Hi!

I’m an English major with a newfound love for traveling. I’ve just returned from a semester abroad in Ireland, enlightened and more conscious of the world beyond Los Angeles County. I’ve lived a relatively sheltered life in spite of the multicultural upbringing I was exposed to, and only realized how many misconceptions I had about other cultures when I ventured to various countries and interacted with people. I never thought I would want to travel beyond the familiar, much less waste half a day trying to get from one place to another. But my opinion of this all changed when I actually did spend half a day running to catch a bus, a train, a plane to get to whatever destination. There’s a thrill that comes with traveling, a euphoric sense of the unknown, and even the things you think are familiar to an extent, really aren’t. It was a revelation to be in a country that also spoke English but was vastly different from what I knew. While in Europe I learned that travel isn’t exclusively limited to people with an expendable bank account, and that college truly is the best time to take advantage of living outside of the United States for an extended length of time. I’ve also come to realize that travel doesn’t have to mean hopping on a plane and flying half way around the world to experience something culturally satisfying.

As a college student, with a limited budget to devote to jet setting, I want to explore alternative methods of experiencing other countries that aren’t restricted to study abroad programs. I’ve come to learn that luxurious accommodations are pretty much useless if you’re going to be on the run exploring a city, and that backpacking isn’t as sketchy as I had originally assumed it to be. I’m new to traveling, and won’t attest to knowing the tricks of packing efficiently (still working on it), or traveling in the same manner. I have however, done a little bit of research about other travel blogs, and I’m intrigued by the number of trips people take that actually have a purpose that reaches beyond simply sightseeing.

I’ve found one by two brothers who are attempting to walk the world to return home as part of a peace project (http://worldwalk-peacetour.blogspot.com/), and a now defunct one from four Englishmen who traveled from their home country to Australia through a number of means, excluding airplanes (http://www.geocities.com/fourontour/). One of the most interesting blogs I’ve come across in looking up other travel blogs is one by a man who’s a self proclaimed homeless traveler. A man named Andy has been traveling from country to country for ten years, never remaining in one country for longer than a month (http://www.hobotraveler.com/blogger.html). The one common element I’ve found in all of their blogs is the sheer love of experiencing the unknown. Interacting with local cultures, and appreciating the diversity within our world. It sounds hokey, but the best moments while traveling come from immersing oneself in a culture.

While it’s usually expected that a travel blog would cover various expeditions to other countries, I’m tied to my hometown for this semester. Not to say that I can’t take advantage of that, as there are parts of Los Angeles I haven’t visited, and I’m a native! With this blog, I hope to explore more wallet friendly options of travel, the latest (or near to) updates with regards to airlines, accommodations, and everything else related to it. I hope to intersperse entries with posts of my own explorations of this city I live in, with a new insight into the things that makes Los Angeles one of those destinations that people desire to visit. The central aspect of travel that makes it universally enjoyable is that anyone can be a part of it, all it requires is an open mind and a bit of know how. I’ve got a few stamps on my passport, and I’m itching for more!