Bathing in a hot spring in Yugoslavia at the of age two during our Eastern European road trip is the first travel experience I can remember. The first time I felt an intense desire to travel occured when I had returned to school after the winter holidays in 2nd grade. While the teacher kept repeating our homework, I couldn’t help but think about our week in the Austrian ski resort Dienten and wish I was traveling somewhere instead of stuck in a classroom.
Geography was my favorite subject in school, sometimes I could sit for hours looking in my atlas and daydream about foreign destinations.
I saw a lot of Sweden during my childhood, but never stopped longing abroad. At 13 I made my first trip abroad without my parents when my orienteering club spent two weeks in Mannheim, Germany. At 14 I wanted to take a trip by myself and chose Stockholm because I had lived there as a kid, longed back and wanted to experience the city on my own. I returned on a regular basis after that. A 2-hour train ride was no big deal and, even though I liked the small town where we lived, I loved being in the capital.
In 9th grade I wanted to move from home. I was almost 16, about to choose what Swedish gymnasium school to attend. After listing my choices, Kulturama in Stockholm seemed way more appealing than the other schools. I loved the idea of having my own apartment, meeting new people, and to live in a city again. At 16 I wanted to spend the second year of my gymnasium education in the US. I lent brochures about American high schools, looked into different options, and thought about how great the experience of studying abroad would look on a future resume. At 17 I read about a travel writing course in Marrakech, Morocco, in the Swedish travel magazine Vagabond. The 4-day trip would include accommodation in a traditional medina, all meals, and several theoretical and practical lessons led by professional travel writers. Sounded like a dream. In the end I didn’t realize any of these things, and even though we made trips throughout all of my 12 years in school, I couldn’t let go of the idea of making a longer trip on my own.
Once I turned 18 I decided to travel abroad as soon as I had graduated. I chose the US, followed by a couple of years living and working in Europe. My last trip, in September 2007, went to London. I intend to return again, but also long for other cities. Especially New York, LA, and Paris.
I’ve wanted to live abroad since 8th grade and can’t imagine a life without travel. I am convinced that I will keep traveling, more or less, for as long as I live.
How about you? When did your desire to travel begin?
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Totally with you on loving geography in school. Studied it in college as well.
Summers as a child spent in the U.K. where my mother is from is where I think it started for me. Always hated to leave and come home.
Really well written- I always wanted to travel abroad but didn’t do it when I should have in college because I was involved in sports, etc. One day though!
Hi Jenna, Thanks… Not being able to travel during college is understandable. But do it one day. It’s never too late!
I’ve always loved traveling to northern Ontario since i was a kid. I often went with parents to Mexico, or on class trips to New York. However, my first trip with friends to Banff, Alberta triggered a travel addiction at the age of 22. Not 5 months later i visited western Europe and made plans for Montreal. I’m now going back to Europe for a couple weeks by myself. I prefer solo travel; and the prospects it presents will keep me traveling for a lifetime.