Interested in having an overseas experience? Want to learn more about cultures around the world? Do you think you have what it takes to move abroad and teach/study/volunteer for a year in a foreign country? Maybe you should Go Overseas!

Andrew Dunkle is in the business of helping people go abroad for work, study, and volunteer projects. Find out what it takes to make your travel dreams come true today.

MSW: Thanks for joining us today, Andrew. Can we start with an introduction? Who are you and what do you do?

AD: Hi Carrie, thank you for featuring me on MSW. For all your readers, my name is Andrew Dunkle and currently I am the web developer and senior editor of GoOverseas.com. These past two years it has been my singular purpose to construct this site, starting from scratch, and I am very proud to now see it flourish.

MSW: You’ve lived in several different countries. Can you briefly outline what you were doing in each country and how you liked it?

AD: Currently I am living in gorgeous San Francisco, home of the Golden Gate Bridge. The story of how I got here could fill a book, but for the sake of brevity, I will try and keep it to the interesting parts.

I was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but this place had little bearing on my life because my family moved to Colorado when I was two months old. I grew up there for the next 11 years and still consider Colorado my real ‘home.’ I played soccer, joined the Boy Scouts, and generally lived the cliche of an American boy growing up in the 90′s. Life was good and probably would have continued uneventfully had it not been for a sudden announcement at the end of my 4th grade. Our family was moving to New Zealand.

You see, my parents love to travel. Before the age of 10 I had already been to more countries than most people travel to in a lifetime. One of those trips was to Australia and New Zealand, and while I don’t have any real memories of this visit, it apparently had a profound impact on my parents. With a truly adventurous spirit we said goodbye to all our friends and family (who probably thought my parents were crazy), and hopped on a plane bound for New Zealand.

However, my parents quickly ran into a problem – jobs or lack thereof. They had all the required work visas, but I guess if you can’t shear sheep, job opportunities in New Zealand are few and far between. Nonetheless, I do remember enjoying ourselves in New Zealand, but that doesn’t pay the bills. After six months we decided to give Australia a shot. This turned out to be the right decision and we continued to live happily in the Brisbane area for another five years.

Looking back, I can definitely see that living in Australia and New Zealand has shaped my current values and outlook on life. The people there live with a very positive attitude, always friendly, always smiling, living by the mantra of “No worries, mate.” We even became Australian citizens and I will always consider Australia a part of who I am.

Sorry, this is getting a little long, but I am really enjoying sharing this with everyone!

At the age of 16 my family decided to move back to the United States, first to Arizona, and then Colorado again. I had to wait until college for my next overseas adventure when I studied abroad in Italy. This was in the summer of 2006 and I had an amazing time. Even today this was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a three month time-span.

As if I hadn’t lived overseas enough already, after college I immediately left for Taiwan to teach English. The plan was to stay for a year, but as I am sure you know, Taiwan is an amazing place and I ended up staying for two years.

I have been living in San Francisco now for almost a year, but have so far done little traveling. This is probably one of the longest periods of my life where my passport didn’t get a new stamp. Hopefully that will change soon!

Phew! Well, thats my life thus far. Ready for the next question!

MSW: What are your top three travel destinations?

AD: The first one is easy – Hawaii. I absolutely love these islands and will take every opportunity to visit. So far I have been there 11 times (I actually had to call my mom to verify this), and we’re already planning our next visit next summer.

Coming in at number two would be the Dolomites in Northern Italy. You would think that growing up in Colorado I would be used to seeing mountains, but I was blown away by the sheer beauty and majesty of the Alps.

I also have found memories of visiting Noose Head and the rest of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. An endless beach all to myself is my kind of vacation.

MSW: Can you tell us a little bit about Go! Overseas? What are your goals with the site and why did you start it?

AD: I started GO! Overseas with my partner Mitch Gordon with the goal to provide a comprehensive resource for internet users interested in meaningful travel abroad. Currently our database contains thousands of opportunities to teach, study, or volunteer abroad in every corner of the world.

The idea to build such an ambitious website came after meeting Mitch in Taiwan where I was teaching English. I don’t have a formal background in web development, but I do have a strong ability to learn whatever I need to in order to achieve my goals. That was two years ago and after a lot of blood, sweat, and tears the site is finally alive and well.

The goal of our site is simple – to provide any internet user with the means to travel abroad in a meaningful way. If you are looking for an opportunity to teach, study, or volunteer abroad, and read user reviews to find the best program, then GO! Overseas was built for you.

MSW: What do you like about what you do?

AD: I like the freedom that my job allows. I am sitting in a coffee shop as I am writing this, and tomorrow I could hop on any bus and find a new coffee shop to work in. I have never worked in an office, and at this point, I don’t think I ever could.

MSW: What advice would you offer to first-time ESL teachers?

AD: I actually just wrote a post for GO! Overseas titled, 10 Things You Should Know Before Teaching Abroad. If I had to pick one thing though, it would be to take a Teaching  English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) course. Yes, they can be expensive, but if you have very little teaching experience coming into the job it can really make a difference and set you up to be an effective teacher.

MSW: Can you offer three travel/food/accommodation tips about the city you are currently living in?

AD: As I stated above, I am currently living in San Francisco which is on the West Coast of the United States. To name only three travel tips would not do this city justice, but here are a couple places I have enjoyed visiting so far.

1. California Academy of Sciences – This place is amazing and definitely worth a visit. They have a huge planetarium, indoor rain forest, and a giant aquarium among many other exhibits. If you go on a Friday night you can still enjoy all of this while jamming out to live music and sipping on a margarita. Good times!

2. Sausalito – This is a small town right on the Bay just to the north of San Francisco. The area is kind of expensive, but really pretty and worth a day visit.

3. The Cheese Board – This is a famous pizzeria located in Berkeley just a block away from where I live. It’s rather unique in that each day they only make one kind of pizza, but I’ve yet to be disappointed.

MSW: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I’ve always observed this strange dynamic between people who travel and live abroad and those who stay behind. I think we (travelers) all have those friends from high school who are already married, have a kid (or two!), and are clearly embedded within the 9-5 working culture. Over the years I have found that I talk less and less with these people. Our conversations inevitably land on why I’m doing what I’m doing, and they never seem to be satisfied with my answer, which is why not?

I understand that long-term travel is not for everyone and nor do I think it should be. My firm belief though is that people should not be afraid to do whatever it takes to make them happy.