Today marks 7 years since I left the USA. Although I’ve lived in various countries during that span of time, I view it as having traveled continuously for 7 years straight.

I developed this perspective as I took various trips and shaped my own style of travel. Everybody travels differently. Some people check a bag to bring extra outfits or store collected gems. Some people can’t be bothered with conveyor belts and walk straight through the airport (that’s me). Some people need a list of the best places and restaurants to see. Some people show up and wander (that’s also me). Some people attempt to cram as many experiences into a small time period as possible. Some people don’t sweat it and take their time (once again, me).

Traveling is such a precious experience and I have learned that time is always in direct conflict with that. I know what it’s like to visit an amazing country and feel like there’s so much to do but not enough time to do it. That’s stressful and anxiety inducing. So rather than let time influence how I feel while I travel, I’ve decided to travel as slow as possible.

I love traveling slowly because suddenly I have all this time to do meaningful things that you usually can’t do on a 2-week trip. You can learn a language. I’ve always believed everyone is a language learner. You just need to be willing to make mistakes and immerse yourself. You can form lasting relationships. The people from the country you are visiting act as a door into that place. From these people you can learn so many things about their country and even become accepted by and integrated into their culture. You can see the places you never knew existed. Although social media has “shrunk the world” and shined a light on places you’ve never heard of, time allows you to discover places that your Instagram feed might never show you.

Traveling is about letting a place touch you. It’s meant to impact you such in a way that you’re never the same afterwards. As soon as I recognized this, I built a life for myself that allowed me to travel slowly. For those who don’t know and would like a brief update on my life and how I live like this (I am normally quite private), I am an international teacher. I currently teach 4th grade (all subjects) at an international school in Mexico City. I have been here for nearly 3 years and have loved every second of my experience. Pandemic included. Mexico offers so many of the things I value like rich culture, great music, biodiversity, delicious food, places to surf and scuba dive, and incredibly nice and warm people. It has also been an opportunity for me to explore my roots as a Mexican American who’s never lived in Mexico before. I am not the same person I was when I moved here from Spain in 2019.

I am also vastly different from the naive 23 year old that left sunny California and moved to a tiny village in Indonesia. As I look back on these last 7 years of travel, I feel incredibly grateful and privileged. I have no plans to return to the USA or stop traveling. After Mexico, I have my eyes set on South America and/or Africa. Until then, I will keep traveling slow!

Here’s a random picture of me in Mexico. Thanks for reading!