Backpacking Addiction
Confessions of a Globetrotter
Do you find that your feet itch the moment a world map is placed in front of you? If that’s the case, you’re not alone and you’ll know that once the travel bug has bitten, you’ll be infected with wanderlust for life!
I’m a real-life example of a backpacking addict, and I’ve found that backpacking has taken me places that I could never imagine! A sucker for long-distance travel, my preferred method of transport involves whatever overland means I can find! Trains, buses, motorbikes and simply thumbing it along highways has got me from Cambodia to Russia, via Vietnam, China and Mongolia, and also throughout Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. I’ve been across Siberia twice, picking my way through a different route each time, and I’ve also travelled extensively in Europe, Australia and Canada. I prefer solo travel, and to any other young women out there, I’d recommend it wholeheartedly! Being female isn’t a barrier to lone voyaging, in fact, if anything, I’d say it enhances th
e experience. I’m not gung-ho about my travels, but I also refuse to live in fear.
Yet my position in life now is all rather strange and comparatively sedate. You see, in all my Russian wanderings I met a French boy, and am now relatively settled in Paris. I work, I study at a French course France, I’m even renting an apartment… which is something I vowed never to do!
Languages are now my goal. I started my French studies with a French course Lyon, and now in Paris I’m continuing with Russian and French lessons. I’ve taught English before, so I’m able to earn a little on the side at an English summer camp and I’m thinking that I might start learning German next. A German course Switzerland or a French course Montreux seem to be the most appealing options – for when the snow starts falling, I’d like to be in Switzerland!
To any potential backpackers out there – what are you waiting for? Get out and broaden your horizons!
