- When do you leave?
- How long do you plan to be away?
1-2 Years - How much have you saved?
Not enough - How old are you?
29 - Nationality
USA - Where do you live now?
Illinois, USA - Occupation
Food Server - Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
One more paycheck and I’m gone - Have you traveled around the world before?
No - What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
I think East to West, depends when I actually leave. I’ll probably end up doing a loop tour starting and ending on the West Coast of the US, going through SE Asia, India, Eastern and Southern Europe, Southern and Eastern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. - Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
I decided to take this trip because my passion is travel. I have done two shorter trips (Europe and Ecuador) but always felt like it just wasn’t enough time. I ditched the corporate America lifestyle to follow my dreams!I may not have the nicest car or the latest wardrobe, but I know I am doing something I love, and in the end that is what matters most. I won’t be on my death bed thinking, “Gee, I wish I had taken that well-paying corporate job so I could buy more things I didn’t really need” But I would regret not traveling. The major influence that finally got my butt in gear was a book called One Year Off. It’s about a family that sells everything and takes off RTW for 13 months. I thought, if they can do it with 3 kids, I can certainly do it alone.
- What is your biggest fear about this trip?
I would say my biggest fear is 1) running out of money before I am ready to come home and 2) being judged as a person on my nationality alone. - Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
Most everyone is supportive. Most people close to me know when I set my mind on something, especially travel, I follow through. I have a lot of friends who say they will be meeting me in various places across the globe, and others who think I am nuts and just want the monthly “I am still alive” e-mail. My mom is supportive because she knows this is my dream, but she also feels that now may not be the best time to travel. I say throw caution to the wind and explore! - How much planning and preparing have you done?
Just Enough - What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
Not totally sure what I am packing. Excluding the obvious (clothes, first-aid, etc.), I will have an inflatable travel pillow, earplugs, a small travel-size roll of duct tape (you would never believe the ways it comes in handy) and all of my camera equipment. - How do you think your round-the-world trip will change your life? How do you think it will affect and change you as a person?
I think it’s very difficult to imagine the ways this trip is going to change my life. I am hoping I will return with a clear career objective. Right now that part of my life is very transient and it would be nice to feel more centered.How this trip will affect me as a person? Immeasurably I assume. Hopefully, I will become much more aware and, more importantly, respectful of the world and cultures around me. I can say today that I feel respect for those very things, but to truly respect and remotely understand, one has to experience it. It can be very uncomfortable, but that is where the beauty lies.
- If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
I want to find awe in the most mundane, everyday experiences. - Why do you think people should go on round-the-world trips? Why not just take a regular old one- or two-week vacation instead?
I think people should go on RTW or extended trips because it will breathe new life into you. Simply, you will grow as a person. You will become (hopefully) a better person, more accepting of other cultures and more empathetic towards differences amongst humanity. (Geez, I am expecting an awful lot from my fellow beings!)One- or two-week vacations are for people looking for that… two weeks off at Club Med to relax before they head back to their draining HR job. Those who love the whole experience of travel want that… an experience, the whole shebang. From overnight trains to cold-water-only hostels, from Thai cooking lessons to seeing the Sistine Chapel for the first time. These are what makes a journey.
Am I making any sense?
- What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
- That everything will go exactly as planned.
- That it costs hundreds and thousands of dollars.
- That one will be raped, kidnapped, or murdered in some “freaky” third-world country. (Like that never happens here in the good old US of A. Ha!)
- Why do you like to travel?
I like to travel because it enables me to be amazed by simple things. Of course it’s great to see the Mona Lisa or the Statue of Liberty, etc. Cultural icons are always enriching, but it’s the everyday people that always inspire me. I like to travel because it drives my soul and gives me passion for life. It motivates me unlike anything else. I travel because it tests me and pushes me to my limits.This list really could go on and on. (Perhaps my trip will also teach me to be more articulate.)
- What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
- Read! Read! Read! This doesn’t have to be just guidebooks or history books. I have found reading travel narratives, travel literature and even fiction/nonfiction books from or about the places I am visiting really helps. It gives a broad sense of place/politics/culture of that country or region.
- Save as much money as humanly possible. You can always come home with extra cash in the bank, but it’s very difficult to make cash magically appear in your account while abroad.
- Be open to new and radical experiences. The more you experience the more you learn, be it good or bad. Just use common sense!
October 2002