11 Lessons Learned from 5 Months Abroad

1. Less actually is more.

Travis and I left Florida with just one carry-on bag and backpack each, and that’s all we came home with.

From a logistics standpoint, we honestly wished we even had less than we did. A bigger bag means more stress packing up each time you move, a tougher walk from the metro station to your Airbnb and more things to potentially lose along the way.

We abided by the “one in, one out” rule with our suitcases. If we bought something new, then we ditched or donated an item that we were no longer using. For more on how to pack for a long trip in a carry-on, click here.

With the exception of probably your honeymoon, you will never regret packing light for a trip. And anything you forgot, you can probably buy wherever you are anyways.

    
The day we left Florida on a one-way ticket to Europe, awaiting the train to Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina

2. Cab drivers know all the best spots.

Searching for that hidden, locals-only beach in Croatia? The best dim sum in London? The best poffertjes in Amsterdam?

Forget Rick Steve’s, TripAdvisor or Yelp. Ask your cab or Uber driver and they will always point you in the right direction. While these sources can be helpful, most of the spots you’ll find on these sites cater to tourists and thus repel locals.

Our favorite question to ask is, “What’s the one place I can’t leave here without trying?” The answers never disappoint.

I’ll loop bartenders into this category as well.

    Heading off the beaten path in Croatia

3. Don’t point fingers.

The restaurant that you trekked all the way across Paris for is closed. You find yourself on an express train heading out of Amsterdam, but one hour in the wrong direction. The hike in Petra that was described to you as “up just a few steps” actually entails scaling boulders, vertical ascents and putting your life in the hands of a 16 year old guide named Ahmed.

I’m going to take a guess and say that 95 percent of arguments that two travel companions find themselves in results from a scenario like this.

The beauty of travel is to experience the unknown, but with that even the most well-organized and seasoned traveler is bound to encounter some mishaps.

If (ahem, when) things do go wrong, do not point fingers at your travel buddy. What’s the fun in going on an adventure if everyone knows where they’re going anyways?

The nail-biting view of the Treasury from above in Petra, Jordan

4. We’re tougher than we thought.

There were many times along our journey where we surprised even ourselves with our strength and resilience.

Like when Travis walked the entire Camino de Santiago, all 500 miles of it, with a painful knee injury. Or when I yelled expletives at the two women in Belgrade posing as police offers who followed us, demanding we take them to the ATM to pay a fine for a “transit ticket”.

An inner perseverance and scrappiness kicked in that we weren’t aware we had, and that carried us through some stressful and uncomfortable situations.

Upon our return we’ve often been asked if we ever felt unsafe, and through all of this I can honestly say we never did.

Call us self-aware, jaded by the road or just plain lucky, but we have yet to encounter a situation we couldn’t take on… Or at least bail ourselves out of.

     
In Spain with 100 miles to go on the Camino de Santiago, cheers to evading a scam in Belgrade, Serbia

5. Everyone speaks English.

Wait, what?

While of course you should make every effort to speak the language of the country that you’re visiting, more often than not people speak some level of English.

And this goes both ways. Most people can understand a language prior to speaking it fluently. Even if they aren’t saying much, assume everyone can understand what you’re saying.

There’s nothing worse than overhearing a tourist who assumes someone can’t understand them, talking about said person or the country they are visiting in a negative light.

And on that note… Regardless of how strong your language skills are, it never hurts to point to the menu when ordering. After a few times of getting served a completely different entree than I ordered, always point.

A sunny August day in Amsterdam

6. Don’t chase the unicorn.

In the age of Pinterest, blogs and Instagram, it’s easy to be inundated with recommendations for the best or most photogenic restaurants, coffee shops, and lookout points. The FOMO is real, and I’m the first to admit that I’m guilty of constantly searching for the “best” spots.

But over the past five months, I’ve come to terms with the fact that we can’t see everything and we can’t go everywhere.

While I’m all about doing my research ahead of time, there’s something to be said for just winging it and discovering places on your own.

Know a good thing when you see one. It’s okay to eat at that delicious and surprisingly cheap Thai place a few times, even if you are in Portugal.

7. Souvenirs aren’t mandatory.

While the idea of buying a memento at each destination was great in theory, the practicality of it for our travels was non-existent.

Plus photos are free, last forever and don’t clutter your suitcase or your house later on.

    Sunrise in Šibenik, Croatia, the cathedral in Burgos, Spain

8. A little homesickness is normal.

Anyone who claims that they never get homesick is probably lying.

To say that we had fun during our five month stint abroad is an understatement. But we’d be lying if we said there weren’t moments when we didn’t missed the ease of being home in the grand ole’ U.S. of A.

Of course there were times when we craved the creature comforts of living in America – clothing dryers, grocery stores that have everything, Chick-fil-A…

But more than that we missed the daily connections with our family and friends that are just not quite the same when you’re thousands of miles away, battling a big time change.

Fortunately this feeling didn’t last long, and the homesickness usually hit Travis and I at different times, allowing the other person to carry the team and to bring perspective to the situation.

But we were three months in to our journey and had just embarked on the exciting adventure of the Camino de Santiago when the homesickness hit us both simultaneously. For Travis, it was missing his brother’s first football game of his final high school season. For me – it was my best friend’s bridal shower, and it killed me to miss it.

Leaving home and traveling far away from what you know is amazing, but this part was a side effect that caught us off guard.

9. Always, always wear sneakers.

Enough said. One of the best things about Europe is how walkable the cities are.

But even the most comfortable sandals are such until about seven miles in to a long day of walking around London. Anything more than that and you’ll be missing your Nike’s.

    
Walking the halls of Fisherman’s Bastion in Budapest, Hungary and Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt

10. Good people are everywhere.

Bad people are everywhere, but more importantly good people are too. Stereotypes aside, universally we found that most people are just trying to make a living and provide for their families.

Whether that looks like the man in Egypt peddling alabaster a little too aggressively, or the guy who charged us twice the price for sodas because we were tourists, universally people are often just making the best of the cards they are dealt.

As a traveler, you are a guest in that country. It’s normal to feel uncomfortable – that place isn’t intended to make you feel comfortable. That’s why home feels so good.

The boogeyman isn’t real. Ask questions, listen, extend kindness and more often than not, you will experience it in return.

     Our guide Sheva in Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina, a new friend in Petra, Jordan

11. Home is a state of mind.

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