The Making of a Traveller
Are you always dreaming of your next big trip? Or know someone who is?
I was born that way. A free spirit from day one, I was blessed with a fun sense of curiosity and persistence (...and my family was plagued with the accompanying stubbornness 😅).
I have always been eager to learn more about different ways of living, within my home country of Canada, and in places far away.
This manifests itself in questions that bounce around my head, like:
What makes people laugh in one place versus another?
Why are some things taboo in one place and OK in others?
What do we share in common? What divides us?
Chasing adventures from a very young age, I benefitted from my family's moral support, managed to save my money, and developed a passion for social justice that would lead to much globetrotting.
Paired with my innate free spirit, curiosity, and tenacity, I signed on for travel opportunities like a high school exchange in Italy, an internship in Tunisia, road trips around Europe, a cross-USA vanlife trip, and living in Malaysia! My life has been filled with adventure.
Let's dig in…
Nurture vs Nature
Summers in Canada
My parents took the family on epic roadtrips every year, like this one to Manitoulin Island.
Are some of us born with more curiosity than others? More free-spiritedness, more existentialism, more need to explore far and wide? I think so.
The more I look back on my childhood, the more I'm convinced that my love for travel and discovery is innate.
My parents aren't particularly passionate about travel and haven't traveled off-resort outside of Canada or the USA (yet!), so we're all a bit surprised that I was so eager to leave Canada. We did, however, take summer road trips every year and make great memories together!
Even if it wasn’t their interest or passion, I was fortunate that my parents nurtured my travel enthusiasm and supported me in reaching my goals. My instinct has always been to see more, understand more, and share more about the world - and my goals stem from this.
Playing my way to adventures
My innate travel bug is obvious from the toys and games I loved when I was as young as 4 or 5 years old. For example, my mom remembers me asking for diversity among my dolls when she took me shopping. I wanted to learn all about “where they came from”.
Flipping through the worn-out pages of a favorite childhood book, 'Around the World with Cricket,' I made “annotations” in purple crayons as I learned to say hello in different languages, discovered what people wear in other countries, and studied which animals come from which places.
In elementary school, while other kids were reading Harry Potter, I was taking out library books to learn Italian and study flags from different countries. While I want to love fantasy, my drive has always come from true stories. The world is massive and there’s enough happening in real-life to fascinate me for several lifetimes!
Eventually, I graduated to a gigantic book called something like the ‘Big Book of Questions and Answers.’ It was the perfect gift from my late aunt Vicky, who I remember encouraging and feeding my curiosity with lots of questions about my far-reaching interests.
Folding corners on many book pages, I tried to wrap my head around the fact that my family and I are just one tiny part of our world’s enormous ecosystem.
Working my way to adventures
Student Exchange
Valentina & I exchanged in Canada & Italy in 2006 and met up again in Cinque Terre in 2018!
At 14, I became the youngest person to ever apply for a student exchange at my high school.
My guidance counselor - who felt I was too young - tried to put obstacles in my way. Instead, she activated my teenage rebellion and I worked my butt off to meet every requirement and deadline to make sure I couldn’t be denied. When my application was approved, I got a part-time job to pay for my flight.
A year later, my family welcomed an Italian exchange student, Valentina, into our home for three months.
We went to my high school, took small trips as a family, and snuck off to parties together. We laughed hysterically as she learned words she thought sounded funny (“snail” was one of them), laughed more as she carved her first pumpkin (“Bob”), and she smiled ear-to-ear as she caught the first snowfall of the season one morning before school.
At 16, it was my turn to go to Italy to live with Valentina and her family in Bolzano, Northern Italy. I was fortunate to be in such a beautiful city and to immediately meet patient friends who let me practice my Italian (but don’t ask me to try today!). I became a huge fan of Nutella croissants after school, homemade pizza on Friday nights, and the traditional Italian Easter we enjoyed with their extended family in Naples.
Study Abroad
I also got to study in Tunisia twice as part of my university degree.
Overall, Italians never seemed so different from Canadians, yet I was discovering different structures for family, culture, and city living. Teenagers in Italy seemed to “grow up” a bit quicker than in Canada. They specialized in their studies from high school onward, went on dates, and drank beer (...mixed with lemonade).
Nearly everything was different, if only slightly. Some things were very different - like access to an excellent public transport system and using wine for cooking pasta.
World events shaping my interests
As a teenager, I became invested in news stories I saw in Maclean's (a Canadian news magazine) or in newspapers in waiting rooms.
I read about the imprisonment of Canadian Omar Khadr at Guantanamo Bay when I was 14 years old - shocked that he was only a year older when he was first detained. A few years later, I vividly remember reading about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Stories like these opened my eyes to just how many different realities there are for people in Canada and around the world. It made me more and more eager to understand the diverse people, politics, structures, and mindsets behind these experiences.
Volunteering in Nepal
When I was 22, I joined a group volunteering and traveling in rural Nepal, where I learned about poverty, sustainability & voluntourism.
What scares you makes you stronger
The things that scare other people about travel never really scared me. I’m not, and never was, intimidated by long flights, language barriers, complicated itineraries, or even the price tag.
When these things do scare me, which happens sometimes, it feels obvious that I should do it anyway.
I think this is ultimately what drives me to keep exploring. The innate nature of my personality and interests, combined with personal experience, means I know the payoff will be worthwhile.
Paragliding in Turkey
I have my personal boundaries, but I also love to stretch them (on my terms!). While I’ve always been afraid of heights, I couldn’t miss the chance to paraglide in Oludeniz, Turkey!
Launching Travelynne
So here we are.
I have worked hard to make many of my travel dreams come true, and I don’t plan to stop soon. It’s important that we trust our instincts and passions, and fly with them, so let’s go!
If you’re curious or want some guidance for your next (or first!) adventure, I’m here for it, ready to share what I’ve learned along the way. I'm launching Travelynne so that others can learn from my mistakes and successes to plan fun, memorable, and budget-friendly trips.
More than anything, I hope that my advice and tips can help lead more people to great, fulfilling adventures where they discover good people and wonderful places around the world.
Ready to get lost? Head to my blog and follow me on Instagram.
In Sabah, you’ll find ancient rainforests, the tallest mountain in Malaysia, delicious foods, beautiful islands, wildlife safaris, conservation centres, and more. Let’s plan your visit to the wild side of Sabah!