Did you miss us? We missed you. And we wish we could say that to you in a foreign language. But since we’re proud Americans the grew up in the ‘80s, we don’t speak any other language but one. And poorly at that!

That’s the issue we’re tackling today: The differences in language education in America vs what it’s like overseas.

Full episode details: https://www.theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2019/11/8/why-is-foreign-language-education-a-foreign-idea-in-america

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon.

We’re back after a long absence -- an absence explained in detail to our supporters -- to talk about air travel in America. Recent cross-country trips for both of us are causing us to pine for the ease, reliability, and cost-savings of traveling overseas

So leave your assumptions aside and listen in as we tell you why air travel in America downright sucks when compared to the experience in many developing nations.

Full episode details: https://www.theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2019/4/4/american-air-travel-is-awful

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

Back in 2015, Evo spent several hours in a tattoo chair in Thailand. Just a few weeks ago, Sheila got a new tattoo in America.

The differences were vast. Join us as we talk about the finer details, including

• Time investment
• Overall skill of the artists
• Sanitation and sterilization
• … and more!

We’ll leave the decision to permanently remember your next trip overseas with indelible ink -- or Hep C -- in your hands.

Full episode details: https://www.theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/12/24/tattoos-over-here-vs-tattoos-over-there-season-5-episode-11

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

Recorded during a road-trip to San Diego, we were inspired to compare our current situation to where we just were for the better part of three years, traipsing all around a developing nation wherever the road would take us.

Also, this episode is very late. We’re sorry about that. And the audio is rough, but that makes it more “authentic”, right?

Tune in and hear us talk about comfort, safety, and law enforcement differences from here to there.

Full episode details: https://www.theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/12/5/tripping-out-on-road-trips-abroad-season-5-episode-10

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

Today, we are going to talk about travel. Yes, we’ve talked about travel for the better part of 4 years. But this time, we’re taking a broader look at how air travel works in places like Southeast Asia. Because unless you’ve experienced it first hand, you likely have some misconceptions about air travel in developing nations.

Topics covered include:

• “Taxis” aren’t always taxis
• curbside check-in
• Airports that make LAX and DFW look like regional airstrips
• Standing on the walkways
• Why we really dislike KLIA (Kuala Lumpur Int’l Airport)
• Immigration miscues and mis-queues
• Planes don’t fly out of the sky
• No chickens on the plane
• Only beautiful people allowed as flight crew
• Exceptional food
• … and more!

So leave your assumptions aside and listen in as we tell you why air travel to developing nations is often rather great.

Full episode details: https://theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/10/31/airing-out-the-stereotypes-of-third-world-air-travel-season-5-episode-9

Let’s talk about your place of residence. Specifically if you’re renting the place in which you live. And even more specifically, the horrible “switching costs” associated with moving from one address to another.

Moving. It sucks. Which is probably why, statistically speaking, you’ve probably lived in the same place for a very long time. Moving… sucks. At least, it does here in the west. But in developing nations? It’s kind of a breeze.

We’re sharing with you just how incredibly simple it was to move around condos in Bangkok with literally the clothes on our back. Because in many developing nations, the concept of owning furniture is downright odd.

Full episode details: https://theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/10/3/its-too-painful-to-move

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

It’s hard to believe we’ve been making this podcast for four years, across five different seasons. And in that time, we’ve never really talked about religion. Well… that’s changing.

Based on our time abroad in some 20-ish countries in 3.5 years, we’re qualified enough to discuss the “optics” of religion in societies around the world.

This isn’t a comparative study of religion for college credit. No, this is real-world things we’ve seen and heard in more than a few nations, from emerging to established.

Full episode details: https://theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/9/26/proselytizing-from-west-to-east

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

As you might imagine, there are lots of little things that we notice that bug us. Things you probably ignore.  Things that we ignored the first four decades of our lives. Some of those are so baked into the very fabric of our lives, they disappear into the background. So much so, that you don’t think about them. Until you’re out of clean underwear.

Listen to this episode and find out exactly how convenient it is to have access to nearly full-service laundry in every home really is.

Hopefully you’ll never look a gift clean pair of underwear in the mouth again. Though why you want any sort of underwear in your mouth is beyond me. But keep flying your freak flag. We won’t judge.

Full episode details: https://theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/9/16/dirty-underwear-abroad-season-5-episode-6

Become a Patron and get early access and great bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

Traveling the world, we’ve had some pretty great coffee. But the Senegalese spiced coffee we found tops the list.

Listen in to learn more and to discover that, if you play your cards right, we just might send you some as a token of our appreciation, Patron.

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This is the actual episode we released to our patrons over the weekend. We're giving it to you, the listener of our "regular" show, so you know what sorts of things we get into on the Patreon-only show. 

If you like where you hear, Sign up. And help it spread. Invite your friends to check out our Patreon page. Please? https://shevo.wtf/patreon

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We’re taking a look inside your refrigerator.  Not that we care what kind of food you eat. You do you. No, what we want talk about is how the items in your fridge or your pantry got there.

We’re claiming expert knowledge of shopping around the world.  Where many travelers stick to dining out when they visit a new country, we LIVED in most of the countries when we traveled,  and tried to live as “locally” as was possible. That means we shopped in lots of grocery stores, bodegas, fresh produce stands, and boutique markets in lots of different places. Which was, for the most part, a lot of fun.

Full episode details: https://theopportunistictravelers.com/blog/2018/9/11/grocery-shopping-the-western-way-season-5-episode-5

Become a Patron and get early access plus bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon

Living in Phoenix Arizona, it really seems like there is a new ethnic restaurant popping up on every corner. Ethiopian food. Peruvian food. Dominican Republic food… You could probably eat the cuisine of a different culture at least once a week (maybe even twice a week) for an entire year and still not have covered all of our ethnic food choices.

And that’s us in this overgrown cow-town we call Phoenix!

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Key Links:

• Niccolo Chengdu - Best hotel experience in China!
• Thipsamai - Best Pad Thai in the world!
• Support us! - The best way to help the show

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We’re not so bold as to assume our 3.5 years living abroad has made us qualified to talk about the state of cuisine around the world. But we can sure poke fun at our American obsession of seeking out “the most authentic ethnic food”.

Spoiler: It’s dumb to think think there’s anything “authentic” about a single dish that’s supposed to represent the way that dish is prepared in a continent-sized country. We’ll give you some specific examples. You’ll agree with us at the end.

Full episode details: https://theopportunistictravelers.com/2018/9/4/is-the-ethnic-food-you-are-eating-really-authentic-season-5-episode-4

Become a Patron and get early access plus bonus content: https://shevo.wtf/patreon