Jeff Bartlett

I still fear the all–too–common travel situation that seems to arise at least once per week. The one where I am sitting in a noisy bar, most likely surrounded by fellow travelers that will be my friends for a day or two before we go our separate ways, and the inevitable question is asked: “What do you do for work?”

Within any group, I am likely sitting with one person who teaches English in an attempt to stay away from his or her native country, a university student who still manages to pay for travel through some unexplainable financial position and, quite possibly, a working professional on a year break and a variety of seasonal workers who specialize in tourism, tree planting or fruit picking. The one common thing is a concrete answer.

A photojournalist would be the simple answer but, unfortunately, the title still costs me more than it earns. Too keep traveling, I’ve worked in hotels, on ships and in the wilderness. I have been a night manager, an accountant and an environmental data collector. I’ve tested concrete, written travel guides, served drinks and loaded tourists onto a gondola.

I’ve never signed an apartment lease, but my contract on a cruise ship had me crawling out of bed on a different Caribbean island everyday. I’ve sought shelter from rainstorms in my tent on four different continents and chased snowstorms on three. My memories include trips to both the world’s most southern and most northern beer breweries. I’ve experienced both forty degrees above and sixty degrees below zero along the way.

Although I’ve owed a sports car, roofless jeep and a snowmobile, I still consider hitchhiking the most affordable and reliable form of travel. Today, my meager possessions can fit into a fairly large backpack, and one bulging ski bag.

Quickly adapting to any new surroundings, I am equally comfortable standing with a group of rebellious teenagers as I am with wealthy adults. While I can recommend a quality wine to suit most occasions, I prefer a cold beer in a dingy bar and have only willingly worn a tie on one occasion. I enjoy expensive foods like sushi, steak or seafood but still prefer to cook simple rice on my camping stove. I am a small town kid, who likes to have the mountains at my doorstep but a good espresso next door. I talk politics, follow sports, listen to old music and read the latest books.

It is amazing how many interests you can have when not tied down by a real job. And that brings us back to the original question:

“What do I do for work?”

Well, I pay the bills, feed myself and ensure I have a some form of roof over my head by making snow, in northern Canada, for ten weeks every year. So I guess that makes me a Snowmaker.

One day, however, I will be a Photojournailst.