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Big Backpack - Little World
In 2000 Donna Morang sold all her earthly possessions and left the United States to teach ESL (English as a second language). Join her as she travels to three continents, and twelve countries.
Step into her classroom and teach English in Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Vietnam, or vacation with her in Spain, Thailand, and Cambodia. Fall in love with her students learning English, the special street kids, some crazy bartenders, and fellow backpackers. Meet new friends and hear their stories, or laugh with a romantic man or two from around the world. And hold her hand as she explores new city streets and countries – often lost, once robbed, once trembling when guns are pointed at her, as she crosses one more border.
Donna Morang, teacher and traveler has done this and more with a smile and a gusto for life. She definitely knows how to experience life as a true adventurer.
Step into her classroom and teach English in Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Vietnam, or vacation with her in Spain, Thailand, and Cambodia. Fall in love with her students learning English, the special street kids, some crazy bartenders, and fellow backpackers. Meet new friends and hear their stories, or laugh with a romantic man or two from around the world. And hold her hand as she explores new city streets and countries – often lost, once robbed, once trembling when guns are pointed at her, as she crosses one more border.
Donna Morang, teacher and traveler has done this and more with a smile and a gusto for life. She definitely knows how to experience life as a true adventurer.
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 7, 2011
16 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 6, 2012
If I ever meet Donna, I am going to give her the biggest bear hug I can – what an amazing, lovely lady.
At the age of fifty-something, dear Donna had that ‘eureka’ moment. That moment when that something you know you want to do, but can’t quite put your finger on what it is, suddenly becomes clear. Donna realised she wanted to go and teach English as a second language in……well, everywhere or anywhere in the world. So an exam later and after acceptance into the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, she packed her backpack, grabbed her passport, credit cards and plane ticket, said an emotional goodbye to her daughters and off she went. Mrs Indiana Jones in search of excitement.
Donna got more than excitement. Her first teaching consignment was in Mexico and in the few years that followed she visited and taught in Cambodia, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. Each country provided her with unforgettable experiences. She was awed by the beauty of each nation, she had the privilege of participating in unique traditional ceremonies, such as weddings, she tasted weird and wonderful local cooking and unusual food. She gained friends in fellow teachers, students she taught, the owners of bars, hotels, and people she bumped into on the beaches. In 11 years, Donna experienced probably more than a good many of us in a lifetime.
As you read this chatty account of her travels, it’s not hard to understand why and how Donna got 110 per cent out of her travels: because she gives 110 per cent of herself to everything she does and to those around her. Donna was sometimes obliged to stay in unsavoury hotels/hostels, and her journeys were sometimes hard, even hair-raising, but she never once complained – it was all part of the experience. The older one gets, the more one misses creature comforts, but not this lady. She made friends with everyone she met, whether they were 6 or 60 – she is a people magnet. It’s easy to see her attractive personality and to understand what made her such a successful teacher – she understood her students. She was a mother, a sister, a grandmother, a hairdresser, a teacher, a confidante – she was anything that anyone needed her to be, wherever she found herself.
Donna is 11 years older than when she first started her adventures and she hasn’t finished yet. There are favourite countries she wants to revisit and more new places to see. Donna is a unique traveller – she falls into each culture’s customs and way of life effortlessly. If I was going to embark on a travelling adventure, she is the person I would chose to do it with. I know that if I ever see a blonde lady with a kind face, a backpack and a cigarette (if she hasn’t yet kicked the habit!), it will be Donna Morang.
Donna wanted to share her experiences with us, the readers, hence the book. At the end of it, I felt privileged to have done just that.
At the age of fifty-something, dear Donna had that ‘eureka’ moment. That moment when that something you know you want to do, but can’t quite put your finger on what it is, suddenly becomes clear. Donna realised she wanted to go and teach English as a second language in……well, everywhere or anywhere in the world. So an exam later and after acceptance into the ESL (English as a Second Language) program, she packed her backpack, grabbed her passport, credit cards and plane ticket, said an emotional goodbye to her daughters and off she went. Mrs Indiana Jones in search of excitement.
Donna got more than excitement. Her first teaching consignment was in Mexico and in the few years that followed she visited and taught in Cambodia, Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. Each country provided her with unforgettable experiences. She was awed by the beauty of each nation, she had the privilege of participating in unique traditional ceremonies, such as weddings, she tasted weird and wonderful local cooking and unusual food. She gained friends in fellow teachers, students she taught, the owners of bars, hotels, and people she bumped into on the beaches. In 11 years, Donna experienced probably more than a good many of us in a lifetime.
As you read this chatty account of her travels, it’s not hard to understand why and how Donna got 110 per cent out of her travels: because she gives 110 per cent of herself to everything she does and to those around her. Donna was sometimes obliged to stay in unsavoury hotels/hostels, and her journeys were sometimes hard, even hair-raising, but she never once complained – it was all part of the experience. The older one gets, the more one misses creature comforts, but not this lady. She made friends with everyone she met, whether they were 6 or 60 – she is a people magnet. It’s easy to see her attractive personality and to understand what made her such a successful teacher – she understood her students. She was a mother, a sister, a grandmother, a hairdresser, a teacher, a confidante – she was anything that anyone needed her to be, wherever she found herself.
Donna is 11 years older than when she first started her adventures and she hasn’t finished yet. There are favourite countries she wants to revisit and more new places to see. Donna is a unique traveller – she falls into each culture’s customs and way of life effortlessly. If I was going to embark on a travelling adventure, she is the person I would chose to do it with. I know that if I ever see a blonde lady with a kind face, a backpack and a cigarette (if she hasn’t yet kicked the habit!), it will be Donna Morang.
Donna wanted to share her experiences with us, the readers, hence the book. At the end of it, I felt privileged to have done just that.
November 16, 2011
Big Backpack - Little World by Donna Morang is a travel memoir that grabs you by the scruff of your neck and gives you a good shake! From start to finish, it’s energetic, fascinating and enjoyable. You’re swept along with the author, who became an EFL teacher in her fifties at the suggestion of her daughters, from country to country, from good experience to bad experience and back again. You get to see all aspects of life in each place she visits. The author taught in many countries including Mexico, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Colombia. Other countries she applied to work in wouldn’t accept her for various reasons, such as the Sudan, where she was considered too old to teach!
The author has an amazing eye for details. She depicts the colours, the smells, the heat or cold of the place. She makes friends with people from all walks of life - pink-haired punks, prostitutes, young people, drug barons, old people. As she says: “It is just not in my nature to distrust people”. She takes her companions at face value and wins a lot of respect for this. She also remarks that “once I decide to do something, I usually jump in and give it one hundred percent”. She has done this with both her teaching and her writing. I thought I’d lived a fairly interesting life as an expat several times over, but Donna’s wide and varied experiences overshadow most people’s, I think. This is a book you can’t book down. It’s well laid out with nice illustrations. It’s definitely worth a read.
The author has an amazing eye for details. She depicts the colours, the smells, the heat or cold of the place. She makes friends with people from all walks of life - pink-haired punks, prostitutes, young people, drug barons, old people. As she says: “It is just not in my nature to distrust people”. She takes her companions at face value and wins a lot of respect for this. She also remarks that “once I decide to do something, I usually jump in and give it one hundred percent”. She has done this with both her teaching and her writing. I thought I’d lived a fairly interesting life as an expat several times over, but Donna’s wide and varied experiences overshadow most people’s, I think. This is a book you can’t book down. It’s well laid out with nice illustrations. It’s definitely worth a read.
November 6, 2011
This is one of the few travel tales that did not leave me feeling disappointed. So often travel tales are about the author and the author's ego, but happily this book is about the places and the people that are the joys of travel. She doesn't just travel but she lives in far away places teaching English. You can tell that she lives an authentic life and it made me feel as if I could just go there and meet the same people, and have a beer on the same beach. I loved hearing how she decided to change the way she lived her life and learn from her students as well as help them have a better life. As I read I wanted to be traveling with the author. It made me want to travel in a different way, in a deliberate way. It also reminded me me that as I age that I have so many possibilities. I can ride through Vietnam on the back of a motorcycle and go fishing for squid in the dark. I want to be her when I grow up but I am also inspired to do more while I am young.
December 19, 2012
"Big Backpack, Little World" is a fine read - a travel memoir by Donna Morang, who lived in Montana and Alaska. After retirement, she decides that she is ready to try something new again, and starts backpacking and teaching English abroad.
Donna Morang has a wonderful humour and a perspective of someone who has seen a lot already, and at the same time is open and excited about life, and keeps learning herself. It's a joy to follow her trails to Mexico, Spain and Cambodia, and made me also think of my own days of solo traveling in other countries.
PS: this is part of a longer review on books and places, here's more: http://virtual-notes.blogspot.de/2012...
Donna Morang has a wonderful humour and a perspective of someone who has seen a lot already, and at the same time is open and excited about life, and keeps learning herself. It's a joy to follow her trails to Mexico, Spain and Cambodia, and made me also think of my own days of solo traveling in other countries.
PS: this is part of a longer review on books and places, here's more: http://virtual-notes.blogspot.de/2012...
November 6, 2012
I very rarely give 5 stars to anything but this book by Donna Morang was fantastic.
As an older woman the experiences and views that she has on her travels are seen through eyes that I perceive to be wiser and friendlier.
She makes friends wherever she goes, with people from all walks of life and makes no judgements. Despite being older than most backpackers, she still looks at the world and her experiences with wide eyes and takes the reader with her.
The way that she describes her surroundings, the smells, the colours, the people made me feel that I could also enjoy her travels.
What a gutsy woman.
As an older woman the experiences and views that she has on her travels are seen through eyes that I perceive to be wiser and friendlier.
She makes friends wherever she goes, with people from all walks of life and makes no judgements. Despite being older than most backpackers, she still looks at the world and her experiences with wide eyes and takes the reader with her.
The way that she describes her surroundings, the smells, the colours, the people made me feel that I could also enjoy her travels.
What a gutsy woman.
November 23, 2012
I absolutely loved this book--it sparked my desire to travel once more. Donna talks about her travels and adventures in Mexico, Spain, Central America, and Asia (Vietnam and Thailand). Must say that I want to visit all these places, especially Vietnam.
I think this book is different from so many other travel memoirs because she really focuses on the people in each place and what she learned from each person and each place. Truly touching.
I think this book is different from so many other travel memoirs because she really focuses on the people in each place and what she learned from each person and each place. Truly touching.
May 17, 2013
The story lifted my spirits and reminded me that travel can be a magical thing. Referring to that old quote- “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is.”- Donna Morang definitely follows the latter. Her enthusiasm and joy radiated from each page. Thank you for sharing your experiences, Donna!
November 10, 2012
I really liked this story and the tales of Donna as she traveled the world. It makes me want to travel more! :)
January 22, 2019
Donna Morang is game. She leaves her life to teach English in a few different foreign countries. She lives like a local, respects people's cultures and lives, and makes relationships along the way. She is an older woman with grown children and she wants to travel. Her daughter encourages her to travel. She goes to a Teaching English school and then gets jobs around the world teaching English. There is not much to like about this book because of how respectful Morang is to all of the people she meets along her journey. She is carefree and willing to take risks. Great read while on vacation and in the midst of traveling. If you read it from the comfort of your own home, be prepared to have some travel/life envy. Great read.
March 25, 2018
A few months ago I read May This Be the Best Year of Your Life, in which the author describes a (temporary) midlife move to India to teach English. It was not a good fit for me—felt too negative. Reading Big Backpack, Little World with that in mind was like night and day: Morang's is also a midlife adventure teaching English, but in her case it's a story of bouncing from place to place teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) and having the time of her life.
The writing's not great—more enthusiasm than craft—but the attitude makes such a difference. Like this: But, all in all it was a fun time. When it rains for days, and your traveling companion still isn’t getting bitchy, it must be considered a good trip (176). It would be so easy for the response there to be, instead, 'we went to this island and it rained all the time and there were bugs and it was the WORST VACATION EVER and I couldn't wait to leave, why does anyone come here'. It was really pretty delightful to see her take everything in stride and focus on the positives.
Two comments near the end did give me pause. First, this: The people on this island were totally awesome. They are Muslim, but I believe if all Muslims were like them, this world would live in peace and love (207). Uh...sorry, what? Is this a suggestion that all violence and hatred stems from one religion? Because let's see...Holocaust, Apartheid, American slavery, persecution of Native Americans and First Nations people...drug trade...imperialism...Crusades... Need I continue?
And second: The next morning I found a brochure advertising a tropical garden tour. It sounded like a pleasant and fresh-smelling day, but when I walked into the garden, the first thing I saw was a wall of human skulls. Cambodia is full of sites with the remnants of the Khmer Rouge, and I did not want to see any of it. I quickly left the garden, and decided then and there to head straight for the beach of Sihanoukville (208). Something of a reminder that there's a cost to this happy-go-lucky attitude: a somewhat willful ignorance (not the right word—I mean that she is willfully ignoring it rather than that she is willfully ignorant of it) of some of the world's grimmer realities. (Oh, hey, can I add 'Cambodian genocide' to the above list?) I get that those things aren't what she wanted to focus on for the book, and that not every book can do everything (e.g., be a lighthearted romp around the world and also address the darker parts of each location's history), but it gave me pause.
That said, it remains a fun book with great energy. Pretty fluffy, and if you want a very enthusiastic account of teaching English (or—the life around teaching ESL; there's more beach than classroom!), it's not a bad way to go.
The writing's not great—more enthusiasm than craft—but the attitude makes such a difference. Like this: But, all in all it was a fun time. When it rains for days, and your traveling companion still isn’t getting bitchy, it must be considered a good trip (176). It would be so easy for the response there to be, instead, 'we went to this island and it rained all the time and there were bugs and it was the WORST VACATION EVER and I couldn't wait to leave, why does anyone come here'. It was really pretty delightful to see her take everything in stride and focus on the positives.
Two comments near the end did give me pause. First, this: The people on this island were totally awesome. They are Muslim, but I believe if all Muslims were like them, this world would live in peace and love (207). Uh...sorry, what? Is this a suggestion that all violence and hatred stems from one religion? Because let's see...Holocaust, Apartheid, American slavery, persecution of Native Americans and First Nations people...drug trade...imperialism...Crusades... Need I continue?
And second: The next morning I found a brochure advertising a tropical garden tour. It sounded like a pleasant and fresh-smelling day, but when I walked into the garden, the first thing I saw was a wall of human skulls. Cambodia is full of sites with the remnants of the Khmer Rouge, and I did not want to see any of it. I quickly left the garden, and decided then and there to head straight for the beach of Sihanoukville (208). Something of a reminder that there's a cost to this happy-go-lucky attitude: a somewhat willful ignorance (not the right word—I mean that she is willfully ignoring it rather than that she is willfully ignorant of it) of some of the world's grimmer realities. (Oh, hey, can I add 'Cambodian genocide' to the above list?) I get that those things aren't what she wanted to focus on for the book, and that not every book can do everything (e.g., be a lighthearted romp around the world and also address the darker parts of each location's history), but it gave me pause.
That said, it remains a fun book with great energy. Pretty fluffy, and if you want a very enthusiastic account of teaching English (or—the life around teaching ESL; there's more beach than classroom!), it's not a bad way to go.
September 12, 2016
I really enjoyed reading this memoir about traveling and teaching English around the world. The book is filled with interesting stories and fun details about the people and cultures Donna encountered in Latin America, Europe and Asia. Like other reviewers, I was initially put off by some grammar errors at the start of the book, but the flow and writing style improves about 1/5 of the way into the book. Still, the book would have really benefited from a professional edit (comma placement anyone?). All in all, it's a good read.
February 15, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.How often can one live vicariously through the fabulous adventures (with all the five senses fully engaged) of a cool granny globe hopping. What I found so fascinating was her love of people and their love for her. It showed in the cocoon of protection they wrapped around her without stifling this gutsy traveler/teacher's wanderlust. I could taste the cilantro in the tacos and feel the warmth of the tequila going down my throat. I laughed aloud at the strange and humorous situations she got herself into and out of. And cringed at the tense, scary and dangerous ones. The vivid and detailed descriptions of the towns, cities, and landscapes came alive before my eyes. This author is truly gifted in storytelling.
July 22, 2016
If you dream of travelling the world.. allow this author to take you there
This author takes you on a journey that few of us will ever have an opportunity to make. Her free spirit and open mind and heart are inspirational. She allows her readers to see, feel, smell, taste and savor all of the wonders of the places she visits. She approaches her journey with a sincere desire to meet people where they are and learn everything she can about the people she meets, their culture and values. She is a wonderful teacher.
This author takes you on a journey that few of us will ever have an opportunity to make. Her free spirit and open mind and heart are inspirational. She allows her readers to see, feel, smell, taste and savor all of the wonders of the places she visits. She approaches her journey with a sincere desire to meet people where they are and learn everything she can about the people she meets, their culture and values. She is a wonderful teacher.
February 14, 2012
I loved this book! She had such exciting adventures as she traveled to various Hispanic and South East Asian countries teaching English and making friends. She's someone I'd like to know - I'm sure we'd be friends.
The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is for the distracting splatters of commas and the occasional misspelled word. A professional editor could have cleaned this up.
The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is for the distracting splatters of commas and the occasional misspelled word. A professional editor could have cleaned this up.
October 31, 2012
Well, darn! I'm finished reading it! I wish there was so much more! Thank you, Ms. Donna Morang for letting us ride along with you on your ESL adventures! I had such a marvelous time that I am going to look into this. I am 62 and not getting any younger, but this sounds like such fun that I need to find a way to do it. I highly recommend this book to everyone! What a cool lady!
April 15, 2013
What a wonderful adventure! This is the story of a middle aged woman who sold everything and took off to see the world with nothing but a backpack. She travels to Mexico, Central America, Thailand and Vietnam, teaching English as a second language in small beach towns. Not everything goes well, but it does go well enough for her to spend her 50's and now 60's on her adventure.
November 1, 2012
This is one of those books where you imagine yourself on each and every adventure........my favorite genre of books, these little travel adventure books. Someone missed quite a bit of editing, but the spirit of Donna makes you overlook the misses!
October 17, 2016
Donna's Teaching Adventures
I really enjoyed Donna's adventures teaching English in Central America and in Asia! I cannot imagine travelling alone as a woman in all of the countries that she did! However, I admire her very much!
I really enjoyed Donna's adventures teaching English in Central America and in Asia! I cannot imagine travelling alone as a woman in all of the countries that she did! However, I admire her very much!
December 15, 2012
I had absolutely zero connection with the main character. I'll even go as far as to see I disliked her a bit. Enough that I didn't care about her story at all.
March 29, 2013
This was a free kindle book, which I got because I am going to Vietnam in a few months. I really enjoyed it - lovely little story and found it a very easy, fun read
March 31, 2014
Its great that this woman did something interesting, had a good experience and wrote about it. But not a great read.....
Want to read
February 25, 2016kindle travel stories
May 2, 2017
An interesting read especially since I have two children teaching English in China.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews