Trevor Noah, a South African comedian and host of the Daily Show said in his stand-up comedy Afraid of the Dark:
“If there’s one thing you won’t waste your money on, it’s traveling. Travel the world. See another place. Discover a different point of view. Traveling is the antidote to ignorance. That’s so true! It changes your mind, your perspective, how you believe, what you believe.”
I couldn’t agree more.
In a time of Trumpism, Brexit and immigration fear-based rhetoric, travel is more than ever an antidote to ignorance. Plus, it’s a fun way to cure yourself and you don’t have to be rich to do it. Believe me, I am not a billionaire (my bank account can testify), yet I have travelled to 18 countries so far.
I’ve travelled by plane, by train, by bus, by car, by any means necessary. And I’ve camped in forests, I’ve camped in the desert, stayed in hotels, in hostels, in Airbnbs, at friends or strangers’ places and each time I grew and learned so much.
Most of the travels I did was with church groups, with summer camps all over France, with school and with work. Only recently, thanks to my first paychecks, I started to travel for my own pleasure.
I grew up with my big sister who is a single mother and has three kids. She always pushed us to go and explore the world. This passion that I have for travels today, I owed it to her. I am the proof that you don’t have to come from a privileged background to be able to travel. You just have to prioritize your spendings and be willing to eat instant noodles occasionally (although don't do it too much of it, you know how bad these are for your health!).
Jokes aside, there are plenty of ways to travel on a budget and still enjoy. We’ll discuss that in another post. Today, I want to share the top things I learned while travelling.
Show me how you travel, I will tell you who you are
Me posing for my travel buddy Anna in Edinburgh, Scotland!
I noticed that our travel habits tell a lot about who we are. My travel habits have changed a lot throughout the years.
As mentioned, my first travel experiences were group travels. It helped me feel safe, surrounded by people like me and didn’t really challenge me to get out of my comfort zone. Today, as I’m growing up, I like the quiet times I can get by being alone or just with my travel buddy. Travelling now has a deeper meaning for me, almost spiritual. Before I used to do all things touristy, now I like to taste the local life and avoid the crowded touristic places.
We all have different ways of travelling and we all are different people. My way of travelling keeps evolving and that’s the beauty of it. I keep growing.
Being black is not an excuse to not travel
Me & my girls Valentina, Mita, Bushra and Fadumo enjoying South Beach Miami, USA.
Or maybe I should say, being from a certain type of culture, background or community is not an excuse to keep you from doing the things you like.
I come from a community that does not really travel, certainly not to countries where you don’t have any relatives. “You are going to Thailand, but do you know anyone there? Who are you visiting?” this is what I was told. My Cape Verdean people almost only travel back to Cape Verde or to religious places (one of our favorite things to do). So for me to get out of my church groups and travel for my own purpose was scary at first but the most AMAZING thing I’ve done in my adult life.
If you like to travel then do it! Don’t let anything hold you back. The first leap is scary but after that, everything will be ok.
More than a woman, you are an individual
Me again being amazed by the vestige of the past in Nîmes, France.
I think I realized this in Thailand. There I met this great and bubbly British lady with Indian origins. She was in her late thirties, working a corporate job in Malaysia and just got out of a long-term relationship. She told us how her mother was pressuring her into marriage, but she was not bothered. She was enjoying herself, travelling alone in Thailand and meeting great people. Seeing her was a kind of revelation for me.
At that time, I was asking myself all sorts of questions. Why was I not settling like everybody else? Why was I not buying a car or a house? Why was I “wasting” money traveling? That lady liberated me. I realized that actually I don’t have to do or be like everyone else. I don’t have to pressure myself because I am a woman and that the clock is ticking -as society likes to remind us, women, all day every day. I am Izilda de Brito Robalo and you know what, I can live the life that I want!
Respect & appreciation for the beauties of the world
The first time I brought my dear friends Charlotte, Béa and Marguerite to Santiago, Cabo Verde.
Trevor Noah is right when he says that travelling changes your mind, your perspective and how you believe in things. Travelling really opens your mind to the other, the unknown and the foreigner. You get to swift your perspective, immerse into another culture and realise that you are not the centre of the world, you don’t hold the truth in this world.
I believe that travelling makes us humble. It helps us be humble towards another human being and towards the beauty of mother nature.
And you, do you like to travel? What did you learn? I would love to hear it!
