Hello! I’m Amanda Kendle, a travel podcaster and writer based in Perth, Western Australia, who’s spent a couple of decades talking about travel to everyone who’ll listen. I’ve published posts here on NotABallerina.com since 2005, and I’ve hosted and published The Thoughtful Travel Podcast since 2016.
About Amanda
My parents got me into travelling young – our first big trip was spending six months in Europe when I was nine. I spent a good part of my twenties living and working overseas in Japan, Slovakia and Germany before returning to my hometown of Perth, and then having my son (now a tall teenager). I love nothing more than breathing in the air of new places or returning to beloved ones, meeting new people, trying out new languages and discovering both cultural quirks and what we all have in common.
Being a thoughtful traveller
My time living abroad really convinced me that travel can be life-changing in many ways. I started writing about the benefits of travel, and getting excited about the concept of being a thoughtful traveller, too – not just thinking about how travel is good for me, but also starting to learn more about travelling in a way that was good for the places I went, too – or at a minimum, at least not harmful!
These days as well as helping people be more intentional about travelling thoughtfully, I also get to chat with podcast guests about topics as wide-ranging as sustainable travel, mental health and travel, overtourism, and ethical animal tourism.
Why “Not A Ballerina”?
You may well ask, why “Not A Ballerina”? I started this blog back in June 2005, and when I was pondering a title, I remembered my writing roots:
A family legend tells my lifelong dream was to be a writer. The story takes place in my grandparents’ living room in south-west Australia. While watching a three-year-old me dance around in front of the TV, my grandmother claims to have remarked, “You could be a ballerina when you grow up.” I stopped dancing and looked seriously at my grandmother. “No!” I answered, verging on tears. “I’m going to be a writer.”
So “Not A Ballerina” seemed like a very clever title, until, of course, I started getting a lot of people landing on this blog because they had searched for information about ballerinas. Google wasn’t very good at seeing the “Not”. But being a pretty sentimental lass, I couldn’t part with it. Fortunately, search engines are smarter these days so I really hope you’re not reading this looking for ballet tips!
The Fine Print:
Advertising and Sponsorship
From time to time, I’ll feature some brand collaborations, sponsored posts or reviews of products or services, and sometimes they have been provided to me at no cost or reduced cost. I have an “always tell” disclosure policy, so when this happens I will say so, and I will still tell you the whole truth about them!
Comments Policy
I love getting comments on my blog. I don’t like getting comments which are purely to advertise your totally unrelated website. That’s the main reason I need to have a comments policy so here it is:
- Please keep your comments friendly and courteous. I’m more than happy for you to disagree with me and other commenters, but just do it respectfully. I’d rather you didn’t swear, and I won’t tolerate any kind of abuse or threats, at me or others. I’d also appreciate non-racist, non-sexist, and non-defamatory language. Thank you!
- Try to stay relevant to the post you’re commenting on. If you have something to say that’s not exactly related to the post, you can always contact me via the Contact form.
- You can leave your own link as part of your name, but please don’t include additional links in your comment. If you’ve written something that’s extremely relevant then I can make an exception, but if you are clearly just advertising your own site by leaving a link to it, your comment will be deleted.
- Any blatant spam or advertising will always be deleted.
- And finally – this is my blog and I have the final say on what my readers can see or not see.
Terms and Conditions
Please see my Privacy Policy for further information.
Amazon
NotABallerina.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.