It was 8 am, about 6 years ago and I was just finishing my shift at work. I had been living in this city for quite some time now. I was in go, go, go mode pretty much all the time. I barely had time to eat some days.
I felt this constant urge to achieve, to check things off the list and I was ALWAYS busy. There was endless stuff to do and I couldn’t (or didn’t want to) give up any of my commitments.
I was working a job that required switching between three shifts throughout the month, I was volunteering for an NGO where I really wanted to attend all the meetings and conferences to feel like I was making a difference and I was trying to have some sort of a life in the meantime.
I was burning myself out and I could feel it. There was this numbness hovering over me. I thought being more busy would help me feel more whole, more worthy, more valuable. But it didn’t. And I wanted to feel again.
Something needed to change, so on top of everything, I signed up for a master’s degree. I know, it sounds insane that I took one MORE responsibility, but I was willing to extend myself for a while, because I knew it would help me make a change.
I yearned to go and travel again. I craved new and exciting things that didn’t involve achieving something. I wanted to feel alive again. I needed a way out.
Sure enough, once I decided, opportunities started emerging. After saving some money and with my fresh student status, I signed up to spend my second summer living, working and travelling in the United States.
I had done this three years before, during my Bachelor’s degree. It had been a life-changing experience and I was ready for some major life changes again.
The program I signed up for starts in mid June and usually ends at the end of September. You may have heard of it. It’s pretty popular among students to apply for work and travel programs.
Here’s me travelling around the US during my first time on this program.
As soon as I got to the US, I found out I was accepted to do a volunteering internship in Brazil in the winter. I knew right then and there that I was going to travel somewhere between my American and Brazilian experiences. There was no reason for me to come back home.
Soon after that, I received an invitation from a friend who was planning a backpacking trip through Latin America in the fall and winter. Needless to say that it all fit perfectly into the timeline (or the timezone, rather), so I said YES! 😆
YES to travel, adventure, excitement and freedom from being busy 24/7. YES to the calling of my soul to let go of what wasn’t bringing me joy and fulfillment. YES to following my dreams of exploring the world.
Throughout that summer, I mostly worked, went really wild at parties and concerts (wow, remember the times of parties and concerts?) and saved as much as I could. Making sure I had all the necessary means to support myself until the end of the year was really important for me. I did do some travelling for about 2 weeks in October, though.
On October 15th, 2016, my friends and I were on a plane to Peru to start our #lostinLatinAmerica experience. We didn’t get lost, we just made this the hashtag of our trip, because it sounded cool. 😆
Until November, we explored parts of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, where we met wonderful people, visited friends and lived the backpacker lifestyle. That’s when I learned that backpacking requires waaay less luggage than I thought. Unfortunately, I learned that the hard way. But that’s a story for another day. 😆
This is me in backpacker mode.
On November 9th, I said goodbye to the backpacking group to go to Brazil by myself and start my volunteering internship. I was there for about 7 weeks, in which I travelled around the Bahia region and spent a few days in fabulous Rio de Janeiro for Christmas.
I finally returned to Romania on December 31st after 6 months and a half and 36.341 kilometers travelled (around 22.500 miles). Quite the journey. You’d think I’d be ready to stay at home for a while. However, I left Romania about a month later and spent about 9 more months abroad. Because why not? 😆
Long story short (or maybe not so short), this is how I travelled over 36.000 km in 6 months and a half.
This journey was really what I needed at the time. It was crazy, wild and even scary at times, but absolutely amazing, rewarding and fulfilling. Would I do it again? Maybe not in the exact same way. I’d say I’ve matured a bit since and there were a lot of learning points that I would improve upon.
But all in all, the experience of being away from the routine busyness I was going through before embarking on this journey put many things into perspective for me. To say that my life has been enriched would be an understatement.
How about you? What is the longest time and distance you’ve travelled abroad?
Tell me about your experiences in the comments!
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Hi, I lived in Denmark for 9 months my second year of college and during that time traveled to 22 countries in and around Europe. That year was one of the highlights of my life. Even though I received a years worth of credits toward my degree most of the learning was out of the classroom. I love to hear travel stories and travel vicariously through other people’s travels too.
Wow! That is amazing! You’ve travelled more around Europe than I have. And I’m from Europe. Thanks for sharing!