A "Nuts and Bolts" Travel Lesson A Must-Have Skill for Travel
"...All that matters is you're going to the place you've always belonged" JmStorm
Let this be the start of "Nuts and Bolts" blog entries. By that I mean passing on skills or tips on how to get out here living your best life. Basically a how-to, logical approach to leaning-in-solo. This post will explain the most important skill needed to get you here!
Everyone seems to think solo travelers, women solo travelers to be specific are some rare bred of wonder-woman, unicornish mythical creatures. One reads their posts and thinks what it must be like to have that life as if it is unattainable. IT IS NOT. I am proof of that.
EXPERIENCE, it must take loads of know-how to LEAN-IN-SOLO? I always wondered how they did it. They had experience I apparently didn't have. Where is the total check list, the learning modules, the guide posts, the blueprint...I hadn't traveled. I had no idea how to do anything. How does one get EXPERIENCE? Did I mention my very first SOLO was a summer in Africa.
RESEARCH is SKILL/TRAIT NUMBER UNO. If you want to get out here you have to do the research which takes time. Don't get me wrong, all of us traveling out here, help one another. We share tips, stories, what we have, our hearts and our souls. Yet, we all have the same hesitation of investing too much time online trying to help those that haven't made it out here yet. We will post something and a 1000 questions will be asked about the simplest things. I THINK MY BEST TRAVEL SKILL is that I read and research. One thing leads you to another. Example: One of my very simple questions when I thought of going to Albania for a year, was could I stream Netflix, Pandora, Hulu and my english language platforms? I mean we all have our shows right? I did a little research and the answer was no, with a work around. Use a VPN. I didn't know what a VPN was. I admit it took quite a bit of reading and checking many places to answer all the questions. I made a post the other day saying how I had figured out how to save money on plane tickets by changing up the host city on my VPN. I got a big flurry about what is a VPN. I get it, I just confessed that I didn't know either. BIG IMPORTANT SKILL: YOU have to wrap your head around googling a question and reading and reading until you know enough to figure it out or where to find out. You will use this skill/mindset a million times. How to ride the tube, how to make the best of using google flights, how long can I stay, what are the entry requirements? By reading about one thing (or watching a Youtube), will take you to something else you had no idea about. If you want to LEAN-IN-SOLO, you have to be resourceful. GOOGLE (or your online resource of choice) is your co-captain. So the more you use a skill, the more confidence you gain. The next time someone mentions something you don't understand, try to read up and research it. Once you read, then ask about the specifics. So don't ask for what you can look up like, What is a VPN? Look it up and then maybe ask, What VPN do you use and why? We are women, we know how to do this. If you are going to LEAN-IN-SOLO, you have to accept that you are in charge. TAKE CHARGE and remember INFORMATION becomes EXPERIENCE when used! READ THAT AGAIN!
So plan a date with yourself. Take off to your local funky coffee shop. Spend two hours sipping coffee and doing online research. The best place to start is to look at places you would like to see. Smile and know you have taken the first step to getting out here. Make sure you take a notebook and a pen. Write down questions you have and work them out at your next date with yourself.
We are waiting for you, you have to find your way to us!
