way that they could have not known denture stone. It's just like I said, it was a wow from above. So now all of a sudden they basically told me I was really, I've gone into it, called me in for a meeting to her, my town hall, and they said they wanted a decision from me and I was ready to say I'm going home. When they sprung that on me and they said, we need a decision now. And I was like, Ooh, can I at least think about it from the weekend? So in two days I changed my mind completely and went from a mindset of I'm going back to Canada to, I'm staying for a second year and that I'm really put me out of my comfort zone. Two was to stay away from home for another year and really break that barrier. This isn't just an experiment, this isn't just a one year adventure. Now it's two years go back during that year I did, I, that was the one thing I decided was I needed to go home if I was going to stay. And we luckily have the opportunity to do that because their school year in Japan is very similar to Canada or the United States where it starts in September and finishes in June. So I had July and August. But you didn't go back during that first year teaching. So in between the, when there was no teaching, um, I went for one month. I did go home and got grounded again before I was ready to go and do my sense up here. And you know what, the second year was amazing. Not only personally, but professionally. I had new schools, new teachers, new kids, they were very open to new ideas. And, um, I just really felt that I hit my stride and I really, really felt that I made an impact and really positive impact with the kids, both in their learning English. But in doing that cultural exchange that was so much fun to teach them about things like Halloween and how we celebrate Christmas that's different from them and sing songs that we knew and make food with them and go on camping trips with them. And I could go on and on. But um, a lot of it was really food-based, was a way to get to know my kids better, to try what they were trying and then to make things that I was familiar with that they never had. Like mashed potatoes and gravy for example. Try making that for 120 kids. It's not easy. Or pumpkin pie. That was a too, because all I had was a toaster oven. I for over a hundred kids, you've got to make very small slices. Yes.

Dawn: 17:59

Okay. So after the two years in Japan.

Kat: 18:03

um, well, life again always has strange twists. Uh, I came back from Japan and two, not two weeks later, I met my husband to be, um, this wouldn't be my second marriage. I was actually married quite young. Uh, my first marriage, I was very drunk 20 to 25 right before I went to Korea. Um, so my second marriage, uh, so I ended up doing a normal life for awhile. I've, yeah, yeah. Quote unquote normal life. Um, teaching. I do not go back to because believe it or not, all of the teaching I've done overseas, um, did not count towards my experience back home. So it was like starting from zero again. So even though I went into the school board office, I was applying, applying, applying, um, it didn't seem like that was going to be a way to go. So I had met this lovely, uh, friend who ended up being my roommate for my second year, who was also in the jet program. And, uh, she and I quickly became best friends and we made a plan to go to Europe. So we decided we wanted to move to Spain. So we went home and it was like I sat at two weeks after we went home. I met, didn't know what at the time, what was going to be my husband to be with this plan to already go back tand move to Spain. Um, so eight months after I came home, I moved to Spain with my friend and, uh, he ended up following me to Spain to come for a trip, which surprised me simply because, uh, he never even had a passport, let alone had traveled over an ocean. Okay. So I did not think it was going to go in that direction at all. And he did and changed everything. And uh, so after my year in Spain, we just, so we did long distance relationship for that year. I ended up coming back and moving in with him and then getting marriage touching. You end up teaching in Spain or? I did, yeah. That was what I do there. I taught again, but this was different. This was another, uh, different Avenue of teaching because instead of being taken care of, like I was in Japan by working through Coslet, I was completely working independently, so I had nothing but well, I was an independent contractor. There's no other way to put it. So I, so I had from private lessons that I would teach individuals everywhere. Everything. Anything from students like young, uh, like parents who wanted their kid to have, uh, extra tutoring. Yeah. Like a tutor. Um, but then also adults who were looking for conversational English, either in business or for their classes in university. But then I also taught after school programs for, uh, middle schools, elementary schools. Okay. Um, so I had a whole myriad of, of different things that I was doing when I was there. And who are you contracting with? Was it all different? Like one, one gig, you know, wasn't, he was, I was completely independent, so I was doing a little bit here a little bit there. A little bit was advertising that I did, like most of those private lessons or tutoring was stuff that I found to completely on my own. But the group ones were usually through a, would be subcontracted through a company that would work through the school. You could do that in Spain without any difficulties currently. Yes. Uh, I don't, I honestly, that was the week my friend was Australian by my best friend that traveled with me and when we went back to our country, she went back to Australia. She, I'm going back to Canada. Our main goal was to try and get work visas so that we could go back to Spain. Sure. Every single place we applied to said we had to go there, get the job, and then go home, get the work visa and then go back again. And by the time that all of that was said and done, I was like, if I had that kind of money, I wouldn't have to work. So that was the way I looked at it. So yeah. Where are we doing something that was probably not supposed to be done that was saving. Yeah. There is no doubt about it, you know, but everyone said, don't worry about it. Nobody cares and all this. But we knew that there was a possibility that we could be recording. We knew that there was a possibility that if somebody found out that we were there without a work visa, that we would get in trouble. So essentially, yes, we were even doing something illegal. We were, yes, I know. I'm in Spain. I was. And um, and it was a little bit brightening the first time we left the country and we went on a trip to Italy. Um, we were very concerned that they were going to let us back into the country and they did. And not only did they let us back in, but there wasn't even anybody to show a passport to the, the booth was empty. There was no one there to look.

Dawn: 23:24

This was probably post European union note.

Kat: 23:27

R ight? Oh, it was, n o, it was after or g o, sorry. Yeah. S o, yeah, so the open borders. So that's w hat I'm s aying. Thanks for the booth that they w ould've k ept. T hey w ere like, whatever. Yeah. A nd so, yeah, it was interesting, but a little bit scary. U m, but, u h, it was a great experience and I would have loved to mistake if somebody, u m, had sponsored me or y eah, maybe, maybe I wasn't in the right H eadspace. Who knows? But I love t his m ade, I l oved i t where we a t i n Spain. Valencia. Ah, o kay. Yes. U m, absolutely loved it. There. I r ec highly r ecommended t o a lovely yes. Yes. And I, I just loved the people. I l oved their work ethic. U h, I l oved their lifestyle. U m, t heir food, t he wine, the wine. Y es. Everything. It was, it was beautiful. T hat was a really, really good experience. And that was a action p ack. One year I h ad t hat. Yeah.

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Dawn: 26:15

So then back to Canada and.

Kat: 26:17

back to Canada. I think, you know, i t w as since we're talking about rebooting or, or restarting, u m, I feel like perhaps it was the timing and I, I've thought about this a lot because we're gonna we're g onna skip a little bit here because you know, here I am living in Mexico now, right? U m, but it's been five years and I often would ask myself, especially when I passed that two year point, u m, because that h ad been the longest I've ever lived anywhere else. And then I'd always come home, right. And I was why, why was this, why was this d o I, w as t his different? Why did I stay longer? What was different about this experience? Because I absolutely l oved Japan. I loved Spain, but I didn't stay r ight. And I think it was really, it had to do low timing, I think. Um, I always knew I wanted to travel and I think I was always looking for someplace that I would settle down, but maybe I just wasn't ready to settle down yet because every, something always drew me home cause I wanted to go back to my friends and family or maybe it was a security blanket. Um, maybe it was, you know, I wasn't quite ready to make that final step because I always thought of it as being temporary and adventure, but I can always go home and there's always, you know, that safety net. Yes. But when I finally decided to stay on the Island and to really say this is my home and change our mindset, that changed everything. It really did. And I think I started thinking about that more after I was in Mexico for over that two year line. And then I was like, this is for real, this is for real. This could be my name home. This isn't just a place I'm traveling to. And then moving on to the next.

Dawn: 28:10

So you were different?

Kat: 28:11

I think so. I think I was older. I was single again. And, u h, I think that those things do play on you a nd influence you. You think that others expect something of you even though you feel independent and you feel like you can do anything you want anytime you want. And I did. U m, whether or not I had a partner h appy with me c ause most of my t ravels have been as single woman or in a relationship, but they would stay and I would be traveling. So it'd be a long distance relationship. U m, so I had no fear of doing that as a woman alone, but I think that there was still always that pull to want to come home and be with that other person. So I think finally it was like, you know what, I'm good, I'm good. I'm single. I've met friends here, I have a new family here. Um, I still still love my home. I still love my friends and family back home and I, I try to get home at least once a year to visit. Um, however, I think that that pole and, uh, the person I am, when I travel, I've always said that you're always searching for your best in true self. And I feel like my best and true self is always when I travel. Interesting.

Dawn: 29:36

And you just came back from a fabulous trip to Argentina and I'm super jealous about just loved seeing the photos.

Kat: 29:43

And I had a recommend that for everybody. Yeah. Argentina is amazing. They call it the Paris of the South and u h, they're not at all. It's beautiful. It's a very, very Metro Metro city, but it's a metropolitan, but it's, it's so much more than that. It's a, the Andes mountains. It's the wine. It's the people. It's the culture. It's the tango. Um, the meat, the, if you, if you love steak, you have to have to have to go there. And uh, it's, it's just stunning. Like what is our, is is, uh, it's so big. I had so many wow moments just in a taxi, just looking at all of the buildings and the architecture, um, and the beautiful, mature tree lined streets. It's really, really incredible to see. I have to put it on my list. Please do.

Dawn: 30:39

So how did you end up in Mexico? After Asia and in Europe and now we're back to Canada. And now how did Mexico? Probably the picture. Well,

Kat: 30:49

okay. So once again, back to relationships with the marriage number two, um, that also didn't work out. That's another podcast altogether. Um, but, uh, when I found myself single again and uh, he put me in a very bad financial situation and I was in a very good financial situation, um, where I actually ended up having to file for bankruptcy. And, uh, so that was very difficult time for me and I was very proud and I've never ever had struggle before for money and I'd always been fiercely independent. So I think against my lawyers better judgment, I should have cut my losses at that time and filed for bankruptcy immediately. Um, when it was recommended that I do so, but my foolish pride, um, told me that no, I was gonna pay my bills and I was gonna get my way out of this. And I did that for two years. I struggled just to make ends meet. And, um, I really felt like I was banging my head against the wall. Um, it was a big transition time for me in terms of figuring out again who I was and what I wanted out of life. And I think after the two years, I finally just time to lay down the sword. And, uh, I plan when are you the happiest when you're traveling? So I, once I had that idea in my head, everything just seemed to fall into place. Um, I did one thing that I've never done before. I quit a job without having a plan. I decided on my lunch break and that night I typed up my resignation and sent it, and then went in the next morning. And I remember as I was with some friends and the beautiful, it was summer times and the Oakenoggen and I was, um, on one of my friend's boats and we wrote on the Lake having a drink and somebody goes to school, what are you gonna do? And I went, I had no idea. And I didn't, I didn't at the time I felt like I had no plan and I'd never done that before because I remember I had talked earlier about, uh, calculated risks. Well, I always had a plan. I always very carefully thought out where I was going and what it was going to do and where I was going to stay and what was going to be my plan, how I was going to make money, how I was going to survive and not just survive, but, uh, but live and thrive and, and see the places that I was in. I didn't want to just survive. And, uh, so this again was, uh, a departure for me because I didn't have a plan. Yeah. I had no plan. So, uh, also getting older, I think we're a little braver when we're younger. Um, we always think there's always time. But now Seddon, I'm in my early forties, and I'm like, what am I going to do now? Am I too old to do this? And you know, to do this traveling thing, um, maybe I'm not as confident as I was before. What will I do, kind of thing. So that was, um, that was a huge turning point for me as well. So once I, like I said, I put it in my head and I said, no, you can do this. And I just started doing what I normally do and researching and figuring things out and, uh, found a job, um, in sales. You know, one of the things that we did not talk about is that, um, I was not always a teacher because what happened was when I came back from Spain, um, I could not find any work as a teacher. The sub list was not open. There weren't any teaching jobs to apply for. Um, yeah, you know, I could've gone to remote places perhaps, but that wasn't my interest. And also, like I said, I felt like I was starting from zero again because they didn't take into account any of my experience. And so instead of continuing to beat my head against the wall, I decided to reeducate myself. So I went back to school and got my mortgage brokers license. Um, which at the time was also an equivalent to your real estate license. Sure. So with that, I was able to sell houses and those my own deals. Okay. So that worked out very well. Um, so worked as at mainly a mortgage broker. But what ended up happening is through that I got a job offer to work in a title insurance company. So then I had no territory independent. It was a wonderful job. So, so that I had now a different background in sales. So I had sales in terms of housing, but also sales in terms of a financial assists. So when I decided to go to Mexico, I had considered working as a teacher. Again, I looked into it and found out it was just not viable. It just was not going to be what I needed in order to live the way I wanted to live. So then I thought, well, maybe I can use my sales background. And that was what I ended up doing in order to get a job in sales, working in tech. Boom. Okay. So I applied for this job online to work at this, uh, five star resort in Cancun sometimes. Sure. Yes. Yes. Timeshare, the dirty word. Very dirty word. Um, I actually really enjoyed the job. I, I would not put myself behind anything that I didn't think was legitimate. I do worry about that at the beginning. And, uh, again, throwing caution to the wind. And when I accepted the job offer, uh, they basically wanted me there as soon as possible. So I packed up my life in three weeks and got on a plane and with the promise that they were going to put me out in the resort for one week. Um, all inclusive, not vacation, but a stay. Sure. While they were training me for my position and then I was accepted to get my own place and also refunding me for my plane ticket. Okay. And then actually, because it was like a really patient don't, there you go. Relocation fee or whatever. It wasn't global, a bonus or whatever I call it. Um, so yeah, so it actually paid for a nice little starting starting point. So I thought, well, I've never had a job. Or uh, you know, they started out me out with, uh, staying in a five star resort for a week, all inclusive. Right? So that was a nice way to start. Um, but anyways, uh, they, they had an excellent training course and um, very dedicated to their craft and very unique group of people from all over the world, all very different backgrounds, who had amazing stories, were very interesting, inspiring, funny, cool people to work with who had all different skillsets. And I was very inspired by all of them. And I worked there for two and a half years. However, it was not just a job, it was a life. And I think once again, my whole to travel more in that two and a half years, I felt that I, um, I'd come to explore and all I was doing was working with. So the only thing that I needed was a job where I could have more balance. Um, I loved living in Mexico. When I hit that two, two year Mark, I knew I was pretty much feeling confident that this may very well be the place that I might want to stay put down some roots. I was that, can you put your finger on? Um, well like I said before, I really think it's, it was all about the timing. More of timing the application. Yeah. It was, I mean, even my choice of Mexico was, well, I've been to Asia, I've been Europe, maybe I should spend more time in North America. That was it. That was the only reason I chose it. And you know, maybe if I didn't warm, sure. That's, yeah, that's bonus. Um, I even in terms of choosing which coast, I purposely chose the Eastern side because that was one place I'd never been. I've been to the West coast of Mexico in Mazatlan, but I'd never been to the East. So I thought, Oh, it sounds really beautiful. I'm a scuba diver. I could go scuba diving there. Cause see chocolate corals and fish and yeah. So that was sort of my reasoning for coming. It wasn't really like I want to relocate to Mexico. Okay. Um, but I fell in love. I fell in love with Mexico and I fell in love and Cancun. But the first time I came to using the Paris, I felt hard and I knew, and I already had it in my mind, that an if an opportunity came for me to move to this Island, if I could, if I could live here, if I could work here, I would do it. And at that two and a half year juncture, that is exactly what happened. I had a job opportunity to come to me, um, through mutual friends who had said there was somebody who was looking for somebody to work, uh, in a sales position here on the Island, on these, in Paris. And I jumped at it. I was ready and I knew it. And I think I was already had it in my mind six months before that, I was looking for opportunities and I was sort of putting it out there already to the universe, if you will. Yes, absolutely. Yes. I'm a big believer in manifestation. Yeah. And, but I, you know, people use that. But to me it was just, it, that's just the way I've always been. I think it's, it's visualization. It's just like putting it into your mind and if you put it in your mind that everything you do is intentional towards that, that goal. It, I look at it. Yeah, it's that, but you actually, it pushes you in a certain direction because you're thinking it like, how can I achieve this school? So maybe part of it is just putting your head that maybe is part of this just listening harder for, Oh, is that, are you talking about using Paris only like, yes. You know, and so, yeah. So I think they go together and so that's how that all came to me. And now I'm going on the Island for April 1st will be my three year anniversary on the islands.

Dawn: 41:28

So, and you are not doing the same job that you,

Kat: 41:32

Oh God, no. I been through a few different jobs. U m, u h, a few sales positions. I have managed a car on the Island. I have, u h, worked as a concierge or a property management company. I have helped out friends in restaurants doing everything from the front end to the b ack e nd to everything l ike cooking I think as well. The only thing I haven't done in restaurants. U m, but u h, but that goes back to my background checks. Did you do timeshares here o r, I d id n ot. I did not. N o a ctors. N o. U m, well I guess in a sense, yes. That the first job was sort of advice o r s hare type deal. It was a transition. Yeah. Yeah. But it was, it was u m, for a privately owned, they were doing fractional T ai. So you be like, u m, y ou for the month you provide month shares for people to share. So yeah, essentially it was a touch. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So, so I did, yes, I did for a while. But again, I just felt once again that I moved to where I wanted to be, but I still wasn't having the time to enjoy the space then. Yes. The, they said I was living in and you know, it's so beautiful here and there's so many things to do in such paradise that you do really want to embrace what you have right in front of you and not take it for granted ever. Right, right. Never ever. Absolutely. Yes. So I think that's, so you, what are you doing now? What am I doing well now? Um, I have been in, I was single for a very long time since I left Canada, so let's say is that's about seven years. And last year, um, I started dating my boyfriend Tim. We actually became better friends. We've been friends for almost three years now since I moved to the Island. But we became better friends last year when we started talking business together. So originally we started out as business partners, um, in terms of developing a business, uh, which has evolved over the last year. It was more tourist based and now has evolved into more um, property management based, uh, type of business. It's focused mainly on the Island in terms of, uh, we will facilitate for our friends on the either that have properties and we have some properties that are on as well that we advertise and rent out to tourists. And then also any sorts of concierge services from transportation to and from the Island to getting your groceries to providing tours and services that you might need while you're having fun. Okay.

Dawn: 44:22

Okay. Yes. And um, do you have, uh, a website or a company name or anything like that has a company name?

Kat: 44:31

The website is still being developed, but, um, it is isla mujeres-getaways.com, and it will be coming very soon. So it's under construction? That's correct. Okay. Yes, we are, we're at, we basically, um, my idea came from seeing the need that people were literally coming to me, friends and family coming to me and asking me, I want to come to the Island. Where do I stay? What do I do? Or even even before that, I want to come to Cancun. Can you, can you hook me up? Kinda deal. Um, and that was always in. At first I was like, no, no, I can't cause someone I did. Right. It's not what I do. Exactly. But then I realized, why am I paying this? It seems so natural. And especially when I moved to the Island, it seemed like I was doing it more and more and more. I'm like, okay, it's time for me to turn this into a business and do this Reddit. Um, I was not very techie though, and that's where my boyfriend Tim, came in and because I was struggling with, uh, creating a website and, uh, he is very techie and good at that stuff. He was an academic. So piece of cake. Yeah, sure you do that. I'll write the content wrong. Um, but anyways, so it worked out quite well and so far so good. Well, hopefully we're just, we want to make sure we do it really right. We want to make sure, um, that it's, it's all about ease of use. We want to make sure that one can go online, find exactly what they're looking for and be able to get a smooth, no problems. So want to make sure we get the right software to work with the website. And so that's where a referee now.

Dawn: 46:09

Great. So do you have, u m, you have, u h, listings, u h, available for, for places to stay, but people, can we l ook at the stage or no.

Kat: 46:20

we don't have anything online for listings. Basically I'm still doing at this woman. Um, I'm advertising a few properties for people that have asked me specifically to, to put the properties on, on the internet for them, like for Facebook and things like that. But then eventually they'll, all those people will just be onto your last website and then we'll be able to do that. But we're also advertising for our parts and family too. Um, so that's not a problem at all. Anyone can advertise with us. We, we will facilitate with for anybody, right? Yes. Well good. I, uh, I have a feeling you guys will be very successful. Well, I got to love what you do and we're, we love what we do and what I love most about this job. Well, two things. I've always loved helping people. So I guess that's, that's a big part of it. And helping putting smiles on people's faces, especially for a vacation is super, super great for me. I really enjoy that. But it also allows me to travel more, which is if you love traveling, you want other people to travel too. So it kind of goes hand in hand. Right.

Dawn: 47:25

So that hasn't left you, you still have that obviously with t he.

Kat: 47:31

obviously, you know, we, uh, we're going to be doing a sailing trip down to, uh, Roatan Honduras, uh, in March and from the islands here and after that, I'm not sure, but I know in the summer we're definitely going to go back to Canada to visit my parents. Um, but then after that, um, I know we've got my day Ivo trip coming up. We're talking about going to Indonesia and the Philippines. Very good. Yes. Good, good. I was going to ask me if you had, uh, other trips on the horizon. So yeah, always. It's always fun to get excited and plan for what's coming up ahead.

Dawn: 48:14

You better believe it. Well, awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time with me this afternoon. I really appreciate it. You probably got a pretty amazing story with having lived in so many different countries. I really appreciate it. Is there anything I didn't ask you that, that you want to share? You think we pretty much covered it all?

Kat: 48:35

Oh, um, I guess you, the only thing that I would want to add to anything that I was saying is, is just simply, I guess the philosophy that comes over time for people that are thinking about making the leap or, or deciding to start their lives over. I always say that there's two kinds of people in the world, you know, those that talk about doing it and there are those that do it. And what kind of person are you? Which kind of person do you want to be? And I think, um, I've allowed that to sort of rule my decisions. And, uh, I think if we all have that philosophy and saying, you know, instead of, they would have put a shit us that we, uh, take the chance. Cause if you don't take the chance, you never gonna know. And life is full of risks. We've done it in some ways with so many things. We've done it with relationships, we've done it with jobs. Um, why not do it with travel as well. We seem to want to put it in a different category. Um, it might not be the thing for you. You know, if, I bet if I'd stopped after the first time that I made that first trip, perhaps I wouldn't be sitting talking with you today. But sometimes you need to have those experiences. Not even just the good ones but bad ones as well. And again, we have ups and downs in our life and not just aspects of travel. So I, this fear that we seem to have with traveling like, Oh I'd love to, but, and then we have the long laundry list of reasons why we can't because we have a committed cause. We have this, cause we have that. And I know some people will think, well you don't have kids. You don't have, you know, you were able, you, your financial circumstances made it so that you could, you know, come and go as you please taking, you weren't dependent on that income to pay your bills or to do this or do that. But there's always an option. There's always a view instead of just having a narrow minded view of how the world is supposed to work and what you're supposed to do and what kind of a job you're supposed to have and what kind of a life you're supposed to lead. Mmm. Find your happiness, find your true invests up. And I think that you'll find that when we travel, we have more time to be inside of our own heads. We have more time to really philosophically think about this life that we have and what we want to do with it and what's most important things in it. And I think you'll find that a lot of that other cobwebby garbage that fills our minds sometimes will just magically float away. Well, I can't help think about how much alone time and thinking you must have done that first year in Japan. Yes. In that village without speaking Japanese and not having people who spoke English there. Absolutely. And your abs, you're 100% correct. Um, I, and every single Trek journey that I've ever had except for living in Mexico, I've kept a journal, a daily journal of all of my experiences. Yeah. And I, I am very lucky that I did that. I think I, that I started that, um, at the beginning because my mother bought me a journal of my very first trip. And, uh, at first it was just like to, you know, jot down where I've been, but then it began to evolve over the years and talking about my feelings and what I was doing and Mmm. What was happening with me and my life. And I think that it became not just cathartic, but it was, it was a way for me to develop my ideas and really, really flush them out and make them bigger and better in terms of what it was that I wanted out of life or what it was that I didn't want out of life. So, um, you're right, you, when you have that time. And I did when I was in my little apartment that first year and I kept that journal and it was, there were a lot of things that you do a lot of soul searching. Like why am I here? What am I doing? And you know, what, what would I do if I go back and what would I do if I stay like, you know, should I stay or should I go back to the clash? Um, because you know, you don't, you got two sides to everything going back isn't going to solve all your problems and stains is going to solve all your problems. So what do you want? What do you want to do? Yeah. And it really is that, it's that freeing moment though as well when you, you have nothing, no staff, no material things to hold you down anymore. You wouldn't believe how point your, your soul feels, how point you feel as a human being that you really literally feel like you can do anything, that you have nothing tying you down. And all those little excuses, all those what it could, it should us. Oh, okay.

Dawn: 53:45

Wow. Yeah. Maybe I just get a little bit, I am, I'm like blown away. Those are some really good words and uh, yeah, you, you've done the work. So Bravo. What a, what a well lived life. Um, and I know there is some many more chapters that a women have to do a part two.

Kat: 54:08

Yes, yes. I would love to part two, part three or four or five. It's always about the next chapter and that is exactly, I love looking at it that way. There's no closing the book. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well thanks so much. Um, I really appreciate it. It's a, it's been a great, great chat. Thank you for your time too, Don. Appreciate it.

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