Shockingly, I am now well over three months into my extensive journey across Spain. Fresh from visiting my tenth of the country’s seventeen autonomous communities (i.e. regions), a look at my calendar tells me I am over the two-thirds point. Surely I’ve learned something by now? If not, then it’s certainly time to get cracking!
I shared my thoughts a couple of months ago on lessons from my first month abroad. Here’s something of an update. I can’t promise that it speaks from any enhanced wisdom, but hopefully it offers a glimpse of the realities of travelling solo:
You will know yourself better than ever. And probably not like it.
Despite having to plan things out every day, travelling from place to place, getting to know new hosts, classmates and friends, trying to work, study, etc, etc. there is still a lot of time for self-reflection. A lot. And to be honest I think there is a limit to how useful this time is – like anything, once it becomes a habit then you are perhaps not being challenged enough to draw genuine insights or generate meaningful ideas.
For me, this introspection has mainly confirmed things, rather than lead to me “finding myself”. Maybe the epiphanies come further down the line, but I’ve certainly firmed up a lot of things about what makes me tick and what sort of character I am. A natural introvert, I spent years working on this, from trying to improve my presentation skills at every opportunity and embracing training roles in my profession, to picking up various hobbies and partying a lot. Now, I think the premise of this trip is reasonably bold in itself, but there are just days when you want to lock yourself in your room and chill out, or quietly do some work or study without speaking to a soul. This is extremely difficult on the road without your own place, hence it has caused me some frustration – it’s clear there are aspects of one’s character which can never be changed, for better or worse. I’m also rather analytical and quite self-critical, and so at times I have really been appalled by my lack of social motivation which appears to contradict the whole ethos of travelling solo abroad and trying to learn a language while at it.
You will discover working – or doing anything normal – is nigh impossible.
This one is pretty straightforward – without a fixed address, to some extent you don’t exist. This ranges from small irks like not being able to find relevant options in online signup forms, to near show-stopping ones like the fact that lots of people are not interested in hiring you and your service has to compete on a global market. “A month’s work in two days for $100? Consider it done, my good sir!” Of course, you could get around this by doing a lot of preparation and networking before you go off travelling. Moving swiftly on…
You will become familiar with diminishing returns.
I genuinely think I learned the majority of what I have after one month – the ensuing time has been consolidation and trying to develop this trip into something meaningful (watch this space…) Therefore, if you are keen on the idea of travelling or a career break but don’t have a long-term goal like learning a language, developing your skills, or seeing somewhere in real depth, consider starting off with four-to-six weeks. The key is probably not to have a plan and make sure you still break away from your life or career somewhat, but you will learn a lot relative to the time you invest.
You will learn what homesickness is.
Having never felt homesick in my life, I think I can safely say I have experienced it now. A few years ago moving my life to London, then subsequently across to Reading and Oxford, did little on this front. And the homesickness is not even for my home back in Scotland, nor for my family or friends (which of course, I do still miss ;) I am homesick for cooking. I am homesick for my own space, however small, expensive, and unwieldy, where I can make my rubbish curries and chuck some meat and veg on a plate. Simple, nutritious, grub. I am homesick for being able to go to the gym. Any gym, as long as it’s mine. I am homesick for being able to converse naturally every day, without having to second-guess everything or plan it in your mind beforehand. And rain. Dear, sweet, hypnotic, life-affirming rain…
It’s not like I’m living in hardship, and certainly don’t deserve any sympathy. This is just an observation about how trivial the idea of homesickness turned out to be! So much for feeling the pull of the glorious motherland.
You will become motivated to do a lot when you “get back”.
Already my mind is playing tricks on me. “It will be so good when you get back!” it says. “You will see your friends and family, you will have structure in your life, and you might actually get a full time job…” Granted, I feel like I now know a little better which areas of my life and leisure I want to focus on, and will truly appreciate some things I perhaps didn’t before, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything revolutionary. Neatly on to the next point…
You will learn that the grass is, well, never green.
First six weeks of trip: hopping about Andalucía. Breathtaking and intense. But I couldn’t wait to have somewhere more fixed, for at least a couple of weeks, where I could plan things and do some work. By the time I was in Barcelona, where I stayed for a month, I nearly went insane. I felt so static; my momentum was gone. I think this was to do with reaching my “strategic inflection point” and the halfway stage of the trip, but it left me wanting to move on from place-to-place once again, covering the map and meeting new hosts in each town.
Another case in point: I could not wait to get away from all that technology when I left my job and hit the road. I would be disciplined with my laptop work hours, would use my phone only occasionally or for emergencies, and I would be out in the sun/sea air most of the time. The last part is pretty much true, but I use my technology as much as ever, if not more. Constant daily battles to make sure my phone is charged enough and I have backup. Photo-taking as an endurance sport. Messaging friends and family when I have no-one to talk to. Putting my laptop through its paces to search for accommodation, plan my route, look at transport, all on myriad different websites – every day (this is the worst part – plan at least some stuff in advance ;) I have a couple of gigs through Workaway in August doing real, manual work so hopefully I can break this compulsion for at least a while!
Well, this brings me to the end of what I’m sure you are thinking is a rather negative-sounding blog. It’s not a moan; it’s just me and my critical character, hoping to offer some pause for thought for anyone contemplating a similar journey. Above all, I am still on this trip; still learning; still looking forward; and I’ve never once seriously thought about cutting it short. That should tell us everything. To paraphrase Batman‘s Harvey Dent: “It’s not who we are, it’s what we do that defines us.”
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