A New Chapter
Soooooo this is the blog post where I tell all. A few of my pals on Twitter and Facebook have been wondering what I’m up to as I hinted at changes - big ones - that I was making in my life. Well here’s what’s happening.
On New Year’s Eve I will be doing my last circuit gig for the foreseeable future at Leicester Highlight. After 17 years on the circuit I’ve decided its time for a sabbatical.
This year has been pretty rotten in all kinds of ways - the deaths of both my Dad and my good friend Jason Wood - and my own ill health have focussed me in a way I’ve not been in a very long time. The simple fact is I’m ready for a change. I still love my time onstage, but all the “stuff” that surrounds it, well that’s the bit I’ve had enough of.
Next week I begin my month long CELTA course and please god I will emerge at the end of September with a certificate, recognised by Cambridge University, that will enable me to teach English almost anywhere in the world.
I love to travel and in particular love being in SE Asia. I’ve said before that I always feel like I’ve come home when I touch down in that part of the world, be it Bangkok or Shanghai or Kuala Lumpur and with this certificate I can hopefully spend longer periods of time in those cities and other places in the area.
I’m not starting off there though. In January I fly off to India for five whole months, three of which are going to be spent doing “working meditation” on an ashram in Pune. I’ve been told I could be doing anything from mopping floors to making cappuccinos so it’s gonna be interesting to say the least!
From there my plan is to spend next summer in Barcelona both teaching English and learning Spanish, before heading off to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and wherever my fancy takes me.
I cannot tell you how excited I am at the thought of this mahoooosive lifestyle change. I’ve been dreaming of it for a long time and finally I am in a position financially to make it happen. One lesson I am taking from this year is that life really is too short to put off living your dreams.
I’ll still be writing about my adventures and in due course I’ll be letting you know where you can read about them.
I’m not turning my back on performing either. I rather suspect that I might just finally come up with something I wanna talk about for an hour every night in Edinburgh after this!
On New Year’s Eve I will be doing my last circuit gig for the foreseeable future at Leicester Highlight. After 17 years on the circuit I’ve decided its time for a sabbatical.
This year has been pretty rotten in all kinds of ways - the deaths of both my Dad and my good friend Jason Wood - and my own ill health have focussed me in a way I’ve not been in a very long time. The simple fact is I’m ready for a change. I still love my time onstage, but all the “stuff” that surrounds it, well that’s the bit I’ve had enough of.
Next week I begin my month long CELTA course and please god I will emerge at the end of September with a certificate, recognised by Cambridge University, that will enable me to teach English almost anywhere in the world.
I love to travel and in particular love being in SE Asia. I’ve said before that I always feel like I’ve come home when I touch down in that part of the world, be it Bangkok or Shanghai or Kuala Lumpur and with this certificate I can hopefully spend longer periods of time in those cities and other places in the area.
I’m not starting off there though. In January I fly off to India for five whole months, three of which are going to be spent doing “working meditation” on an ashram in Pune. I’ve been told I could be doing anything from mopping floors to making cappuccinos so it’s gonna be interesting to say the least!
From there my plan is to spend next summer in Barcelona both teaching English and learning Spanish, before heading off to Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and wherever my fancy takes me.
I cannot tell you how excited I am at the thought of this mahoooosive lifestyle change. I’ve been dreaming of it for a long time and finally I am in a position financially to make it happen. One lesson I am taking from this year is that life really is too short to put off living your dreams.
I’ll still be writing about my adventures and in due course I’ll be letting you know where you can read about them.
I’m not turning my back on performing either. I rather suspect that I might just finally come up with something I wanna talk about for an hour every night in Edinburgh after this!
Labels: Misc and TV
posted by JoJo Smith at Saturday, August 21, 2010
1 Comments:
How fantastic. I'm very envious. Have been thinking long and hard about the direction I want to take and new learning and travel have featured. I don't know where I want to go, I just know I want to go.
Congratulations Jojo on making the decision and having the courage of your convictions to make it happen.
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