Student Blogs/Alex in Spain
From the conversations I've had with many, many people in my life, and the research that I've done online, the general assumption is that solo traveling is terrifying. Solo female traveling? Even worse.
Exchange brings so many opportunities to travel. You have so much potential for new explorations right next door to your city, or even your country. Depending where you are, maybe even outside of your continent! Being able to take advantage of your exchange and see as much as you can within one short year is a highlight for anyone.
With the varying schedules of your fellow BIB friends or even the new ones you meet in your host community, it is often difficult to coordinate group trips. I’ve found that the best way of making my dream trips a reality is often travelling solo. I’ve learned that if I wait until everyone I’d like to travel with is available, I would be limiting my opportunities. Travelling solo grants me both the experiences I’ve dreamed about, as well as the personal growth that comes with spending time alone.
In terms of staying safe while traveling solo, I'd really like to say what I hear most, "just use your common sense." Okay, yes. Great idea. But let's define "common sense." Here's what I consider "common sense" things to do when I travel alone:
In a world like ours, there's not enough we can do to ensure that we're safe and happy as we travel, both in groups and alone, regardless of who you are. Those “check-in” texts that you mom seems to ask you for non-stop actually hold an important place in making your exchange safe and successful.
As I mentioned above, spending time traveling solo has granted me with so many opportunities that I may not have found otherwise. Primarily, my personal growth. Having dinner with myself in a busy restaurant sounds lonely and grim, but it's really not. I look forward to dinner or coffee with just me. It gives me the time I need to become comfortable with my own thoughts, understand what I truly want from my life and how I will be able to achieve my goals. There's also no shame in reading your favourite new book at a restaurant or cafe either. Or just looking at the charming decor and wondering what stories it's heard over its life.
Traveling solo teaches you to not be afraid; to reach out, to ask questions, to fulfill the burning curiosity that we all have inside. It forces you to be social, at least for a little bit. I know I'm not the type of person who could go three weeks with no social settings, but I also need my down time. When I book my accommodations, I try to balance my weeks with some lively youth hostels where I'll share an 8-bed dorm room and some Air BnBs where I can have my own space. Even in the times when I have my "quiet accommodations," I still like to book (free!) city walking tours to chat with some new faces for a few hours, or I make a nice, long phone call home (to make sure I stay on mom's good side).
Which brings me to my absolute favourite part of traveling. The choice is all yours. You want to sleep all morning and wander through food markets in the afternoon? Great. Early mornings and programmed museum tours are more your thing? Fantastic. Whatever schedule you want, it's all yours! Just try to make the most of what will leave you with the best memories.
As cliché as the saying is, the world truly is your oyster - your happiness is completely and utterly determined by what you choose to pursue in your life and how you go about pursuing it. So, if seeing the world is your dream and you just haven't found people with the same time or budget as you to travel, don't be afraid to book that one-way plane ticket. Or whatever else you've been following on Instagram. The choice is yours, my friend.
Alexandria Hewko is a third-year Bachelor of International Business student who is studying abroad in Spain.