What I Learned From My First Solo International Trip
Traveling, learning, and occasionally stumbling
Webster’s Dictionary defines velleity as “The lowest degree of volition… a slight wish or tendency.” And throughout most of my life, that’s what the idea of travel was for me. It was a concept floating out of reach — intriguing yet never quite enticing enough to leap for.
These past few years, I’ve felt a growing wanderlust well inside me. As 2024 arrived, I could resist the temptation no more. I needed to book a ticket somewhere — anywhere. And that anywhere I landed on happened to be Belize. Travel would no longer remain a velleity hovering loosely in the back of my mind.
Belize wasn’t a completely arbitrary destination. It was tropical enough to escape the brunt of a blustery Pennsylvania January, close enough not to throw my schedule into disarray, and English-speaking enough not to wander its streets in total confusion.
Among the most interesting things I discovered from my time spent traveling were some of the oddities of tourist towns. There’s a liminal component to life in those bureaus where the population is in near-constant flux. In the absence of constancy, people are more open to new friends and new experiences.
