Jill P is a USA food server embarking on a round-the-world journey.
The Snapshot
- **Departure:** 2002
- **Duration:** 1-2 years
- **Age:** 29
- **Budget:** Custom budget (2026 equivalent)
- **Nationality:** USA
- **Occupation:** Food Server
The Route
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.
Regions: Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania
2026 Note: Travel conditions, visa requirements, and costs have evolved significantly since this profile was originally recorded.
In Their Words
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
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.
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?
2026 Context
- This profile was recorded before departure. Many travelers never return home quite the same.
- This journey is now 24 years in the past. The world has changed significantly.
- Exchange rates and travel costs have shifted considerably since the original planning date.