Boykano Travels

“To travel is to live” -Hans Christian Andersen

Hello fellow travelers, Mabuhay, Welcome to Boykano Travels!

My name is Shawn Schallman and I want to welcome all of you to my new travel blog. I am so excited to share to you and to the rest of the world my passion to travel.

For those of you who do not know what Boykano means, let me enlighten you. Boykano is a slang term in the Filipino language (tagalog) for American Boy. BOY + KANO (from the tagalog translation of American – Amerikano). That was the nickname given to me by my Filipino friends because of my mixed heritage. My father is a German/Polish 3rd-4th generation American and my mother is Filipina/Spanish, thus making me a mestizo, half-breed, mixed etc. etc.

Going on vacations and taking road trips was an integral part of my childhood. My dad used to work for the airlines and even when I was baby, he would take me to different cities across the United States.But I think my main influence is my mother, who in the 70’s and 80’s was a tourist guide in the Philippines specializing in Japanese tourists. She was able to learn and speak Japanese in a short amount of time which made her as an integral part of Philippine tourism during those days. Because of that, she was able to go to many different countries in Asia and Europe. To whoever knows her, you know when I tell you that she is the most hospitable, friendly and selfless person you will ever meet. She taught me how not be judgmental and to always explore not just a different place but to enrich yourself with new customs and cultures. Another major influence was my aunt and uncle who raised me when lived in the Philippines. Every summer we would go on vacations to places like Boracay, Cebu, Hong Kong and Singapore. We always went to some place new and to this day we continue this tradition of having family trips all around the world. I am so lucky to be raised by people who knew the importance of traveling. We may not have a big house, a nice car or expensive things, but we can be proud to say that we have been to so many places. It is simply priceless!

My biggest break is when I started working for the airlines 6 years ago. This gave me the freedom to travel anywhere I want to. I was able to fly all across the United States for free and to the rest of the world for a small fraction of what you would usually pay. I would work hard to save money for my next trip. I would usually travel every other month and go to different places on one trip. By the time I get back to work, my coworkers would always ask me where my next trip would be, which in turn gives me the inspiration to travel some more.

My addiction to traveling spurred another hobby, which was landscape photography. I love taking pictures and through the years my skills and knowledge of photography grew. My first amateur SLR camera was a Canon Rebel XT in 2008. Through the years I upgraded my equipment until I was able to find the right balance on what kind of lens, filters, camera body, tripods to have. And for the last 3 years I have been using the same equipment that is perfect for the trips that I go on. I have a Canon 70D with 3 lens such as; a 10-22mm ultra-wide angle lens, 24-105mm L lens and a 50mm prime. This has produced thousands of pictures that I am so excited to share on this blog in the days to come.

Based on what my friends and family say, my main talent is that I have a great photographic memory and rarely will I get lost. I could find a certain place on a map fairly easy and once I have been to that place, I can remember how to get there and back. A lot of my friends actually call me a walking GPS complete with historical facts and trivial facts about that place. I love history, geography, and anthropology. I also love reading maps, travel books, and history books about different countries. I would always ask the question why, when and how? to better understand something. I am also great with fixing travel itineraries, looking for the best travel deals and maximizing the time when traveling to be able to see and experience the wonderful places.

And in the last few days before creating this travel blog, I realized that I need to share these talents, not just to my friends and family, but to everybody who appreciates the life of adventure. The experience of seeing a new place, the taste of a new kind of food, the sounds of different kinds of music or the smell of the fresh ocean breeze. Taking all of that in, usually spurs spiritual and emotional growth. To travel is to learn and to learn is to grow. I do wish that by reading my blog, you will have that urge to experience something new and to go to a place you have never been before. As Saint Augustine said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page”.