The travel bug. You know that feeling you get when you’ve
been in one place too long and are ready to go somewhere new? Yeah, me too,
cause I’ve got it.
Last fall, my junior year, I did an independent semester
abroad and lived in Florence, Italy. While I was there I only had class Monday
through Thursday, so every three day weekend I would travel. Over my semester I
traveled extensively throughout Italy, to Slovenia, Austria, Germany, the
Netherlands, Denmark, Spain twice, and to the Vatican.
I was constantly in a new place, whether that was exploring
Florence, or literally hopping off a train in a new city and wandering for a
weekend, I was traveling!
Then, last May, I went on JBIP with Queens. My trip was originally supposed to go to
Israel, but as the trip got closer, Queens felt that it was too dangerous to
send students there. Instead we went to Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro,
and Croatia. I had no expectations for this trip because it was thrown together
and I wasn’t familiar with those countries. But I was traveling! That’s all I
wanted to be doing.
We arrived and in the cities we visited were beautiful and
different. It was a Muslim based culture, and not a Christian. It was great to
experience new cultural diversity. It was also tragic, as Bosnia had not yet
recovered from a terrible war in the 1990’s.
After JBIP, a friend and I extended our travels to Germany
(again), Austria (again), and Switzerland. All the new cities we visited were
wonderful. We couch surfed in Zurich, Switzerland, which meant we emailed a
local resident and asked if we could sleep on his couch for free. It’s a great
social media site and we still keep in touch with our host today.
Needless to say, my last calendar year has been full of traveling. Now I am 6 months removed from my last trip and I am restless and ready to move again. I would appreciate if anyone would consider donating to the Calvin Travel fund (haha only kidding), or recommend a new place to visit!
-Calvin Lescault
Being able to and have the opportunity to travel is great! I would love to travel and see other parts of the world... it will come in due season. I have a question about something you mention in your blog, what is "JBIP" with Queens? I suppose you keep your bags sitting by the door and always ready to go. What an exciting life to live. What is your next venture? Great traveling!
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite teachers in high school was an avid traveler. She had pictures she took from landmarks around the world. She really inspired me to travel myself. Reading books about a place can never compare. I come from a mid-sized city in North Carolina. I've never really left the state. Experiencing a new culture is both scary and exciting to me. It sounds like you got to visit some pretty amazing places. I am interested in knowing whether you prefer to travel alone or with friends. I like the idea of having an extended stay in a new country with a friend. Adapting to a new place wouldn't be so scary to me. Calvin, I hope you get the chance to travel more. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have the opportunity to travel as much as you have. Being that I play basketball it is harder for me to travel as much as I would like to. The places you went were all very interesting and I bet the food was amazing. I have came to the conclusion that once you travel you will want to keep doing it. I cannot wait for my JBIP experience. I wish you luck on finding the next place.
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