About Me

The Travelling Twin

Who am I?

Hi, my name is Michelle, and I'm a travel-aholic. Nice to meet you. I'm a 25 year old former actor, daycare provider, barista, server, tourism Superhost, accountant, historian, archaeologist, and teacher; currently a bank teller, singer, writer and traveller ~ whew! And yes, I'm a TWIN!

It's funny because I usually don't tell people that I am a twin when I meet them . . . I'll say I have a sister, but leave out the twin bit for later. However, in inner family and friend circles, I'm certainly The Travelling Twin!

One of the greatest joys of travelling, for me, is to share my experiences and stories with as many people who will listen. Come along with me on my travels via my postings and pictures - you're more than welcome!

My Story

Originally, my fresh-faced and starry-eyed self wanted to be a high school teacher - Chemistry and History, weird combo, I know. Must be the Gemini in me. After a couple years of at Simon Fraser University, I was struck by a load of indecision. Calculus II did not go very well, and French seemed like fun . . . but what about those Geography teaching required courses? EEK! At a crossroads, I decided to scale back the school, and ramp up the fun . . . isn't that what early twentysomethingyearolds are good at?

The decision to lessen the school load couldn't have come at a better time musically speaking. I have been an avid choral singer for 20 years, and in the fall of 2004, choir needed a new GM and I was happy to take on the role. My long-time dream of a Christmas/Seasonal CD was finally realized, and we hired a new director. All very exciting stuff!

I soon realized, however, that in order to graduate and have some letters behind my name, I would need to pay a bit more attention to my studies. The new choir director was turning out to be a drip, so finally on one fateful day in January 2005, I made a decision that changed my life forever.

As I lay in bed on a Thursday morning (don't you miss random days off?) I thought to myself: "I think it would be fun to do an exchange semester."

So I checked it out . . .
-valid passport - check
-two letters of recommendation - check? (I'm sure I've sucked up to enough profs this semester to manage that . . )
-a Statement of Interest - check, my entire degree is in making up interesting stuff
-and a bunch of random other documents . . .

The application deadline: TOMORROW AT 10AM -- S*&#!

Long story short, I managed to get my application in on time, got accepted, and in the fall of 2006, headed off to Scotland for one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Castles, loch's, swimming with Nessie, dinners of haggis, neeps, and tatties, and beer - lots of beer, a bit of scotch and some amazing nights with some amazing friends :o)

After a truly incredible semester and an absolutely EPIC three day journey home, it was time to head back to work for a couple short months before jetting off again, this time to Europe for 10 weeks! March to May, Turkey to Ireland, and a lot of places in between, it was quite the trip!

Back in Vancouver, I graduated with my long sought after degree in History with a Concentration in British Studies - Michelle Arduini, BA - and endured a brief spell of domestication - boyfriend, apartment, steady job . . . and was miserable. So I left the guy, moved home, quit the job and started looking for my next adventure. A good friend was going to Greece for SFU's summer field school, but since I've always enjoyed summers in Vancouver, I wanted an option for fall. I found it soon enough in SFU's Dig Greece program, which lets completely unexperienced students play archaeologist for a semester on a Greecian island!

By this time I had started (and lost interest in) my post-bacc diploma in English Literature. My original goal was to do my MA, and eventually teach at the college or university level in English, but indecision prevailed once more and it was off to Greece. $8000+ for the 12 upper division credits that would go towards my next degree proved to be absolutely worth it. Being an archaeologist is fun, you get to go to sleep late, get up early, dig in the dirt, help move a mountain (or at least part of it!), learn a new language, learn about ancient burial practices, meet the locals, and get to know 17 fantastic individuals from my own city on the other side of the world!

Someone at SFU generously decided that we might need a week's break from our already idyllic lifestyle, so I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to get to Egypt for about 10 days in October 2008 to fulfill a lifelong dream. It was an amazing trip, where I met some great fellow travellers and lined up some very important contacts for my upcoming travels! Anne, a friend I met on that trip, owns the vineyard in Australia where I will be working a year from now, from March-November 2011.

Before getting there however, Lisa (whom I met in Scotland) and I are headed to London, South Africa and Kuala Lumpur. And before that, I need to pack everything I need, sell everything I don't and get ready for the next great adventure!