Hola!
I’m Britt or Nicole depending on where we met 🙂 I’m a 20-something solo female traveler from California. I’m a flexitarian, beach bum, café crawler, and quase yogini. Yes, I do think coconut oil is the answer to all life’s problems. I’m also fond of slow travel and language learning. I’ve been country hopping for the past 7 years and have just finished an 18 month slow backpacking trip. I’m home now for the holidays, but will soon set off on another misadventure. Follow my travels at thoughticouldsoidid.com
Mystical 8s
1. Best foreign curse word you know and how/why did you learn it?
“(Spanish) Me cago en la leche. Literally, I shit in the milk. It means f*ck or f*ck it. Spaniards use this expression to show anger/disappointment. Don’t try to understand it, just embrace it in its gloriousness.”
- I ‘shit in the milk’ basically every day I walked the last 100 km of the Camino de Santiago.
2. What is your guilty pleasure when you travel?
“Every traveler needs a down day for their own sanity. I’ll spend a lazy evening watching episodes on Netflix even when I’m in Bangkok, Budapest or Bali. Another guest once started to chat me up while I was cozy in my dorm room bed and hinted at how lame I was for staying in. I just couldn’t with this one. I snapped at him, “Why don’t you go to the common area and find someone who does want to chat with you.”
It’s easy to spot a long term traveler in a hostel. She’s cooking her own dinner, reading a book in the common area or hang drying her underwear on the bed posts. Everyone travels differently and for some travel is life. In my opinion, it’s best not to tell people how to live ;)”
3.Besides the essential items, what are 4 must-bring things that you HAVE to have on your trip?
“Nothing! The essentials are all I need. Those 18 months I traveled them with nothing more than a 60L backpack and a duffel bag. “
…it was either dress like a lunatic or pay an overweight fee…
4.What’s the craziest thing have you done for money?
“I’ve mostly just taught English as a way to save money for travel and live abroad. Only recently since I’m home for the holidays did I look on craigslist gigs for some ways to earn a bit of extra cash. I’m currently working as a Brand Ambassador for wines and spirits. It’s awesome. I just show up at a liquor or grocery store, buy a bottle of what they tell me to buy, give out samples for 2 hours and then go home with what’s left and a nice bit of pocket change too.”
I no joke ID’d Santa Claus yesterday. Old fella showed me his ID then busted out some special card saying he was Santa. I was trying to be nice and asked, “Ohh! You’re Santa?” He looked at me like duh. Big belly, long white beard — you get the picture.
5.How can you learn about a culture and meet locals without speaking their language?
“Work or volunteer. If you can’t immerse yourself in their language you can at least immerse yourself in their way of life. My year in China was oftentimes a** backwards and totally confusing, but living and working exclusively with Chinese children and adults gave me a new insight to their culture and respect for their traditions.”
Getting child mobbed by my over excited primary students on Halloween. Sharing a bit of my culture.
6. Do you ever plan to settle down and get married?
“Probably. One of the biggest lessons I learned from my big trip was the power of community and home. I’d love to have a strong base to come home to after extended travels.”
7. Which country have you visited where the media has portrayed it to be very “unsafe” and “dangerous”?
“Some parts of the Middle East. Israel and Egypt were two countries I was warned on multiple occasions not to visit. While I was indeed at risk in these places I have to admit they were maybe two of my most eye opening and rewarding experiences through travel.”
Smooches from my new “sisters” in Egypt.
8.What’s the best advice could you give to someone without a passport?
“Go get one! It’ll be the best $100 something dollars you’ve ever spent in your life. If you’re not ready to go international, start small. Take a trip to a nearby town or state. Figure out what’s your travel style. Do you like fine dining? Museums? Being in nature? Little by little your travel plans, no matter how big, won’t seem so distant and unattainable. I know mine aren’t!”
Stay positive! Think you can and so you will.
Britt is the type of traveler who would typically immerse in a new country. Most travelers like to stay in a country for a week or two. But, she typically stays a bit longer than that, she actually gets in touch with the place and the people. She’s the type of traveler that likes to move at a slow pace. She likes to connect with locals in ways that you can’t even if you were just going to a country for the weekend or if your ONLY intentions were to just see the TOP 10 attractions on TripAdvisor. I met Britt through CTLC, she’s super chill and she has such a great outlook on life! She has a carefree spirit, which just goes where the wind blows, even if that wind is to the pyramids of Egypt or to the tower of pisa in Italy, or even to somewhere in Southeast Asia. That wind will now blow her on a flight headed to New Zealand with her 60L backpack, her duffel bag, and her exotic flying wear aha. Britt is so right when she says “everyone travels differently and for some travel is life,” she is definitely right and there isn’t really a right way to travel and that is completely okay.
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your crazy adventurous life to do this interview, I really appreciate it. You’ve been traveling the world for 7 years and I’m super jealous, but continue to travel the world and bless everyone with your care free spirit. Good luck in New Zealand and keep us updated on your amazing blog, thoughticouldsoidid.com. Be safe out there Britt and keep living by the motto, ‘travel is life’.
Follow her Blog: thoughticouldsoidid.com
View some of her fantastic travel pictures below…
Travel with Hulda 