My first solo changed me drastically. I bought a cheap ticket from Chicago to Paris. I threw away everything I owned, which really wasn't much, except what fit in my pack. I landed in Paris with nojob, no place to stay, no French, no ticket home and $200 in my pocket. I hitched around Eroupe for two years that time and came home a much richer person.
Posts: 1470 | Location: Wisconsin | Registered: 14 June 2005
Originally posted by my2thhurts: My first solo changed me drastically. I bought a cheap ticket from Chicago to Paris. I threw away everything I owned, which really wasn't much, except what fit in my pack. I landed in Paris with nojob, no place to stay, no French, no ticket home and $200 in my pocket. I hitched around Eroupe for two years that time and came home a much richer person.
my2thhurts, you are my hero. This is kind of my plan, going off with no money (exept to pay for a TESOL course). Your story just proves that it can be done. Was it really hard at times? Did you ever consider coming back (before you actually did)?
Posts: 125 | Location: Detroit, Michigan USA | Registered: 14 June 2005
Was it hard? At times, yes, but I honestly never considered coming back because it was hard. I only considered coming back when my grandfather died. My grandmother told me not to. She said that I was on an adventure and to go. That both she and my grandfather wanted that. She also said that if she was 60 years younger she would do the same thing. (She already hed when she emigrated to America.) But it wasn't a difficult time so much as a time of denial. I didn't always have something to eat or a place to stay. I learned to be alone. But I also learned when to ask for help and when I didn't need toask. The worst times were nothing compared to the good times.
Posts: 1470 | Location: Wisconsin | Registered: 14 June 2005
my 2th hurts, your story is really inspiring, it takes a lot of guts to let go of everything you know and break out of your comfort zone the way you did. it really makes me realise just how well a person can survive without all the things that at home we feel our so important.
x
Posts: 306 | Location: Sydney Baby | Registered: 28 March 2005
Originally posted by my2thhurts: My inspiration comes from seeing people who, despite their flaws, over come and make a difference. The greatest leaders are never known.
But isn't being known part of being a leader? No doubt, great people turn flaws into strengths, and overcome obstacles as you implied. But if their actions go unnoticed, if they are not an inspiration to many, can they properly be called leaders?
Posts: 125 | Location: Detroit, Michigan USA | Registered: 14 June 2005
My grandfather was a great leader. He lived an honest life was charitable and kind. He is not, nor will he ever be famous. But his actions are being copied by the three following generations. In this way he is a leader. But no, not all great leaders work in this way. But I can say that nothing my grandfather did was motivated by fame power or greed.
Posts: 1470 | Location: Wisconsin | Registered: 14 June 2005
Originally posted by my2thhurts: My grandfather was a great leader. He lived an honest life was charitable and kind. He is not, nor will he ever be famous. But his actions are being copied by the three following generations. In this way he is a leader. But no, not all great leaders work in this way. But I can say that nothing my grandfather did was motivated by fame power or greed.
If you think about it, in a few hundred years he will likely have thousands of descendants. It is hard to say, however, if the life he lived will continue to have such a powerful effect. On the other hand, I think that many overestimate the power of many world leaders today. Sure, some may be good role-models, but they are too distant to have a powerful effect over a large number. Your grandfather, on the other hand, was intimately known to family and friends.
Posts: 125 | Location: Detroit, Michigan USA | Registered: 14 June 2005
Originally posted by my2thhurts: I agree completely! That is just my prefered type of leader.
My grandpa's nickname is "The Pro." Growing up, I never understood what it meant. A few years ago, I heard the story. To get the name, you have to understand a few things about my grandpa. He has been thrown out of many restaurants, because his steak is never cooked right. When pulled over in Detroit for running a red light and being asked why by the police officer, he said, "I'd rather have a ticket than be carjacked." He always speaks his mind, which inevitably leads to conflicts with just about anyone he knows. Turns out that my dad gave him the name, short for "Professional A**hole." I even call him "Pro" now. He has always been an inspiration to me, in a strange sort of way.
Posts: 125 | Location: Detroit, Michigan USA | Registered: 14 June 2005
I first went to Nepal in 1978 and decided two years ago to return. I had never forgotten this enchanted land and I am sure that my path through life would certainly take me back there some day. On returning to Nepal I realised that my life had become so very bland and I was converging towards getting old with the daily simpsons episode as one few and far between highlights of existance. How very sad. Now two years later I am living a Budda existance here climbing in China. That first trip at 18 set the ball rolling and now life is truly wonderful again. Next week my 19 year old son will join me and I hope that here his life will be changed in the same way as mine almost 30 years ago in the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.
Posts: 176 | Location: Sichuan China | Registered: 31 July 2003
The world at home becomes FAR less daunting. I did a Europe trip and an Ecuador trip on my own, and both times I came back feeling much stronger. The way I see it, and this is just one example, if I managed well enough getting from Quito to Banos with limited Spanish during a bus strike and highway blockade, there's no reason why I can't deal with an aggrivating issue at, say, the dry cleaners... or accomplish most anything back home where I know the language and customs. It's important for us to have these challenges, so we can come back to our normal lives and laugh at things that might lead others to frustration. Thailand is next... October 8 - 29. Thank you Northwest Airlines!!! Now, just don't go belly up on me, ya hear?
Like many people, my first solo trip gave me gratitude for the comforts I take for granted but also the confidence that I can go anywhere and make friends with people and adjust to the scene.
I can't think of anything that has given me perspective and confidence like a solo trip has.
Posts: 605 | Location: Florida, USA | Registered: 16 December 2004
My first solo trip - well, that was right after high school. And I actually had to run away from home to do that - a solo hitchhiking trip to Ireland... After that my parents and I, we all knew that I don't have to ask anymore if I want to hitch again somewhere. This help them and me to understand I'm a free spirited traveller who has to follow her own path more than anything else
Going to Korea, my first foreign country, at the age of 29, was a bit of a life changer for me. I'm South African. My very first impression, on the bus from the airport, was that the trees had no leaves. A simple observation, yes, but I'd never seen anything like it. In South Africa there are a couple of trees that shed their leaves in winter, but for the most part, everything is as green as it is in summer. I eventually took a walk among those leafless forests, and found them rather lonely and devoid of animal life. The only bird I saw was the magpie.
I soon found out that no one spoke English (why had I expected that they would?). Venturing down to the market to get something to eat, I discovered that I had no idea what these different kinds of "food" were. Nothing looked even vaguely familiar. In fact, some of those foodstuffs looked like they'd been harvested from somewhere in outer space. The labels were in Korean, and neither could I ask anyone what this or that was. The only thing that was written in English was a tube that said "horseradish sauce". I had no idea what that was, but impulsively grabbed it. There was also something that looked like some sort of feta cheese. Back in my apartment, with a plate full of horseradish sauce and feta cheese (which I later found out was tofu), I started liking this place less and less.
But, after a year of fermented cabbage (kimchi), bean sprouts and corn bread (I never went back to tofu after that first day), Korea was not so bad after all. I guess the biggest thing to overcome is loneliness. Surprisingly, you don't overcome loneliness by meeting more and more people; you overcome it by being alone.
::Hold on with a loose hand (rough translation of uncle Pietie's Afrikaans saying)::
Posts: 2 | Location: Knysna, South Africa | Registered: 12 September 2005
