Traveler Profile: Lauren Lim | Matador

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Screen name:

Age:

25

Travel status:

Putting down roots

Hometown:

San Francisco, California

Currently in:

San Francisco

Matador Travel Writer: Articles (2)

Writer Bio: View Articles (2)

Lauren is an assistant and English teacher at an alternative university in Poland that works with underprivileged youth. She has a degree in Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her writing has appeared on Matador Travel and The CommonLine Project.

Favorite places I've been:

Ladakh, India; Kenai Fjords, Alaska; eastern Poland; Nepal; Taipei, Taiwan; Fond du Lac, Minnesota; Kampot, Cambodia; Long Xuyen, Vietnam

Places I want to go to:

I'd like to choose an African country by ear - meaning, by the beauty of its language. Luganda is pretty sweet.

About me:

Work in progress, moody monster, glutton, often shy to the point of being rude.

Profile URL:

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/lauren-lim

Read more about Lauren Lim

I'm fired up on:

Cooking, eating, and good conversation. People who make me laugh, who make me think, who push me to try harder. Good books, especially by Kelly Link, Haruki Murakami, Pico Iyer, and MFK Fisher. NPR, especially "This American Life."

Tunes I rock out to:

Right now...Dikanda, the soundtrack to Himalaya, and that first song from WarDance just kills me.

Travel style:

With pen, paper, and camera.

Quote:

"Makes me want to throw up my hands and say MU! to the whole thing. MUUU!" The Autograph Man, Zadie Smith

Sports I do:

yoga, running

Favorite artist(s):

Markéta Luskačová

Languages spoken, other than English:

pothole Mandarin, crater Polish

I felt the most immersed in a foreign culture when:

I can speak the local language, even just enough to talk some to the amas.

Why I travel:

I have the rest of my life to be comfortable at home.

Ideal place to watch the sunrise:

From the peak of a mountain that you had to get up at 3 in the morning to climb.

Ideal place to watch the sunset:

Whizzing by on bike on the autostrada to Augustów, past people working on their small farm plots, as the sun drops below the tips of the pine forest.

Before I die I'd like to:

Be fluent and literate in Mandarin, Spanish, and Ladakhi. Become completely comfortable with myself. Learn to play the cello.

Let's collaborate:

Anything food or photography related, count me in. Though maybe not both at the same time; I'm too hungry to take pictures of what I eat.

My links:

http://lorenpants.blogspot.com
When you heal quickly and beautifully, you've healed like a dog.

Post New Comment

by Mateusz | 2008/09/06

swietne fotki ja dopiero zaczynam swoja podroz ale twoje zdjecia sa prawdziwa inspiracja dzieki!!!!!

by Tim Patterson | 2007/08/22

hey, i'm more of a reader than a...uh...gazer - but i just had a look through your photos - you've got some great shots, really interesting perspectives, and i like the titles too.

looking forward to the next article - don't ever fake it ;)

where I'm at

By Lauren Lim | Location: Vietnam | 11/18/08 | Pics: 0

I am liking where I'm at, and I'm aware of this joy at every moment, except when I have to make a left turn, or go around the traffic circles, on my bicycle. In these instances I am terrified and my mind is a near blank, a breathless, wordless prayer: please don't hit me. (I'm afraid to bike in Long...

2 comments | Send to Friend |

I ditched Angkor Wat to watch the numbers come in.

By Lauren Lim | Location: Cambodia | 11/04/08 | Pics: 0

Jesse Jackson cried, I cried. Oprah cried. I prayed fervently that Obama would never be shot at or exploded up. I'm so happy my stomach is in knots, and all the while, I'm thinking that he better not fuck this up. I'm so happy; I haven't been this excited about a...

3 comments | Send to Friend |

If a Rhino Sees You, Run Zigzag, and Other Tips for Jungle Survival

By Lauren Lim | Location: Nepal | 10/27/08 | Pics: 0

„If a rhino sees you, run away quickly,” our guide Ashok* told us, at the beginning of a two-day jungle walk. „But you must run zigzag. The rhino has poor eyes, but a very good nose.”

When we did happen upon a mama rhino and her babe, I wasn't so eager to see one anymore. Anything you have...

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