Annyeong haseo! Hola! Hello!

My name is Mimsie Ladner. I hail from the small town of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA but call a few different places home. Like you might’ve guessed from my blog’s name — I’m happiest when on the move and exploring new lands. In fact, I’ve been living abroad since 2009, first in South Korea for almost a decade and now in Mexico City.

At university, I studied nursing only to realize soon after graduating that the job brought zero happiness into my life. Still on a travel high from a whirlwind trip around Europe that I had taken the previous summer, I decided to look into working abroad.

When browsing the Internet one day, I came across a website that promoted English teaching jobs in South Korea. Knowing almost nothing about the country, I sent in my resume, thinking why not. The very next day, I received a job offer and was off to Seoul the following month.

It didn’t take me long to fall in love with Korea.

Since then, I switched my career path to writing and currently work in marketing, am a freelance writer and even run my own tea business called Gachi. I’ve had also some amazing experiences in the process.

From filming a travel show with KLM Royal Dutch airlines to dancing in the 2011 Dream Concert to celebrating holidays in locals’ homes and gnawing on raw octopus with friends, it has been one adventure after the next.

From time to time, I’ve even had opportunities to travel to other countries, whether or vacation, volunteering or conducting tea research, and have learned a number of invaluable life lessons along the way.

My friends at “home” call me crazy for doing what I do, and I’ll admit that it’s not necessarily the conventional life path most take, but I’m loving every minute of it.

So, I hope you’ll take a look at some of my insights on the places I’m visiting. Maybe you’ll learn something new, or even better, be inspired to do a little soul searching of your own.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m not an expert on the places I visit. I’m not an authority. I’m a visitor, a traveler, an enthusiast. Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts. It even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you. It should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.  
– Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations