Amy

1. When do you leave?
   April 2004

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   I Ain't Never Comin' Back

3. How much have you saved?
   US 10,000 so far

4. How old are you?
   19

5. Nationality
   USA

6. Where do you live now?
   Dublin, Ireland

7. Occupation
   Stripper (seriously)

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?
    After 6 months of working in Dublin, we're planning to travel for about 5 years. The first year - starting this fall - will be spent in Australia, New Zealand, and SE Asia- Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Philippines. The second we'll go from Mongolia, to SW China & Tibet, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, then N Africa, Israel, and Jordan. Haven't figured out the next three yet...

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    Travelling this way has been my dream for years. I was spending all my time in college just trying to figure out how to get away from the nasty New England weather and how to afford to travel. I decided to just bite the bullet and try stripping, because it pays so well, and not only do I kind of enjoy it, it's gotten me out of Boston! I started travelling like this when I went backpacking in Europe for the first time when I was 17.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    That I won't be able to go.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    Most of my friends travel, and love the idea. My family never likes the idea when I start a trip.

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)?
    35 L pack with a few changes of clothes and the necessities. The most indispensable item...besides cash and a passport? I hate not having chapstick, drives me crazy.

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?
    Hoping to feel inspired enough after five years to finish school. It'll feel really good to detach from "home". Who knows how it'll change me...I just want to be open to it.

17. If you had to sum up your thoughts/feelings about your round-the-world trip in one sentence, what would it be?
    I can't stand these questions!! Too much pressure...:)

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?
    More travel, more immersion- for me, and most people who travel like this, I think, travel is a lifestyle, not a break from one.

19. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    Most people I've talked to think that the cost and dangers are much higher than they are. (Maybe I should answer this when I've done it?)

20. Why do you like to travel?
    Honestly, I don't really know. I love change. I'd feel as though I was failing myself if I wasn't always trying to see the world and meet people.

21. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    I don't know how anybody can narrow down their options of destinations into only one year of travel... I think if I were limited to one year of travel, I'd also stay only in one region, but that's just me.