An Unapologetic Living

*an unapologetic living

A few months ago while still living in Botswana as a Peace Corps volunteer, I found myself mindlessly thumbing through instagram feeds of deliciously plated vegan food. At the time my body was starving on a cellular level and craved a rainbow assortment of fruit and veggies which were severely lacking in my diet. A diet of which was so poor that it caused so many disruptions to my life, general well being and ultimately led to an early departure from Botswana (I’ll write a separate post about this).

I stumbled upon an account called @brownkids managed by the beautiful couple Roe and Erin. It intrigued me that Roe, a non-vegan was the primary chef of the household and her boyfriend Erin, was a vegan. Also I was fascinated by the method they found to store their fruits and vegetables. It’s almost as if they figured out how to create a mini greenhouse…in the fridge.

I hit follow because I appreciated the philosophy of an “unapologetic living” and minimalistic life style. It’s always great when you find people on social media that you can learn from because their values are so pure. Recently I reached out to Roe when she posted about becoming debt-free.

I thought to myself this woman has so many gems up her sleeve I need to have her share her story on the site!

Now this is the first time I’ve used both audio and a written interview. But I had some complications with the full video. I lost the first 15minutes because there was no sound. So this is why it’s broken down into segments.

Note to self  find a better solution for video podcasts 🙁

In any event, I hope you like this interview and that their unapologetic living inspires you to travel far, nourish smart, and become debt-free.

Please Introduce Yourself

Hi, Everyone! My name’s Roe, partner of a 2-person duo, @Brownkids on Instagram. By day, I help strangers become friends at Impact Hub Oakland, a coworking space for social good, in Oakland, California, and in the off hours, my partner Erin (first man I’ve ever met with that name spelling) and I live every day to be free and to be of service to others. We currently live in the Bay Area, our native home.

I’m a minimalist and so is E — and there’s so many different expressions of minimalism but, for us, it looks like living an abundant life on one-half of our very low income so we can travel whenever we want instead of just every once in awhile.

Our virtual stoop is Instagram! It’s really a visual story of the two of us. I started it two months after we started dating to document our first cross-country road trip ever and, scrolling through it, it captures and reminds us of who we are as a couple and pathways we’re forging… his (sudden) journey to veganism and our shared commitment to minimalism so we can be mobile; a lot of self-love and intentional living — it’s all there.

Why did you decide to travel around Southeast Asia?

Oh, man, I love this question. We moved to Southeast Asia because I was in crisis. Four years ago, I worked for a startup coworking space in San Francisco that was running me into the ground. Across the country, there’s this allure of the San Francisco Bay Area Startup scene but the truth is young people, mostly millennials, are marking 70-hour work weeks, hoping for a pay-off professionally or to see their company be the next Facebook.

I was in a job I wasn’t fit for, working longer and harder than I could handle. Miserable is just not a strong enough word —  I had started having mysterious bouts I later diagnosed as massive panic attacks. E and I were 6 months into our relationship and he dropped me off one day (LATE) to the subway station to get to work. I couldn’t get out of the car. The scene was sobbing, hyperventilation, very ugly. And, E turned to me and sternly said the words I’ve loved him for ever since: “Let’s leave.”

I babbled something about being obligated to go to work and he said he didn’t mean leaving work, he meant leave, as in travel. Through a tear-stained face, I knew he meant it. So, I called in sick that day and we started planning. Ten months later, sure enough, we both quit our jobs and moved to Southeast Asia, a place I had done development work in and loved for its strides economically and to-die-for-food.

At that point, E had never been out of the country before. So, his first trip ever was with some girl he fell in love with less than a year before, to an Asian region SEVENTEEN hours away by plane. Totally crazy now that I think about it.

As a Black American Traveler, what advice would you give to others inspired to travel around Asia?

GO FOR IT. Asia is awesome. The food is awesome, the weather is HOT (but personally, I’m a huge fan of hot tropical weather). The region is so diverse ethnically and culturally so you’re going to have a completely different experience as you travel from country to country.

 

1. Skip Thailand:
   1. First off, I love Thailand, don’t get me wrong. But honestly? Skip it. It’s really okay. From my sense and evaluations, Thailand is quite taxed tourism-wise. Twenty-five years of full on tourism from Europe has really stretched it environmentally and socially. There are elaborate syndicates of Thai whose sole purpose is to manipulate and steal money from tourists. You think it won’t happen to you — that’s what we thought! And I lived in Thailand before we went as a couple! — but you can easily be the victim of a syndicate. They are family operations (Thai families are huge), there’s no oversight or accountability because of the way cultural-economics works there. You don’t speak the language or understand shame culture enough to have everything you need to dodge it.
      
      
2. Go to Malaysia and Indonesia instead:
   1. Same if not MORE beauty and everyone’s chill. You’ll be muuuuuuuuuch happier. Malaysia is super diverse, this uncovered gem. There’s every representation of Asian there, from the lightest of the Han Chinese to the darkest South Indian. The food is bomb — my mouth is watering thinking of Laksa as I type! All the college students partying, walking the red light district, or taking silly pictures with sedated tigers, have tuckered out in Phuket and not made it down South. Malaysia has the same archipelago coastline, exquisite food, hundreds of unexplored areas (including the chilly Cameron Highlands where they grow strawberries!), and no one’s trying to scam you. They’re just happy to see you.
      
      MALAYSIA ALL THE WAY. Route: Langkawi, Highlands, Penang, Melacca, Kuala Lumpur, and then down to Singapore. Send us a postcard when you get there 😀
      
3. Dress well:
   1. Southeast Asians are a beautiful and proud people, especially in Thailand (if nothing above was persuasive, lol). They take tremendous pride in what they wear. Dress well to be respected. It’s a great tactic for travelers and distinguishes you from our white brothers and sisters who have unfortunately put a bad name on what a tourist is. If you look like a tourist (tank tops + misshapen fisherman’s pants + flip flops = target on your back), they’ll treat you like one — good, bad, and mostly the ugly. If you must go to Thailand, dress well. When you go to Malaysia and Singapore, dress well.
      
4. Go to the movies:
   1. I know this is a really bizarre tip but movie theaters are incredible in Asia. Ask Erin, he was skeptical before we went too. Now we always talk of it fondly. It’s a great way to get into the rhythms of the locals  and to curb some homesickness when it creeps in but mostly this: assigned seats, 5+ choices of popcorn flavors and cooked MEAL options, private theaters with bean bag chairs, couches, and blankets. Two tickets. No more than 10 bucks. Get your life.
      
5. Eat on the streets:
   1. Take a leap and go street food. Food is so cheap most Southeast Asians eat outside with their families. Street food is the main way to eat, don’t worry about hygiene. When you get back, you’ll be highly disappointed by any Thai/Lao/Vietnamese/Malaysian restaurants in the Western World. [Note: Southeast Asians love McDonalds and Fried Chicken. Go figure].
      
6. Get the pic and be a great person:
   1. Be original and ethical. Tiger excursions, hill tribe excursions, and elephant “sanctuaries” exploit the animals and people. I won’t link an absolutely horrific article I found on dozens of mummified tigers found at an excursion in Thailand but I will say travelers go to these for the picture, not thinking about what they’re actually paying for. Hill Tribe Ethnic groups are imprisoned there, as their choices are to stay on failing farms or move into large cities to enter the sex trade. Here’s the great news: fun doesn’t have to come at the expense of other humans and beings. There are legions of places to take that envious picture. Go find those and travel home feeling great about yourself.
      
7. Don’t even THINK about weed in Singapore:
   1. A joint or any other drug found on you at any point in Singapore? Death by hanging. 7 days.
      
8. Say Cheese:
   1. Black people are experiencing a travel renaissance in this millennium so seeing black faces are still very rare in Asia. You will be approached to take a picture with people, no matter the country. They mean no harm, gladly oblige, it doesn’t hurt. You never know, they might invite you over for dinner.

Your “Jar Method” has been a really big hit and eye-opener. How did you come up with this method and has it saved you money?

We’re so glad everyone’s been loving it. The response has been overwhelming! The Jar Method came from deep frustration of food and transportation costs being a huge part of our expenses every month. We wanted to cut our expenses so we could pay off all our debt but found that we could only get so low on transportation (we don’t have a car and public transportation as a line item, is fairly inelastic in the Bay Area). So food had to be the focus. We paid upwards of $400 EACH some months, buying groceries, eating out, picking up things out of convenience, you name it.

With E being vegan and us both being really particular about organic produce, I ran into this conundrum between keeping our food costs down and buying fresh food. In the age of Whole Foods, is this even possible?

 

 

I obsessively launched into research and synthesized all my knowledge about food storage and food buying into one method. We tried it and were amazed. Kale, arugula, and lettuce that went bad in days lasted us nearly the entire month. Having things in jars cut my cook times in half. For the first time in our lives, we were able to eat fresh all month and not waste money throwing food out!

 

I told you how much we spend before per person? Now we shop once a month and eat 3 healthy meals a day for  $300/month — for BOTH of us. That’s a $500 savings we get to put in our own pockets for our next adventure.

We are never ever ever ever going back to storing our food a different way and we can’t wait to teach everyone how to do it too.

I’ve been inspired by your recent debt-free post on Instagram. Do you mind taking us through the journey?

 

 

It’s been such a long road but I’ll share briefly that my mother has a shopping addiction. I was taught every woman was to make her own money but when she made that money, it was hers to spend however she wanted. I grew up with the thrill of spending every cent I made immediately and struggling to save any for the future. I bought things to find myself, I bought things to relax, I bought things because I didn’t want to annoy the salesperson, I bought things because it was on sale, and I bought things because I had spare time and spending money is what you’re supposed to do when you have downtime, right?

Long story short, I racked up debt that made my stomach turn a little. The problem — well, apart from spending money I didn’t have — was that I didn’t think paying it down was an emergency. Everyone had debt! Student debt and consumer debt. Debt is normal. I’ll just pay it consistently and I’ll get to the bottom of it eventually.

After feeling fed up one too many times around my money, I stumbled across a few money bloggers and the scales fell from my eyes. I was in trouble. Debt was a four-alarm fire and I had been trying to put it out with a squirt gun, hoping for the best. Something kicked in inside me…I can barely describe. I was…determined in a way I hadn’t been about anything before. In February of this year, I had a $7,000 balance on one credit card. I had been paying my regular $150/month to pay it down, figuring I couldn’t afford to pay any more than that. The month I started getting serious about my debt, March of this year, I kid you not, I paid $850 on my credit card that month. I did it by getting savvy: I sold stuff I didn’t want anymore, I sold stuff I wanted, I picked a much lower spending number for myself, cut our food budget by three-fifths, and called in debts people owed me. When I made that payment, I knew I could do it.

 

In September (2016), I paid that card off completely. I calculated all my interests costs I paid on that card this year. I paid closer to $11,000 with interest. Credit cards are a racket. Get out and get free.

In your opinion, what type of mindset does one need to possess when creating financial and travel goals?

Financial Goals:

You have to have had enough. Enough with being afraid to take a sick day, enough with having to borrow money, enough with the anxiety that comes waiting for pay day, enough with overdraft fees, not covering your bills, and people in big buildings owning your dreams.

When you’ve had enough, you’ll get out of it. I guarantee it.

Travel Goals:

We’ve had lots of people ask us how to travel and shoulder student debt. Pay off your debt first. We’re about freedom and travel is so much sweeter and can happen for longer periods when you belong to yourself.

If you still need to travel for peace of mind, take a 6-month period where you pay more on your debt and obligations and then take day trips or week trips for sanity or plan a big trip to go on with friends so you can share the costs and reach your financial goals in the meantime.

Avoid travel options where you apply for debt deferment. What people don’t know about debt deferment is that the interest is still accruing while you’re away. No. Bueno.

 

 

How can people get in touch with you?

We love our virtual family so much.
Join us on our journey at @Brownkids on Instagram and we love to meet up in person too! If you’re coming to the SF Bay Area, drop us a line at blkvgn@gmail.com and, if we’re traveling your way, we’ll let you know on the gram! Can’t wait to meet you.

/~~~/

Comment below if you have any questions.  I’d love to hear from you!

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