Serenity Dzubay

Member

Serenity Dzubay has always felt slightly akin to Alice, the protagonist of Lewis Carroll’s world-renowned novel. After falling down the rabbit hole, Alice is thrown into a strange world of smoking caterpillars, disappearing cats, and dancing lobsters. Despite this strange new reality, Alice resiliently continues to travel and experience all that her new world has to offer her. As an expat, Serenity can relate to Alice’s experience. She must be open to adventure in this wonderful and strange world.

At 18 years old, Serenity decided to take an internship on a cage-diving boat in the middle of South Africa. It changed the entire course of her life. After growing up in the isolation of the Midwest, her trip to South Africa opened her eyes to the world. That trip taught Serenity to be brave in the face of one of the world’s largest predators, the White Shark. But perhaps the bigger predator she faced was her fear of leaving everything she knew and understood behind. When she arrived in South Africa alone at midnight, without a phone charger, she was terrified of the world around her. When Serenity left, however, she had found a passion for traveling. It has haunted her ever since.

Serenity\\\’s South Africa trip inspired her to travel to Alcala de Henares in Spain. She initially went there as a study abroad student, and then got her Master\\\’s degree in teaching. Serenity has been living in Spain ever since. She now works as an English assistant in the classroom, and does some freelancing on the side. Serenity has found that this is the best way to travel and make money while you’re doing it. Serenity plans to eventually move on from Spain, so that she can experience new cultures and get out of her comfort zone even more!

In her free time, Serenity often goes hiking. She could probably recommend every worthwhile spot in the Community of Madrid. She loves to get a delightful glass of red wine from the Ribera del Duero region, and often enjoys a night of tapeando, hopping from bar-to-bar to get a drink and a tapa with friends. Serenity plays the ukulele and can often be found at the gym. She is also learning how to do bachata, which is quite popular in Spain despite the fact that it is from Latin America.

Traveling, no matter how you do it, is one of the most worthwhile experiences that you will ever have. When Serenity was younger, she dreamed of traveling the world. Now, she is living that dream and making it a reality. Traveling has made Serenity feel she is a global citizen, rather than belonging only to her home country. Like Alice, Serenity fell down this rabbit hole, but she doesn\\\’t plan to climb out anytime soon.