Expatriette. Travel Beyond Frazzled.
Right. So there I was in Tokyo. I’d been in Japan for a couple of months at that point. I really wanted to connect with the Japanese but my Japanese stunk. Expatriette, the concept, was born. It would take a couple years in Japan, starting a business abroad and a fire to get me motivated to launch the site you now see in front of you.
The Business
Learning to run a business in a foreign country is like putting two pea-sized balls of wasabi up your nostrils. I’m here to say I’ve done both and it burns sometimes, but you definitely end up with a good story. Yoga Garden is two years old now and grows every day. Just outside of Tokyo, it was one of the first foreign-owned studios to open in Japan.
The Fire
In 2006, bored with Japan (I know, shockrrrr!), I decided to take a sabbatical and travel some more. Because of Japan’s relative isolation, even though I’d been there for more than three years, I’d only left the country a handful of times (Bali, Taiwan, S. Korea, the States). I went to Mexico to lead a yoga retreat. Toured America. Met and made friends. Landed in Boulder, Colorado. Moved into a lovely house in March. It burned down in May.
Moral to that story? Blow out your candles before you travel, y’all.
The Flame
I didn’t actually start the fire, but it lit one in me. My entire office now waterlogged, I walked away from the house knowing that something incredible was coming. The Expatriette flame burned brighter than before. The logo, a collaborative effort from the Plunge Artist team, said it all to me. Women, sexy, brave, rugged and glamorous. Expy’s ready to greet the world.
The Vision
The vision for Expatriette is simple.
1. Support, empower & encourage women to travel the globe stylishly, ruggedly, with grace.
2. Be part of a global network of women working, living and traveling abroad through products (details coming soon) and free services.
3. Put the glam in rugged. Be upright without being uptight. Above all, travel. Travel, travel, travel.
The You
Are you a writer? A blogger? A girl with big travel dreams? Consider writing for us (contact info (at) expatriette (dot) com. Your circle of friends will widen exponentially. Your list of reasons for staying home will begin to shrink. The globe will glow with possibility. Welcome, Expatriette.
