#travelgoals ... for real.
Once the travel fairy dust settles, people always seem to love assuming its all hypoallergenic.
Baby, no.
It's recently been really eye opening to me how many people have commented on or towards me about their own assumptions on my pals & my adventures. To be backhand greeted on snapchat stories and social photos with "she/they must be normally rich," "I could never do what she/they are doing because I have a job," "she/they are sponsored to be able to do that..." etc.
Ahh social media...the blessing of travel exposure and the curse of judging a book by its (dusty) cover.
For Peru in specific, it ended up being super disheartening for the 5 of us--who all work OVER full time at restaurants, barns, family businesses, & painting--to feel as though most people don't think we can back ourselves. We planned, paid, and committed 100% for ourselves. We don't have trust funds, we don't have random people paying us to "nomadically work & travel," and the 5% of the trip that was published on social media were images that I selected and edited as a photographer & artist.
Especially the remarks on how "sketchy" the world is, and the "don't get taken" comments--lets have Gen Z put it to an end. It's truthfully such a privileged thing to say, and honestly disrespectful to cultures unlike your own.
I know for a fact I speak for the entire group in saying we felt safer in Peru, than walking home at night in Charleston, SC. (The Serial rapist that ran around downtown on CofC campus Fall-Winter 2020/2021, anyone?) Simply because the rest of the world isn't cookie-cutter suburbia USA, does not speak to their people or culture. If anything, it makes the rest of the world wiser, more respectful, and kind.
This trip in particular, just by talking with & knowing someone opened doors of meals, transportation, and experiences for us that we otherwise would never have received. The people that had the least by "American Standards" were the ones willing to give the most. It's not "sooo brave" or "courageous" of us to travel somewhere "poor".
That's such a weird way of saying you could never inconvenience yourself to step outside of your own bubble to get to know someone else's life and culture!
Please stop telling us that--it sounds like a personal issue.
OF COURSE we are smart about travel, and don't run around backpacks unzipped or drunk at night. Have faith in our intelligence and intuition. We do a lot more research about countries we visit than you think. I can drop a 25-page google doc link if you really want. ~Dm in comments for it bestie!~
To the kids my age (18+, college, f&B or similar job):
Bestie! Please stop belittling yourself by telling me/us that you could ~never~ since you have responsibility. We do too! 100% don't throw yourself into the negative in any respect, but you can go a lot further with $500 than you think. For our 2 weeks in Peru, we paid $200 each for all of the lodging, $250 each for food the entire time, and $50 avg. for health insurance. Thats your $500. Find good transportation (which is my pals & my speciality, and we'd be happy to help out) & bam. you're set.
Not every adventure is marble floors & margaritas. Most of the world isn't.
If you aren't afraid to have an open mind, be spontaneous, & live a little rugged--you'll go miles further than you think. Pinkie Promise.
To the respective adults:
Please stop assuming that we aren't as career-driven or independent as other young adults our age. We all work 50-70 hour weeks to save up for our adventures AND pay our bills. We all graduated college with multiple areas of study and honors.
We all are searching for careers and constantly editing/submitting resumes in a cut-throat career climate right now. (We all submitted 50+ applications between us last month...and got 50+ rejections due to "not enough experience the past 2 years"...lol.)
<insert low-key promo for anyone hiring communication, photography, psychology, marketing jobs right now. We'd love to chat.>
Truthfully, each of us feels there's more to the world than cubicle 9-5s for us right now, and we want to learn what the world has to teach us before we settle down. Our parents didn't give us any credit cards or money, we gave the opportunity to ourselves. Every adventure isn't a private hotel in Hawaii (although I'm sure that's pretty sweet)--travel can be super affordable if you plan it right (and even more so if you're willing to sacrifice some luxuries for a great time).
Obviously...
...this isn't meant towards everyone, and for those that know the behind-the-scenes of each our lives, we love you! Your kindness, words of encouragement, and love brought so many smiles to our faces & warmth to our hearts.
As one last testament to the 95% NOT seen on social media, here's Peru 2021 ~unfiltered~. Absolutely not meant to say we didn't love it--if anything the small struggles made it even more rewarding of an adventure.
We went in wanting to "live" Peru, and oh baby we did. In the best of ways, and the worst of ways, we did. And it was worth it in the end.
Glossary of the Trials & Tribulations of Peru 2021:
Getting a PARASITE
Peru customs almost nothing letting us in
10 hours in the Lima airport Sep 2
Broken down train for 3.5 hours in the Peruvian mountains
2 day sandstorm in the desert
Using water bottles to brush teeth
Motion sickness pills for breakfast
Multi-layered sunburn & windburn
Changing Airbnb’s 12 hours in advance
Transportation strikes causing route changes
3 different security scans/checkpoints in Lima airport
No coffee anywhere
Avg 5hr a night sleep
Falling down 20-story sand dunes
Tap water has chlorine=peeling dry skin
Beef Jerky & dried fruit lunches.
Etc.
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