It is complex to travel the world if you are a Nervous Nelly. It can be a major stepping stone in the healing process to travel the world. You create new experiences, your endorphins rise, and most importantly - curiosity returns. Creating new memories are essential to heal your soul, it makes your heart beat again.
“I want to heal myself, travel the world and marvel at the sights.” – Me
Beginning at the age of seventeen, I have been grateful for travel to tropical destinations. On my first visit to Puerto Rico, I fell in love with the vibrant culture and architecture that the beautiful island has to offer. The food, people, and way of life are something that everyone should experience. Why? Because it provides proof that not everything is what others categorize it as.
Since my first trip, I have been lucky in travel, to visit other tropical destinations like Barbados, Bahamas, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico multiple times. There are a lot of differences in the types of beaches, plant life, and culture in each country. In 2024, I have been on a whirlwind of travel from London, Germany, Portugal, Columbia, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. One thing I love about travel, is culture shock; I love it. After being fired for the third time from the corporate law world, I thought to myself, “There has to be more to life, than video bomb meetings, attitudes from over-inflated egos, and being overworked.” I had completed a year-long weekly therapy program, so after careful consideration and confirmation of my goals. I decided to pack all of my cherished belongings into a storage unit, and set off on a Healing adventure.
The first time I experienced culture shock was in Germany when I was abandoned at the Munchen Airport. I was invited on a trip to attend a concert, which would be my first time in Europe. The “friends” that I went on the trip with, were turning out to be not so friendly. After flying from London, I deboarded the plane in Germany, and to my shock, I was left to navigate the foreign airport and transit system by myself. I was successful, after some panicking and crying. The point is, I did it with no experience and a language barrier.
Let’s say this was a traumatic experience that I set out to overcome by repeating the travel, but to a different foreign destination. I was watching a YouTube video of a Podcast that featured an ex-CIA (Central Intelligence Agent) agent and her advice on beating a traumatic experience, was to do it again, but with a different outcome. So I did. I did my research on Brazil and decided to stay in Sao Paulo, and travel to Rio de Janeiro, then to Italy.
It can be difficult to find authentic local cuisine, a shopping adventure, and nightlife. To avoid the hit-or-miss experiences, I have been able to develop ways to locate more authentic experiences. Local transportation and lodging apps offer a great deal of help when navigating foreign land. The trick that I learned on this trip, is to trust my instincts and ask questions of locals-the right locals. There are a great deal of travel apps, blogs, and websites that offer the lowest price or a unique experience. What I have found is that this is not true, in the least. I can find better deals without the help of someone or something that has never been to that country. It is all in search abilities, local apps, and understanding how things are labeled in the desired destination. We are now in a digital age where apps run our lives, you can also fall victim to the wrong app.
Another downside to using some of the travel apps, is that they gain all your PII (Personally Identifiable Information). This means that, dependent upon what country the application developer/owner resides in, they may or may not be bound by privacy laws. This means that the information you enter to set up an account (e.g.: credit card, name, DOB, phone number, passport number, and email) is in jeopardy. When you are traveling abroad, the last thing you want to worry about is the leak of your PII. After entering all of your information, and completing the account registration, and find that the “deal” that you were looking for is nowhere near the value it was advertised at.
The apps for travel abroad that I would recommend using are:
Citymapper is an app that works in Europe and Brasil. It uses the city map and tells you how to navigate to a destination. This app uses public transportation routes and types (e.g.: trains, subway, uber, taxi, bike, etc.) It is kind of like Apple Maps, it is very helpful for using the subway in a foreign land. When I first used this app in London, I needed to get from my Airbnb to a gay bar. I typed in the name of the bar, and it asked me how I would like to get there. Once I selected the type of transportation, it showed me step by step instructions on how to get there. For instance, when getting on the subway in London, It showed me the train number, and the stop I would get off on. It also showed me each stop along the way. This was very calming when I used it to navigate Germany, because it gives a timeline of each stop along the way, so you know when to get off. From beginning to end, it shows the directions on foot, and on transportation type.
WhatsApp is a messaging platform that is used in most other countries to avoid carrier SMS charges. This app works just like text messaging on your iPhone, but you can add a story to your contact, and send voice, text, and picture messages to anyone with a phone number, anywhere in the world. It can also be added to your Mac and used just like text. There is a web based version and an app. The link above will open in the web version.
Expedia is an app that I highly recommend and use a great deal. The app shows airfare deals form every airline and the prices. You can see all the details of the layovers, flight time, and travel types. I have found amazing deals on this app and highly recommend that when you are traveling, to look at this site, because it is credible, and does not send you to multiple other websites. It provides everything that an airline app does. I get my boarding pass that can be added to my Apple Wallet, departure and arrival updates, it holds my passport and identity information for TSA and airline checks, and a slew of other things.