Live An Adventure Podcast

Ana and Mario are passionate teachers and travelers. They met in  Brasov, Romania, and got married in Antigua Guatemala. They’ve traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. They’ve taught in Romania, the Philippines, and China. They want to inspire others to celebrate learning, adventures, and generosity. Out of gratitude, they strive to make the world a better place.  #TeachersTravelers

August 25, 2007 Only when the airplane flew over the pyramids I could believe I was actually here. The land of Cleopatra and Tutankamen: Egypt. My first task was to find an apartment. I found a great place in 3 days! I was worried the first couple of day because the apartments were way too expensive for my stipend. But thank God I found a 3 bedroom one in the coolest area of town, El Maadi. I got quaint white bedroom with two big windows and a balcony with a view of my tree-lined street. School is great. Nice campus and a fun group of teachers. Very diverse crew: single and married, younger and older. There are Egyptians, Americans, Europeans and and one Latino, me. :o)  Our common trait is that we all love to travel. Together we have taught in 52 countries. A week ago we had a dinner and dance at a posh Cairo hotel and yesterday we went to the pyramids. Students start on Sept 2, so I have a week to get ready for my 22 students. I will teach Math and Science to 2 groups of 5t...

March 19, 2008 Two friends and I took the night train from Cairo to Aswan. 14 hours of travel. Yeah, that’s how I roll. I did not have a ticket because I was told I could buy one once on board. I boarded the train and it was practically empty, but I got worried in Giza when a bunch of people got on the train and I had to move out of the comfy seat I had. In the end I got the very last seat in the "foreigners" car (first class with AC). This sort of thing happens often to me. I guess my optimism hasn’t failed me yet and I hope it never does! After 14 hours on the train we arrived in Aswan. Aswan is a quaint little town by the Nile in southern Egypt, only 3 hours north of Sudan. That afternoon we went to Philae Island to visit a temple built with Roman and Greek influence. The classical Egyptian hieroglyphics don’t cease to amaze me. We also visited the dam that forms Lake Nasser, one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world. When we returned to town we had a...

Egypt November 2007 i left my apartment at 6 am on thursday and returned saturday at 7 pm... 3 days and 2 nights exploring the sinai peninsula with steve, michelle, daryl and denise... the 9 hour bus ride from cairo to dahab was bearable only because i am reading a great book "Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto"... we arrived right after sunset, had dinner and chilled… next morning  i got up early to see the sun rising behind Saudi Arabia mountains and cover the red sea with its light and warmth... later steve and i went 4-wheeling to an oasis with views of the turquoise ocean and quaint dahab in the background... around 2 pm my friend steve and i took a taxi to st. catherine's monastery... it is tucked in the middle of the sinai peninsula, rocky mountains, desert, and solitude surrounds this place of prayer... we climbed mount sinai at 3 am and so did a few hundred other tourists, travelers, pilgrims, bedouins, and camels... here is a bit of history abou...

This is my last blog from Cairo!! Crazy how time flies huh!! It feels as if it was yesterday when I was walking the streets of Maadi with a map!! :o) These past two years have been an amazing adventure. Besides exploring Egypt I had the opportunity to travel in Spain, Jordan, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Czeck Republic, Poland, and Israel. Here in Cairo and in my travels I was so blessed meeting wonderful people. I am thankful for their friendship. Socrates said that "an unexamined life is not worth living." This last semester I did a lot of soul-searching and I as the prodigal son I decided to go back home. I began attending Maadi Community church. I missed only one Sunday because I was in Luxor! This has been the biggest blessing of all while I've been in Egypt. Being back in my Father's House! On June 24 I go back to Guatemala. My life is being renewed by the love and tenderness of my Abba Father. The Cai...

The history of humanity is the story of our errors and accomplishments. Jerusalem, which in Hebrew means "City of Peace", is the perfect example of this history. For centuries war and conflict have been part of daily life in Jerusalem. It is in the midst of destruction and conflict that Jews, Christians and Muslims, all express their faith through prayers and pilgrimages to this city.  Religion and politics are convictions rooted in our existential questions. Is there a God? If there is, how can we know Him? Are we just developed animals, or are we more than that? Is there a life after this? How can a loving God allow all the suffering in the world? Why do "believers" kill in his name? Not easy questions to answer. Perhaps there are no answers, or maybe the answers can be found only in the humility and understanding that we will never completely understand  f a i t h.    Possible answers to these questions in "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Le...

Why We Travel? The sound of the call to prayer fills the night in Cairo as I write these words.  It is a melancholic voice. I can only guess what the Muslin man is saying. Praises to Allah. Everywhere in Cairo, you hear the melancholic chant 5 times a day. It can be heard in the middle of the night, when the sun rises, and when the sunset arrives.  There is beauty in not knowing what the man is chanting from the mosque. I have no idea what my life will be like in this city in the next two years. But there is a certain beauty in uncertainty. This attraction to the "unknown" is one of the reasons why explorers, travelers, nomads, and adventurers have been lured to venture to new places throughout history. I believe every human being has deep within a profound desire to learn, to explore. Life in Cairo is exotic, to say the least. Not knowing Arabic has been a challenge and an adventure. Just getting a cab driver to take me where I want to go is ...

As the summer of 2007 comes to an end, I am feeling nostagic. I blame Octavio Paz. He was on a TV interview tonight. Brilliant man. As I listened to him talk about his life, books and poetry, I realized I have one week left in Guatemala. I felt nostalgic, not sad, but nostalgic. Here is one of my favorite poems by Paz. Between what I see and I say, between what I say and I keep silent, between what I keep silent and I dream, between what I dream and I forget, poetry. It slips between yes and no, it says what I keep silent, it keeps silent what I say, it dreams what I forget. It is not speech: it is an act. It is an act of speech. Poetry speaks and listens: it is real. And as soon as I say it is real it vanishes. Is it then more real? Tangible idea, untangible word: poetry it comes and goes between what is and what is not. It weaves and unweaves...