Why do people travel?

Back in time, humans started to travel because they were not sure about what was far from them. They started exploring through water, using ships and boats. At first it was a necessity, a real search for the unknown. Nowadays, we have more information inclusive about global geography, but the trips are still constantly happening. 

Travel has become something easy. The Internet and technology changed everything drastically. That’s why, a few years ago in my home country Brazil, I stopped paying for online data. I still have a phone but it only works with Wi-Fi. This simple act forces me to interact with people, either asking for directions or just joining on chat. So for me, it doesn’t really matter the reason for the trip, but the secret is to always be fully present. 

My first international trip had a very specific reason, to visit Disneyland in Florida, US. I was young and I got it as a gift. Probably I wouldn’t do it again. And that’s another thing about travel, the only way to find out which kind is more suitable for you is trying at least once. 

After this short experience in the US, I’ve never had a similar trip again. Now, I always try to find an “activity” to do on the next destination. This clicked to me when I was about to turn 18 years old. I went to Mexico to finish High School and it was my first time away from Brazil for that long, it helps you to become independent. 

Then, during a college vacation I flew to Sydney, Australia, to study and improve my English. The classes worked and after graduation I got accepted to work in Bogota, Colombia. Even though they speak Spanish there, inside the office was only English. Great colleges, the job on the other hand was not so fun, sending emails for five days a week, 8 hours per day. I realized that I didn’t want to live that kind of life. 

I’ve traveled for a while around Central America and I got bored of being just another tourist. I’ve applied to work on a different opportunity in the city of Cairo, Egypt. It’s a very noisy and overcrowded city, but the job was fun, great working environment. Too bad that my Arabic kept on the basic level. 

I went to visit a great friend in Turkey from my high school time in Mexico. After spending some time with him and his family, I was on the road again. I had a ticket from Portugal, I went all the way there without using any planes. I flew back to Brazil, but again after a few months of searching I bought another one ticket, this time to Sucre, Bolivia.

I’ve worked there for a couple of months as a volunteer, predictable south america public organization chaos but it was a nice job. I was able to do a little bit of what I’ve learned during my time in journalism University. There I realized that money is definitely not everything. You don’t need to spend a lot to enjoy a place. 

Still in South America I did another volunteer work in the north of Peru, in Huanchaco. It was my first experience teaching. It was a different class, a young local football team. The kids were very good players, they just needed some orientation and motivation. 

I didn’t work for very long, but it helped me understand that teaching is something that I enjoy. Again, I left the Huanchaco F.C. and I stayed for a while as a tourist, but I got bored very quickly. I went back to Brazil and after searching for an opportunity I got accepted to one in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, to work as an English teacher.

As with everything in life, being a good teacher takes time. The first weeks were very scary, just me facing a bunch of kids. It was hard. But after time and dedication, things started to get better. Ha Noi is a huge city and it has everything, but not the beach. 

I quitted and moved south on a motorcycle trip. I traveled for more than 1000 kilometros, but after reaching the middle of the country, my head was burning because of the sun. I sold the bike and moved to another volunteer work in Bali, Indonesia. I’ve stayed for a month helping in a farm, Zahara Urban Farm. Met some great people and catched some nice waves, but it was time to go. 

I’ve traveled around Europe, pretty much only staying at a friend’s house and doing volunteer work. Reached Germany, but I felt the need to go back to Brazil. And I did. Arrived in there at the end of 2019 and spent a couple of years with my parents. Until I got accepted to another opportunity, but this time was a bit different, online teaching. 

I’ve taught for six months for a school in Central America, Academia Europea. I had normally around ten students per class, from 18 years old till more than 60. The experience was good but some things made me reject the opportunity of moving to Nicaragua and starting teaching there. The biggest one was definitely the simple fact that I couldn’t wear a tie anymore.  

Before rejecting the job, I bought a one way plane ticket to Lithuania. It was a simple plan to meet a girl from my time in Bolivia. We met, but things didn’t work the way I wanted. Once in Europe, I’ve realized that I travel to learn and that’s what I’ve been trying to do. Not about any particular topic, but about the world, people and nature. My brain works better with images. I like to see new things. And so far, I’ve seen a lot.