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My life irrevocably changed about 30 years ago when, like my delightful and reassuring guest writer, Melissa Pugh, whose story you will read below, I struck out into the world with a backpack, a passport, a couple of bucks and a Youth Hostel card. As my friends were heading off to grad school and their first professional jobs, I took to the byways of the world for my post-graduate studies—just like Melissa. Though the details of her experience differ from mine, her story strikes a familiar chord. I didn’t text or email my missives home; instead, I had only those antique, self-sealing international letters forms that arrived weeks later! No IMs to new travel friends saying, “OMG Meet U in Thailand. New Moon Fest. B there. B4N.” Yet we experienced the same awakening of a worldly spirit. Enjoy Melissa’s words as she recalls the beginning months of what will surely be a life of travel.
Thank you, Melissa. And may your words inspire sabbaticals and not frighten parents!
- Helen
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Columbia, Indonesia, Poland, Laos, Argentina, New Zealand, and India. A wish list for some, a bucket-list for others. For me, they are but seven of the forty countries I explored in the same amount of time it takes to go law school. Graduating college with a communications degree and minors in business and African American Studies, I decided to further my studies with an MWS—a Masters in World Studies.
What better time to spread my wings and travel the world? I was 22, had no commitments, no career, and no cash. Perfect! Because I was a waitress during my undergraduate years, I had a valuable skill that easily found me jobs in Dublin, London, Sydney, and Auckland; what I earned underwrote my travels throughout those other 40 countries. OK, so maybe waitress/ traveler will not be my final calling, but these last three years have been pretty sweet!
First Year Curriculum: Europe
While others were learning about torts during their first year in law school, I was backpacking my way through Europe—an amazing number of countries on such a small amount of real estate! Every border crossing is a gateway to an entirely new culture, language, and landscape. I was awed by the Vatican, insanely disturbed by concentration camps, and swept away by the Alps. I ate all the Belgian waffles I could handle. A great choice for my first big trip abroad.
Traveling the lowest class on the Euro rail, I efficiently, if not always comfortably, traversed the Continent. Once at my chosen destination, it was a hunt for the nearest, cheapest hostel. “Cheapest” is self- explanatory; “nearest” was a necessity as my backpack grew continually heavier with each country’s souvenirs and latest European fashions. “Nearest” also important because of the neighborhoods in which hostels are generally located. [Not 5-Star! – HN]
For those not familiar with hostels, let me assure you that while they are not always the trendiest lodgings, they are a great place for young travelers. We arrive from all over the world, meet, exchange travel stories and share a bunkroom for the night. By bunkrooms, I mean one room with anywhere from four to fifty beds. [Not 5-Star! – HN] The hostels usually have kitchens, which is great for frugal travelers who can’t afford to eat out; kitchens also are a great place to gather and trade travel tips, learn about the cheap cuisines of the world, and pick up insider news on what’s hot and what’s not. By the time that first whirl through Europe ended, I had mastered the art of finding not only the cheapest hostel but those that were bedbug free [So not 5-Star – HN] and could knock out the basics in about eight different languages.
Second Year Curriculum: Central And South America
After that first big trip—my own personal first year of graduate school—I had the fundamentals under my belt. For my next year, equivalent to a second year of law school, I too looked forward to something more challenging and unfamiliar: Central and South America. Traveling south, my first stops were in Central America’s Guatemala and Costa Rica, then on to Peru, all before landing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a couple months of Spanish lessons and the Tango lifestyle! I rented an apartment and lived the Latino culture, which I embraced and loved. It was so completely different. Instead of working 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. as many Americans do, Brazilians may go to work at 9:00 a.m., take a two-hour lunch break, a little “siesta,” and then head out for dinner at 10:00 p.m. While in BA I did as the BA’ers do!
I enjoy a good football game as much as the next girl—a little tailgating, a little foolishness—you know how it is. However, if you think you’ve attended a great game I am here to tell you that nothing compares with a football (soccer) match in South America. I am talking about a whole new level of the term ‘fanatic.’ Braced with my newly minted Spanish language skills, I took off with friends for the match. After being mauled by the team hooligans waiting in line to get into the biggest match in Argentina, the police found us and escorted us, damsels in distress, to an entirely different section than what our tickets stated, because, basically, they were scared for our lives! No joke! (These are the tidbits one doesn’t write home to Mom. Ignorance is bliss.)
Having an apartment rather than staying in hostels made this trip completely different than the first. But more cheap hotels and hostels awaited as I took on the south of Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile—by bus. Suddenly, I missed those cheap Euro rail seats!
I became an aficionado of the siesta, visited the highest, driest desert in the world (the Atacama of Chile), followed the Inca trail and fell for a couple of cute South American guys. Yes, that’s part of it, too. Being a true passport piggy by now, I shed a few tears while boarding the adios plane from South America . . . but soon recovered as the plane was taking me to Australia where I would be working for the next four months. Bondi Beach in Sydney—not bad!
Third Year Curriculum: Asia
It’s now Year 3. Law students returning for their last and final year feel relieved knowing that school is coming to an end. I was making ever-bigger plans, trying to top my previous year and seriously hoping that my travels would never end. This was too much fun! Here’s what I did. I flew back to Europe for a six-month visit to my now numerous friends, hitting the countries I hadn’t gotten to before. I then hopped a plane to New Zealand, working in Auckland for four months where I had a blast and saved up loads of cash. What part of the world to soak up next? Southeast Asia’s Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
Now my head is exploding! These are fantastic countries. I learned about Buddhism, trekked through jungles, visited remote islands, experienced the history of Vietnam, rode elephants in Thailand, and saw Angkor Wat at sunrise, which aroused every imaginable feeling—mostly wonder and humility. It was also extremely challenging to stay calm and patient (”Be the Buddha”) traveling through these countries as everyone wanted your business and would do almost anything to get it! “Hawkers,” I believe, is the term.
Final exam: India. This was miles beyond anything I’d yet known. The poverty is incredibly saddening, the Taj Mahal is incredibly beautiful, and the Indian people are incredibly friendly and welcoming. India is an adventure and experience beyond mere vacation. There are many countries in which you can kind of slide by; sometimes you don’t fully appreciate the culture or even notice the different life style. In India, you are forced to see, feel, and experience it all. It was my Master’s thesis, my final exam for my MWS degree.
A lawyer may be finished with school but is never done learning about the law. I too will never stop traveling and being evermore intrigued by the world.
At my ripe old age of 25, I reflect on my travels thus far, thinking about all the cultures and history I have been exposed to and seen. What a classroom, what a textbook! My post-grad degree in the World has changed my life, who I am, and whom I will become.
And Mom will never know all the details.
Melissa Pugh, MWS
Currently managing a restaurant in Deer Valley, ID, and, yes, pursuing travels up and down ski slopes.
