BootsnAll Travel Community

I just want to say, Mr. Tuttle, I love your avatar. For anyone who hasn't seen the clip....yes, that's who you think it is and yes, he's doing what it looks like he's doing.

Glad you like it. I was hesitant to use it since I thought some folks might misinterpret it and think I am sort of raving conservative. Was also concerned that I might offend people... seems my fears are unfounded. Unfounded - is that the right word to use? Ah, you know what I mean.

Eowyn, this is a great thread!

My first solo trip was about two months in Belarus. In some aspects it wasn't truly solo since I already knew people in the country that I could ask questions of and pick me up at the airport. Like everyone else thats posted here I learned that I had to rely on myself and my abilities more than I probably do in the states. I learned to read Russian within a month after someone taught me the alphabet, and a few words so I could actually converse at a infantile level. Figuring out how to buy food and move around was the ultimate achievement. The true universal language is a smile. If that don't work, point and grunt!

My first REAL solo trip was last November 2K4 to Italy for 3 weeks at the tender age of 36. I had never gone anywhere alone for an extended period of time before. I spent a night in Amsterdam once but I don't really count that as it was too easy. All my previous trips had been with family or friends. Don't get me wrong, they were all absolutely wonderful in their own right, but there was always a safety net as I could lean on one of them if something needed to be decided upon.

But there I was armed only with a LonelyPlanet Guide, the information I leeched from all the GREAT members on this board and my lucky guesses. My one and a half years of somewhat passable college level italian came in handy too.

I had an epiphany when I found the town that almost all of my Sicilian heritage comes from. I doubt my feelings for the place would have been as strong as they were had I had company when I climbed up a hill and looked down upon it.

I think the solo trip reaffirmed a lot about what I thought I knew about my own strengths but could never really prove. I think it also helped that Italy has been thoroughly travelled for centuries by billions of people so that made things somewhat easy. I'll ramp up the difficulty on my next solo adventure for sure!

Between December 2004 and September 2005 I traveled solo around Europe. I wasn't just traveling all of the time, I lived and worked in London for 6 months, lived and worked in Rome for 2 and spent the rest of the time bouncing around.

It has been the greatest experience of my life so far and when I returned a lot of friends and family told me I had really blossomed, so to speak. Before I left I was considered quite introverted. In my travels I really learned self-sufficiency and resourcefulness. Knowing I can go to another country and set up shop is an absolutely amazing feeling, especially when I don't speak the language. Also, being alone, my social skills improved ten-fold and while I still enjoy being alone, I love being in the company of friends and strangers. My understanding of the world before I left was laughable but now I have stronger grasp on how the world works and interacts.

I have really learned to appreciate life in all its forms and even at my young age, if I were to die tomorrow I would die happy.

September 2004 and September 2005? Am I living in the past?

btw, that's a great experience - I'm introverted as well and as I'm getting ready to move to Europe for 8 months all sorts of thoughts and anxieties are crossing my mind.

Heh, I forgot to say that I also learned the invaluable skill of time travel!

Good luck Rogerio, I envy your plans. Just keep an open mind and all your anxieties will work themselves out.

P.S. Don't forget the power of a simple "hello".

After my friends backed out of our California plans after High school i went to my travel agent with my money and said "where i can i go with this"......she had a flight to amsterdam for 450 dollars so i booked it and left the next month by myself, i was 18. i can remember walking out of central station in amsterdam thinking i must be completely insane, peopel biking up to me offering to double me to their hostel, cars, trams, street performers prostitutes, the smell of marijuana looming in the air. i must ahve looked like such a dork with my huge backpack and guide book.....haha anyway my breath was taken away completly, my eyes were opened to thousands of new possiblities about the world and myself. my friends backing out of california was the best thing they could have ever done for me, i am now obsessed with travelling, i crave it in my sleep, the not knowing anyone, the starting fresh, the quite moments you have in tiny street cafes or lying on the beach with just your journal.... all the peopel you meet in hostels and end up changing your plans to travel with. its great cause soemtimes at home you get into a routine where everyone expects you to be this certain person, but when travelling alone you can be whoever you want, no one has any pre conceived ideas about you.....you really get to know your true self.......but be warned...this may become a serious addiction! im dropping out of art school this year to get back out there!!!!!

quote:

.......but be warned...this may become a serious addiction! im dropping out of art school this year to get back out there!!!!!

I know exactly what you mean! I cut short on my Music Tech degree so I could travel. Now that I am back home, I am back in school and should finish my degree at the end of spring quarter. After that though, it's back on the road.

Actually, I'm planning on doing BUNAC in Montréal, have you lived there long Nick? How do you like it? Is there a good underground music scene?

i most definitely do recommend you live in Montreal! especially if you're into alternative independant music, this place is thriving right now, its a renaissance, so many young people have moved here in the last few years, its crazy. they're calling it 'the new seatle" lol......if you hurry, try and pick up a copy of this months spin magazine....theres a big article on montreal being the next big thing and all the great music coming out of here right now....you definitely won't have a problem finding your niche here, just make sure you arrive in the summer, the city is completely different, it opens up onto the streets, theres a different festival every week, you'll love it!! cheers..

Sounds like a great fit!! Especially since I will be going there from Seattle. Thank you for the info and I will be sure to look at that Spin article.

mayumia-

Saw your post. Sounds like you did BUNAC in London, just wondering how did you get away with the 2 months in Italy? God Bless BUNAC by the way, I loved it.

quote:

Originally posted by TexasBoy:
mayumia-

Saw your post. Sounds like you did BUNAC in London, just wondering how did you get away with the 2 months in Italy? God Bless BUNAC by the way, I loved it.

I think a welcome to BootsnAll is in order!

Yes indeed, I did go through BUNAC and could not have been happier with my experience (well except for the dollar being so weak but that doesn't have anything to do with BUNAC!) Did you stay in London? Maybe we were there at the same time.

Anyway, if you are interested in prolonging your travels it always helps to ask people about employment when you travel somewhere. It was actually the owner of a hostel I stayed at in Rome that approached me about working in his hostel. Of course I was absolutely elated about working there and said yes in a heart beat. I just entered Italy as a tourist and stayed for 2 months.

To make matters interesting, the owner of the hostel was also a cop. Apparently he owned the hostel illegally and so was a "silent" owner (if anyone calls asking for me, you don't know me)! It's actually quite amusing. It doesn't matter if you don't speak Italian as long as you speak English fluently it will be very easy for you to find a job. Housing is another story.

As for the job, it was extremely exhausting (we were responsible for 24 hour shifts!) and the pay came to about Euro 3.12/hour. It was a small price to pay though for being able to live there for a while. If I had to do it again I think I would.

My first solo trip was my first trip in general...last year I traveled for four months to europe, thailand, and new zealand alone. Best experience I've ever had in my life...but I would have to say the thing about traveling alone is that you have ONLY you. When you are at home or in a familiar setting, you have friends and family that know you or see you a certain way, and I think we tend to, despite how we may change, conform to those views simply because we have always been a certain way with a certain person. But when traveling, you are just the real you, the true you, with no pre conceived notion from anyone, and you come to understand exactly who you are. I mostly loved taking a few days hiking or something in between big cities where you meet so many people and taking just a few days completely alone, to write in my journal or something...and found that I became a completely SELF AWARE person...I think because of my trip, I know completely who I am, why I do or say or think the things I do. Everything about who I am, even the bad things. And that is something that has definitly stuck with me. I cant wait to travel again...and hey Eowyn218...good luck on your trip!

I am currently smack dab in the middle of my first solo trip, and my first real trip, a 6.5 month jaunt through Argentina, Chile, Brasil, Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica, at the tender age of 18 (19 on Friday actually.)

What I've noticed so far that has changed with me is that previous neurosis has disappeared and now I do what I actually want to do with my time and therefore never feel like I'm wasting it. It's a lot more deep than that...but that'll have to come at the end of it all on May 17. I have to get from Rio to San Jose overland by then...

Great thread, Eowyn! I just got back last week from my 2 week solo trip to New Zealand, and all I can say is that was the best thing I've ever done in my life! Being alone made me a much stronger person, and I have much more confidence than I ever had.

In addition, it was wonderful meeting people from all over the world - some as young as 18 (and those were the ones that really inspired me, venturing off before heading to uni, experiencing life). I wish I would have had the guts to do that at their age, but that's okay, at least I'm doing it now!

I even fell into a glacier pool while hiking on Fox Glacier, and aside from being bruised & frozen, in a way I'm glad it happened! It really made me love life even more & brought out this more adventurous person who said what the hell & decided to sky dive & bungee jump!

My story even has a little romance, but that's another chapter!

Before I left, no one understood why I'd want to travel solo. Now they see this new me & understand.

It's crazy cuz back home, my life consisted of waking up, getting to work by 7:00 a.m., working til 3:30, going home, eating & to bed by 8:30p.m. The corporate drudgery!

On this trip, I have never felt so awake or alive! I still can't shake this high I'm feeling!

Gawd I want to go back!! Traveling has done more for me than I can even say!

Does this 'venturing off to travel' come with a warranty?

i.e. anyone's trip did not change them and they came back the same ol' person?

quote:

Originally posted by Nick Bostick:
the not knowing anyone, the starting fresh, the quite moments you have in tiny street cafes or lying on the beach with just your journal.... all the peopel you meet in hostels and end up changing your plans to travel with.

I agree with you Nick, and btw, Amsterdam is agreat place for a solo traveler


Gabriela

quote:

Originally posted by mayumia:

quote:

Originally posted by TexasBoy:
Sounds like you did BUNAC in London,

God Bless BUNAC BUNAC by the way, I loved it.

Yes indeed, I did go through BUNAC BUNAC
(well except for the dollar being so weak but that doesn't have anything to do with BUNAC! BUNAC!)

...can anyone of you explain me what does BUNAC! mean, please?? (I'm sorry if I'm asking a stupid thing)

thanks

Gabriela

Bunac is an organization that arranges international work permits. www.bunac.org

I read about the post regarding BUNAC. I did the BUNAC Britain program last year. I ended up living in London for 6 months, then backpacking for another month. Being away from friends and family for that long will certainly make you think about things. It is certainly the boldest thing I have ever done in my life. I met people from countries all over the world. Since I have gotten back, I think I have become a more confident, out-going, and open minded person. I take an interest in international affairs. It was difficult at first but I would certainly do it again.


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