Hidden Cafes and Alleyways

When you come back from yet another amazing trip, your heart will be soaring and you’ll think, “When can I do that again?!” Unfortunately, many of us are not jet-setting millionaires and we don’t have sugar daddies (although kudos if you do). We have jobs, we’re students, or we have other full-time commitments. We’re hard working people with a sweet tooth for the adventure! If you’re home waiting for your next trip, you’ll always have travel on your mind. Here’s 10 things every avid traveler does between trips!

1. Exploring your local area. You all of a sudden want to check out that cafe you always pass by. You want to go into the city and see what events are going on in your area. There’s stuff going on all the time like hot air balloon shows, film nights, car shows and so much more! You just have to look for it. Google it up!

2. Reading! I read this book Euphoria while I had downtime in Russia. It’s about anthropologists discovering a different culture and of course a love triangle. Having a degree in Anthropology myself, I found this book to be a profound statement about discovering the world. I firmly believe that reading is a form of travel. You can learn about history, fictional love stories, or transport your mind to a place that could only exist in the world of literature. Once you start traveling you’ll love to read about other far away places.

3. Trying food from different countries. I have shamelessly based some of my trips off of food. When you’re home you’ll want to try things like Malaysian, Ethiopian, or Cambodian food, types of food that may have seemed a little too exotic for you at one point. It’s like an adventure for your taste buds! You’ll challenge yourself to try food outside of traditional Chinese food, and may fall in love with a certain country’s cuisine.

4. Looking up that next trip. You know you’re looking up flights every second you get. Wow Air has flights to Iceland that get as low as $99 and I’ve received emails from Expedia alerting me to $80 roundtrips within the US. Once you know where you want to go next you’ll be looking up flights, hostels, and what to do while you’re there. You just can’t help yourself when it comes to making travel plans, even if you don’t book them at the moment.

5. Hustling! That fun money has got to come from somewhere. Extra shifts, second job, filling out online surveys for a few dollars each, you name it! If you’ve lived out of a suitcase or backpack before then you’ll know you don’t need over 100 summer tops. Sell your clothes that you no longer want, sell the clarinet from marching band, and go to the bar with $2 beers. Hustle!

6. Writing. Writing is a way of solidifying memories and is a great way to tell the story of your trip through your own voice and perspective. You’ll want to get it all down on paper so you can relive the experience.

7. #TBT! Forever posting pictures of “#tbt Bring me back to the Bahamas!” We all do it, so post it up! Print the pictures and make a collage for each trip! Every Thursday you’ll automatically think of those super cool pics from your last vacation and that is what Throwback Thursday is all about: reliving the good times!

8. Researching your town’s history. After learning about the history of the places you’ve traveled to, you’ll want to start researching the history of your own area. You’ll want to go to museums and look up historical articles that shaped your own town. You may even surprise yourself with what you find.

9. Researching your own history. Ancestry.com offers a 14-day free trial. You can look up your ancestors records and see how far your roots stretch. You can even test your DNA on the site. Especially if you’re an American, you probably have ancestors from all over the place. Meeting locals from all over the world, you’ll wander about your own identity and may want to visit the land of your ancestors.

10. Daydreaming. Whether you’re dreaming about the adventures you already had or the adventures yet to come, dream on my friends.