Many people who know me have likely talked to me about my upcoming plans to travel this summer - three months in South American through Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. My goal is to write about every single day, and post as often as I can about my adventures. I leave on Tuesday, and below are some of my pre-trip thoughts.
Goals
When I have shared my plans, I am always asked why I am traveling. In the past, my trips to Nicaragua, Panama, London, and Ghana have been affiliated with the organization Global Brigades with the intention of promoting an aspect of sustainable development and access to health care in rural, low-resource areas. They have always been with a group of UT or other college volunteers, with plenty of staff to meet us the entire way.
This trip is very, very different. I am traveling primarily because I want to. I want to go to a place that is new and exciting that will challenge me every single day that I am there, and South America fits that bill perfectly. It is made of many great cities, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, rich cultures, tourist industries, and places where I don't speak the language, Spanish. On the other hand, the countries I am traveling to are not picture perfect, developed countries that are basically the United States all over. There is a lot less information about them online, and unlike European countries, people are a lot less familiar with them as a whole. Any time I mention traveling alone, people worry about my safety. To me, this is just a part of the challenge I will face, and hopefully my experiences will force me to be more comfortable relying on others and improve my Spanish skills.
The reason I am traveling the route I am is because I found an organization, Proyecto Horizonte (proyectohorizonte.org) that works locally to improve English and health education, access to medical care, and sustainable development in the area without charging a volunteer fee. The low fees ($150 for housing each month, along with the transportation and food that I must cover) drew me in, but the opportunity to volunteer to work on a sustainable development project and learn about health education in Bolivia were too good to pass up. This intersection of travel and health care is exactly what I want to learn more about for my future, and the backpacking through Peru and Chile came about because those two countries border Bolivia and do not require visas for American citizens.
The trip ultimately arose from an idea I had at the end of 2015 to take a semester off college and travel through South America (low cost of living and a continent I had not yet traveled to). At the time, I was struggling through school - my classes, my future career, and school administration were the main concerns - and I was challenged by some of the bloggers I was following to do what I have been "meaning to do" today, sooner rather than later, to show that I was serious about my goals. I wanted to be the one to take action, to follow my ideas and figure out whether I really wanted to do what I said I wanted to do by doing it, not sitting back and pretend that I was making progress by researching.
In short, I am traveling because I want a challenge, to explore a different part of the world, to experience almost complete reliance on myself, to learn and improve my Spanish, and do something meaningful with Proyecto Horizonte. It's exactly what I want to be doing with my summer.
Worries
I have been planning this trip for a long, long time. It started as an idea last year, and has transitioned from idea to tangible possibility to probable reality to a trip that I'm leaving for in two days. If I said I wasn't worried about it, I would be lying.
1. Not speaking the language: It's a little tough to ask for help if I don't know how to. I also get really embarrassed if I don't know how to say something, or can't understand what is being said to me. I'm not clever, I don't come up with responses easily. This is probably the biggest thing I worry about.
2. Unfamiliarity with the culture: I could easily do something wrong, be asked for a bribe, be asked for my wallet, be ripped off, etc.
3. Getting sick: I usually don't, but having to take care of myself if I'm sick in a random hostel in the other half of the world from all my family and friends isn't exactly comforting.
4. Getting on the wrong bus: This is literally my worst nightmare. I do totally fine with subway systems because the stops are very clear and I can get anywhere as long I know which stops to get on and off at. I have been navigating foreign subway systems since middle school, and I can pretty much get anywhere I need to. Buses just intimidate me, even in Austin. If I have no internet, I'm going to have to be on alert, all the time.
5. Traveling alone: I'm an introvert, and I know from experience that I can go days without talking to people and I'll be fine mentally. Pushing myself to talk to strangers is one of the biggest challenges I face, especially when I don't feel like doing it. However, one thing I've learned is that it's almost always better to talk to other people, since they can provide a unique perspective, a great story, and useful information. More than likely, I will have a terrible experience if I keep to myself.
6. Constantly being uncomfortable: Everything I have will be in a single backpack. I won't be in a single place for very long except in Cochabamba when I volunteer with Proyecto Horizonte. Even if I figure out one city quickly, I will have to relearn another in a matter of days.
7. Balancing medical school applications: Unfortunately, I still have to work on these. They'll take a lot of effort, which means I won't be taking a day off even though I will be on summer "vacation".
"Why are you going if you are so worried about it?!" Well, the idea is that I'm going in spite of these worries, because I can't stay in my comfort zone forever. I have taken a great interest in travel, and what kind of traveler stays home and dreams about travel rather than takes off to actually do it?
Frustrations
My biggest challenge so far, aside from planning the trip and mentally preparing for it, has been talking to my parents about safety. I've had a curious experience with talking to adults about my summer plans in general - they have all mentioned safety. Some of them have asked about safety outright, others have asked me why I'm traveling alone, and many more have asked about how my parents feel about my plans, as if I'm not yet an adult. My grandfather has practically begged me to take someone with me. I've even had peers question my choice.
I've always been extremely independent, and I trust my own judgment. I know that safety is an issue and something to be aware of, but I also know that I would not be asked these kinds of questions if I were male. My mother has explicitly told me, "I would not be concerned if your brother wanted to do this, but since it's you, I think you should rethink your plans." Never mind that I'm the most independent out of all my siblings, and that I want to do this. Never mind that I've been preparing for this trip for months, or that the challenges they are raising are many of the things that I want to learn to navigate. Never mind that I'm funding this completely on my own, that I haven't asked them for money outside of tuition and plan to never ask them for money, ever again. None of that matters, apparently, because I'm female.
That is not only my experience. Every single other young woman who has decided to travel alone has been questioned about her choices, as if playing it safe is the only thing that she should be thinking about. I know that I could just as easily have applied to a research project, taken classes, gotten a full-time job, or whatever else most other people are doing this summer. Heck, I could have spent more time at home and less time abroad, or spent all my time abroad in the safety of Proyecto Horizonte instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to see more of South America. I deliberately did not do that.
This whole situation reminds me of an email that Ramit Sethi sent out to his email list within the last month titled "Why do your parents push you to be mediocre?" (Note: I do not get anything for linking his website, but I would highly encourage you to check it out. He puts out revolutionary content that is 99% free and is definitely worth following.) Read it if you have the chance, because it is spot on. He talks about the fact that parents push you to fit the traditional mold as much as possible - even if they did not succeed in doing so or failed despite doing so - because they want safety for you, not excellence and success. They don't do it intentionally; they just want you to take the route that is known rather than the route that is mysterious but could be incredible life-affirming, eye-opening, and provide some valuable insight as to whether this kind of life is one I want to pursue.
The irony of everything is that I know my parents talk about my experiences with a lot of pride. When I got my scholarships, got a grade MCAT score, traveled to Ghana last summer, or whatever other thing I've done independently, my mother shares it right away with extended family and her patients. When I get phone calls from cousins or aunts, or meet her patients in her clinic, they always compliment me on whatever it is they have heard about. I know it's the job of the parent to be worried, but it doesn't make the experience less frustrating when I know they're bragging about what I do when they're done trying to get me to go the safe route.
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