Travel: My Why
It wasn’t until I traveled that I realized how scared I was. Scared of life, scared of change, scared of doing things on my own.
My first trip abroad was to study in Rome, Italy for a month. I am embarrassed to say I was completely homesick. I slept a lot. I was scared of getting lost, of getting separated from the group. Looking back, it makes me so sad. I was so stressed and anxious, I don’t think that I truly marveled at what an amazing and historical city I was living in.
I’m sad for 19 year old me. But she didn’t know any different.
Today when I plan a trip, I keep 19 year old me in mind. I challenge her to see everything and do everything that she (me) wants to see and do.
Here are the 6 Reasons Why I will Never Stop Traveling (and neither should you):
It stretches your mind. Looking at historical buildings and art, thinking back in time. Seeing the world first hand rather than reading about it in a history book makes it so much more real. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in our little piece of the world. The truth is there is so much more out there! What we know to be right, is only “right” in our bubble. Just because you were raised to believe one value or taught to do a specific task another way, does not make it “the right way” or “better”. In Jamaica, church would usually last about 3 hours. I am used to a service being an hour or less. At first I was annoyed. 3 hours for church?! That’s crazy! But the more time I spent attending church, the more I realized how passionate and strong the faith of this church really was. When they came to church, they really brought their all. They would sing and worship for hours. It was genuine, not just something to check off their list on Sunday. Over my time spent in Jamaica, I started to look at church differently. Traveling challenges your thinking! It throws you curveballs. And if you let it, it will change you and stretch your way of thinking.
It makes you look outside of yourself. Total I have gone on 6 mission trips in my life. 3 to various parts of the United States, 3 internationally. Each one was a humbling experience. I learned the hardships that others live with, I learned how some people are able to be happy with the simplest of lifestyles. On each of my trips, I was always amazed at how happy the people were that I encountered. They were going through so much, living in poverty, and yet, they were always smiling, laughing, and celebrating life.
Two years ago when I was in Galway, I passed a homeless man on the bridge. In America, we are often taught to ignore the homeless. Occasionally we will drop a few bucks in their cup or out the window. At the time of this trip, I was working at a homeless shelter back in America and yet I was hesitant to speak to this man. But as we passed, another group was coming towards us over the bridge. As they passed the homeless man, slumped over in the middle of the bridge, cup out in front of him, each person in the group tipped their hat and send good morning. Then the woman leaned over and dropped some money in the cup and told him to have a nice day. I was shocked at this kindness. As I started to pay more attention to the homeless and their interaction with the Irish community. Almost every person that walked past a homeless man or woman on the street, acknowledged them in some way. As someone who worked with the homeless on a daily basis, this warmed my heart. But even to this day, I still wonder, what it is about our culture that considers it so wrong to acknowledge the homeless and treat them with respect. I took this observation to heart and to this day always try to acknowledge the homeless. Whether I have something for them or not, they are still people.
You learn new ways of living.I didn’t drink coffee until I went to Italy. I had never taken a bucket shower until I lived in Costa Rica. I wasn’t too big of a fan of naps until I learned about siesta in Spain. All these things are good in their own way, just weren’t “life as I knew it” before I traveled. I was a picky eater before I started traveling. On my 6 month mission trip, I did not often get a choice and what I ate. In most caribbean countries, clearing your plate entirely during meals is a sign of respect. So whether I knew what I was eating or not, I would eat as much as I possibly could. I learned to love a lot of food this way. By trying the food that country is known for, your taste buds learn to love so many new things that they never knew existed.
While I no longer take bucket showers, I can say that they work just as well as a regular shower and conserve way more water. Let me set the scene a bit, where I lived in Costa Rica, we only had running water 3 days of the week. On those days, there were water barrels under all the faucets that caught the water until it shut off. You scoop out a bucket of water, dump it over your head, soap yourself up, then dump another buck over your head to wash off. I would say this is extremely effective and impressive. In Belize, my family did not have electricity, so they figured out how to use a car battery to provide a small light for their entire house. These are simple leisures (water, electric) that we never have had to think twice about not having. I found it so impressive and innovative the ways these families found to keep clean and keep their home lit at night. It really got me thinking of different ways I could conserve water and energy in my own life.
In Spain, our tour guide was very upset when she ordered food for the entire group only to find out that the one boy did not want any. She exclaimed that it was wasteful and that someone had to eat it. She carried a cloth tote with her everywhere she went so she never needed a plastic shopping bag. She was so mindful of decreasing her waste and plastic use, this made me extra mindful moving forward after this trip. It is so rare in America to encounter people that are actively taking the steps to eliminate waste and single use plastic in their daily lives. My first hand experience in Spain encouraged me to be that example for people in my life.
You fall in love with people you never knew existed. Between hostels, group travel, and living in host homes, I got to form relationships with so many different people from around the world. I have some of those most magical memories with people whose last names I never learned. I was very hesitant to stay in hostels the first time I did. You can read about my experience and what I learned here. Now, I recommend hostels to anyone who will listen because they offer me a common space to meet other solo travelers from all over the world, learn from locals on the best places to eat in town, and some hostels even offer group tours and activities.
I have snapshots of my travel experiences I keep in my head. Drinking wine with my sister in Rome. Swing dancing with a stranger in Galway. Laughing and dreaming about the future in the back of a pickup truck with my mission team. The locations are spectacular, but the people make it magical.
You learn to trust yourself. When you are outside of your borders, away from your comfort zone, away from all the people you care about and trust so much, all you have is yourself. Even on guided trips, you still have the opportunity to think independently. You get to decide what you want to do, what sites you need to see, and what food you want to try. Majority of the decisions made while traveling are your own. Traveling is an opportunity for growth. I don’t know about you, but I always value the opinions of my mom and best friends. Sometimes, I forget what I want when asking others for advice. It can get confusing. But when I go to another country, I am going there because I wanted to. I get to pick what I eat and when. How I dress, no one knows me, I can wear that crazy hat. When I travel, I feel like the real me really shines. The more I travel, the stronger that gut feeling I have becomes. I return to the comfort zone more self aware and confident than ever before.
It makes you happy. If you are like me, the 5 reasons I stated above put a smile on your face. I love learning, I love marveling at the wonders of the world, I love making new friends and helping those in need. When I travel, I can do all of those. I love experiencing new cultures and daydreaming about what my life would have been like if I was raised in that corner of the world instead of my comfy home in Pittsburgh, PA. I ask myself, what can I take from this community and adopt into my own life? I refuse to stop this cycle of growth. I refuse to ever become comfortable with where I am and what I have. I always want to ask questions and seek new solutions. I want my thinking to be challenged. I want to be happy and traveling allows me to do just that.