Brendon and I met Julianne at a hostel in Placencia, Belize back in February. Julianne is a funny, authentic, no-bullshit kind of gal – as you are about to find out – and I immediately liked her. We bonded over dogs, books, and our bad couchsurfing/airbnb experiences. Well, when I say “we,” I mean her and I. She is also the type of gal that will share her food with you …sooo basically she is a friend you want to have. We hope you enjoy her interview.
Where are you from?
I’m from Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It’s alright.
How long have you been travelling for?
I only left the country for the first time in 2016. I’ve been trying to go to a new country and a new state MINIMUM every year since then!
This was your first trip travelling alone – what was it like to travel alone as a woman?
It’s easy enough to have ideas about what a strong woman you are and what your values are and all that, but traveling alone really throws you into a situation where you have to LIVE that shit. What I learned: Trusting yourself is paramount. If something feels at all iffy, get the fuck out of there. Don’t pressure yourself to be more polite than you’re comfortable being, even if you think the culture calls for it. That was one of my struggles in Belize. I knew from one of my local hosts that he thought it was very rude when someone walking by didn’t say hello back to him. I had to figure out on my own what was just a friendly hello I could feel fine responding to and what was a conversation I really wasn’t interested in having. Tip: You don’t gotta say hello to any man calling to you from his porch over and over again.
But, honestly, it wasn’t as bad or scary as everyone at home made me believe it would be. Just kick your at-home common sense up a few notches because being a traveler makes you stick out and it can be pretty obvious when you’re by yourself. I didn’t run into any problems, because I always try to look like I know where I’m going. That really helps. Fake it ‘til you make it (to the grocery store that you SWEAR was on this corner yesterday).
What inspired you to start travelling?
I can’t pinpoint anything exactly, but I have always wanted desperately to travel the world – maybe it was just inspired by lack of traveling. My dad died relatively unexpectedly when I was young and he was the one who had worked, so I was raised by a single mom who struggled to make ends meet. Vacations were never a part of my life, even with my dad. Not even like weekends or camping trips or anything. So I would spend a lot of time reading books about different places (real or otherwise) and eventually blogs about expats living out of suitcases which really fueled the fire.
Tell us about your most recent trip?
My most recent trip was a week in the beautiful country of Belize in Central America! I stargazed on top of Mayan ruins, explored a cave, made friends with many dogs, enjoyed the beach, hitched rides with conservationists, met somebody’s pet raccoon, experienced some unseasonably rainy weather, ate delicious freshly made bread bought from a woman on the bus, had some extreme emotional ups and downs, and met the lovely Ki and Brendon!!
What is your favourite and least favourite part of travelling?
Favorite: The very real feeling of freedom. Literally every day is an opportunity for a new experience you (probably) couldn’t have at home. Least favorite: Thinking about my cat at home. Or not having anybody to say “can you hold this for a sec?” to. Solo traveler problems.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced while travelling?
Ok, apart from caving for the first time and finding out that I hate it and that it’s really hard and really plays on my phobia of falling when I was already 3 miles underground, let’s talk about some real shit that I don’t think really gets talked about. Let’s not talk about practical stuff, safety, and loneliness or whatever – let’s talk about FREE SPIRIT SNOBBINESS. I’m about to be hecka real so STRAP IN. I’m not your typical traveler and some others made that abundantly clear to me. I’m a worrier by nature. I’m not a positive vibes only bish – I like to kvetch and I have a dark sense of humor. Even though I love camping and getting dirty, I also really love makeup. I don’t trust everyone and I don’t trust that everything will work out if I believe it will – I’ve had some bad experiences with people I thought I could trust so I’ve learned how to look after myself. I don’t like crystals. My personality often makes me stand out like a sore thumb in traveler spaces, even though I’m sure I’m not the only one like myself out there.
I had a couchsurfing host who, though very generous and kind, went into our relationship by telling me I wasn’t like other couchsurfers. He told me all about how I don’t trust people enough and that I worry too much. He preached his ideas about learning to me, but never took a moment to learn anything about me that didn’t confirm his ideas that he already had against me. Obviously, this is not every experience with every traveling person. Every human being is different. Many free spirit trust-the-universe-style travelers I’ve met have been absolutely amazing to me. But there is some real hypocrisy out there regarding being open to everything then not being open to people who are different from you. Let’s break down the echo chamber and REALLY learn about everything this planet has to offer!! Variety is the spice of life and all that, especially when it comes to people you interact with.
Travelling can take a toll – mentally, physically, spiritually – how do you get past the hard days?
It was really hard for me at first, especially to feel that way when I was alone. I’m very lucky in that I have a large support group of friends and family who are willing to listen to me whine and help talk me out of funks. But when you’re on your own, you have to be that champion for yourself. Each time I started to feel down, I would let myself chill for however long I needed, but I couldn’t let myself wallow. I learned really quickly that I was the one who had to take care of myself and take the actions that would make me happy. One small thing that helps if you’re in the phase of letting yourself chill out but aren’t quite able to pick yourself up, is to let yourself experience gratitude fully. As you may have guessed, I’m not really a gratitude practice bish either, but feeling grateful can have a profound effect on your mood and perspective. Out of character: I literally said “thank you” out loud to some Mayan ruins before I was about to leave and the tears FLOWED. Just expressing that gratitude was an experience that shifted the rest of my trip for the better. I also kind of bowed?? We don’t need to talk about it, I don’t know what came over me.
If you’re just killing time on a bus, let yourself look out the window and let the gratitude for the experience and the place and the people wash over you. I DARE YOU not to cry. The world is fucking beautiful and we’re so lucky to get to dick around on it.
How do you make it work financially? (ie. did you save for the trip, are you working? living on a budget,etc?)
I save up and live on a budget (but that’s also mostly because I don’t make much money haha). I have a miles reward credit card which seriously helps with travel costs – I’d get big into like using a bunch of those at one… if I had enough money to have a lot of expenses haha. ONE DAY. But my true fave is going to kayak.com/explore, setting the budget reeeeeal low, and seeing what trips are available at that time. That’s how I chose Belize and I wouldn’t have met these two otherwise, because Belize totally was not on my radar!! So, with credit card rewards included, I rarely spend more that $150-200 on airfare. For accommodations, I use couchsurfing.com and hostels. Oh, and make friends with people who work for airlines!!
What is your favourite place you have travelled to and why?
Japan, for sure. There’s nowhere as foreign, strange, or magical to me. I highly recommend it to anybody, because it’s a completely new experience and it’s still very English-speaking-traveler friendly. Personally, I also loved hearing and using Japanese on a daily basis because I’ve been studying it for years.
If you could recommend one book to a friend, what would it be?
As far as books that will seriously help you and blow you away, Tiny Beautiful Things
I’m a book reviewer, you cannot make me choose just one book SORRY.
If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to travel, what would it be?
DO IT. And when you do it, if anything doesn’t feel right, trust your gut. Even if we’re not talking about safety, if who you’re hanging out with or an activity doesn’t bring you any happiness, prioritize yourself and make a new decision. It’s YOUR TIME, so you have to take control of it and make it what you want it to be. This also applies to life in general. Do I get paid twice for that one? Just kidding, I’m not getting paid.
If you want to connect with Julianne, you can find her on Instagram: @_ulianne