Week four of release brings the next part of the saga of Laurene, Jen, Kris, and Serene’s journey in Saigon.   This week sees the team face some hard questions about their future.

Episode 4

“With Ben gone and Jen with lingering questions about the future of their relationship, the team examines their first month in Saigon and whether they are really experiencing the "true" Vietnam.”

Don’t forget a new episode comes every Friday (rain, shine or otherwise).  Mark your calendars, tell your friends.

NEW EPISODE HERE

On a spontaneous overnight trip, Ryan and I left Quito on Wednesday afternoon in search of fresh air and adventure. We took a 2 hour bus to the small town of Latacunga and were fortunate enough to breeze into the perfect hostel and snag the last available beds. Of course, at that hour they were both upper bunks in 10-person dorm rooms, but who’s complaining?

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Hey all,  My name is Lynne, and I’m your first-ever Scottish cast member on Jet Set Zero.  Get excited.  I like riding  trains with strangers, singing off-key and playing football.  That’s soccer to you, aye?

My experience in Quito thus far can be summarized in the 2 words that comprise the title of this post.  I have had the pleasure of traveling all over the globe in my life time and never have I adjusted so quickly to living in a foreign country .  When I first arrived here 3 weeks ago today I had no idea that this city and country would win me over so quickly.  I think it’s the colonial architecture that reminds me of my time in Mexico, or maybe it’s the Spanish that is beautifully spoken all around, the music, or the food that is so delicious. Something makes me feel that  I have been here before and I probably liked it back then too.  To be fair though it hasn’t been all perfect for me here, we have been repeatedly warned about the safety concerns in around the city, I have yet to find a job and am still trying to make sense of the Ecuadorean way of life.  I am making a trip along with a friend to Mindo which is an awesome little town about 2 and a half hours from Quito.  The place is supposed to be in a cloud forest and be full of animals and amazing plant life for me to photograph. I can’t wait. Hope to have some good shots for this weekend.

(PHOTO OFFICIELLE DE L’EQUIPE JET SET ZERO A QUITO)

No alien there… (the dog is quiteño)
Ici pas d’étranger (le chien est quiteño)!

Hi!  I’m Sarah.  I’m described by my European friends as the most typical American they have ever met, a direct result of my overuse of the word “love “ and total abuse of superlatives (not every weekend can really be the BEST one I’ve ever had).

I never studied abroad in college so instead of eating Piatzas on European Rivieras I chowed down on hot dogs at Chicago’s Weiner Circle.  When I graduated from Northwestern I moved to India for four months to work for an AIDS organization.  After several near death-by-rickshaw scares I beelined to New York and fell into a life defined by cramped apartments, $10 beers and True Blood vampires in my marketing job at HBO.

Earlier this year I got into business school and the thought of attending finance classes and honing my resume for the next two years left me feeling antsy.   I also loved my job at HBO but felt compelled to see more of the world.  To the horror of my parents I decided an advanced education and a “steady, 401K, heavy-benefits” career were just not as appealing as being an English teacher in Italy.  At least not at this point in my life.

The way I see it, NOW is my opportunity to jet set.  I am 26-years old, single and mortgage-less.  If not now, when? Check out our continued adventures around the world at: www.sistersbailey.wordpress.com

The first major hurdle in Quito was finding a place to call home which we did in a very short amount of time, I arrived on a Wednesday night and we were moving into the the 3 bedroom on Carrion Street that Monday afternoon. Job hunting has not been easy for us in Quito. I have been pounding the pavement on foot, by taxi and on the public buses. I have gone to 4 or 5 schools where I have been asked to fill out an application and leave my resume, then I’m usually told “Thanks for stopping by. Someone will be getting back to you shortly.” This is the time to hustle and keep our noses to the grindstone. I did go to an elementary school this weekend in a very colonial part of the old town where I met with the principal and he seemed very receptive and loved my CV. One issue I am finding is not physically having my degree with me in Quito is apparently closing some doors for me as schools need this to verify your education. After the last interview I got on the horn with my family back home in Chicago and hopefully they can send it my way this week. My goal is to have a job before the month is out.

But there they were Freddie, Laurene, and Evan the filmer. As we got more acquainted in the taxi back to the apartment we made small conversation as I just looked in aw as I new I already loved the city, because it looked like the after effects of Armageddon. I was shown the apartment and we went out to buy knives!

Being something I would have done anywhere I was pumped to get my blade. We walked in the store and within 15 seconds I found my baby. Black with a little silver button that flipped that blade open as if it were happy to see me. After I bought Jasmine we went back to the apartment to get ready ato go out. Freddie and Evan ran into some guys saying they were putting on an art show. So they threw that idea at us and I was in. So off to No Lugar (no place) we went. We caught a taxi which by the way drives 87 miles an hour through tiny narrow streets honking at everything. Another mile an hour and we would have ended up in 1955 playing Johnny Be Good at our parents’ Enchantment Under the Sea dance.

We were walked through a small set of stairs leading into a small alley way….I held onto Jasmine pretty tight. The alley way lead to an amazing view of the city light up like thousands of gold coins spilled and sparkling. To the left of the alley was an open door which had posters that had porn covers painted on in a different aspect….Although the art was pretty good I think that little Colombian artist was just perving as he drew it all. We went back out to the deck area and mingled with the locals. Well Freddie and Evan did; I just stood there pretending I knew why they were laughing. After about an hour we decided to take off and go get some food.

As we headed back to where we lived – Santa Clara – I started to get tired until I read a sign that read pizza and a coke $1.50. As we ate our pizza Evan began to give me a rundown about these party buses you can rent out basically to just show off and drive through the city. We finished our food and left walking aimlessly through the town. My mind was still on this damn party bus and wouldn’t you know it here one comes blasting awful music and people shouting. I could only stare because I was in shock. My dream for the night was about to come true, well I thought so at least. We crossed the street and before anyone said anything I ranced (ran danced) after the bus as it stopped on the side of the road. I stared at the “security” guard with confidence and a huge smile making gestures to let me on.

Then BOOM I was on and IT was also on. I looked back just to see if anyone else wanted to share my excitement when I see Evan with a big smile running after the bus. The bus stopped but I sure didn’t. Like I said it was on I just danced in the middle of everyone. As Evan climbed on so did Freddie and Laurene. Not thinking and not meaning to, I danced on some girl who turned out to be a fairly large man’s lady. Still filled with euphoria I was Johnny noodle legging that entire bus up and down until I felt a bear claw on my shoulder. Smiling I looked back – at the moment I thought it was Satan – but ended up just being the girl’s boyfriend. Yelling at me in Spanish I couldn’t help but laugh because of the situation. Satan didn’t like this and pushed me. As Evan began to reach for the camera, Bear’s girlfriend and a few others began to kick us all out. We turned around in defeat until Evan saw a girl he met the previous day and she was pumped and invited us all back on. But the damage was done and Satan bear was not having it.

Although that night was a lost battle the war of the party bus has just been declared by yours truly. And if Bear satan is on again he better be prepared for some Johnny noodle legs. -REMPTION-

Hello! I am Perrin Bailey. While I’m intensely organized (bonus traveler points) I’m also extremely clumsy (points voided!). Think Danny Tanner meets Pinky from Pinky and The Brain.

I grew up in Virginia with my older sister, fellow cast member Sarah. After a nerdy suburban youth I moved to Philly to be an English major then NYC to plan ad campaigns – at first for a no-name publishing company that went bankrupt (the slow, painful Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 way) and ultimately for Disney. Regardless of progress on the job front and 5-night-a-week event schedule, I began to feel stifled in the smoggy day-to-day of the City. When you wake up and realize that the friendliest face in your neighborhood is that of a mustached hag who hollers at you every morning, “Hey handsome, wanna buy me a hot dog?” you realize you’ve got to get out, if only for a sabbatical.

However, I know nothing about living anywhere but America’s eastern flank. I’ve been plotting to travel worldwide in search of an optimal Perrin niche. A Perrin niche would be a place that welcomes lazy sugar addicts but doesn’t venerate McDonalds; a place where I could boat daily, own 5 dogs, dance by night and dress only in cashmere and high thread-count cotton. I don’t know if such a place is out there. But I don’t much care. I have late-stage Ferris Bueller syndrome.

I’m probably a fairly typical young adult, some key symptoms being: chronic restlessness; dissatisfaction with a good job; preoccupation with doing something meaningful with my life. Certainly when my dad asks what I’m going to do when I “return to the workforce,” it seems a bugger of a question. It’s better not to know when the return will be, isn’t it?  Now that I’ve quit my job, the only time in my head is T minus 20 days until Italy.

In the words of the feisty entrepreneur Jack Donaghy of 30 Rock, “You’re a lion. Take what’s yours.” Though Jack is a fictional character who talks to himself, I can’t shake his wisdom, and I can’t WAIT to take on Italy with Jet Set Zero.

(Version française plus bas)

I’ve been looking for a job for two weeks and I haven’t had much success so far.

I went to the ”Alliance Française”, the most official French language center for Ecuadorians who want to take French classes. Unfortunately I couldn’t talk to the program director who was out of town for the entire week. But, since I now knew her name, I decided to send her an email hoping she would get back to me first thing Monday morning. And she did. She said she would send me an application form, but that only applicants with a ”maîtrise FLE, a FLE master’s degree or a DAEFLE” were eligible to teach at the Alliance. (All those diplomas are the equivalent of a four-year TEFL degree.)

''El Ecovia''- a handy bus system to get around the city.

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