Hello and thank you for visiting Natives International. I sincerely hope you enjoy traveling this blog as much as I’ve enjoyed traveling the world collecting these stories!

A Little About Myself

My name is Joshua Patterson and I originally created this blog a few years ago to share my love of travel, my photos, and stories from the road, with my family and friends. To my surprise, the blog became immensely popular and now I help people all over the world, people just like you, get into their travel groove and experience things they wouldn’t normally get to see.

I call Dublin, Ireland home, but (as you can probably tell!) my real passion is traveling and meeting new people; experiencing new cultures all over the world has really changed my life for the better. I make my living as an artist and meeting native people around the globe has broadened my artistic palette and expanded my horizons. It sounds cheesy, I know, but it’s true! My friends describe me as positive, cheerful and life-loving…and it’s travel that has made me (and kept me) that way.

I’ve traveled aboard since I was very young, as a matter of fact, my first trip out of the country (all the way to Italy!) came when I was only four months old! I haven’t stopped and recently I visited my 100th country (Vanuatu, if you’re keeping track)! It was a huge milestone for me and what a beautiful country. It’s been an amazing ride!

It was on this amazing journey to the South Pacific that I met Shel, my now girlfriend, during a wild and crazy kava ceremony with the chief of a small island. Shel was single-handing her small sailboat around the world, meeting folks and living life like a native along the way. What an incredible way to meet new people, I was immediately hooked!

About This Blog

When I started, this blog was simply a medium to share stories and photos with friends but then my blog became more popular than I ever imagined! Through simple stories of encounters like these, now over ten thousand people visit my site every month. While I love writing and sharing my experiences, I decided that I would also use the website to help others expand their travel comfort zones. I began a one-on-one travel consultant service where I travel with you to far off lands, meeting individuals from all over the world in the process. My time as a travel consultant has been the happiest years of my life. I’ve had so many great experiences and made so many new friends!

My sincerest hope for this blog is that I can share my passion for travel and persuade everyone to take a trip abroad and meet some new people! And if you are a little nervous, have never traveled aboard before, or just want to dip your toes in the travel water, contact me and we can set up a consultation.

Occasionally you will see me endorse a product or a service that I know and love. These are hand-picked affiliates that have helped me in my travels and that I believe can help you too. I only affiliate my blog with products or services that I have personally used.

For the nearest future, I hope to visit at least 20 countries, checking some new ones off my list and revisiting some old favorites, and spending more time on Shel’s beautiful boat, the Second Wind. She’s currently in Thailand and planning to spend at least a year there, something I couldn’t be happier about.

I hope to see you on the road! Happy travels!