World traveler advises jumping in

The great thing about travel is that anything can happen, but also, anything can happen.

Hear from world traveler Nicole Elyse at her talk, “Why Getting Robbed at Gunpoint in Colombia Is the Best Thing That’s Ever Happened to Me... and Other Tales from Abroad” at Newport Public Library this Saturday, Sept. 13.

Before moving abroad, Elyse was a planner — someone who always thought through every scenario to attempt to assure the best outcome. But before she even got on the plane to move to the developing world, she learned that when you live abroad, it’s not possible to plan for every possibility. After six years living abroad, she learned how beautiful it can be to move forward without a plan, and to trust that, one way or another, everything is going to be okay.

In this talk, Elyse will explore what it was like to live outside of the United States — the lessons learned, the hard things and the moments of jaw-dropping beauty. But mostly she will talk about how getting mugged in Colombia helped her to let go of fear, and to see that sometimes bad things aren't really so bad.

Elyse has worked with the United Nations in Thailand and a local NGO in Cambodia, spent two years chasing waterfalls in Puerto Rico and finally followed her dream of becoming a full-time digital nomad, during which she traveled to all seven continents in two years. Now she is very tired and living in Newport while she figures out her next adventure.

The program begins at 2 pm at Newport Public Library, located at 35 NW Nye Street. For more information, go to newportoregon.gov or call 541-265-2153.