Traveling is a Muscle

Traveling is a muscle. Communicating in a new language, mentally calculating currency exchanges, even doing laundry — it’s different on every continent, in every country, in every city. But like so many things, the more you do it, the stronger you get. After seven months on the move with WY_CO, I’ve learned and then forgotten and then relearned that fact.

We arrived in Split, Croatia late last Thursday night. I had scarfed a hummus and pita chips snack box on the plane, knowing I had an 11:00pm meeting that I would *just* make if everything went seamlessly. So I didn’t get my first real taste of Croatia until the next morning.

I Googled “coffee” and found a cute place around the corner from our apartment. My roommate, Michelle, and I walked in confidently until we realized we had no idea how to do anything in Croatia. Do they even serve food here? Do we sit down, or order at the counter? Neither of us knows a stitch of Croatian, so the chalkboard menu is completely meaningless to us. The woman behind the counter knows enough English to explain that they don’t accept credit cards. Of course, we have no Croatian kunas. After 30 minutes, a trip to the ATM next door, and much pointing at things in the display case, we’re eating slices of (cold) pizza and drinking espresso. And we’re completely psyched.

I had forgotten what that feels like. How gratifying it is to do even the simplest things just because you’re in a brand-new, unfamiliar place. On my way to Buenos Aires for the first stop of my year with WY_CO, I had a nine-hour layover in the tiny San Salvador airport. It took me four hours — including a solid 20 minutes on my Google Translate app — to work up the courage to order a sandwich using the four Spanish words I knew. That sandwich tasted like magic, and it’s still one of my proudest moments on this trip. And that feeling continued through Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Morocco.

But in the three months since we arrived in Europe, I’ve stopped having to flex my travel muscle so much. Europe is easier. It’s full of other Americans. The vast majority of people I interact with speak some (or flawless) English. Most places take credit cards, and have clearly posted Wi-Fi passwords. The shops and brands are recognizable. Ordering coffee, buying groceries, getting a cab — it all feels manageable.

I can’t lie; there is some relief in not having to swim upstream all the time. And my first morning in Split was a gentle reminder of that. But the reason I came on this trip with WY_CO was to feel something I didn’t feel in my regular, convenient, Amazon Prime 2-day delivery life. I didn’t want things to be so seamless; I wanted to be challenged. There are not very many times in life when you can feel yourself growing, with all its attendant aches and frustrations. But this year is absolutely one of them.

Interested in learning more about WY_CO? Check them out here — WY_CO!