Sunday, 21 December 2014

Lessons Learnt When Travelling Solo


Exploring the ruins at Pompeii

I recently returned from a 9 week solo trip in Europe and the United States. 
Being an 18 year old female alone in a foreign country is the most vulnerable and frightening position I have ever been in and I don’t think I quite realised the magnitude of what I was doing until I was out there doing it. The shock, concern and wonderment I would get from people I met made me realise that what I was doing was actually kind of a big deal.

I rode horses in Iceland, channelled my inner princess at Versailles, ate my weight in Pasta in Italy, met some of the kindest human beings on the planet in Austin, marvelled at the Grand Canyon, walked in Memphis (cue song ), gained a new appreciation for country music in Nashville, celebrated my first ever Halloween in Los Angeles, and much, much more. 
Another thing that happens when you’re travelling the world, by yourself or otherwise, is that you learn A LOT. I learnt a combination of both profound life lessons I will carry with me forever, and trivial little things that are probably just good to know. 
Here is what I learnt on my big trip:
  1. Travelling by yourself is hard, especially at first, but it gets better.
  2. Everyone isn’t thinking you are some kind of weirdo, anti-social freak (or something negative like that), most people aren’t thinking about you at all.
  3. Having a foreign accent (especially Australian) is the biggest advantage for meeting people, particularly when you are by yourself. 
  4. By American standards, I must look much younger than I actually am (apparently I could pass for 16... not sure if that's a good or bad thing?)
  5. People are not that scary. Well, most of the time. 
  6. Regularly washed (and when I say washed I mean with proper detergent in a machine) clothes are something I really take for granted. 
  7. Concert etiquette (or lack thereof) is essentially the same everywhere. Some people will try and push their way to the front, others are too drunk to function, and there are always those who dance like no one is watching.
  8. I need to take care of myself. Not getting enough sleep (and evidently I need a lot of it) is a terrible, unhealthy thing to do. It will affect me in more ways than one and end up making life harder. 
  9. I get motion sick. Especially on rocky whale watching boats. Accept that fact, take a tablet and move on!
  10. Never expect a seat on public trains. It is these kind of expectations that send your hopes crashing to the ground.
  11. I need nights in. Whether it be getting room service and watching TV, or a can of soup and chatting with someone, my poor introverted self occasionally just needs a solo night doing laundry. 
  12. In contrast to the lesson above, I also learnt that I need human contact. Upon arriving in Austin and feeling like it was all too much, as soon as I got to the Austin City Limits music festival and started having positive interactions with others, I felt 100 times better. 
  13. Being a young woman, by yourself, in a foreign country is probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever felt in my entire life. Obviously I’ll never know, but I can imagine a man (of any age) would not have the same kinds of fears and trepidation I had almost every day and definitely every night. 
  14. I don’t always have to do what I think I “should” do. When you do things only for the purpose of impressing or satisfying others, you rarely enjoy it yourself. 
  15. Being vegetarian on planes is actually the greatest. I would be finished my meal before the people around me had even received theirs, this did make me feel a little bad though… but I was mostly just happy and satisfied,
  16. I can finally say I definitely know what marijuana smells like... I'm sure there is a scenario where that is a useful thing to know.
  17. Southern hospitality in the United States is definitely alive and well.
  18. Be in the moment. Because I would plan my days and know exactly what I wanted to see and do, I found that I was actually rushing through or missing out on experiences. One particular day in LA when I actually didn’t have any concrete plans ended up being one of the best days on the whole trip. I met someone in the morning and we spent the whole day together, making it up as we went along. 
  19. An exit row seat on a long flight is the way to go.
  20. I know it has to be done, but tipping is really stressful and it particularly sucks when the person’s service isn’t very good, but you are socially obligated to tip them anyway
  21. It’s okay. And if it’s not, it’s going to be.
My packed suitcase the night before I flew out

And off I went!

A rainy day in Venice

The Bean! 

Versailles

My Icelandic horse

San Francisco

The Brooklyn Bridge

Dinner in Rome

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