The Cultural Exchange Project Travel Blog

Why you should go abroad alone at least once in your life

Written by Abi Whitney | Feb 26, 2019 10:20:00 AM

It's an extraordinary thing, this world. The concept of it is truly limitless. You could travel to every single continent, and only just begun to see it in its entirety. A century, give or take, is simply not enough time to experience what this world has to offer. So why wait?

My story begins in January of 2018. I was getting ready to graduate college and figured I had the perfect opportunity to do some traveling before I settled into a career. After some research, I decided I wanted to try the walk & talk program through GeoVisions, and 6 months later, I had begun the beautiful experience of tutoring English/au pairing for a host family in Northern Italy. I had two incredible, well-mannered kids, Asia and Jacopo. My day-to-day was spent waking them up, preparing breakfast, taking them to school, an hour session after school spent teaching English, reading, or helping with homework, and of course lots of playing and having fun. I got weekends off and absolutely took advantage of it. Every weekend I was in a new place. I visited 10 cities total throughout Italy and Croatia. I think fear plays a major factor in why people don’t travel alone. Once I took that leap of buying my solo ticket abroad and got completely out of my comfort zone, it was a done deal.

I could tell you a million stories about the places I’ve seen, the people I’ve met or the things I’ve done—I could write a book in fact. But instead I will say this, wholeheartedly and with great emphasis, traveling alone has been the most fulfilling, liberating, life-changing experience of my life. Everyone should try it at least once. You will be more aware, more vulnerable, more open to try new things. This trip has allowed me to learn so much about life and the world and myself. The best education I’ve ever received. 

There are infinite things to experience on this planet, don’t wait for someone else to do them. Living in Italy was everything I hoped for and so much more. I would do it over and over. I can’t wait to see the rest of the world with this perspective. After this short 3 months, I am feeling so many things, but mostly inspired and overwhelmed with ideas for the future.