ShEvo vs. The First World | A Skeptical Look at Western Culture

Did you miss us? We missed you. And we wish we could say that to you in a foreign language. But since we’re proud Americans the grew up in the ‘80s, we don’t speak any other language but one. And poorly at that! That’s the issue we’re tackling today: The differences in language education in America vs what it’s like overseas. Full episode details: https://www.theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2019/11/8/why-is-foreign-language-education-a-foreign-idea-in-america Become a Patron and get...

We’re back after a long absence -- an absence explained in detail to our supporters -- to talk about air travel in America. Recent cross-country trips for both of us are causing us to pine for the ease, reliability, and cost-savings of traveling overseas So leave your assumptions aside and listen in as we tell you why air travel in America downright sucks when compared to the experience in many developing nations. Full episode details:...

Back in 2015, Evo spent several hours in a tattoo chair in Thailand. Just a few weeks ago, Sheila got a new tattoo in America. The differences were vast. Join us as we talk about the finer details, including Time investmentOverall skill of the artistsSanitation and sterilization… and more! We’ll leave the decision to permanently remember your next trip overseas with indelible ink -- or Hep C -- in your hands. Full episode details:...

Recorded during a road-trip to San Diego, we were inspired to compare our current situation to where we just were for the better part of three years, traipsing all around a developing nation wherever the road would take us. Also, this episode is very late. We’re sorry about that. And the audio is rough, but that makes it more “authentic”, right? Tune in and hear us talk about comfort, safety, and law enforcement differences from here to there. Full episode details:...

Today, we are going to talk about travel. Yes, we’ve talked about travel for the better part of 4 years. But this time, we’re taking a broader look at how air travel works in places like Southeast Asia. Because unless you’ve experienced it first hand, you likely have some misconceptions about air travel in developing nations. Topics covered include: “Taxis” aren’t always taxiscurbside check-inAirports that make LAX and DFW look like regional airstripsStanding on the walkwaysWhy we really...

Let’s talk about your place of residence. Specifically if you’re renting the place in which you live. And even more specifically, the horrible “switching costs” associated with moving from one address to another. Moving. It sucks. Which is probably why, statistically speaking, you’ve probably lived in the same place for a very long time. Moving… sucks. At least, it does here in the west. But in developing nations? It’s kind of a breeze. We’re sharing with you just how incredibly simple it...

It’s hard to believe we’ve been making this podcast for four years, across five different seasons. And in that time, we’ve never really talked about religion. Well… that’s changing. Based on our time abroad in some 20-ish countries in 3.5 years, we’re qualified enough to discuss the “optics” of religion in societies around the world. This isn’t a comparative study of religion for college credit. No, this is real-world things we’ve seen and heard in more than a few nations, from emerging to...

As you might imagine, there are lots of little things that we notice that bug us. Things you probably ignore. Things that we ignored the first four decades of our lives. Some of those are so baked into the very fabric of our lives, they disappear into the background. So much so, that you don’t think about them. Until you’re out of clean underwear. Listen to this episode and find out exactly how convenient it is to have access to nearly full-service laundry in every home really...

Traveling the world, we’ve had some pretty great coffee. But the Senegalese spiced coffee we found tops the list. Listen in to learn more and to discover that, if you play your cards right, we just might send you some as a token of our appreciation, Patron. ----- This is the actual episode we released to our patrons over the weekend. We're giving it to you, the listener of our "regular" show, so you know what sorts of things we get into on the Patreon-only show. If you like where you...

We’re taking a look inside your refrigerator. Not that we care what kind of food you eat. You do you. No, what we want talk about is how the items in your fridge or your pantry got there. We’re claiming expert knowledge of shopping around the world. Where many travelers stick to dining out when they visit a new country, we LIVED in most of the countries when we traveled, and tried to live as “locally” as was possible. That means we shopped in lots of grocery stores, bodegas, fresh produce...

Living in Phoenix Arizona, it really seems like there is a new ethnic restaurant popping up on every corner. Ethiopian food. Peruvian food. Dominican Republic food… You could probably eat the cuisine of a different culture at least once a week (maybe even twice a week) for an entire year and still not have covered all of our ethnic food choices. And that’s us in this overgrown cow-town we call Phoenix! ----- Key Links: Niccolo Chengdu- Best hotel experience in China!Thipsamai- Best Pad...

Key Links: renuval- Medical tourism to ThailandBonus content & early access ----- One of our biggest concerns was what to do about healthcare as we traveled the world. As good Americans, we bought into the story of incredible the healthcare in America is compared to anywhere else in the world. Turns out, we were suckered. Our first-hand accounts of encounters with the medical system of countries like Denmark, England, Spain, and Thailand have give us a new perspective on what we used to...

Before we go too far down highway 420, we need to stress that the two strongly support a comprehensive repeal of America’s stupid federal ban on cannabis. We’re also keenly interested in the good studies on the medical uses cannabis -- either the whole flower or isolated compounds -- might have on public health. 28 countries -- including the US and Canada -- have some form of medical cannabis law that ostensibly allows an authorized patient to spark up a spliff in the comfort of their own...

Key Links Smart medical advicefromDr. Terry SimpsonSupport us on Patreon ---------- There's a common stanza for Americans who travel abroad: DON'T DRINK THE WATER. To find out why -- or even if -- that's a problem, we enlisted the help of one of our good friends, Dr. Terry Simpson. Prepare to be terrified back to the tap… unless you’re traveling overseas.

As a special treat to those of you who stay subscribe to our podcast, we’ll be releasing some special, long form audio over the coming weeks as we travel to Cambodia, China, Japan, and Korea before landing back in America. Today, you’ll hear a long-form ambient audio recording of one of the most bizarre -- at least by western standards -- religious events in Thailand. It’s called the Sak Yant Wai Kru. It takes place every year at a temple called Wat Bang Pra, which is about 50 km NW of...

It’s almost impossible not to learn things as you travel. After traveling to 20 different countries as we’ve lived as expats for over 3 years, we’ve racked up quite a few memories and life-lessons we’ll take back with us to America. On this, the final episode of the 4th season of podcast, we’ll list the major life lessons each of us has learned from every single country we visited across three continents. Some might surprise you. Some might make you think. But all of it should make you...

In the three years we’ve been traveling the world, we’ve eaten some weird food. But what’s the most bizarre food we’ve encountered. That’s the question we’re answering on this, the penultimate episode of Season 4 of our comedy/travel/advice podcast. (Don’t worry: Season 5 is right around the corner.) For Sheila, the answer was mashed potatoes covered in fish eggs she found -- and loved -- in Spain. Your challenge is to replicate the recipe the next time you sit down for a traditional...

If you haven't heard the news, we’re going to be grandparents in the next few months. So of course, the most important thing we have to decide is the names we want this new kid to call us. Today on the program we’ll detail all the names we’ve considered, settling on a few we’d be happy with. We found a few lists of trendy names for grandparents, and a lot of them are just silly. Which we kinda like. Here are the ones what we’re considering, some more or less seriously than...

Listener Tiffany from Puerto Rico wants to know what we think about this racist, ignorant map that supposedly denotes how Americans really view the world. Now obviously, we don’t like it, and Tiffany wasn’t looking for us to confirm its accuracy. So we take it as a springboard to talk about the realities of terrible geographic knowledge that plagues American… and probably every other nationality. If you leave us a quick voicemail, we’ll play it -- with an actual answer -- on next week’s...

Recorded live on location at Save Our Souls after probably too many beers, Evo goes on a tear about the English alphabet. What predicated this outrage/outburst? Learning the Thai alphabet, obviously. (Don’t worry about the incorrect number of Thai consonants and vowels Evo says on the show. Did we mention he’d been drinking?) Linguists probably won’t care much for this episode. But pragmatists, realists, and anyone who isn’t a native English speaker but has learned this goofy language will...