When I lived in Sydney, I took a month off work to road/train trip through Australia and stopped at Uluru for a photo!
Let’s start the New Year off with a little travel inspiration:
In 2008, I quit everything and moved across the world. That decision changed my entire life. I recently discovered an unpublished essay I wrote for a magazine shortly after moving back to the U.S. from 13 months abroad. I was inspired reading my own essay, which made me instantly want to share it with you! Consider yourself warned: This will make you want pack your bags and buy a one way ticket!
Surviving 27: Lessons from a Year Abroad
Twenty-seven is a dangerous age. It approaches silently—cleverly hidden between the exuberant celebrations of 21 and fear of 30. The element of surprise makes it a clear turning point—the best or worst year of your life.
For famous musicians, it’s not a good year. The infamous “27 Club”—Kurt Cobain, Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones and Jim Morrison—never saw 28. But for me, a non-musician, it was a relentless struggle that I managed to survive.
Twenty-six ended when the economy started to tumble in 2008. It became clear that recessions weren’t good for freelance photographers. I took the unconventional approach and spent a year globetrotting to ride out the economic storm.
This is where 27 stepped in like a brutally honest friend. She used her ninja skills to corner me at 4 a.m. and demanded I stop ignoring my daydreams. My old excuses were no longer valid. I already had a good education, savings and a sudden abundance of time. She tapped her foot and sternly said, “Dust off your passport. No one ever regrets spending a year traveling around the world.” She had a point. Sitting still is boring.
I spent a few weeks on South Island of New Zealand and went hiking on Fox Glacier, which was my first glacier hike!
I spent the next 13 months in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Southeast Asia. It was an amazing experience, despite the rough times and the nights spent crying on random bathroom floors. It became obvious that 27 was trying to teach me a lesson. The bad moments were all part of her plan. That year was my ultimate solo adventure—a test of courage and determination.
The first few weeks of traveling were bliss, but rocky months followed. Apartment hunting in a foreign country is a nightmare. Seriously. I admit I was tempted to call the “free internet and rice” ad out of curiosity. It was difficult to make friends in a city of four million. My initial job hunt turned me into nothing more than a professional networker. Was I crazy for moving across the world on a whim?
But, 27 had faith in me. I ended up on an airport shuttle in Fiji with four British guys who quit their jobs to travel. I wasn’t the only one. I kept meeting other people traveling for extended periods of time. Some were just out of school, and others simply quit jobs they loved to see the world. It’s a cultural phenomenon and a coming of age ritual for Europeans, Canadians and Australians to travel long term. Why is this missing from the average American mindset? I am not fearless, but I realized the things that scare me are the things I need to do the most. Maybe the people who are too scared to live their dreams are the crazy ones.
During road trip along the Great Ocean Road in Australia, we discovered some koala bears sleeping in trees along the side of the road!
Twenty-seven also gave me the chance to be 21 again. I drank cheap beer, ate peanut butter sandwiches and stayed in hostels. I spent a month road tripping around Australia with two guys from Buffalo, NY. We slept in our rental car by the beach for three days and snuck into RV parks to shower. There is nothing more exciting than living on the fringes of life. Experiences are always better investments than fancy hotel rooms and material possessions.
I scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef, hiked glaciers in New Zealand and watched the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It is quite possible I fell in love on a Thailand beach. (I blame the rum.) I quickly found myself living in a Western Union commercial after my wallet was stolen on that same beach. (Again, I blame the rum.) There I was calling my parents at 5 a.m. to transfer me money because you can’t transfer yourself money. (Trust me, I tried EVERYTHING before calling the parents.) My adventures made me wish I spent a year after college traveling, but I don’t regret waiting a few years. I began to appreciate the freedom of 27 over the simplistic naiveté of 21.
One of my favorite places in Australia was the limestone rock formations known as the Pinnacles at Nambung National Park in Western Australia. It’s totally worth the drive from Perth!
It became quite clear that moving across the world wasn’t going to erase my problems or magically improve the economy. My car was still dying. I can’t live anywhere longer than six months without getting bored. I have a panic attack every time I sign a lease. But, 27 made it clear that there is no timeline to life. I could grow up when I was ready as long as I paid my rent on time.
Traveling makes me feel completely alive. Every aspect of life overseas is exciting, even just walking down the street. The mundane becomes thrilling. Why is it that life is always clearer 5,000 miles away from home? The pressure, influences and stress of my old life were no longer in control of my actions. That is the ultimate freedom.
I counted down the days until 28. A girl can only take so many battles in a year. I said farewell to 27 with beer on a Thailand beach with some British friends. But, the lessons of 27 lingered long into 28 and made me appreciate my struggles and adventures.
I got a job running photo trips in Southeast Asia for the summer and ended up working in Asia for the next five summers. (Photo: Rice fields in Northern Thailand)
That year stripped me down to the core and taught me about humility and patience. It was an in-depth course in world history—World War II in Australia, Cambodia’s dark past, Gandhi’s mission for peace and the plight of Burmese refugees. Four months in Asia made it clear that running water and 24-hour electricity were luxuries, not necessities.
Twenty-seven failed to warn me about coming home. Maybe she thought her job was done or that 28 would be a better teacher. Home felt foreign. I forgot about sales tax and didn’t know which way to look to cross the street. Even the accents sounded strange. After living out of a suitcase for a year, I started to de-clutter my life and shun materialism.
I began to miss Sydney Harbor, Thai pancakes and passing monks in saffron robes on the street. But, a traveler never sits still for long. The nagging sensation to spend an entire year traveling was suddenly replaced by the hunt for my next adventure. Living my daydreams began to feel normal. After surviving 27 and traveling around the world solo, anything is possible.
[I lived in Australia for a year on a Working Holiday Visa. For more about Working Holiday Visas, check out my Guide to Working Abroad.]
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COMING UP:
Fushimi Inari Shrine near Kyoto, Japan
The Ultimate Guide to Japan
My next post will be a photo guide to the must-see places in Japan. In the next Travel Tuesday Interview, I chat with Tokyo Becky, an American expat who has lived in Japan for 10 years, about budget travel tips and off-the-beaten path destinations!
What are your biggest Japan questions? Let me know and I’ll answer them in the next two posts!
