What’s Blazing Trails and Telling Tales all about?
There is nothing like getting out of town, hitting the road and blazing a new trail to a place you’ve never been. It is such a blast. And it keeps you all jazzed up and ready to live life on your own terms. So that’s what I do.
I travel. I research. And I write. Sometimes I travel a lot. Sometimes I travel a little. Sometimes I write a lot. Other times I write less. But this site is dedicated to sharing some of my experiences on the road and telling about what rocks in other countries. Because the world is just teeming with amazing people, cool cultures and awesome experiences. All just waiting to be had by me. And you. And everyone else.
About Sasha A. Rae, Trailblazer
This dude lives in a remote village in the Peruvian Andes where there is no running water and no electricity. But hes totally pimpin' The North Face here. Globalization + VolunTourism does not equal better lives for the locals.
1. Adventurer Extraordinaire
First and foremost, I’m an adventurer. I pack up and store my stuff, or sell my stuff or put my stuff in random places distributed in geographically diverse places that are hard to get to in one trip, and I hit the road. I have:
- kicked it all over the United States,
- hiked my way up a few rockin’ peaks in Canada,
- bonded with the Buddha in the mountains of China,
- gotten my climb on in South Korea,
- slurped down some serious coffee in Colombia, and
- bust out some sweet salsa moves in Nicaragua.
Right now, I’m catching up on all things Latin American and floating around in a dizzying array of almost-but-not-quite burritos. Really, if you want an authentic Mexican burrito, you have to go right to the source: Mexico. It’s like if you want the best coffee ever, you have to go to Colombia or Indonesia. If you want the sweetest technology and fastest internet speeds, you gotta hit up South Korea. Still, I haven’t found the spot yet that has the authentic burrito, the super stellar coffee, the sweet internet speeds *and* fresh sushi all in one amazing spot. Then again, I haven’t finished looking either.
2. Super Storyteller
I take my travel experiences and spin them into books, like this book of humorous travel tales about life in South Korea and China, or in-depth reports on the biggest social, political and economic issues in the places that I visit, such as this demographic investigation of a town in northern Nicaragua. In fact, I have a whole other website dedicated to the exploration of the most problematic issues in Latin America today. I also write short stories and personal essays. Cuz it’s all about telling the stories about what I’ve seen, heard, experienced and researched while on the road. Which brings us to number 3.
3. Rockin’ Researcher
Because research is sexy and nerds are making a comeback. Or so I tell myself. But whatever. Wherever I go, I shortly lose interest in anything that even thinks about being touristy, be it a person, place or thing, and find myself talking with a local resident about the political, economic and social happenings and problems in their area. Which are alarmingly similar everywhere thanks to political corruption, disaster capitalism and globalization gone wrong. That sets me off a research mission to find out the truth. Then I go tell someone who can do something about it. And if they don’t want to do something about it, I do.
Official Professional Experience
Traveling, researching and writing is the perfect way to pull together all of the skills I have acquired over the years. I have:
- 20 years of experience in writing and editing,
- 15 years of experience in doing in-depth investigations, and
- 7 years of experience in reporting and producing radio news stories and shows.
I also have:
- training in sociology from La Universidad Centroamericana in Managua, Nicaragua,
- a Master’s degree in communication and society from the University of Oregon,
- graduate training in transpersonal psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology,
- a Bachelor’s degree in radio and television production from Kent State University,
- hands-on experience and undergraduate coursework in broadcast journalism from Central Wyoming College, and
- training in German from Colorado State University.
The End — Almost. Okay, not really. Here’s a little bit more.
Whew! That is a wicked lot of information. Now it’s time to get down to some serious trailblazing. Happy adventuring wherever you are!
These Balinese dudes are dressed up and ready to roll on over to one of the many and varied Hindu ceremonies on the island of Bali, the only Hindu spot in a Muslim nation.
