My Beautiful Adventures – even the title makes you want to dig in! Andi Perullo is a travel writer, photographer, and Chinese medicine doctor. She’s also a world traveler that loves to share her experiences – and does so quite beautifully. Her website is a gorgeous ode to the joys and challenges of travel – extremely readable, and definitely inspirational!

We caught up with Andi and asked her about her site, bucket list, combining travel and work, digging deeply into a new culture, traveling off the beaten path, and more. Here’s what she had to say…

WE: Please tell us about My Beautiful Adventures…

AP: While the focus is travel, I blog about all of my beautiful adventures in life whether on the road or not.  A person does not have to be traveling to explore, the second they walk out their front door every morning there is an adventure waiting to happen – I hope that my blog can inspire people to start thinking like that.

WE: What was the genesis of your site? 

AP: My Beautiful Adventures began simply as a way to share my travel stories and photos with my friends and family.  I was not prepared in any way for it to become a full-time job.  However, it has been one of the best and most fulfilling surprises of my life!

WE: I love your bucket list - can you please tell us more about it (and what is up next for you, on the list)?

AP: I am a big believer in dreaming big and doing everything in your power to make those dreams come true.  That is why I created a public Bucket List, because I wanted to show people that I walk the talk.  I was recently able to cross off getting married in a foreign country and staying in a villa in Tuscany.  I am hoping to learn how to fly a plane this year.

WE: How do you combine your love of travel with your work? 

AP: I am my own boss.  That helps a lot, because I can choose my hours and I never have to request vacation time.  I know that this is not possible for everyone, thus I recommend trying to find a job that allows for a lot of vacation time or taking many short trips throughout the year.  I did the latter while I was in Graduate School and saw over 30 countries in 4 years!
I also think it is about making travel a priority.  I think twice before spending my money on anything.  Do I really need this dress that is the same price as a flight to the Caribbean?  Personally, I love having roots and wings at the same time.  I could never be a fulltime traveler; it would not be fulfilling enough to me.

WE: How can travelers best dig deeply into a culture/new place?

AP: By befriending a local. Whether you meet the local in a coffee shop or bar or through a social networking site, it is irrelevant, but locals are the best way to truly get to know a new place.  I am also a fan of learning some of the language of the country you are traveling in before going there.  Communication opens the doors to so many possibilities.

WE: What are your top tips for traveling off the beaten path?

AP: Lose the map and the fear.  Embrace getting lost and having misadventures.  Trust in the good of others around you.  Be open to having your plans completely changed.

WE: Where are you traveling to next?

AP: My brother is living in Hong Kong, so I hope to visit him in the spring and combine my trip there with a stopover in another Asian country that I have never visited before.  My husband and I will be visiting his family in Argentina for a couple of weeks in the summer.  My big trip of the year will be somewhere exotic for my 30th Birthday in July (the destination at this time is still unknown).

WE:Thanks so very much, Andi! I love reading your site, and recommend it to our Wandering Educators!

Want to read more? Head to http://mybeautifuladventures.com/

All photos courtesy and copyright Andi Perullo