How an Elementary School Teacher Became the New York Times Travel Writer- Seth Kugel

Seth Kugel is the travel writer for the New York Times. He has the job so many people want— travel around the world and get paid for it. He wrote the New York Times Frugal Traveler column for 6 years and has published the book, “Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious.” He has the job so many people dream of, but he didn’t actually plan on becoming a travel writer or even a journalist. His first job out of college was a third-grade bilingual teacher in the Bronx in NYC. After getting his masters degree, he then worked in an immigrant services project for the City of New York. After being encouraged by a college friend, he took a writing class, which led to him becoming a freelance writer for the New York Times and then a travel writer. He shares how he turned his hobbies into his job, such as learning new languages and traveling, and the unusual and kind of crazy ways he learned Portuguese and Spanish. Another fun fact about Seth is that he is also a Youtube star. He has two Youtube channels, Globally Curios and Amigo Gringo in Portuguese. Amigo Gringo has almost 500,000 subscribers and he has been on every late night talk show in Brazil. He is a celebrity there— people recognized him on the street and ask him for his autograph and pictures. He has achieved his life long dream of becoming famous in another country! Learn more about Give One Dream, the community I have built to inspire people to pursue their dreams: www.giveonedream.com Today’s show notes: www.celinalee.co/episode19