I love to travel, a lot.
Not only do I love to travel, but I love to travel alone.
I was born in a typical Taiwanese family, but my childhood was not typical at all. Compared to other families who love to travel around the world, my parents’ wish was that I got to know my homeland better. We traveled through the entirety of Taiwan: from cities and counties to lanes and streets, from the ablaze of light in Northern Taiwan to the delicious refreshments at the South; from the ancient tribes of Atayal in the mountains where my ancestors once resided, to the tribes with the boats along the East coast. They wanted me to get to know more about who I am and where
I belong. Due to the history of the colonial background, Taiwan was once colonized by the Dutch, Spanish and Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2018), which makes me into 1/16 Atayal, 1/64 Dutch, and fully Taiwanese.
However, the places we visited were usually alongside five to six families. It somehow annoyed me when I still wanted to get to know more about the historical background of a certain thing while they wanted to rush to the next section.
Moreover, since I’m usually the oldest child among all of them, the job of babysitting the infants fell on me. After each trip, I became more and more unwilling to travel with the families. I wanted to travel by myself to where I will not be disturbed to enjoy my journey.
In 2016, at the age of thirteen, I joined a summer program called “ Xplore” in the United Kingdom. I spent four months absorbing the different cultures and pieces of knowledge. We were able to explore by ourselves with groups of friends that we made there. Taking advantage of this, my group explored the beauty of The Big Ben and the remarkable views at Cambridge. We also visited where the most of the scripture tragedies 400 years ago were written, including Hamlet, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet which were famously penned by Shakespeare(“William Shakespeare”, 2015).
The things that truly opened my vision were the activities we performed. We not only kayaked but we learned how to rock-climb by ourselves. We even practiced how to target and shoot rifles, which was one of the most unforgettable events that first comes to my mind when I think back to that summer. Nevertheless, the British scones were also one of the sweetest memories that still stays on the tip of my tongue. After four splendid months, I felt more comfortable and interested in traveling without adults. I felt that I learned how to deal with problems that happens in my life and how to effectively solve it by myself. During the program, I met a friend from Aix-Les-Bains, France. Together, we learned different cultures and our values of things in all kinds of fields. I promised her that I would visit her country and travel together someday as soon as possible. I could not wait until the day when I could travel all by myself and absorb all of the diversities among people and cultures.
It was the winter of my first high school year (2017) that I decided to travel to France to visit my friend, moreover, the main point to travel by myself. My parents were freaked out while the first moment I told them of what I had in my mind. Since my father loved to go on adventu
res and explore all around the world alone during his young age, the gene of traveling on one’s self had passed on to me. Gradually, he decided to let go of me with my crazy thoughts of a 14-year-old girl traveling to France all on herself. However, he did not give me a large amount of money, my father wanted me to learn not to take everything for granted and learn to figure problems on my own.
Unfortunately, the time that I landed at Lyon airport was the time my friend was taking her final exam, so she wasn’t able to pick me up. I tried to find public transportation to get to the AirBnB I booked. It was then that I found out that though English might be an international language for me, it was not for the people at the airport. That was when my body language and Google Translate helped me out. After a four-hour long time-toss, I finally got to my destination. While waiting for checking in, I found out that I wasn’t able to check-in to my room due to my age on the passport I showed them. My height did not help, as when people often picture me as a young girl who’s trying to run away from her home. Fortunately, among the obstacles I had faced so far, the internet worked. I was able to Face-time my parents and show the workers at the AirBnB to prove that I was not a run-away child from a foreign country.
However, my happiness did not last long. I discovered that I left my adapters at home. What’s worse was that was the moment that I discovered that, my phone ran out of battery. Unfortunately, the front desk did not have the things I need. In order to save money on commuting and live through the couple days, I walked through the heavy February snow for exactly 36 minutes to an Apple store to get what I needed. After that, I lost my way of getting back and I panicked to death. During my panicking, a kind and benevolent woman appeared, wondering if I lost my way. Thus, she decided to drive me back. She invited me to have dinner with her.
Since then, it opened the interest and the journey of me traveling alone around the world.
In the summer of 2018, I went to Australia to learn and perform modern dance along with contemporary dance and breakdance through the Dance and the Child International Australia (daCi Australia) association. I absorbed so many experiences during my trip. In addition, I met wonderful friends during my performances and whom I still cherish to this day. My decision to travel overseas was fueled by the thirst of digging more into my interest and my curiosity of how people around the world express their emotions through body language. Not only that, but I wanted to make my dream of holding a gorgeous koala come true.
I traveled alone during the winter at the beginning of 2019 to Essen Werden, Germany, in order to take classes in ballet, contemporary and modern dance. I journeyed to Germany with the purpose to find out more about who I am and what I want. While I accomplished a land mile in my study of modern dance at The Folkwang Universität, I was able to gain new experiences in Germany. I ate brätwurst with beers at the Oktoberfest and visited the Brandenburg Gate alongside the Neuschwanstein Castle. I also learned the history of contemporary dance and traced it back to Pina Bausch, a famous dancer and choreographer in the 1950s. Among all the amazing trips I went on, the most remarkable and unforgettable one was the first time I experienced the happiness of traveling alone in France. It was the place that opened and started my journey of traveling alone. Thus, the journey of me traveling alone will never stop until the last day of my life.
References
Jean, A. (2011). Queen Hortense under a pergola, Aix-les-Bains. Retrieved from
Ministry of Public Affairs, Republic of China. (2018). History. Retrieved from
https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/content_3.php.
A&E Television Networks. (2019). William Shakespeare. Retrieved from