Will Peach in a bar in Ho Chi Minh City- VIetnam
Young Brit, Will Peach, moved to Spain last year to try life Spanish-style and learn the language. In conjunction with his new life overseas, he started up My Spanish Adventure to record and share his experiences. But Will is no newcomer to travel blogging! He’s the editor at the popular gap year online community, Gap Daemon, and more recently at Vagabundo Magazine. He’s also started a new blog about Overland Travel entitled Dont’ Fly Go.
Will’s also no beginner at overseas living. He previously lived in two other countries before moving to Spain. Today we’ll explore his many experiences overseas and find out how life in Spain is panning out. Here we go!
Q1. Last year you left London to move to Spain, learn Spanish, and experience Spanish-style living. The obvious question is: Why Spain, of all the countries in the world?
Well it’s complicated. I guess that originally I wanted to go to Mexico or South America. I’d always dreamed of being fluent in another language and this area of the world had always called to me for some reason. So when I decided I was jacking my life in, my London job, my house and all that regular bullshit, I was looking into going there.
What held me back? A girl. Two terminally ill grandparents. My own fear of being alone and far away. The idea that I didn’t want to be a selfish dickhead of a son or a human being for bailing on all of those people.
A lot of the usual things that many people have to consider when they go travelling or move abroad I guess. Most others have to contemplate more!
But with all that in mind I opted for Spain. I thought it would, at the very least, be a comfortable start toward my goal of learning another language. I also thought it would be an easier place for me to come home to the UK to check-in on all of those people and be there quickly if they needed me. As you’re about to find out, it definitely proved more of a challenge than I expected though!
Q2. How much did you know about Spain before you decided to move there? Had you been to Spain before? Did you have friends or relatives there? Or did you just jump in cold turkey?
I knew a fair bit as I’d been a few times when I was younger, on family holidays, on weekend student breaks, that kind of thing. That meant I wasn’t going in totally cold.
All those times before I’d always been with other people, people from home that would give me a sense of comfort in a new place. So when I rocked up in September in an area of Spain (Extremadura) I’d never been and knowing nobody, I had a mini breakdown of sorts. There was no support network, so it was pretty deep end stuff. I started to question what I’d given up (the job and the people) and what this was all about. I remember walking the empty square in Caceres (a small provincial capital in the West of Spain) thinking I was insane and calling people back home and freaking out.
I guess I was comforted in the back of my mind knowing that at least I wasn’t in Mexico and too far away if I did end up going home. And so with that reassurance I rode it out as best I could and the misery soon passed.
Seven months later I’ve moved around a fair bit (I’m living in my third city!) and I’m still going strong learning the language and have met loads of great people along the way. On reflection it was worth the initial pain. And as for my comfort zone? That was a lot closer to home than I thought. I thought I’d sail through all that. What can I say? I was wrong.
Q3. You’ve previously lived in Vietnam and the USA. Which of the 3 countries that you’ve lived in thus far did you like the most and why?
I think to compare Vietnam to either the USA or Spain is completely unjust. It’s just so far out there in terms of craziness you can’t even begin to draw similarities. I loved and hated that about Vietnam in equal measure (although of course I look at it through rose-tinted glasses now). The noise, the frenetic pace of it, the stares of the locals and the corruption, I miss all that stuff just as I do the food, the beaches, the countryside and that warm peace you feel you get when the sun goes down.
Living in the US was the same. I was a student on exchange there at the ripe age of 20 – so I missed out on a lot of the good stuff Miami had to offer! Still I had a cool time there cruising South Beach on a long board and living on the University of Miami campus with a great set of friends that I still keep in touch with now.
But if I had to answer what the best has been I’d probably say Spain. I feel like I’m coming into my own here. I’m figuring out what my path in life is, where I want to take it and doing the things I love everyday. It’s perhaps not the place that’s bringing me all that. Maybe it’s just the point I’m at in my life right now. It seems like everything is coming together.
Will on a statue in An Son- Vietnam
Q4. Could you briefly tell us what were the best and worst aspects of living in each of those countries?
In Vietnam the best has to be the cost of living and being able to eat out in great restaurants everyday. I also lived in a high-rise apartment, directly entering the upper middle-class of the country at 22 years old. Living that kind of luxury lifestyle and literally being able to do anything, with loads of time on your hands, is definitely something I was into at that age. The worst aspect of it was that there was nothing to do culturally really. Or that I simply wasn’t interested in Vietnamese culture. Expats there are pretty much left to drink and hang out by swimming pools. Which is fun for a while I guess.
In the US I’d say the best thing was the cities. I remember walking around New York, jaw wide open and in absolute awe. The same for when I first cruised through downtown Miami down toward the beach. That was a special moment. The worst? Probably the close-mindedness of many of the American students I had to study with. I hung out with international students much more as a result. I was probably the biggest douchebag on reflection.
Whoa and Spain? The best is definitely using the language – it’s really great to notice my improvement and being able to feel a sense of comfort there whenever I slip into Spanish. The worst? There’s not much bad about it really. Maybe that it can be hard to eat as a vegetarian at times. Even that doesn’t bother me so much. The other things are little things I find curious. I like to compare them to other places I’ve lived and been.
Q5. Would you like to live in any of those countries more permanently? Why or why not?
I think I’d like to go back to Vietnam and live there again for a while. I really don’t have an inclination to go back to the US anytime soon. It’s just not that attractive to me right now – not that challenging I guess (unless I do some epic adventure-style thing).
I could live in Spain (definitely in Madrid or Barcelona) but I can’t really think about permanently settling anywhere right now. I’d like to live in many places!
Q6. You recently wrote that you’re not currently enjoying living in Spain or studying Spanish anymore. But you didn’t really explain why. Could you tell us why / how you’ve come to the point of posting “My Spanish Adventure Sucks” What’s up?
Sure. The reason I wrote that was really quite reactionary to where I was when I woke up that morning. It had been creeping up on me for a while (as you can see from this interview) that I’m never going home, never going to settle into a real job and never going to settle into domestic bliss with my girlfriend. The post was a reflection on that. I’d basically cut all ties with her and jumped out to Spain to finish what I started. I left by telling her that “this was my path and that I had to do it alone”.
So when I woke up in Madrid that day, and after all that, I was naturally asking myself if I’d done the right thing. And if the path I’d chosen (the one for myself alone) was going to be a fulfilling one (it certainly didn’t feel like it at that time).
Will Peach in Malaga- Spain
And so as a result I started to doubt it all, thinking that I’d thrown something great away and I’d never have that again. I wrote that post deriding my goal as I thought it had killed the thing that’s most important, love.
Now I’m still in the aftermath of all that, trying to work it out. Now I’m clinging to the point that if it’s love, these goals won’t stand in the way. Who fucking knows? I read the fucking Alchemist for answers!
Q7. So, have you made any decisions yet about what to do next? Return to London? Stay in Spain? Move on to a new adventure?
As of yet no. I’m writing this from Lisbon, Portugal, on the eve of returning back to Spain. I’m going to give the next few months a go here and see it where it leads (my readers voted that I go live in Santiago de Compostela so that’s where I’m headed).
Still I’m feeling ready for a fresh challenge away from Spain though, probably in somewhere quite different. I think it’s safe to say I’ll be busting out of Europe before the end of the year, probably over the height of summer. I’ve got several plans in the works (one potentially very epic one) but who knows what’s around the corner?
Q8. In one of your early-on-in-Spain posts you wrote about how lonely you became soon after moving to Spain, and write that loneliness is one of the very difficult things about living overseas or traveling long term. Personally, I haven’t had that experience at all, even though I’ve been traveling solo since 1998. I rarely get lonely. On those rare occasions I simply go out and meet someone new, within minutes, or else call / sms / email / get online with a friend or relative. And I’m also generally perfectly happy doing everything and anything on my own, be it eating meals, watching a movie, adventuring outdoors, going out clubbing, or whatever. So, I guess I’m rather perplexed and curious as to why you get so lonely. And I’m curious why there’s such a huge difference between travelers like, say myself and you. Any insights into that?
I’m 26 years old. I’ve been surrounded by people my whole life. I’ve had 3 long-term relationships and am pretty close with my family and friends. Being alone, in a new culture, and without anyone to speak to, is BOUND to make me feel lonely. I can’t help it. I wish I could.
From all this experience I’m getting now, though, I can at the very least begin to understand why. With that in mind I can start taking actions to prevent it too.
As for blogging? I’m going to put all of myself out there. When I’m up, I’m up. When I’m down, I’m down. Unfortunately for me its when I’m down that I write MUCH clearer and people love to read that shit. No regrets as far as that goes.
Q9. You mentioned in a couple of posts about missing your girlfriend back in England. Any reason she’s staying in England instead of going with you to Spain? Is that an option? That could resolve some problems… :))
It’s simple really. She likes England. She’s Icelandic and so for her that experience she’s having is just like the one I’m searching for.
As for Spain, she doesn’t want to move there. She’s already bilingual, living in another culture and country and has found a job she likes. In her mind she’s completed all the challenges that I’m measuring up to and is living in relative happiness at having done so. Man, if I was her, I wouldn’t want to go to Spain either.
But I’m not. I’m me. And all this has to be done by myself.
Q10. Reading through several of your posts, such as “My Spanish Adventure Sucks”, “6 Reasons Living Abroad is Over-rated”, detailing the many hardships, hassles, and problems of living overseas as well as being incredibly lonely, I can’t help but wonder why you keep going overseas to live? And why you don’t just continue living in England?
Because I’m not interested in England and nowhere in the blog do I ever express I want to settle there. I think reading through my most popular posts (one of which you already mentioned), you’ve missed the 100 plus others that discuss the great and cool things about Spain and the massive lessons I’m learning living abroad. Plus read over the over-rated one once again. People always miss the fact it’s tongue-in-cheek.
But of course there are times where living abroad annoys the fuck out of me, I’m a human after all. I’ll put it all out there, not censor myself, because that’s what makes it real. This is how I think, I feel, I live. It’s my blog. I’ll do what I want. If other people want to read blogs talking about how great a place is and how hunky-dory someone’s life is then they can do that. Personally I think that’s Grade A bullshit, those people are just writing what they think other people want to hear and denying their true selves.
I’ll continue to live overseas and reflect it in as real way as I can because I can see the benefit is has for me. That’s all I care about. Whether my blog reflects that or not doesn’t matter. I have nothing to hide.
Will Peach hitting the bar in Caceres- Spain
Q11. Obviously, there must be some things you really like about living overseas and even in Spain. What do you like best?
I like living up to the challenge and seeing my progress. I’ve made a video every 2 weeks showing my rise to fluency in Spanish and that’s something I’m immensely proud of.
I also like the weather and meeting new people with interesting outlooks and perspectives. Oh and the fact that I see a new place every 3 months so there’s always something new to discover!
Q12. Are there any other countries you’d like to try living in? If so ,which ones and why?
All of them. There’s nothing I’d say no to. I’m always up for living and seeing something new. As for whether I like them or not? Who knows. But at least I’ll give it a try. And I’ll give a fair reflection of my experiences along the way too!
Thanks Will for braving this inquisitive interview and baring all!
Follow Will on his continued adventures in Spain:
My Spanish Adventure
facebook: My Spanish Adventure
twitter: WillPeach
Hi! I'm Lash, an American nomadic world traveler who's been traveling solo since 1998. I’m passionate about traveling the world nomadically and then sharing it all with you. I hope to inspire you to travel the world, to entertain you with tales from the road, and to help you reach your travel dreams. Welcome! 
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