Unbelievably sick thread. My buddy sent me a link and told me I wouldn't be able to stop reading...finished reading the whole thing within the day. Great writing! adsman, have you ever read A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah? It's an amazing book and parts of your story while you were in Uganda reminded me a lot of the book. You should look into it if you ever have time, I really think you'd enjoy it!

Also, I'd always considered up and moving to a new place a lot like you had done when you had originally moved to Sydney. Ironically, Australia and Italy are my top choices (Australia because I've had friends tell me how amazing it was when they lived in Surfer's Paradise and because of how friendly and laid back Australians are in general...and Italy because my family grew up in Italy before I was born and many friends of mine had great experiences while studying abroad there). Do you have any suggestions on starting a backpacking adventure to either place? Backpacking friendly cities to start at? Finding hostels or more long-term means of housing? Searching for jobs? I'm currently about to finish college and have been bartending for awhile, playing poker, and having lots of fun. I'm an accounting major...after one tax internship, the last thing I'm looking forward to is spending more time in a soul-killing cubicle - just wasn't for me despite the pay. I would love and appreciate any advice you can give. Can't wait to get the book good luck!

adsman,

Great story. Thank you for sharing this.

I just went rafting down N. Yuba in California. There was 1 class 5 (Maytag) and several class 4s. Was really fun and we have a good team that want to do something a little more difficult. Any recommendations within a reasonable distance (say Costa Rica, Oregon, etc).

THank you.

awesome thread man ty. haven't read it all but would 100% get the book in an instant.

Gl man!

awesome thread. cant wait for the book

Thanks for this thread. Was amazing to read.

It really got me thinking about what I want to do with my life and how to continue.

Cant wait for the book. GOGOGOGO

going to the dominican in dec in an attempt to imitate adsman.

Just spent the last two hours in this thread. Smoked at my desk for the first time in 4 years. I'm completely speechless. Will ship $$ on poker stars to pre-pre-pre-pre-order the book.

incredible stories, kept me well entertained and i'm looking forward to reading your book, so get to work on it and stop slacking !

Fantastic thread. Thank you so much for the read, it had me gripped more than any book I've read the passed few years.

Now, 4 people died in a rafting accident in Norway today, in the river Sjoa, which is, I assume, where you could have worked. These were a part of a large group of Ukranians that set out in a part of the river where none of the four commercial rafting companies is willing to go due to the dangers involved. They had their accident where the river was rated 6.

Question is, how much is your business affected by idiot tourists that go out on their own like that? It must be extremely frustrating and it can't do anything but hurt business.

So to a lifechanging story of my own. I had a fantastic childhood in one of the better places in Norway to grow up. I did well in school, but at a certain pointless I had enough. I had a good deal of friends, but I was still very insecure among strangers or crowds. Speaking in front of crowds, like in class, was the worst thing I could do. When I was a junior in high school here, I had enough, I was so sick of school that I was both getting depressed and it was also affecting my grades. So at 17 I decided to be an exchange student.

I was **** scared, and had no idea how I would cope. It would be a year until I would have the safety of my own home, my friends, and everything I loved doing. I had been taken in as part of a family in Mississippi. I was not unfamiliar with traveling, having been over half of Europe at the time, but always with family.

As I landed in USA my life was flipped upside down. I was greeted by my new family in heat that I had never felt before. In the car to my new home I said very little, I looked at my new mum, my new dad, my sister and thought 'wtf had i gotten myself into'. They were still strangers to me, and my sister asked me "are you shy?", to which I reluctantly said no, and the car went dead quiet again.

Fast forward one year and my high school football coach told me as I was heading home to Norway. You came as a boy, but you leave as a man. I was inclined to agree, it was a year that taught me an amazing amount about myself. I was forced to make new friends. I was forced to fill my days with meaning. I did both, even though the second part is difficult in MS. Skinny as hell I still entered the football team, got beaten blue and yellow, but had fun doing it. I went to church three times per week, it was allright, as it was just part of the culture.

It was a year I would never do without. I still had to finish my senior year in Norway, but it was a breeze. My fears and insecurities were gone, I had to deal with them in the US. And I graduated with great grades.

I pulled a semi-similar stunt four years ago for finishing my master's thesis. I moved to Vietnam for four months. Fantastic country, and my stays in both the US and Vietnam helped me greatly in getting an excellent job for a IT consultancy firm who employs about 3% of all applicants. My limited experience shows that to get a good serious job, employers are looking for someone who has experienced something most havent.

I have now had that job for three years, and it's a little bit of a grind. I'm 28 and I have no commitments, so Im starting to think it is about time to do something new. Like try working somewhere else. Maybe for my own company, like one year in the US, or maybe take off six months to just travel. Your post has at least inspired me to do so again. It will be interesting to see how it pans out!

Mathanos,

We get the idiots from the Czech Republic doing the same thing here in Italy. They've had a few deaths on the river we run over the years, being out at the wrong water levels or doing the wrong sections. It doesn't effect our business though, as we can rightfully point out to anyone with concerns that they didn't know what they were doing, which is why it is better to go with us. The press leans that way as well, underlining the fact that they were private individuals without the skills necesarry. 4 deaths on one trip is a pretty big deal though. It just goes to show that jumping in on your own with your own raft is not always such a good idea, hint hint Malkas.

Book going well, just wrote 1200 words this morning, and have written for five days in a row now.

yessssssss, gogogogogogogo

This should seriously be stickied, so that when it comes out in book form and wins some awards we can all be like "hell yeah, that's why we stickied it." Or the mods can...or whatever. Just an awesome story.

In before 30 people drop out of grad school and move thousands of miles away to a 3rd world country.

adsman, don't forget about this thread once you finish the book and find a publisher. I have a feeling a signed Limited Edition would sell like hot cakes to many of this thread's readers.

awesome read. spent some time in Nigeria not seeing another white person for 4 months. See so much similarities. Paid one bribe when arriving. Afterwards learned how it worked. It was hard but a lot of fun

If I manage to get it published I'll dedicate it to this forum. Signed limited edition copies sound pretty cool though.

POTDecade