curiousliving

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favourite bloggers, Zoe Westhof of Essential Prose. I first discovered Zoe’s blog by accident and was immediately struck by her unique writing style, her lifestyle choices and her honesty. Zoe is a talented young thing who decided to forge her own path instead of following the rest of the sheep. Zoe lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand and when she isn’t writing articles in the bathroom after midnight she’s swimming, playing soccer, freelancing and drinking tea.

Zoe grew up in New Jersey (one of my favourite places!) and moved to Thailand after graduating with a BA in Comparative Literature. She inspires me on so many levels – her ex-pat lifestyle, her freelance writing career, and her fledgling blog. Make sure you visit Zoe when you’re done here!

So Zoe, how did you end up in Thailand? Was it always your plan or did it just “happen”?

I moved to Thailand a few months after I graduated from university in 2007. It looked like the idea to move to Thailand sprang from nowhere, but it wasn’t actually too surprising. Hefty doses of travel and a year spent studying in Spain had left me pretty keen on the idea of living abroad. But in that pre-graduation confusion, it was hard to know what I really wanted to do. I had to actually accept a teaching fellowship offer before I realized that what I wanted to do was move abroad and work on writing more. I wrote a very polite letter un-accepting the fellowship, and here I am.

Walk us through a typical day in the life of Zoë Westhof.

That’s a tough one — my days vary quite a bit since I spend chunks of time working from other parts of Thailand or traveling. But if I’m home in Chiang Mai, a typical day would look something like this:

My day usually starts between 7 and 8am, with morning pages — writing 3 pages of whatever junk spills out of your head first thing in the morning — and a cup of tea. When I’m in “on” mode with my creative writing, I’ll sit and work on my short stories first. Breakfast is either at home or picked up from the amazing nearby market, followed by working on a freelance writing project or my blog until lunch. After lunch at one of the local Thai spots, it’s either back to work, coffee and a crossword, or meeting with an NGO I’m working with. I try to squeeze in a swim at one of the outdoor pools during the day, or go jump rope with my boyfriend when the sun’s going down. It’s part of the Thai boxing workout, and it’s actually much more intense than it sounds — I promise. After exercising, I’ll wind down at home and then go out for dinner, maybe meet some friends for a drink. Or we’ll cook at home if we’re in the mood for farang (Western people) food. After dinner, it’s writing, a dvd, or a night out — depending on the mood and the day.

I’m actually working on a very exciting project with another writer, but it’ll be revealed next month! It’s wonderful to work on a writing project with someone instead of for someone, which is why I’m stepping away a bit from traditional freelance writing.

Moving abroad — besides being an incredible opportunity to live another culture — also offers the chance to transform your lifestyle. Thailand, for example, has a really low cost of living, so I’m able to spend much more time on unpaid projects than I would back in New York. Being an expat also strips you of your context, and your interactions are more about who you are now — it can be easier to evolve with so much focus on the present.

I think my best advice would be to accept and acknowledge that things you always thought were “reality” or “normal” or “fundamental” may be less relevant in other places. It’s not that you always have to change your way of thinking to fit these different standards, but it’s really important to accept that they’re just as valid and just as real.

I have no idea. It depends a lot on decisions I make over this next year, including the possibilities of going back to school and spending some time in other places.

I try to block off chunks of time for travel whenever possible. I get antsy if I’m at home for too long, so I plan trips to recharge my momentum. Since living in Chiang Mai, I’ve traveled a lot within Thailand and also to other countries in the region. Other hobbies? Swimming, long talks and debates, crossword puzzles, and food — I love enjoying great food with stimulating conversation.

I live in Chiang Mai, one of the main cities in northern Thailand. It feels more like a town even though it’s pretty big, cause it’s laid back and right next to a mountain. I live in a pretty spacious house with my boyfriend, and we have two dogs, Daniel and Samson. We live a little outside of the city center, so it’s quiet and not far from the mountain.

Drinking a cup of tea in the morning is one of my triggers — it puts me in “awake and focused” mode. Putting on headphones is another one. Listening to classical music, or maybe the blues, puts me in my own world while I’m writing.

I love it here, but I don’t plan on this being my full-time base. Visas can be tricky, and it really depends on which country you’re going to. I got very useful help from people in online forums and sites before I moved to Thailand. Healthcare also varies so much from country to country. I have BUPA health insurance, which is valid in every country except the U.S. (not much surprise there). It’s very affordable here, and healthcare in Thailand is generally quite good. Medicine and doctor’s visits are cheap. It’s a good idea to look up which vaccines are recommended before you move to a foreign country, though.

I’m terrible at choosing favorites, but I’ll talk about one contemporary author whose work I love, Ian McEwan. His plots are uncommonly suspenseful for such an intelligent, precise style of writing — that’s something I keep in mind. I loved reading his first published collection of stories and feeling how he grew as a writer from there to more recent novels. Seeing how a writer you admire has evolved helps you understand your own possibilities as a writer.

Success means that I’m fully invested in work that stimulates me, empowers other people, and lets me thrive within a network of people who both challenge and believe in me. Success also means that I’m spending time with people I love, and that I don’t have to worry about finances.

I haven’t published any fiction yet, though I’m working out possible ways to post some on my blog without giving up the possibility of submitting to literary journals.Here’s an article I wrote that was published last month:

Here’s a link to an article I wrote that was published in Audrey magazine last month: The Road Less Travelled

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.