✨10 things I thought that would make my travels successful✨

Stephanie Eisenberg
Oct 1, 2024
6 min read

Updated: Oct 2, 2024

Welcome Back! It has been a while since my last blog post. So here we are with my second blog! Before I left to travel the world I was asked, “How will you know if it was successful?” Keep reading to see what I thought would make my travels successful and if I succeeded.

1.See the world

I visited 16 countries in 14 months. (Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Lao, Vietnam, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates) I spent time on 4 of the 7 continents. (Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America). Although I still have more of the world to see, I went to places worldwide, making this a successful experience.

2.Make connections (people)

I really wanted to travel to meet new people. I over-exceeded any and all expectations I had. I met locals and fellow travelers. I met hundreds of people, too many to name, but if I met you while traveling, just know I’m thinking about you as I write this and how grateful I am that our paths crossed no matter how long or short our interactions were.

3.Meet people for companionship and learning

I met a lot of interesting people and made some lifelong friends. This was more than I ever expected. I’ve learned so much about myself and the world through the interactions with my newfound friends.

Through this experience, I got to see myself through others. I have learned some good things about myself and things on which I can improve. This journey has created an opportunity for self-reflection and self-healing. For the world, I’ve learned about countries from each person that I’ve met, both fellow travelers and locals. I’ve made friends from different places in the world. One beautiful connection I made was with a 97-year-old local lady from Laos. I became friends with who didn’t know any English. When you travel and connect with locals In their environment, there's so many benefits you gain and insights into their culture, which includes eating different foods, learning about their country, and hearing about their daily lives. They also love helping you learn their language. You will also see how willing most people are to show you their place in the world and help you with whatever you might need.

Shout out to Yuta and Aya, Katia, Jeanne, and Ana. I loved that I met each of you in different countries and connected again and traveled together again in another; I am looking forward to meeting again in each other’s countries one day.

4.Open to new experiences

Before beginning my travels I wasn't sure how open I would be to new experiences. I found that as time went by, as I engaged in new experiences, I found myself feeling more comfortable with the unknown and my world just opened up as I found myself trying so many new experiences.

5.Learn new cultures

When I think of culture, a lot of things come to mind, From food, language, music, clothing, government, and way of life.

Language:

In every country, I like to learn the language because I think it’s a way to show respect and that you care about the place where you are. Instead of expecting people to adapt to you and your way of speaking, you are trying to adapt to theirs. I learned more in some places than others. I have already forgotten some words I have learned. But I know that if I hear some of them again, I will once again remember. The two languages in which I learned the most are Swahili and Chinese. Below are a few words and phrases.

Swahili:

Twende (Let’s go!)
Sawa (Okay)
Mambo- Poa- Vipi- Freshi- Safi (how are you greetings and answers that go back and forth)
Asante (Thank You)
Za Asabui (Good Morning)
Nzuri (Good)

Chinese:

Xie xie (Thank you!)
Zao shang hao (Good morning)
Wo bu mingbai (I don't understand)
Ting bu dong (the local way of saying I don’t understand what you're saying in your language)

Food:

I believe you really get to understand a people and a country through their food. Eating locally supports local businesses. Most of the time it’s less expensive and it’s a way to connect with locals and learn from them. Most places have staples and very seasonal foods. I also had vegetarian-related experiences in most countries through participating in cooking classes and interviewing locals.

Foods I sometimes crave include,

Chinese BBQ
Mango Sticky Rice
Chips Mayai
Mushroom nuggets from Vietnam
Lao Banana Chocolate chip bread & banana avocado smoothies
Fresh Pineapple Juice and fresh young coconuts

Music:

I believe music is the soul of the country. You can feel the emotions, the history, and the love of a place through the music. Each region of the world and each country has its own music style. In some places it is common to hear both music native to that specific country or region as well as globally popular music. Below are some of my favorite Afrobeats songs.

Enjoy by Jux Ft. Diamond Platnum
- https://youtu.be/yVlUVsMUxPk?si=rZ-Jdvbr0HqiEV7d
Happiness by Sarz, Asake, Gunna
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfdwcqfuxwA
Memories by Ayra Starr
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q2a1W99nu0

Clothing:

I learned a lot about clothing styles in each country, including traditional clothing. In most places, locals wear typical Western-style clothing. Traditional clothing is saved for special occasions, or maybe once a week. Something to keep in mind when traveling is how to dress to show respect and not get too much-unwanted attention (it’s unfortunate that it's mostly for women). When in majority Muslim countries or communities, you want to dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees. It's important to research each place you go before to know what is expected. There is also a dress code when entering temples in Asia for both men and women. I like to travel with a lightweight wrap/skirt/kanga when I go places just in case. It gives me multiple purposes and I can take it off when I don’t need it and keeps me from overheating.

Government:

Government and politics are always a tricky topic and reserved for in-person conversations. I learned through conversations with people on how they viewed their country’s politics as well as their opinions about my country’s politics.

Way of life:

When engaging and befriending locals in different places, I learned about how locals think, behave, and their curiosities. I had an opportunity to see the world through their eyes and our conversations.

6.Learn new foods

In most of the countries, I was able to eat local food at least once. It was easier to find vegetarian-friendly foods in some countries than in other countries. East Africa and South East Africa were the easiest regions to find a variety of good vegetarian food. South Korea and China were harder but still manageable with just fewer options depending on what part of the country I was in. I was very intentional during my travels to learn about the food in every place, especially vegetarian options. I participated in a variety of cooking experiences in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Cape Town South Africa, Singapore, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

7.Engage in enjoyable activities (See photo gallery below)

Participating in new activities and activities in which I already enjoy was part of the mission. (share pictures and videos with it)

Kite surfing (Tanzania)
Desert safari (UAE, Dubai)
Great Wall China and pandas (China)
DMZ tour (South Korea)
Ha Giang Loop, Hoi An shopping, Cat Ba Island cruise (Vietnam)
Yoga retreat, island hopping (Thailand)
Tipsy tubing and motor paragliding (Lao)
Mountain in Switzerland and trains (Switzerland)
Table Mountain and Paragliding (South Africa)
Safari, Scuba diving, snorkeling, hiking (East Africa)

8.Still have money

I kept track of my spending and, when I came home, I was right on the budget. So, I have a little bit of time to figure out what is next before needing to find a job. I am slowly looking for a job, but not rushing into anything to give myself time to readjust to being home. This allows me to have freedom of movement and to work on my own projects.

9.Be alive

It was a joke but also a very serious answer. As you never know what might happen.

10.Be present

This one is a tough one to measure and to remember when things got tough. I was able to do this when I was meeting new people, spending time with friends, doing fun activities and having deep conversations with others. There were many challenges at different times from war, to mental health challenges, social media, budgeting money and more. I found that engaging with people and doing things to keep myself healthy helped me to get through struggles and challenges I faced.

Was it a success?

I would say, yes! I feel that my trip was a success because of all the rich experiences I had while traveling through the various countries. I learned to appreciate other cultures, experience new foods, engage in a lot of new activities, and learn more about myself.