Real World Continuing Education: International Backpacking ...

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by Chet Ridenour

Being raised by two medical professionals, our parents always reminded us kids of the importance of education ? and not just a formal education, but being curious every day about the world around us and open to learning and growing from the people and experiences that cross our life?s journey.

We were each given a copy of Dale Carnegie?s How to Win Friends and Influence People, which would serve as an excellent reference for how to manage and develop relationships. I remember reading there?s not enough time to make all the mistakes ourselves, so we have to learn from others. My father would encourage us to ask older people what they would do if they were in your shoes and had a chance to do it over again. So I did.

A recent college graduate, still unsure of my life?s calling, or what path to take, I asked neighbors, parents of my friends and other older role models of mine what they would do if they could turn back time. And the most common answer? ?I would have waited to get married, buy a house, and start a family (what I?ve since referred to as the domino effect) and get out to see the world while I was young and relatively free of responsibilities.? So I did.

While friends were headed to Chicago and New York on the fast-track, others were marrying their college or high school sweethearts, and classmates were furthering their careers in graduate school ? I was headed for some real-world continuing education, out on the open roads of far off lands with everything I would need stuffed into an oversized backpack and the hope that the advice of others would prove true. And it did.

Around the Western world, extended international backpacking trips are a coming of age test and much more common practice than in the United States. Europeans, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, Israelis and South Africans are some of the top nationalities you?ll meet out there on the circuit. Students will often take a gap year before, during or after college to get out internationally by working and playing their way around the world. Agencies cater to this crowd by offering Round-The-World (RTW) Tickets, where you fly in one direction (east or west) and have one year to travel between all the major regions and back home. Others will get working visas harvesting crops, care for children as an au pair, or work under the table in bars or filling hostel shifts in exchange for free room and board.

Seasoned backpackers become numb to the inevitable series of questions most travelers ask on a first meeting: Where are you from? Where are you going? How long have you been traveling? Where have you been? How much longer are you traveling? But it serves as basis to rank a pseudo hierarchy separating the experienced veterans from the newcomers, and serves as a reference to guide each other around the pitfalls and towards some of the best hidden gems out there.

When you?re out there on the trail, this international backpacking scene has sub-culture all its? own. After arriving in a new town, most stay in hostels and go for the least expensive large dormitories with bunk beds. New friends will bond while participating in the local adventures or tourism activities. Groups will form most nights to cook large common meals of pasta, salad or a stir-fry concoction while sharing in large liters of beer or bottles of wine. And after having met so many exciting new people, there?s only one thing left to do ? party and dance the night away ? with many often staying up to watch the sunrise from a beach or scenic landscape. Everyday can feel like a weekend with very few attending to actual responsibilities the next day. (Watch the documentary A Map For Saturday for a great inside look at this culture). But it?s not all fun and games.

Most top backpacking countries are not as well off as the backpackers? own, which makes them prime targets for pick-pockets, and thieves. Travelers must constantly be vigilant, careful to secure valuables in lockers, and many often wear security belts (filled with passports, credit cards, and money). Being on the road requires packing up your bags and discovering a new city every few days and with it the same searches: Where will I sleep? Where will I eat? How will I get around? This endless search for some of the basic luxuries we take for granted back home can often get tiring. Luckily, almost every traveling group will have their trusty guidebook (aka, ?The Bible? ? Lonely Planet and Rough Guide are two of the top series), which offers a good summary of the travel, tourist sites, food and accommodation of most well-traveled destinations.

And if you venture out on your own, know that you don?t have to be solo for long. A common bond allows most backpackers to quickly connect and easily come together as if these new acquaintances were life-long friends. Being in such new surroundings, so far from each person?s home base, backpackers tend to look out for and take care of each other, watching each other?s backs, and traveling in wolf-packs when needed for safety.

So, after a few months in Western Europe, half a year around the Western Pacific Rim, and eight months coming back to Ohio by land from Argentina, what have I learned? I know from first-hand experience, just how amazingly colorful, open and beautiful the people and places of this world are. I?ve learned that my fears of the countries (Bolivia, Colombia and around SE Asia) I was told were dangerous were often unfounded and where I met some of the most hospitable and gracious locals. If you can eat like the locals, and adjust to shared living spaces, travel doesn?t have to be expensive either.

Today, I can connect with people from 40+ nationalities with shared experiences from their homeland and know that saying a few kind greetings in their language can break down huge barriers.

This world is much smaller than many realize, and we?re all just a day?s travel away from some of the greatest adventures imaginable. The people have taught me that it?s really the governments that don?t get along, and most local folks are just like you and me ? looking to make a good life for their families while being open to and curious about the adventures this world has to offer ? even if it?s at home, but through the eyes of a passing backpacker.

I?m often reminded of my high school principal?s reading of Robert Frost?s The Road Less Traveled ? and the lesson that choosing a different path can be the most rewarding. I?ve been fortunate enough to take some of those less traveled roads, and am proud to say that yes, it has made all the difference.

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Source: http://outlookcolumbus.com/2012/07/real-world-continuing-education-international-backpacking/

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