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Welcome back to another Feature Friday!
In today’s post, I am interviewing Stephanie who is the owner of The Hidden Coconut.
Stephanie has such a cool story, and if you like to travel or learn about what others experience during travel, you’re going to love her blog!
1. Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m Stefanie, and I’m originally from Chicago, IL. However I’ve spent 8 years in St Louis, MO, and the past 2 years in Thailand where I teach English. I decided to move abroad because I found it really difficult to find a job in my field of Marketing in the US. I had a friend teaching English in China and decided to look into it myself. So in a few months, I quit my job and was on a plane to Prague to complete a TEFL course, and then a month later I was headed to Thailand for my first teaching job.
2. What do you blog about?
My blog is called The Hidden Coconut. I blog about my experiences in Southeast Asia and as an English teacher.
3. Why did you start your blog?
Well, honestly I started my blog as a way to maintain my vocabulary and grammar. I know that might sound really weird, but I teach Kindergarten and sometimes I feel like I’m forgetting how to talk properly. I also started it because before I left the US I was studying HTML, CSS and JavaScript, so I wanted to independently grow my skills.
4. What did you hope to achieve when you first started blogging?
I wanted to have a good collection of memories from my travels. It was also an easy way for my friends in other countries to keep up with what I’m doing. That way I don’t have to tell the same story 10 times.
5. Who are some of your favorite bloggers?
I wouldn’t say that I have anyone, in particular, that’s a favorite since I like reading a lot of different blogs. I admire what Elle Quinn is doing creating group travel for her platform and audience. I think it’s a fun way to connect with your following.
6. What’s your favorite thing about blogging?
I like how blogging can be about anything you want. It doesn’t have any rules or requirements.
7. What’s a blogging tool you can’t live without?
Probably Twitter. I get the most engagement and traffic from the platform. It’s easy to connect with others and if there is something that I’m struggling with, someone can relate to it and someone else can point you in the right direction.
8. What’s a piece of advice you would give someone who is struggling with their blog?
I’m not the best person to be giving advice about blogging since I myself and still struggling with it. However, I’d say that blogging is something that you should want to do, not something that you need to do. If the want is not there, the struggle will be a lot harder.
9. What has been your biggest blogging achievement?
My article for Bangkok Day Trips – Bang Len ranks #1 on Google in a keyword search.
10. Aside from blogging, how else do you spend your time?
I read a lot of books. Lately, it has been financial scandals like The Mastermind. I also like knitting, but I don’t do that as much since I live in Thailand and the quality of the yarn isn’t the same.
11. Where do you hope to see your blog in 5 years?
I hope my collection of travel articles continues to grow and inspires other people. I want to advance my coding skills and perhaps create a tool for my site can benefit others from using. What that tool is going to be, I don’t know yet.
You can follow Stephanie’s adventures in Thailand over on her blog, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
