Travel Philosophy

Everywhere, minus NYC, that we consider part of our adventure.

It’s been two months since we arrived back in the states from our whirlwind adventure and, boy, does coming home feel good! I’ve been asked by many to finish up my blog posts and a few have lamented my lack of updates toward the end. Apologies for that! The faster we moved the less I was drawn toward writing as it was most important to soak up every last little drop of Europe. Pairing that with our lovely, yet slowed down community focused time in Scotland, and we just couldn’t be drawn into the computer long enough.

Now, we have plenty of quiet time to reflect on our trip abroad and share stories from the road. We also have time to admire souvenirs, tear up over pictures, and crunch some numbers.

Here’s a recap of the journey by the numbers:

345 Days on the road
27 Countries visited
12.6 Days average spent in each country
52 Cities visited
28 Flights taken
5 Overnight Trains and Buses slept in
65 Beds slept in
1 Hospital stay
2 Work Exchanges
51 ATM Withdrawls
40 Museum visits
$95.01 Dollars per day spent on average
$32,493.42 Spent in total between the two of us

Our trip wasn’t undertaken as a way to showcase all the achievements we accomplished. We don’t do this to earn a “Participation Trophy” in the World Travelers Club. Rather, I’m providing these figures as a different way to visualize the adventure.

Our original budget was 30K between us, which we gave ourselves 10% +/- wiggle room, figuring we’d be on the plus side of that equation. We are pretty proud of ourselves for not going drastically over budget. It did mean we didn’t treat (most) of the trip like a vacation, and we missed many, many places and activities. In exchange, we mastered the art of settling and being flexible, along with being even more grateful for the little things. Neither of us have been ones to keep a budget at home, so this was a good lesson in long-term financing, which is useful when you’re trying to decide do you want the latte or to save for the mortgage payment?

Only once did we leave any accommodation during the entire trip. In Austria, we escaped our Airbnb due to it being a completely unlivable situation. Think of a place crawling with dirt, people, cats, and bong residue. Leaving granted us a pass to say, “Screw it!” and splurge on a nice hotel in Vienna. The bathrobes, free Viennese chocolates, and half priced drinks at the bar made up for the stress of the last place. Overall, despite a few outstanding grimey spots, every one of our accommodations were livable and many were beyond comfortable, moving into downright luxurious for the price we paid. On average, factoring in just days away/total spent on accommodations, we spent about $25 per day to sleep somewhere at night throughout the entire trip.

Monetarily, when you take in the costs of living a normal life, you most likely spent more in the past year than Jason and I did by the simple nature of living in America. Between rent, your car payment, social activities, student loans… It all adds up and you don’t even realize where the money goes. Please know, I’m not saying this is therefore feasible for all/anyone to take on this kind of trip. Most people cannot drop everything and go. Almost everyone has or has had suffocating student loans to contend with. You have outstanding obligations that means a great deal to you, keeping you where you are. For all of your reasons why this is infeasible to you, Jason and I have our reasons why this was achievable for us. No judgement either way.

We didn’t stay in any castles on our trip, but aren’t they just lovely to look at? In Ireland.

The two questions I get most often are:

What’s your favorite place?
Would you do it again?

First off, I completely understand the first question because it’s a great conversation starter. Jason hates it when I ask him about “favorites”; he doesn’t really believe in that concept. Favoriting something can devalue the wider scope of what you’re considering. However, after answering this dozens of times, I can tell you my go to answer is Rome. It was stunning. We were only there a few days, so we never got bored and we hardly slept. We met a fun Canadian traveler by the parthenon late one night and shared a random bottle of wine. Our Airbnb was basically a quirky closet sized room with a bathroom for $60 per night, but the host was warm and Korean and the place was clean and comfy. We said thank you to him in Korean, which felt good. When we came and left our flights were at odd hours, so we stayed at a literal B&B by the airport where an Italian grandmother talked our ears off and did her best to get us to understand her. We got a hug from her in the end! In Rome, the food is Italian, need I say more? For anyone who wants to make their first trip to Europe an accessible one I recommend Rome. Even if you get a menu completely in Italian you’ll probably be able to order because the words are so common to us and the people were all very kind to us silly tourists. The history, the architecture, the atmosphere. It’s all there. Go to Rome.

Would we do it again? Would I do it again? No. Not like this. Not ever again. Will I travel again? As soon as I’m able. I’m already trying to figure out how to visit friends in distant states. But, this long term, hop from city-to-city on a tight budget that leaves you wanting to do and see more while forcing you to move – move – move isn’t what I want. I’d love to spend a few months working on a farm, then travel a little, then work somewhere else for a bit, then travel, etc. Jason and I are already dreaming of a trip out West, and we’ve talked about how super cool it would be to get work visas for New Zealand or Australia and work there for a year. We’re ready to go back to the UK and Ireland and rent a car to see the countryside and not rely on expensive buses. We both want to travel, we’re both energized by it, but not anything like this ever again.

From my favorite museum — Globes Museum in Vienna

By the trip’s end Jason was ready to go home and I was reluctant to leave. He was drained, tired, and craving routine. I was loving Europe, but my body and mind were telling each other different stories. My anxiety was reaching epic proportions. I had several panic attacks throughout the trip. I contended with racing heart beats and difficulty breathing. During the final three weeks of our trip I was ill with a persistent cough that wouldn’t respond to over-the-counter treatment. Travel wore me down, even when I wouldn’t admit to it.

Now we’re settling in, seeking work, processing the adventure, and planning our wedding. How’s the adjustment going? Like everything else the answer isn’t simple. Jason is living in Harrisburg, PA, with his parents and I’m in Pasadena, MD, so we’re apart, which makes wedding planning extra hard. I’m putting in a new job application every other day and not having great successes getting interviews. It’s a patience process, which I’m not great at. With all my extra time I’d love to get into a hobby, but the best I’ve done is pick up a few library books. Seeing Lindsey and baby Charlie each week has been good for the three of us, I think. It’s amazing how quickly newborns grow and change! Overall, I’m a little stir crazed already, so let’s hang out!

The question I wish more people would ask me is: What’s your biggest lesson overall? It’s a personal question, so I don’t fault their reluctance to ask, but I want to share my thoughts anyway. Here’s the thing: People are people. While we feel more comfortable covering them in labels, shrouding them in stereotypes, and finding whatever creative ways we can to make them an “other”, they’re still the same as us underneath. At the end of the day, people want to be with their families, work hard, feel useful, and be happy. It’s not complicated. There are exceptions, but this is the rule. When I think about all the “isms” we have it makes me weepy. When I see someone transcend their cultural norms to treat someone outside their group as they would their own kin, I become even more weepy, but in a much healthier way. It’s a tough world, everyone struggles. Be kind.

Another lesson I learned is, even in places we consider 3rd world or impoverished, technology abounds. People are on their smart phones. Skyscrapers and office parks are all over the place. Remote villages aside, a city is a city. That means there are hardly any pristine parcels of land where the wildlife roams unabated. It’s mostly a fantasy. This fact also jolts me into knowing climate change is real, because the human impact is far greater than we can see in our daily lives, but extrapolate it the world over and intensify it for these less advanced countries and we’ve got some real problems. Witnessing how humans can carelessly interact with their environments kills me and makes me want to do something to fix it, but I don’t know what.

My final lesson is a reaffirmation of what I already know: family and friends are the glue that keeps me together. I love Jason, clearly I do, but it isn’t healthy to isolate yourself with your partner for so long. You can’t take a step back and breath. You are forced to work together when you really don’t care for the other person, which can help in some aspects of conflict resolution, but in the end I believe we need social support structures to keep all of our relationships fresh and healthy. So, while I’d love to live in a far off land, I think I’d go crazy. Some people can do it, I can do it for a time, but in the long term I need a community in which we can mutually care for one another.

Sun is setting, transition is here, we’re ready for what comes in the next year.

Thanks for following along on the adventure. It was a pleasure to have you join us on our journey. Hope to see you soon!

Chapter ended. Book complete.

29 Sep

By Jen Hawse on Budget, Travel Philosophy

Up, Up, and Get Me Out of Here — Why Flying Kinda Sucks

Let me start by saying you may find this entry entitled, whiney, or even inane at times. It’s meant to be a comical rant. Please take it with an enormous mound of salt. I hope it makes you laugh!

Jason and I are frequent flyers. Not frequent enough to earn any skymiles, but nonetheless we find ourselves in the skies fairly frequently. At the very least, we can navigate the system with as much ease as going to the dentist. Ah, the dentist. You remember that place. A place that you know you have to go, so you make the appointment six months in advance because otherwise it won’t happen. Then, when the teeth clenching day arrives, you grin and bare it, knowing you’ll be poked, prodded, and otherwise tormented. It’s worth the clean bill of health in the end, but damn if it’s not the last thing you want to do that day.

Before our trip I lapped up the experience of flying. I relished in it! It’s the start of your vacation, even if it starts well before dawn so you can catch that flight. Cocktails in the airport because airport time isn’t real time… Why yes, just one please! Or, at least a decent coffee. I’m on vacation, dern it! Let’s enjoy!

Things are no longer like they used to be. Let me walk you through what our typical flight experience entails. You are me, and here we go.

Last night, you didn’t sleep well. The flight is so early, and you’ve got to take public transit in a way you haven’t before to get to the airport. That alone gets you feeling antsy. Being a travel day, you’re already on edge. Travel days are the grunt work of a great trip. You don’t know what to expect, much is out of your hands, and you’re never well rested enough because, again, you just didn’t sleep well.

But, you’re up, and you’re double checking that what you packed last night is all in order. Do you have your passports? Jason has those. Do you have your boarding passes? They’ll charge you $50 if you don’t (thanks, RyanAir). Does the Airbnb look acceptable? Of course it does, you two can’t risk a bad rating and, honestly, prefer living in and leaving a livable space. Did you forget anything? Jason is going to ask this every time he walks out the door, no matter where we go, but you’re just ready to leave. But, wait, actually…. did you forget anything? God, I hope not.

You’ve got to get to the airport at least three hours prior to your flight’s scheduled departure time. You have to plan in contingencies and, let’s face it, these travel days are mostly a waste anyway. Better to plan extra time in versus rushing or missing a flight. Airports are never in the center of a city, like a train station is, so in order to get there you have to either take a complicated public transit trip or shell out for a pricey taxi. You opt for public transit, every time it’s at all feasible. Again, it makes you antsy, but you’ll be fine.

Once you finally make it to the airport it’s time to do a document check at the counter of your airline so they can make sure you’ve got your paperwork in order. Don’t want to get through one level of security and be denied entry to another! This is specific to international flights outside of the EU, but it’s something we’ve done over a dozen times.

Docs checked, it’s now time to go through security. Drink that water bottle up! Don’t toss it though, can’t spend another $2 on the plastic replacement just yet. Hope they ignore the suntan lotion this time, it’s over volume by just a smidge and it wasn’t cheap! Once you’ve made it through with most of your belongings intact you immediately shuffle over to immigration to get your passport examined. Again, moving through the EU is a breeze, but any other time you’ve got to appear calm in front of a government agent. You’ve done nothing wrong, but it’s that inherent feeling of distrust around authority figures that freaks you out just a bit. Nevermind, they stamp your passport and you’re out! Whew! Sigh of relief as you are finally out of one country but not yet into another. A true nomad and free agent. Liberating, yet what the hell happens if something happens? No time to think about that, let’s find the gate. You’ve only got two-ish hours to kill now. Two hours?! Yes… you’re early. You’re always early (except that one time in Mumbai). Still though, you remember how America’s security theater really eats up that extra time through mostly unfruitful (except for them if they’re robbing you) search and torment.

No matter, you’ll burn that extra airport time up on the free wifi or, if you’re being good to yourself, will read the Kindle you packed. Read the book, Jen, read it! It’s a good book, Jen!

Two hours comes and goes and, surprise! Time to board! Boarding is unable to feel anything other than a farmer relocating cattle. Shoving is the norm. Queuing is an art in England and Americans aren’t half bad at it either, but several other countries seem to lack this quality. Sheeple maybe be a derogatory term, but it’s not far from the truth here. “Listen up, sheeple; let’s all pretend we’re humans for a few minutes and this won’t be so painful, OK?!” It’s a budget airline, who are you kidding; keep the cattle prods prodding. You’ve got to get to 19B before that asshole in the other seat takes your bag’s overhead compartment space. You have this itsy bitsy backpack compared to his clam shelled monster. How did this make it through? What happened to size limits?!

OK, OK… calm down. You’ve got to sit beside this guy the entire flight, so just be cool. Wait, over there, is that person reclining their seat before we are done boarding? Is that a crying baby? Of course it’s a crying baby; it’s not a flight without a crying baby onboard. Do you have your passport? You’re constantly touching your passport to make sure it’s safe. Every 20 – 40 seconds you give it a little tap while your heart flutters at the thought of losing it.

Everyone is now onboard and the pilot has begun gliding the plane to the runway. Great! It’s been a long day already and you’ve basically went no where yet, but you’re about to! If you are luckily sitting next to your partner during take off then you can hold hands and share, “I love you’s” due to your abrupt overwhelming fear of dying (and due to your undying love for one another!). It doesn’t matter that you logically know you shouldn’t be scared, because statistically flying is one of the safest activities you can do and you do it all the time; you can’t help it. Say a little prayer and remember to just breath.

Peak out that window, buddy, look at that city! Stunning, isn’t it? Now that we’re stablizing you do a gut check and realize, dang it, you’re hungry. You avoided the expensive airport fair; just looking at the cost of food makes you audibly gawk, and you’ve been on the move for hours now. Still, you cannot even fathom paying the premiums on crappy airline food. If you’re on an AirAisia flight you can’t even think about eating snacks you brought with you, because the rules say you can only eat their food onboard their plane. This isn’t dire, but you’ll very likely go hungry. The flight shouldn’t take that long, right? Time to fidget with the phone, Kindle, inflight magazine, or whatever else you can get your hands on. Cheap airlines don’t have any entertainment to offer, so it’s all DIY. Can you sleep? HA! No, but dream from that middle seat about where you’re headed next and try not to make that dream about a restaurant for lunch.

“This is your captain speaking. We’ll be making our final descent into Turkmenistan in about thirty minutes. Please take your seats and stop bothering the flight attendants. And, for the love of all that is holy, shut that baby up!” That’s what you hear at least. Time to wait more and prepare for today’s second shoving match. It took all of your mental capacity to not let it bother you that the person next to you is hogging the armrest the entire time. Window and aisle get one each, middle seat gets two because that’s all they have, so give them that dignity, please!

Budget airlines don’t have their own gates. That’s a luxury only known to those paying more than $25 for a plane ticket. Fair enough, but that means after shoving out of the aircraft you’re herded onto a bus to bump around with your luggage for a few minutes while you make it to the arrivals terminal. Fine fine, but now you have to pee!!!

You take a quick bathroom break before immigration check #2 of the day takes place. Those somehow always seem to go smoothly, at least. Why do they care more about you leaving than entering a country? Whatever, it’s time to figure out how to get from airport to Airbnb. And, no, you will again not be taking a taxi. What is this, amature hour? You also won’t be eating yet because, ugh, airport prices. But, you will be bitchy due to said lack of food and the high stress you put yourself under today. At least you’ll be done soon and able to relax in a brand new environment. Don’t settle in too much, you’ll be out of there in a week and most likely back in those blue skies.

Jason and I have taken 25 flights during this trip and have four more on the books. Now that you’ve been through a day in the life of one of my flights you might recognize why we feel some frustrations. The act of getting to an airport and being on an airplane is a pain. The ability to travel great distances in short amounts of time and see places you’d hardly dreamed possible a few decades ago is revolutionary. Cheap airfare is democratizing travel in a way that we’ve never seen before. It’s taking it out of the hands of the very few and opening it up to those with less well off means. That’s a beautiful gift, even if it’s not great for the environment. Being on a budget flight is like cramming into an overcrowded fish tank, but it’s worth the squeeze. As long as I’m calling the shots about where I’m going, I’ll happily get squished every time.

22 Jun

By Jen Hawse on Preparing for the Trip, Travel Philosophy tagged anxiety, grateuful, gratitude, happiness, love

Gratitude Attitude as This Moment Slips Away

I wrote this in August, 2016. It’s June, 2017. I’m publishing it now because of a desire for openness and sharing. There’s no shame in my hopes and dreams. Here they are from last year.

For years, I’ve subscribed to the belief of a “gratitude attitude”. What that means to me is that I try to reflect as often as possible on how grateful I am for all of the blessings, good fortune, privileges, and goodness this world has provided to me. I do my best to be grateful during the difficult times and see why I’m fortunate even if things aren’t going my way. I’m in no way perfect and very often get grumpy over the dumbest stuff. Still, I try to reflect on goodness as often as I can, because I know it’s a main component to my happiness.

It’s moving week. Hampden has been my neighborhood for three years. I love it here. I’m happy here. I’m even recognized around town by a few people! But, it’s time to move on. The trip is three weeks away to the day. So soon. I’m cleaning the apartment, putting my life in boxes (like I’ve done every single year for the past decade), and canceling the subscriptions. In the past year, in this particular apartment, I had the chance to live alone for the first time and it was glorious! Sleep all over the bed. Build a pillow hammock for one. Skip the dishes till you’re ready to have them done. Keep it as neat and tidy as you like it. Yep, that’s the good life.

Flowers I gathered during another transitionary period in my life in Olympia, Washington in 2011.

Starting Saturday, I’ll be staying with my mom for a few weeks and then we’ll be sleeping in the strangest of places. This morning, I woke up at 5:30 and decided I wanted to nap for a bit on the couch as the sun rose. I was so grateful to sleep on that luxurious couch. I crawled back in bed before Jason noticed I was gone, but it’s moments like that where I’m reminded to be mindful of how short time is and how you have to simultaneously hold tight while keeping your grip loose enough to let go. I’ve held tight before. I’ve gripped onto days and seconds as they escaped with no way to make them stop and stay. It’s a common tale and I’m no different than anyone else afraid of loss. Going through hard times doesn’t mean you are better able handle them later, it means you know it’s going to be tough and you just have to deal with it.

Reflections from the happy life I left behind me.

Many are jealous of the trip, few are leveling with me like they would if they really sunk into my shoes. Picture this… Drop everything, for an entire year of your life, and go away to places you’ve never been (and, up until a few months ago might not have even known existed). Leave your family, friends, and city behind. Don’t work. Don’t make money. Spend money. Struggle. Know you’re going to fight through language barriers and with customs agents. Know there are things in these places will make you physically ill. Risk. Fight. Over directions and because of loneliness. Worry. Wonder what’s happening at home. Feel like you’re missing out on things big and small. Wish you could share the journey with more of those you love. Know that phone calls don’t replace hugs. Try not to envision if the worst happened, but envision it anyway. Be afraid and grieve. For you’re letting so much go and you have no idea what happens on the other side.

I did it! And, I survived. Pictures from the world over. Germany, Budapest, Athens, Vietnam, Thailand, and I think Hong Kong

Am I grateful to go: of course! I’m so humbled to be able to take this on. I’m so honored to be part of something that will open up a whole new world and hopefully deepen my relationship to Jason and humanity itself. I’m going to be challenged every single day in ways that I could never be in my comfortable life at home. When I was younger and went to Indiana I was nervous, but knew farming was what I was called to do. Now, I’m older and more settled down. A dozen times people have said, “Good for you for doing this when you’re young”. I’m 32 in two months, I’m not young; but I’m childless, unmarried, and without a house, so therefore I’m not tied down.

This is a collection of some of the pictures I took for other people in the first month of my trip. It’s incomplete. Pictures for: Chris, Aubrey, Daniel Klein, my mom, Maryland, and everyone for Halloween 🙂

Sometimes, my gratitude is almost a blinder, because it helps me be contented in the moment to the point that I don’t seek as deeply or strive for a new life. It’s easy to be complacent and content. Change is difficult.

I’ve been listening to a great many travel songs today as I pack. I and Love and You really spoke to me:

One foot in and one foot back.
But it don’t pay to live like that.
So I cut the ties and I jumped the tracks.
For never to return.

I’ll be back, but I’ll be different and so will you. For never to return to this moment. But, I plan on forever being grateful for the opportunity to live and those whom I love so much.

Category: Travel Philosophy

Looking Back, Facing Forward — Wrapping Up Around the World

Up, Up, and Get Me Out of Here — Why Flying Kinda Sucks

Gratitude Attitude as This Moment Slips Away