The Village Bound Origin Story, Pt 1

Posing with a very enthusiastic London policeman on my first trip abroad at 16

My name is Matt. I live in Charlotte, NC. I am a passionate adventure-seeker fascinated by experiencing cultures in places most visitors overlook. Throughout the 33 countries I’ve visited I’ve learned that these places offer a less curated, more authentic and adventurous experience than the major tourist hubs of the world. And that’s why I started Village Bound. Here follows my journey.

While most kids had cartoons on after school, I was watching Rick Steves, Anthony Bourdain, and Great Chefs of the World. I was primarily motivated by food, but my imagination was also captivated by the thought of far-off places that seemed otherworldly from my small Central Florida hometown.

Then during my 16th summer, I was finally on my way to experience them on a two-week tour of Europe with my French class. I drank beer in a dark London pub on a rainy day, watched the white cliffs of dover shrink into the distance crossing the English Channel, lost my passport on the metro of Paris, bought trinkets from scammers on the streets of Rome, and got lost in the spiderwebbed streets of Florence.

It was your standard, boilerplate tour of Europe. I loved it. But while traveling between the highlight cities I longed to stop and explore the nameless villages blurring by the bus window. Paris, London, and Rome were no doubt full of beauty, history and incredible eats, but they were also full of people like me—and the places we visited, curated to cater to visitors for maximum comfort and profit.

I longed to order from a menu without pictures. Stroll down cobbled streets with locals out for morning baguettes. Sip coffee next to old men in suits arguing unintelligibly through clouds of smoke over the day’s news. I wanted to live it, to participate—not merely observe. It was like watching a new sport on TV. I wanted to try playing it. But a trip like this offered no opportunity.

Years passed, college passed—and while studying abroad had its appeal I knew that a six-week teaser would be like an appetizer with no main course. I would just be starving for more. So as graduation loomed and I pondered my future, all I could think about was moving to Europe. And teaching English was the ticket.