Nicki Cornwell - Round-the-World Traveler

1. When do you leave?
   March 2006

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   1-6 Months

3. How much have you saved?
   After airfare, about $6,500 USD

4. How old are you?
   24

5. Nationality
   USA

6. Where do you live now?
   Minneapolis, MN, USA

7. Occupation
   Waitress and ESL Education

8. 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

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    Meeting up with my travel buddy in Dakar, Senegal for some fun, then we're off to Morocco, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Thailand, and finishing my leg of the journey in New Zealand.

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    My roommate and I have decided that since we've graduated college, we may as well avoid the "real world" of work, by getting out to experience the real world.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    Running out of money.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    They have all been extremely supportive, most have expressed a "Wow, I wish I could do something like that." To which one must reply, "You Can!". The others think I'm a little crazy, but well, things are more fun that way.

14. How much planning and preparing have you done?
    Just Enough

15. What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
    Attempting not to pack too much. But finding this very challenging.

16. 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 hope it will bring me an even greater understanding of the world and its cultures. I hope it won't exhaust me too much, and leave some energy for more travels in the future!

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    So very, VERY excited!

18. 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?
    Travel awakens the soul. You can not experience a place or a people from within a hotel in an all-inclusive vacation. You have to get dirty in order to live a little.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That you can never do it, it's too expensive. Just GO!!!

20. Why do you like to travel?
    I love people, I love worldly food, I love sunsets, I love hiking to the top. Any view I have ever struggled to reach has always been worth the climb. Travel gives you stories to tell, it makes life interesting.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Just Go! Work two jobs, live off one, save from the other. Buy your ticket and embark on the world! Everything will work out in the end.