The Interest of Traveling Alone
Jess Chang
OCT 24 2019
I love to travel, a lot. Not only do I love to travel, but I love to travel alone.
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I was born in a typical Taiwanese family, but my childhood was not typical at all. Compared to other families who love to travel around the world, my parents’ wish was that I got to know my homeland better. We traveled through the entirety of Taiwan, from the city streets to the countryside lanes. We traveled to Northern Taiwan, always ablaze of light no matter the time and then down to the South to enjoy the delicious refreshments such as..* Lastly, we visited the boats on the East Coast and mountains where my ancestors, the ancient tribes of Atayal, once resided. They wanted me to get to know more about who I am and where I belong. Due to the past history of the colonization, Taiwan was once a colony owned by the Dutch, Spanish and Japan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2018). that forms me into 1/16 Atayal, 1/64 Dutch and a fully Taiwanese.
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However, the places we visited were usually alongside with five to six families. It somehow annoyed me when I still wanted to get to know more about the historical background of a certain thing while they wanted to rush to the next section. Moreover, since I’m usually the oldest child among all of them, the job of babysitting the infants fell on me. After each and every trip, I became more and more unwilling to travel with the families. I wanted to travel by myself to where I will not be disturbed in order to enjoy my journey.
At the age of thirteen(2016), I joined a summer program called “ Xplore” in the United Kingdom and spent four months absorbing different cultures and pieces of knowledge. We were able to explore by ourselves with groups of friends that we made there, we explored the beauty of The Big Ben and the remarkable views at Cambridge, visited where the most scripture tragedies 400 years ago, including Hamlet, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet which were written by Shakespeare(“William Shakespeare”, 2015).
The things that truly opened my vision also includes kayaking and to learn how to rock-climb by ourselves, practicing how to target and shoot was one of the most unforgettable events that first comes up to my mind. Nevertheless, the British cones were also one of the sweetest memories that still stays on the tip of my tongue. After four splendid months, I felt more comfortable and interested while traveling without adults, learning how to deal with problems that happens in my life and how to solve it in an effective way by myself. During the program, I met a friend from Aix-Les-Bains, France we learned different cultures and our values of things in all kinds of fields, I promised her to visit her country and travel together someday as soon as possible. I could not wait until the day when I can travel all by myself and absorb diversities among people and cultures
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It was the winter of my first high school year (2017) that I decided to travel to France to visit my friend, moreover, the main point to travel by myself. My parents were freaked out while the first moment I told them of what I had in my mind. Since my father loved to go on adventures and explore all around the world alone during his young ages, the gene of traveling on one’s self had passed on to me. Gradually, he decided to let go of me with my crazy thoughts of a 14-year-old girl traveling to France all on herself. However, he did not gave me a large amount of money, my father wanted me to learn not to take everything for granted and learn to figure problems on my own.
The small village at the bottom of the Alps in France where I went. ( photo taken by Jess Chang, February 2017)
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During that period of time, the students in France was going through their final’s week, instead of staying at her home for the entire two weeks, I decided to stay at an Air B and B in order to let her focus on preparing the exam and at the same time, I have more time to spend with myself on the first journey I had ever had. Not until now did I know that it is a wise decision to make owing to the obstacles I faced in this journey when traveling to an unfamiliar country by myself.
Unfortunately, the time when I landed at Lyon airport is the time my friend was having her final exams, she wasn’t able to pick me up. I tried out to find public transportations to get to the Air B and B I booked. It was when I found out that though English might be an international language for me but not for those people where I met at the airport. That’s when my body language and Google Translate helped me out. After a four-hour long-time toss, I finally got to my destination. While waiting for checking in, I found out that I wasn’t able to check-in to my room due to my age on the passport I showed them and my height as an image when people often picture as a young girl who’s trying to run away from her home. Fortunately, among the obstacles I had faced so far, the internet worked. I was able to Face-time my parents and show the workers at Air B and B to prove that I am not a run-away child from a foreign country.
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However, happiness did not last so long. I discovered that I left my adapters at home. What’s worse, that was the moment when I discovered that my phone ran out of battery. Unfortunately, the front desk did not have the things I need. In order to save money on commuting and live through the couple days, I walked through the heavy February snow for exact 36 minutes to an Apple store to get what I need. After that, I lost my way of getting back. I was panicked to death while a kind and benevolent woman appeared, wondering if I lost my way. Thus, she decided to drove me back. She invited me to have dinner with her.
Cheese raclette and cheese Foundué. ( photo taken by Jess Chang, February 2017)
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The church over 200 years in Aix-Les- Bains, France. ( photo taken by Maria Bréchet, February 2017)
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I experienced the typical French dinner along with the delicious appetizers which were called Raclette and cheese Foundué, combined with five kinds of cheese. We walked around the village in passing to visit a church over 200 years and learned the history of the diligent village at the bottom of the Alps which was brought up by a queen named Victoria who discovered the spa at the year 1880 (Jean,2011). Not until now did I still send Christmas cards to her every year and planned to visit her during spring break. For me, she is a non-blood relation grandma. What if I traveled with my family and friends on this journey? The only thing I will gain was the pictures of the famous landmarks in Paris, I’ll never be able to learn the beauty of kindness inside a decent woman and the origin of a remarkable small village inside Lyon.
Middle – The performers and friends( from left to right: Courtney, Ruby, Trinh, and Riffie) I made during the trip to Australia. (photo taken by Jess Chang, July 2018)
Right – A modern dance performance performed by the acclaimed Zephyr Quartet (Australian dance theater) in Adelaide, Australia. (photo taken by Jess Chang, July 2018)
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Left – Choreographing in Essen Werden, Germany. ( photo taken by Jess Chang, January 2019)
Middle – The Folkwang Universität at Essen which I went and danced. ( photo taken by Jess Chang, January 2019)
Right – A small glance of the beautiful Essen Werden, Germany. (photo taken by Jess Chang, January 2019)
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Since then, it opened the interest and the journey of me traveling alone around the world. I traveled alone in the winter of 2018 to Essen Werden, Germany to take classes of ballet and get to know more about myself. In the summer of 2019, I went to Australia to learn and perform modern and contemporary dance just because I want to dig more into my interest and the curiosity of how people from different countries show their emotions through body language. Among all of the amazing trips I went, the most remarkable and the most unforgettable one is when I experienced the happiness of traveling alone in France, where it opened the journey of me traveling alone, thus it would not stop until the last day of my life.
References
Jean, A. (2011). Queen Hortense under a pergola, Aix-les-Bains. Retrieved from https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/paintings/queen-hortense-under-a-pergola-aix-les-bains/.
Ministry of Public Affairs, Republic of China. (2018). History. Retrieved from https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/content_3.php.
A&E Television Networks. (2019). William Shakespeare. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/writer/william-shakespeare.
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