Why Do You Go Abroad?

It’s a good question, and one that I’ve definitely been faced with before. Friends and family members sometimes don’t seem to get where and why I travel. Why do you want to go to all of those places? How to you communicate when people don’t speak English? Don’t you get scared when you visit those countries?

Enjoying a beautiful day in Prague, Czech Republic

I go abroad because that’s how I learn and grow. Sure, I learned some useful things in my college courses and I’m proud of my Journalism degree that I achieved. But those classroom lessons aren’t near as memorable or thought provoking as the ones I experienced while traveling.

I studied abroad in Spain for a semester during my junior year of college. Before that, I had traveled on several family trips around Europe and Central America, but studying abroad was different. To stay in one place for an extended period of time allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of another city, culture and language. It was enchanting to me.

With New Friends in Spain

Upon college graduation I was ready to do it again. I knew I soon wanted to put my journalism degree to good use and move to New York to join the (struggling) magazine industry, but before that I needed one last adventure- and a summer volunteering in Peru sounded perfect.

There was only one problem with my little plan: I feel in love with Peru and found a love for traveling unlike ever before. After only being there a week, I knew that my summer abroad would not be enough. I extended my stay in Peru while my parents moved my things out of my college apartment. I took a TEFL certification class and then taught English in Cusco for the next six months. The real world wasn’t going anywhere- that part of my life would just have to wait.

Jump!  At Machu Picchu, Peru

The travel bug which had started as a small seed inside me continued to grow and expand and I found myself bursting at the seams with a desire to see the world. In all, I spent 3 years teaching English and traveling the world calling Peru, South Korea and then the Czech Republic home. The more I traveled the more new places I learned about and wanted to visit. Laos? I had never heard of that country- let’s go there! Bratislava? A European capital city I wasn’t aware of? Let’s check it out!

Snake charming in Marrakech, Morocco

Now, I call the United States my home once again. I’ve been living here for about a year and a half and work as a study abroad advisor, having discarded my old magazine dreams. I don’t think I’ll ever stop traveling- to stop traveling would be to quit learning and growing. I still travel. I may not be country hopping quite as frequently, but traveling the world has also taught me that there are so many places to explore just within my own country. Since I’ve been living back in the US I’ve been to 8 new states and seen some incredible places just within these borders. Sometimes it takes traveling the world to realize the jewels that lay in our own backyards.

Hiking in Korea

Traveling has changed my world. I am no longer the person I was before my abroad life. With each new experience I learn more about myself, the world around me and grow as a person. Whatever your reasons for your travel, you just have to get out there and do it. You never know how it may change your life, it certainly has changed mine.

Admiring the view in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand