Blogger of the Month: Jan. 2010

I found "That was Subtle" very recently through another blogger friend of mine. She is amazingly funny and bright. She's traveled to many places that just thinking about it is staggering. She was nice enough to do an interview with me and be the second blogger of the month!


So go check out "That was Subtle"

P.s. That was Subtle is on vacation but will be back soon.




Blog Related Questions

1. How or why did you start blogging?

I began blogging in 2005 when I left Australia to live and work in England for a year before I started university, very few people read this blog and I was totally unaware of any ‘blogosphere’; I blogged for my own entertainment and nothing more. This blog lasted for a couple of years after I returned to Australia and died a slow death due to uni commitments. In 2008 I became addicted to fashion/style blogs and decided to start my own. Sticking to one topic is pretty difficult for me, so eventually the blog became a random mixture of my outfits, inspirational photos I found online and photos of my nights out and life in Melbourne. After a few months of blogging I joined a statistics site out of curiosity to see how many people were reading my blog, I was amazed that it was getting 40ish hits a day, and 9 people at most would comment. It left me a little creeped out that all these people were looking at my personal photos regularly without me knowing anything about them. Which is fairly hypocritical considering I blog stalk plenty of people without commenting. So I made my blog private and decided to start a new one dedicated more to my travels and thoughts and less to my exhibitionist poser side. So...That was subtle was born.

2. You have been to many places! Is there anywhere you really want to go that you haven’t?

Oh, there are so many places I haven’t yet been to that I would love to visit, when people ask me what I’m passionate about ‘travelling’ is often the only thing I can come up with. There a plenty of places in Europe I haven’t been to yet but hope to go, Greece, Scandinavia, Romania, Slovenia. I also want to go to South America in a couple of years, especially Peru! Oh, and then there’s also Tibet and Nepal. So, I won't be lacking in travel inspiration for many years to come.

3. What made you get into teaching?

To be honest, teaching was originally just a way of earning money while living in different countries. I first had the idea of getting into TESL in my second year of uni when I started reading blogs of ESL teachers in Europe, their blogs were often more about living in another country than the teaching, although there was occasionally a hilarious anecdote about the children they worked with. It seemed ideal to me.

The more time I spend teaching the more I realise it is something that I really enjoy. Teaching definitely has its downs though, I have some horrible students who are unbelievably disrespectful, but then there are the brilliant ones who say hilarious things, always listen to your instructions and adore you. I could never be a regular High School teacher though, if I continue teaching it will only ever be TESL work.

4. In what way would you say blogging has helped you?

Travel can be very lonely sometimes and blogging means you can always tell people how you are doing. I went through a rough time when I had no idea what I would be doing or where I would be living in two weeks – I had to make important life decisions and I had no idea where to start. I was also in a pretty isolated location in Scotland. Writing blogs made me feel more connected with the world outside my little travel bubble, and also made me feel more focussed when I read back on my posts and remembered how sure I’d been about my decision to leave Australia.

5. Have you ever met some of your blogger friends in person?

No, I haven’t.

Random Questions

6. What are your favourite websites to visit everyday?

I often visit http://www.expat-blog.com to read about other peoples’ experiences moving to another country, it’s a bit dangerous though because I end up wanting to live in every country I read about.

7. Can you list some of your favourite tunes to sway to?

Oh god, I could go on for hours here for I have restricted myself to five: Hearing Damage - Thom Yorke; Until We Bleed - Kleerup feat. Lykke Li; Hell Is Around the Corner - Portishead feat. Tricky; Today Has Been Okay – Emiliana Torrini; Running Up That Hill – Placebo. Oh..and anything by Paolo Nutini. They are definitely all more ‘sway’ tunes than ‘jump around head banging’ tunes.

8. Is there something you are really looking forward too?

The future. Specifically the near future, in about a week I am going on a train adventure through France, Belgium and The Netherlands and returning to Spain for New Year’s Eve.

9. If your style had a name what would it be?

It would be called ‘Scarfy’, I know, feel the glamour radiating off that name. My style at the moment consists of converse, jeans, a black t-shirt, my leather jacket and one of my many scarves – whichever suits my mood.

10. Do you have any New Year resolutions?

If I stopped and thought about it I probably have a lot, so I won’t think. I just want to be consistently happy.

Extra Questions: Train ride or gondola?

Train. I love train trips, I have been trying to think of a career that entails riding trains all over the world, other than train staff/driver that is. …so far coming up blank.