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About Me

Having been born and raised in my beautiful home state of Oregon, I grew up running around in our local forests and swimming in the cold waters of our Cascade Lakes. Always a fan of the Ducks, I am now a proud alumni of The University of Oregon where I graduated armed with degrees in Spanish and Sociology. It was during my time as a Duck that so many great opportunities came to light and when I began my journey of where I find myself today — as a vagabond of the world. 

 

While holding the title of an expat sounds much more posh than a wondrous vagabond, they're not quite different when it comes to intention of travel. What I have found to be the distinctive difference between the two is that while an expat travels with a motivation to make a new home, a vagabond always finds a way back to his or her native land. I don't believe that I could or would leave behind my home for good. For that reason, I know that I will always leave my heart in Oregon.

 

My love for travel has always been apparent, but I got a real taste of the world in between my years at The University of Oregon where I had the chance to work with Operation Groundswell and travel to Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, for six weeks. While there, I was partnered with communities organizers to learn about the lands and livelihoods of people whose lives are so different than my own. After graduating, I dropped everything and moved abroad to work as an English teacher in Spain. I spent two years in Spain until the Coronavirus pandemic surged through Europe and the rest of the world. I moved back to Oregon, but have yet to stop exploring. I hope to always continue this adventure of life by creating longtime friendships, truly seeing the world, and pushing the boundaries of concepts of which I believe to have static definitions. 

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So call me a wondrous vagabond if you'd like. You can chose to between the labels of expat, nomad, or wonderer. Just know that whatever my intentions become during my travels, I will never forget the road to home. 

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All the best, 

Ryann

 

Contact Me:

ryann.vanderzwiep@hotmail.com

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About Me

22 Countries, 4 Continents, & Counting! Keep checking back to see what I have planned next and read on to experience it all again with me. 

 

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