Tips & Advice
Krakow is one of the most beautiful and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination for those visiting Easter Europe. It is the cultural and spiritual capital of Poland because of its rich history and many marvelous sights and attractions. It wouldn't be unnatural to say it's one of the greatest prides of the Polish nation. The spirit of the great, notorious past of the city - together with the Polish tradition and the strong heroism of the people – lives within every single piece of land, every building, and city street.
Hiking, by far, can be a fun and relaxing recreational activity. If one finds himself/herself in a foreign country - either by tourism, vacation, work or school - hiking can be a very fun and relaxing way to view the country, see the landscape and really take in all that their host country has to offer. I encourage all to get out and traverse the natural landscape and beauty of wherever it may be that you are visiting.
In addition to the Spanish classes, cooking practice and blog writing, I've also been busy experimenting with online commerce and working on a start-up with a few friends. And wow, it has been a lot of work (both the e-business and the start-up).
As a former corporate employee, I had no concept of what it's like to be your own boss. It is much harder than I expected. You need to be extremely self motivated. The peer reviews, evaluations, and performance appraisals were all a bit of a pain as an employee but from the outside looking in, I understand more clearly now that they served as very powerful motivational tools for individual performance. Human beings need structure. We need roadmaps, goals and guidelines. We need systems of support and praise. And even though many self-help books profile entrepreneurs as individuals who thrive on ambiguity, I strongly believe that the most successful entrepreneurs are those who create their own systems of structure.
If you're a girl and you're planning to trek through Asia on your own, take some time to plan. Asia is a totally different monster compared with Europe and North America. Language barriers, the climate and cultural differences mean that you have to be a little more careful and a lot more resourceful to stay safe and on budget. Though some of the tips below seem quite antisocial, they'll be helpful when you're not feeling particularly friendly or open to meeting strangers (sometimes alone time during travel is just as important as social time).