Welcome to Layer Culture!
It’s been over ten years now since two of my best friends passed away. Moments after, I boarded a plane to Rio de Janeiro from the UK.
Despite all the negativity I’d heard about Latin America, I went anyway.
I invite you to take a moment to read my story if you want to learn more.
Layer Culture Origins
I returned home from Brazil with something called reverse culture shock.
I knew I had to make a change in my life. All I was doing was chasing money and the perfect career while constantly comparing myself to others.
After I began my Spanish journey in 2013, I embarked on a trip to Central America that would begin with me doing a homestay in Mexico City.
Layer Culture started with some money in the bank (£2000, to be precise), but the last of it quickly flew out of my pocket after arriving in Costa Rica.
I landed back in the UK again, restless and ready for my next adventure.
In 2015, I made this short video after arriving back in South America:
Then I messed up…
In 2016, I got scammed (online) and lost all my life savings. But with the funds I’d kept behind for myself, I decided to reinvest it in my travels.
A Typical Layer Culture thought
I’m currently writing this from Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil and my current goal is to carry on visiting more countries in Central and South America.
If you’re reading this right now… Something tells me you’re young, full of wonder, courageous and ready for some kind of wild cultural adventure.
For you, in this case, it could be…
- Travelling to a country in Latin America.
- Learning a new language like Spanish.
- Creating a passion project while you travel.
- Taking this opportunity to work on you.
Perhaps you’re sick of competing with society (including friends and family you don’t like), or maybe you want to do something better for yourself?
Something that you can look back on and think: “I’m so glad I did that for myself”. Something not motivated solely by material gain or satisfaction.
Or even the other trivial objects that don’t seem to solve the problem that continues to pop up every time something’s not quite going your way.
No matter where you are in the world. Ideally, you’d want to move outside your comfort zone and GROW into the best version of yourself.
I wanted to go out into the world and make some kind of impact with my life’s work. Adding more and more value to the human experience.
Below are some links to guides you can read on this blog:
- 6 Million People vs. Me: How I learned Spanish
- Visiting Colombia’s Most Notorious Comuna
- Solo Travel: Fear, Loneliness and Growth
- Like a boss: Backpacking Colombia
Cultural Travel
I learned how to use the internet to sustain my cultural travels and therefore fund my travel lifestyle. The internet still gives me freedom today.
My cultural travels have consisted of a few core beliefs:
- Eating like a local and staying healthy
- Making new connections (the right type of connections)
- Staying with local families (or trading a skill)
- Learning the local language (in my case it was Spanish)
I am currently working on the latest version of my Latin Explorer Bible which explains more about how I travel, so look out for that coming soon.
Do you think: it’s drawing closer to your time to make a difference in your life? I’m not the only one who found travel a great tool to achieve this.
Thanks for reading!
