Why/How do you travel so much, Lisa?
Ah the single question I get asked over and over again. Sit down kids, I'm going to tell you a story.
I am a teacher by trade. I have taught Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second grade for 6 years and I absolutely love it. But one summer I backpacked Europe with my husband and two other teachers. We were gone for a month, saw six different cities. I was hooked.
After lots of saving, deep reflection, and many conversations I decided to take the year off of teaching to try to reach my new life goal: To visit 30 countries before I turn 30. So welcome to this magical, wonderful, whimsical year of my life!
At the moment of writing I have visited 22 countries. Now I only think it should count if you spend a night or two there. I know I could easily knock out the rest with an epic train trip through Southern Europe, but that feels like cheating. I want to experience the culture for me to count it.
This website and my social media accounts are a way to document my travels so please follow along, ask questions, give advice and help me make this year all the more marvelous!
Here are some other Questions and Answers I have been asked from friends and family:
How do I afford it? -Megan McRae... and many other people
Well I have to admit I get to cheat the system a little bit. My husband works for Delta airlines, so I can fly standby for almost nothing. This of course means sometimes I have no idea if I am actually going to make it where I am trying to go (or if I will make it back) but that just adds to the adventure right? As long as I am flexible, it might take a day or two but I can usually make it where I want to go on standby. This means if I absolutely have to be somewhere for something, like catching a cruise ship, I usually try to arrive a few days before. This leaves room for error. If there is a thunderstorm or other cancelations I can be stuck somewhere for a while. (I once was stuck in New York city for three days after I tried to leave. It isn't as fun as you think it is. I was NOT exploring the city during these 72 hours, I was standing in line at airport gate after airport gate making googley eyes at the Gate Agent hoping they will let me on.) But don't get me wrong, it's the opportunity of a lifetime.
I also do A LOT of odd jobs when I can to help support my travels. I substitute teach, I drive for Lyft, I walk dogs, I freelance write, and I am a big proprietor of the barter system. For example, I have two close teacher friends that I go work in the classroom and help them do the many, many things teachers need help with in exchange for free dog care when I am on the road... plane?
What is it like to go from a structured day-to-day life to a day where you have a lot more self motivation? - Kelsey Carter
Boy did I suck at it... for a WHILE. I mean have you seen Netflix? Or the INTERNET?!?! It took me longer than I care to say of sitting around on my butt to realize my bank account was dwindling and I needed some form of motivation fast. There was no "boss" to make sure I was on task so I had to set up a lot of my own motivators. I joined a WeWork so that if I spent all day on Facebook there would be plenty of people around to judge me for it. (Never underestimate the power of peer pressure.) I also started making promises to friends and family. "Why yes, I will come visit you in said foreign country. When would you like to expect me?".. or... "Hey I am working on a blog about THIS and it will be out this week so look for it." Also let's not forget... "I need to make this amount of money to pay my credit card off this month, better get my bottom into the school or my car."
How did your perspective on life change once you broke out of the work routine and got away from your hometown/saw more of the world?- Grace Pence
Weirdly, I find that I care a great deal more about my friendships now than in the past. That sounds awful, but if you are focusing on your job 60+ hours a week and barely have time for a home life, friendships can fall by the wayside. Now that I make my own schedule I realize how much more time I have to check-in with friends.
Also, I feel like I live a lot more in the moment now than I used to. Before there was always an endless timeline of opportunities in the unforeseeable future to go see this or get that done. Now that this year of freedom is upon me I don't put things off like I used to. Not just travel, but even trying new restaurants or fixing things around the house. I have this new sense of seize-the-day!
Why do you choose each specific destination?- Megan McRae
This answer varies a lot. Because traveling alone is no fun, if there are any friends or family who want to go somewhere/meet me somewhere/etc., that is always my go to first step. In fact, in March I will be traveling to the Middle East to visit a friend there. Then, if I can turn layovers into a new country explored I will often to that. Once, I had to fly to Hamburg, Germany and London was the layover. I extended my time there by a couple of days in order to add it to my list! Another factor in my destination choice is whether or not Delta flies direct there and how likely I am to make the flight. I spend an enormous amount of time on the Delta website studying flight maps to plan my travels. :-)
What finally made you brave enough to make the decision? - Lindsey Richesin
A lot of very personal reasons fell into place at just the right moment to make the timing right. Without giving a whole lot away, let's just say the idea of "30 countries before I turn 30" and me turning 29 was the final push I needed!