How I Afford to Travel: I wouldn't be traveling without my experience in the service industry. Think about that the next time you tip your server, maid service, or valet. Yeah, the majority of people in the service industry need the cash for serious reasons so think of them first, but I'm lucky enough to be living without many responsibilities. So, I owe it all to my days spent bussing tables, answering stupid questions, and forcing a smile. Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed my work as a busser, host, and server, and traveling with that money makes the unusually long hours and obnoxious customers absolutely worth it. I'll worry about my student loans come January, but for now I've got enough money saved (and live in a cheaper country) that traveling for a long period of time is an option. I also owe it to Spain's 'Auxiliares de Conversación' program for providing very livable wages. We work part-time, and in top-paying regions (Valencia and Madrid) make upwards of €15 an hour. This year, I'm lucky to be living in Alicante (in the region of Valencia). (Me in Seville, the first city I lived in Spain, December, 2016). When on the road outside Alicante, I budget. I'm serious about how much money I spend and what I can afford to partake in. I'm not afraid to spend the night walking around the city by myself if I don't have any money left to spend on the hostel's pub crawl. Also: Stay in youth hostels. They're fantastic for solo travelers, especially women; they've got budget prices and a built-in social life. I attribute my most cherished travel memories and friendships to hostel life/culture (I also I met my boyfriend in one). Don't be scared off by weird rumors, but do check hostelworld.com for any weird reviews. Hostel memories lead neatly into the next topic: How I Travel It's my well-informed opinion that the more room left for serendipitous encounters, fated exchanges, and unexpected friendships, the better. So, when I book tickets (whether it was my first trip abroad or a trip back to someplace I know I love) I do try to do two things: 1) Book a one-way ticket, and 2) Book the hostel with the best balance of great reviews/cheaper price, in the biggest co-ed dorm room. (Real-life travel sistas I met at a hostel in Budapest and followed to Prague). I am, obviously, not big on planning. Definitely not "a planner". It's nice to know where I'm staying before I arrive somewhere, but I've met people who don't even plan that. The tickets I book depend on exchange rate, flight prices, and night life. The better the exchange rate, the cheaper the flight, and the better the night life makes for the perfect travel destination for young people from all over. This city will likely have free walking tours, pub crawls, cheap beer, and low-cost/no-cost entrance for historical sites. When I check into a hostel, I leave my backpack in my room and head straight to get a beer in the common area. Sit at a table by yourself, make eye contact with the other strangers doing the same, lean over to say hi and invite yourself into the interaction. It will be obvious who wants to hang out and who doesn't. One of my absolute favorite things about hostels is that you get a taste for the people around you and you do not have to hang out with people you do not like. You've been talking to someone for an hour and the interaction turns sour? Call them out, turn around and start talking to the person at the next table over. I don't owe anyone my time in hostels. They're designed so that I have a large chance of meeting people I will enjoy hanging out with, so I take advantage of that. And when I meet people I like I follow them out. What are their plans tonight? Or maybe they'll ask me what my plans are. Initiation is liberating because there's no fear of rejection - they don't want to hang out? There's plenty people in the hostel who do. There's a life lesson hidden in hostels everywhere. (St. Patty's Day (my 21st) spent in Galway, Ireland, with friends I'd just met in hostels). Yes, unfortunately there is sometimes more to a hostel than life lessons - like bed bugs, lice, and sickness. I've only run across the third, and although I've heard stories of the first two, these things also happen in Airbnbs. One of the worst things I could do for my travel experience is let fear rule my decision making What if I don't make my (ungodly early) flight/bus/train? What if I get lost? What if there are pickpockets? What if I get hurt? What if I don't like this/that/the other? What if I don't have fun? When I ask myself these questions, I get nervous, stressed-out, and cautious. Say yes now, think later, is my usual policy. There's a line between being stupid and having fun, and it usually blurs when I travel. While these questions are self-preserving and important, they often scare many people (especially Americans) out of traveling. Family ask us hard and nerve-racking questions, friends from home ask "Are you sure?" and polarized political chatter make us unnecessarily wary of diversity and international travel. By traveling, I'm making an effort to critically analyze the propagandized lenses I am constantly influenced by. Nothing else makes me question my habits/identity quite like travel. This, of course, is best-case scenario. Sometimes, I get to my hostel at 12:00am after traveling for eight hours, sweat marks damp and visible through my shirt, and hangry. But there's nothing like a group of strangers in the hostel common room to entice me into a life-changing night out that sets the mood for the rest of my stay in that city. Be open to what people unselfishly offer, because people who travel are tied together by a common goal: having a good time. (What having a good time looks like).
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