On Traveling Solo

Anyone who has traveled solo knows the pros and cons of being alone in a foreign country. The pros being you have complete freedom, you don't have to compromise on anything, you don't have to worry about putting your bad mood on anyone, you can really take the time to think about things, learn to be comfortable with yourself, learn to have fun with yourself. It's also much easier to meet interesting people when you are alone. I'm not the most extroverted person in the world by any means, but I do love meeting open minded and adventure seeking people, finding out their story, what they have learned, what they want to find. Traveling alone can be a very rich learning and confidence-gaining experience on many levels.

The cons being you often feel lonely, frightened, and vulnerable especially in the east where as a westerner there is no way of blending in. As a female lone traveler, constantly being aware of your safety can be a constant source of stress. Also, being an American can be really annoying because you have to deal with a lot of anti-american stereotypes and on top of that I'm not one of those apologetic travelers who likes to pretend they are Canadian. It never ceases to amaze me how often someone will bash America right to my face as if it's pretty much hell on earth. And it's not the locals who do this. Usually it's other western travelers who swear by the BBC and are convinced Americans want to kill old people off prematurely with our horrible healthcare or something. They will accuse Americans of being the most racist people on earth, the irony being they are often traveling in a country that sells whitening creams in every corner drug store. I'm not looking forward to spending election day away from home as I imagine it will only be that much worse. I wish I could be with my good friends on that day and watch swing state results come in. But it looks like I'll be in Rishikesh which is the new-age yoga capital of the world and the chances of finding someone who doesn't hate America are probably slim to none. Oh well.

However with all of the cons, the hope of course is that the pros outweigh them -- that I find clarity in the midst of chaos, knowledge and inspiration in the midst of unfamiliarity, and friendship and connection in the midst of being alone.