Alexis Cannella

LOOK 👀, A DINOSAUR!! RAWR... 🦖🤣🤣 Did it for the shits and giggles 🙈🙊 #onceadorkalwaysadork

WHY YOU SHOULD SHOP LOCAL WHILE LIVING ABROAD [SAVE THIS] One of my favorite spots to explore when traveling has always been local markets. They are filled with life and color; a plethora of smells and countless locals doing their shopping. And now that I live abroad, my preferences still haven’t changed. Once a week, we do our grocery shopping and get ~75% of what we need from the Ubud Market, barely making a dent in our shopping budget because of how cheap and fresh everything is. Here are 5 reasons why you should absolutely shop local while living abroad: 🍎 COST Local markets tend to be much cheaper than going to the grocery store or using a food delivery service. SWIPE to see all the produce I bought for just $15 USD!!😮 🍍 SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY There has been a huge shift over the past few years to shop and support local businesses. And local markets are the perfect place to support local farmers and families while still getting fresh foods. Farmers and small business owners really benefit from your purchase, helping them to thrive! And don’t forget, you are also supporting the local economy too!! 🌱 FRESH Local produce does not have to travel far to get to you. So you get fresh and delicious produce every single day of the week. You will rarely see imported or GMO foods here! ♻️ MORE SUSTAINABLE & ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY Again, these foods are not imported and are locally grown. It reduces transportation costs and time, and reduces the food carbon footprint. Don’t forget to bring your reusable produce bags or used bags to put your groceries in! 👋 GET TO KNOW THE PEOPLE Here you have the perfect opportunity to step outside of your world and into the world of the locals. Strike up conversations, learn to speak the language and learn how to bargain, and make friends with the sellers. They love to chat and I have a few sellers I always go to because they are so much fun to talk with. Where will you shop while living/traveling abroad?? PS - if you haven’t already, SWIPE to see just how much food we bought for $15 USD. It’s amazing!!

WHAT’S THE WEATHER LIKE WHERE YOU ARE? Monsoon season here has brought so much rain and countless thunderstorms, but it’s the hot sun, cold drinks, and ocean waves I love the best. PS - I secretly miss the snow ❄️⛄️

STOP AND SMELL THE RICE FIELDS 🌾 Most travelers only visit Tegallalang rice terraces when in Bali, but the Jatiluwih rice terraces are honestly my favorite rice fields in all of Bali. With over 600 hectares of terraces and numerous walking trails throughout, Jatiluwih is the largest rice field in Bali. It’s only an hour drive from Ubud in the center of Bali and a perfect picnic day trip. This underrated gem is one I could go back to over and over again and never get tired of. SWIPE for more views 😍 Have you ever been to a rice field? Where?? 🌾

HOW DO YOU READ WHEN YOU TRAVEL?? One of my goals this year and in general is to read more. Like A LOT more - personal development, fantasy, fiction, biographies, classic world literature, modern literature, non-fiction, etc. You name it, I just might consider it 😂📚 Since I’ve traveled so much these past few years, it was always difficult to justify packing a 400-page book in my 40 L backpack for my adventures. Not to mention the weight and space a book takes up. I don’t have room for that 🙃🎒 Instead of paying for an online book/audiobook program, I used my library card to access a plethora ebooks and audiobooks for FREE!! Even now that I am living full-time abroad and have access to libraries and discount book shops, I still find myself using platforms like @hoopladigital @cloudlibrary__ and @overdrive_libs to read without spending money on books I cannot take with me when leave for a new country (whenever that will be...) Thanks to these amazing platforms, last month I read more books than I think I read in all of 2020 🥴🙈 📖 Finding Flow 📖 The Book of Joy 📖 When Breath Becomes Air 📖 Eat Pray Love 📖 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings 📖 Letter to My Daughter 📖 Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking And I am already 1/3 of the way through my next book and it is only the first of the month 😂 What are you currently reading?? And how do you read when you travel?

MY FIRST YEAR ABROAD - A THROWBACK TO 2020 #tb On January 29th, 2020, I packed up my room and put the boxes into my mom’s basement. I zipped up my life - or at least the parts of my life I wanted to bring with me on this new adventure - and said goodbye. My little brother purposefully skipped school to spend my last day in the US with me and my dad took me out to lunch for Chipotle (one of my favorite spots) 💕 Now, I am always nervous and my anxiety skyrockets each time I travel and leave home, but this time I was riding the anxiety bullet train. If flying to a different country to start my next life wasn’t nerve wracking enough, the 30 minute drive to the Greyhound bus station, 6 hour bus ride to Chicago, 1 hour subway ride to the airport, and 2 hours of waiting to board my first flight overwhelmed me beyond belief. Never before have I done something so bold, so crazy, so big. I was scared, nervous, anxious, and my GI tract was not okay because of it. Like I was going to vomit and shit myself at the same time 😅🙃 But I was also excited, happy, grateful, and so thankful for the opportunity and space to fulfill my childhood dream of living and working abroad. One year ago today, I embarked on a crazy adventure to move halfway across the world to live and work in Indonesia. And it was one of the best things I have done 💕 Are you an expat? What is your move abroad story? How long have you been living abroad??

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE ABROAD? Jakarta introduced me to the expat life. Bali introduced me to the digital nomad life. And I can’t seem to leave either of them! This week I’ll be counting down my favorite things about living abroad as an expat and digital nomad to celebrate my first year living abroad in Indonesia 🇮🇩 🎊 So tell me, where are you dreaming to live abroad?? 🌍 📷: @risyadsalman

TRAVELING INDONESIA DURING A PANDEMIC I have traveled to different islands within Indonesia a few times since domestic tourism opened up in July 2020, and to say that it was a piece of cake would not be entirely true. It is honestly easy to move around, but it does require some planning and attention to the news and government regulations. The Indonesian government is constantly changing their regulations on which tests are acceptable for specific types of travel (e.g. plane, ferry) and for how many days your test is valid. Many of these regulations have changed literally overnight without knowing and it made travel a little tricky at times and expensive. I remember when I flew out to Bali from Jakarta back in August and all airlines required a PCR test which costed ~ Rp. 1.500.000 ($105 USD) but when I got to the airport, they told me a PCR was no longer necessary and that a Rapid test would have been just fine 🤦🏽‍♀️ At least I knew for sure I didn’t have the virus. When traveling outside of Bali for the holidays, the government changed regulations almost overnight requiring all flights to have PCR test and ferries Rapid or PCR. Luckily I took ferries and didn’t have to worry. But thousands of people canceled their flights to and from Bali because the PCR test was 3-4x the cost of the flight 😳😬 The best way to keep up with these constant changes is to read news and gov updates as you plan your trip. Here’s what you need in order to travel around Indonesia safely as a foreigner during the pandemic: 🌟 Passport 🌟 Valid COVID test (Rapid or PCR based on method of travel) 🌟 Reusable masks (there are fines if you do not wear them and you should wear them regardless) 🌟 Read COVID regulations & updates as you plan & prepare for your trip 🌟 Cash (Cash is king here, always have enough on you just in case) GOT ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT TRAVELING IN INDONESIA?? Let me know in the comments below 😊👇 **Disclaimer: I have been living in Indonesia since before the pandemic and have been able to domestically travel within this beautiful country I currently call home. Borders are not open for International travel. More updates on the Indonesian government’s page

WOULD YOU ISLAND HOP AROUND INDONESIA? One of the best ways to explore Indonesia, an island nation of over 17,000 islands, is by Island hopping on ferries and boats. Although they take a little longer, they are much cheaper than flying and the view and open air are incomparable. Plus, you are not confined to a cramped airplane seat. Traveling from Bali to Lombok takes 1.5 hours by fast boat and 4 hours by ferry. Planes take only 30 minutes. The fast boat can cost up to Rp. 600.000 ($42) for return and the local ferry is Rp. 146.00 ($10) each way and you can bring your scooter. Planes are about Rp. 300.000 ($21) each way. HOW WOULD YOU GO ISLAND HOPPING? Plane, fast boat, or ferry?? 🏝

ADVENTURE AWAITS Mask on, bags packed, helmet on - adventures look different these days, but they can still nothing short of amazing. Who’s thinking about traveling this year? 🙋🏽‍♀️ Where would you like to go on your next adventure? Domestic or International??

WELCOME TO 2021 Thank you for the ups and downs and dreams and mistakes. Thank you for the beauty and the misunderstood and the personal growth. Thank you for life, health, family, and purpose. Manifesting a new year full of more amazing adventures out in the world and within myself. Happy New Year 🎊🎈 What are you manifesting this year??

EVEN TEACHERS NEED A VACATION This year has gone by so fast, as all years apparently seem to do, and a well-deserved break was in order. We kicked off the end of the semester and the end of 2020 with a beautiful stay with our friends at @sebatusanctuary eco resort. And it was the perfect relaxing getaway we needed 💕🌴 #notsponsored

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW Funny story - The ocean swallowed my glasses I have had glasses since I was 12 years old. (It was also the same year I got braces, so 4 eyes and train tracks were my nicknames) So, I have literally spent 1/2 my life with glasses. And yet, I have often left them and forgotten about them. I once walked all the way to school without my glasses and I didn’t notice until I got to school and tried to read something 🤦🏽‍♀️ Well, back in October, we had a beach day at Virgin Beach. I had put my bag down, undressed, and stepped onto the sand walking right towards the beautiful blue waves. I walked right into the ocean and played in the water before a giant wave came crashing down on me I was immediately washing machined by the wave and had no idea if I was up or down or I was going to hit something. The minute I regained balance and the wave retreated, my hands flew to my face. No longer fearing my survival, I panicked. They were my good pair of glasses As you can imagine, the F-word flew out a hundred times as I scanned the waves for them. Nope. Nada. Buh-bye. Fuck. I threw my hands up in frustration for being so stupid and polluting the ocean (Yes, that actually came to mind)🤬 Thankfully, I did not have to drive home. But the minute we got home, I put on my broken pair and cried. As someone who is as money conscious as myself, I knew that purchasing new glasses was a necessity. Both were now either broken or eaten by the ocean. And yet, I struggled to pay for them. It took me a month to finally suck it up and purchase 2 pairs. My broken glasses would have only made it so much longer and then all I would have left would be Sarah Connor-looking sunglasses (Terminator anyone?) So I ordered online with @eyebuydirect after not being able to find a good price or pairs I liked here in Bali. I decided to change things up a bit with my style. After 12 years of rectangles, a fresh new look was in order for the new year💕 Out with the old (literally 🥴) and in with the new I guess...😂 What will you be bringing in this new year??

PASSION EMPOWERS THE SOUL It’s days like this that I am reminded of why I do what I do. I am about to enter my 11th month of living here in Indonesia, and my life is nowhere near boring. And this week has been exceptionally exhausting. I now work 7 days a week and still find the time to cook, practice yoga, read, go for walks, and hang with the roommate. Life may be busy, but my days are filled with students that inspire and challenge me and 4 jobs that make me crazy about teaching. These beautiful flowers were gifted by the parents and students at one of the schools I work at in honor of Indonesia’s Teacher Appreciation Day. Thank you for the love and helping me continue my passion in life. I am right where I need to be. Thank you 💕 #teacherappreciation #teacherappreciationday #teachingabroad #expatlifestyle #expatindonesia #teachingabroadadventures #teachabroad #passionateteacher

HERE’S TO 24 I have spent this last year around the sun on adventures I could not have dreamed of as a kid. And they have been filled with laughter and tears, pure joy and depression, and the craziest shit I never could have imagined. I am proud to say that during my 23rd year I: 🌟 spent it entirely single and wouldn’t have had it any other way 😉 🌟 backpacked around South America taking surfing classes, private dance classes, and sand boarding 💃 🌟 explored my 7th continent - Antarctica 🇦🇶 🌟 moved halfway across the world to live in my third country - Indonesia 🇮🇩 🌟 Spent 4.5 months in a lockdown that crushed my heart and soul 💔 🌟 Made an unlikely friendship with someone who I now call my roommate, my best friend, my family, and “that bitch” 😘 🌟 Took control of my life and my happiness and moved to Bali 🌴 🌟 Filled my days with teaching, dancing, yoga, laughing, and exploring my new home 😂 🌟 Got my 3rd tattoo 🖋 🌟 Fell in love with the world a little harder each and every day And (with a handful of adventures and bumps in the road in between) that year ended with a surprise birthday weekend sunrise hike up Mt. Agung planned by “that bitch” 💕🌋 I have no clue what my 24th year will bring. Definitely countless adventures, more mistakes, endless laughter, a bucketload of tears, and friendships and memories to last a lifetime. Oh, and a shit ton more Bali and Indonesia since borders won’t be opening anytime soon 😂🤷🏽‍♀️ So here’s to 24 and all the bullshit and crazy shit to come 🥂😉 (PS - my birthday was a week ago and I chose not to post on the day. This is me sharing my journey)