Comments on: Love in the time of Matador: Anatomy of a tour leader relationship http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/ travel culture worldwide Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:28:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Carlo http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-55424 Carlo Sat, 03 Jul 2010 03:12:12 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-55424 Just read this now Nick. I'm glad you guys were honest to yourselves. You saved a lot of pain down the road. Just read this now Nick. I’m glad you guys were honest to yourselves. You saved a lot of pain down the road.

]]> By: JRsince1980 http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54916 JRsince1980 Wed, 12 May 2010 17:45:33 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54916 beautiful. this read like a movie. halfway through you begin to sense where its going, but you still hold on until you see those tragic inevitable words in bold, the break-up. and i still love how it ended, not the tragedy part, but the simple statement, this is life. beautiful. this read like a movie. halfway through you begin to sense where its going, but you still hold on until you see those tragic inevitable words in bold, the break-up. and i still love how it ended, not the tragedy part, but the simple statement, this is life.

]]> By: nicky http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54877 nicky Sat, 08 May 2010 20:17:43 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54877 Of course not! that's what makes life interesting and makes certain people grab hold of every opportunity in life rather than always worrying or "waiting". Enjoy it and never look back :-) Of course not! that’s what makes life interesting and makes certain people grab hold of every opportunity in life rather than always worrying or “waiting”. Enjoy it and never look back :-)

]]> By: Hal Amen http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54859 Hal Amen Thu, 06 May 2010 19:28:03 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54859 Great story, Nick. Thanks for posting it here. I experienced something similar--a relationship born on the road that was dead on arrival when we tried to bring it home. Great story, Nick. Thanks for posting it here.

I experienced something similar–a relationship born on the road that was dead on arrival when we tried to bring it home.

]]> By: Kelsey http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54802 Kelsey Tue, 04 May 2010 02:35:15 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54802 Really great piece, and I love that you talk about the positive and the negative - too often folks focus on one or the other. As someone who also started a relationship and then spent a significant time apart, I can definitely relate to your bit about having a hard time living together. My boyfriend and I had quite a tense few months together when I first moved back to the US and we moved in together, though we're doing fine now that I've been back for almost a year. I wrote the first article in this new Matador series, if you want to read a bit about my own travel relationship story: http://matadorlife.com/love-in-the-time-of-matador-when-the-boyfriend-stays-home/ Really great piece, and I love that you talk about the positive and the negative – too often folks focus on one or the other. As someone who also started a relationship and then spent a significant time apart, I can definitely relate to your bit about having a hard time living together. My boyfriend and I had quite a tense few months together when I first moved back to the US and we moved in together, though we’re doing fine now that I’ve been back for almost a year. I wrote the first article in this new Matador series, if you want to read a bit about my own travel relationship story: http://matadorlife.com/love-in-the-time-of-matador-when-the-boyfriend-stays-home/

]]> By: maryanne http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54763 maryanne Sun, 02 May 2010 23:18:08 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54763 And Nick, what a lovely, honest story. I really enjoyed the insight into the personal side of being a tour leader. Thank you. And Nick, what a lovely, honest story. I really enjoyed the insight into the personal side of being a tour leader. Thank you.

]]> By: maryanne http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54789 maryanne Sun, 02 May 2010 23:13:13 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54789 @Julie It's a funny thing you should mention teachers- after years of travel and further years living as an expat in various countries, my current (and most enduring) has been with a fellow teacher. We met when I was the assistant director of one branch of a language school in Istanbul and he was a teacher who was one month shy of the end of his unrenewed contract at another branch in the city. He was going to move to Prague at the end of the month. Instead, we moved in together. We stayed in Istanbul one more year (for me, because I didn't want to leave) then moved on to other places (for him, because Turkey hadn't been kind to him). It has worked out for three years now because we have similarly marketable skills and similar wanderlust. None of the guys i'd dated before could handle my impulsiveness and desire to just keep exploring. Also, we know instinctively how the other's day has been because we're in really similar jobs (teaching rich Chinese kids in foreign programs). @Julie It’s a funny thing you should mention teachers- after years of travel and further years living as an expat in various countries, my current (and most enduring) has been with a fellow teacher. We met when I was the assistant director of one branch of a language school in Istanbul and he was a teacher who was one month shy of the end of his unrenewed contract at another branch in the city. He was going to move to Prague at the end of the month. Instead, we moved in together. We stayed in Istanbul one more year (for me, because I didn’t want to leave) then moved on to other places (for him, because Turkey hadn’t been kind to him). It has worked out for three years now because we have similarly marketable skills and similar wanderlust. None of the guys i’d dated before could handle my impulsiveness and desire to just keep exploring. Also, we know instinctively how the other’s day has been because we’re in really similar jobs (teaching rich Chinese kids in foreign programs).

]]> By: Nick http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54761 Nick Fri, 30 Apr 2010 15:02:29 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54761 Hmmm, I should probably add that what I've described, about how tour leading takes over your life, was simply what I experienced, working for the company I did. I know the other tour leaders I worked with would agree (and it was a common topic of conversation), and from what I saw of other companies in Egypt, I'd say the same applied to them too. But, that's not to say it's necessarily true of *every* tour leading job. (For example, one of my friends is a freelancer, and he seems to manage a much better work-life balance... in that he actually has a life!) Hmmm, I should probably add that what I’ve described, about how tour leading takes over your life, was simply what I experienced, working for the company I did. I know the other tour leaders I worked with would agree (and it was a common topic of conversation), and from what I saw of other companies in Egypt, I’d say the same applied to them too. But, that’s not to say it’s necessarily true of *every* tour leading job. (For example, one of my friends is a freelancer, and he seems to manage a much better work-life balance… in that he actually has a life!)

]]> By: Nancy http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54760 Nancy Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:53:53 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54760 Thanks for sharing this, Nick. I enjoyed getting to see this personal side of you. I had never really considered how consuming tour leading is. And I think all of us can relate to the way you poignantly described your break-up. Great article. Thanks for sharing this, Nick. I enjoyed getting to see this personal side of you. I had never really considered how consuming tour leading is. And I think all of us can relate to the way you poignantly described your break-up. Great article.

]]> By: Heather http://matadornetwork.com/life/love-in-the-time-of-matador-anatomy-of-a-tour-leader-relationship/#comment-54759 Heather Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:08:05 +0000 http://matadorlife.com/?p=5133#comment-54759 Nick I really enjoyed the transparency of this piece. I had no idea that working as a tour guide is so intrusive on your personal life. When you said "Leaving tour leading is like resigning as head of a cult" I felt like I understood a whole new aspect of the job! Nick I really enjoyed the transparency of this piece. I had no idea that working as a tour guide is so intrusive on your personal life. When you said “Leaving tour leading is like resigning as head of a cult” I felt like I understood a whole new aspect of the job!

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