Adventures of one quarterlife crisis and a year-long trip around the world.
Hello, Ni hao (Mandarin), Konnichiwa (Japanese), G’Day (Australian), Kia Ora (Maori), Sawa dee-ka (Thai), Selamat (Malay), xin chào (Vietnamese), Suor sdei (Khmer), szia (Hungarian), Salut (Romanian), zdrasti (Buglarian), merhaba (Turkish), gia sou (Greek), Hola (Spanish), Salam lekum (Moroccan Arabic), olá (Portuguese), buenas (Costa Rica)! I’m Olivia and thanks for stopping by my blog!
I’m a twenty-something (OK, closer to 30 now) Portlander (Oregon, not Maine) with an overwhelming amount of interests. I originally created this blog as an outlet for all things food, apartment dwelling, Portland roaming, and MBA pursuing. It then morphed into a way to keep track of my 101 Things in 1,001 Days Project list. So when I decided to quit my job to spend a year traveling around the world, I thought it would be fun to just continue the journey here.
I grew up all over the Pacific Northwest, so I’m truly a Northwest girl. No matter where I go, I’m always excited to come back home. And I’ve been told that I rave about Oregon and all it’s wonders when I’m on the road. ;) While I’m kind of a travel junkie now, my first time out of the US (other than Canada, which doesn’t count for Northwesterners -ha! love you my Canadian friends) was in 2006 for a 3 week study abroad in Marseilles, France, during my MBA program. I officially got the travel bug after that trip. It wasn’t until a super last minute, budget trip to Hawaii in 2007 that I started contemplating the possibilities of taking a career break. After several months of planning and thinking about it, I took a “trial” trip to Panama to make sure I really wanted to do it. Duh! The hardest part was just deciding to do it. I started my round the world trip in Beijing, China in late February of 2008. From there I traveled to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, back to Thailand and back through China to come home to Portland. I spent two months in Portland (we have amazing summers), before heading to Eastern Europe. From Budapest, Hungary, I travelled to Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Spain, Morocco, and then back to Spain before taking the slow boat (a transatlantic) back to the States (via Portugal & Bahamas). After spending the holidays in Portland, I finished up my travels in Costa Rica and came back to Oregon to officially start my job search in March. Great timing I know, look what happens when one extra worker leaves the work force. I may have been the straw that broken the proverbial economic camel’s back. ;)
I’m a strong believer in living consciously (purposefully, deliberately, or whatever it is the kids are calling it these days). So I love making lists, which is what got me so interested in the 101 Things in 1,001 Days Project. I love the idea that you’re working on specific, verbalized goals, and while after 2 1/2 years you may not care about 1/2 the things on the list, you’ll still have a lot of really cool things accomplished.
So what does Powered by Tofu mean? Well I’ve been a vegetarian all my life, so it’s always been a running joke that I’m “powered by tofu.” We even made t-shirts in high school that said “powered by tofu” with a tofu block on them. Alas, I swear that PETA stole my line for their Powered by Tofu shirt. Great minds think alike. ;) Anyway, while I still cook vegetarian, I consider myself a “pescatarian” now, since I eat fish – but only when I’m taking time out from eating tarantulas.
Stay tuned for more travel adventures, job hunting tales, and a look at my rehabilitation back into daily life.
Thanks, Xie Xie, Domo Arigato, Thanks mate, Ta, Khop khun kha, Terima kasih, Kam ouen, Sourm orkun, Köszi, Multumesc, Merci, tesekkürler, efharistó, Gracias, Shukran, and Obrigado for dropping by!
Adventures of a twenty-something Pacific Northwesterner who ditched her marketing job and MBA for a year-long round the world trip. Call it a quarter-life crisis or just the travel bug; either way, this blog documents the adventure. One year later, take a look at my rehabilitation back into daily life.
Daniel
June 9th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Hey just saw your link off the site lifehacker.com.au and thought i’d give you some props for what you’ve done, I really like the idea of having specific goals to work towards, good idea having the checklist on the right hand side
Veronica
June 11th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi, I LOVE your blog :) I’m also having a quarter life crisis and about to embark on my 7 months trip around the world and found ur articles really helpful. Thanks!
Jess
June 24th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Hi fellow wanderluster! I read your remark to the NYT piece on solo women travelers – good thoughts all around. I checked out your blog as well. Coming from Boston you SHOULD definitely visit New England in the fall. I’m a west coaster my self, but it’s quite different out here. Also, your garden would be great friends with my roommates garden. Check out her blog! http://www.seedsandstring.com/
I’ll yell hello in your direction when i’m home in OR this summer!
Caren
June 24th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
I just found your blog, after reading the NYT article about women traveling solo. What an inspiration. Just wondering since you seem so motivated… what ever stops or slows you? How do you maintain a healthy esteem to do so many things?
megan v
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:13 am
How Amazing! My biggest question is (as what you did is my DREAM!!!!) how can one reasonably be able to afford to do this? What’s the secret?
poweredbytofu
July 30th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
@megan Thanks, I have a blog post in the works in answer to your question! The short answer is saving like crazy, living on the cheap, and then traveling on the cheap. :)
Wu
September 6th, 2009 at 6:15 am
Love the blog! keep it up!
Michela
October 17th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Like your blog! keep it and let’s share our travelling experience!
Marlies
January 6th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Hey Olivia! I wanted to say thank you for inspiring me! I have started my own list now :)
Keep up the good work!!
Rebecca
January 14th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
I just found your blog and LOVE it!! I look forward to reading more!!
Nicole
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:29 am
Hi Olivia!
I just discovered your blog while perusing the internet for information about Costa Rica. I really enjoy reading it and am intrigued by all the commonalities we have.
I am a twenty-something from “the other Portland,” powered by tofu, a compulsive list-maker, and have recently been bit by the travel bug. After spending 10 glorious days in Costa Rica last month, it’s all I can think about. I really envy your decision to take a year-long trip around the world and hope that I can do something like that one day, too. I’m sure you’re right that “the hardest part is just deciding to do it!”
I really look forward to reading your archives about the trip, and seeing how you’re transitioning now that you’re back.
I included a link to my blog, but it’s been inactive for a long time.
Thanks for a great resource!