About Me
Hey there! I’m Emma.
Around 13 years old, I started getting this itch to get out of not just my hometown but the entire USA. Fast-forward to my sophomore year of high school (15 years old), when I applied to be a Rotary Youth Exchange Student with Rotary International. What’s so amazing about them is that their clubs sponsor most of your exchange, and your family pays very little out of pocket.
I wanted to go to Japan (desperately), but instead got assigned to Germany and spent the next 11 months in Berlin! At only 16 years old, I had this completely change my outlook on life and the world. I was completely hooked on traveling, but as a teenager, I didn’t have the means to afford it.
In college, I was incredibly fortunate to participate in another Rotary program, the New Generation Service Exchange, in Taichung, Taiwan, as part of a small group of five. I spent three weeks in the country on a professional service exchange, learning about Taiwanese industries and culture. Unfortunately, this program is no longer available.
Now, I’ve been to 30+ countries, writing about my experiences along the way to help other travelers. It’s my dream to move abroad full-time and to enrich others on their personal adventures!
A few fun facts:
- I’m willing to try any food once
- Major cat person
- Yes, I’m a natural blonde
- I speak conversational German & can read Korean
Frequently Asked Questions
Good travel credit cards and a high-yield cash account!
The only time I was genuinely scared was in The Bahamas. The bus driver was speeding like a maniac, driving over side walks, and turning way too hard! You wouldn’t believe how quickly I got off that bus once it stopped. Rest of the trip was totally fine!
I’m not going to lie that I’m pretty blessed my first language is English and that it’s basically the world’s “universal” language. However, that doesn’t mean I can go somewhere and just assume people will understand me. That’s also incredibly rude, by the way! I always recommend learning some basic phrases like: “Hello”, “Thank you”, “Where is the bathroom?”, etc. You can also download great translator apps like Papago (Apple, Google) and Microsoft’s Translator (Apple, Google). Remember, the locals appreciate when you try!
Yes! My biggest advice is make sure you use the credit card in your wallet with the strongest rental car insurance and take a full video and photos of the vehicle before you go anywhere. In Greece, our car got hit in the middle of the night on our first day. Because we failed to file a police report, and I wasn’t the primary driver (even though it was on my card), we weren’t able to file a claim. This was about $300 down the drain because someone knocked the mirror off, and I didn’t understand how the credit card insurance worked.