I began my career as an international traveler at age three when my family flew to Austria to attend a family wedding. A lot of my travel experience is thanks to my parents who have spent my childhood trying to give my brother and I a taste of the world. Austria, Mexico, New York, Los Angeles, Croatia, Italy, China. I'm lucky to have had the joy of traveling.
However, it wasn't until I discovered languages that I really began to crave these experiences. I started studying Chinese in middle school and fell in love. I went to China in high school and despite finding the country dirty, crowded and overwhelming, I knew I wanted to go back. I relished the opportunity to experience a culture so different from my own. I was drawn in by the street markets, the steaming dumplings, the ornate temples and the people.
I returned to China my junior year of college for three and a half months of immersive study. I was based in Nanjing but also visited Sichuan, Chengdu, Suzhou, Shanghai and Xishuangbanna. Unlike the previous trip, this time I had enough Chinese to navigate by myself. It was an amazing adventure, and one of the toughest things I have done. But it confirmed my desire to continue traveling
Upon returning, I decided on my next step. Teaching English in Taiwan. At the same time I was concerned about what the rest of my life would look like. I sat down with a career counselor at my school and she suggested a 100 Dreams list. Basically, as the name suggests, a list of 100 things that I want to do, big or small, over the rest of my life. I started a word document and the first thirty entries were travel related. New Zealand, Tibet, Machu Pichu, Canada, the Pyramids, the Berlin Wall, the Taj Mahal. A whole world full of potential adventures.
Right now the next step for me is Taiwan. After that, who knows? The world is waiting.
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