Ryan's Reflections

June 12, 2025

June of the year 2024, my family and I took a year off to travel around the world. During this time we saw many amazing people, animals, and places. We learned a lot of valuable life skills on our trip (like how to use google translate). We learned that some people have less than we have and some people have more. Our trip started in Europe, then we went to Africa, then Asia, and finally South America. But now that trip is over, and I am reflecting on how we did and answering questions like; What was it like being around my family all the time? How did you feel throughout the trip? and How did you do school?

1. What was your favorite part of the trip?

My favorite part of the trip was all of Spain. It was the first cold place we went to and I like the cold temperatures more than warm ones. We were in Northern Spain, Basque country, and it was so beautiful. We stayed in this huge apartment in this little town called Orduña. I loved how the town was so peaceful and quiet. We also traveled to 3 different cities, Bilbao, San Sebastian, and Vitoria-Gasteiz. In Bilbao we went to the Guggenheim Museum, a beautiful modern structure with all kinds of modern art. We went to an amusement park in San Sebastian as well as the beach, and we tasted delicious food and looked at beautiful wall murals in Vitoria-Gasteiz. My Lola (grandma) was with us too and she cooked us great meals. It was lovely.

2. How do you think you grew as a person as a result of this trip?

I think I grew as a person on this trip, in that I came out of my comfort zone more than I would at home. I am very introverted and on this trip, I found myself doing things I would normally never do, like ordering my own food or making friends. In Vietnam I met someone I would consider one of my best friends. She lived in Taiwan but is now living in Arizona. I live in California so we are closer than Taiwan but still pretty far to see each other. I also met some friends from Scotland. I think I became a little less introverted on this trip. I think that helped me realize that people aren’t so bad.

3. What was the hardest part of traveling for a year?

I’d say that the hardest part of traveling for a year is not getting any personal space. When we are at home I have my own room, I have school where I can get away from my family for a bit, but traveling for a year, school is with your family. Every waking moment is with your family. That's why I liked Vietnam. There I had friends I could go out with and get away.

4. How did “worldschooling” compare to learning at your home elementary or middle schools?  Be sure to consider both positive and negative aspects . 

School was different this year. Previously we had always gone to school, but for the first time ever we were homeschooled. We still had a school that we worked with and who gave us assignments, but our parents were the actual teachers. It was kind of nice having no definite, set schedule. But it was also frustrating. Because we were always traveling, sometimes I couldn’t turn in an assignment on time. Also because the social studies work we did was based on where we were at the time, I had a lot more assignments then I had had previously. Also, we met with a facilitator every week to talk about how we were doing, what we were doing, and our assignments. I think it was a fun experience, but I think I like regular school better because of my friends and more organized activities.

5. What culture did you find the most interesting to you and why?  A culture can be a country (Morocco) or region (ie. Basque culture) or a religion (like Buddhist or Muslim culture).

I found Buddhist culture to be the most interesting. Many cultures punish differences while Buddhism focuses on punishing evil acts. The story of the Buddha is also a very good story. Being part of the LGBTQ+ community, this is one of the only religions that accepts me for who I am. 

6. How did it feel to travel with your family for a whole year?  Be sure to consider positive and negative factors.

Traveling for the whole year with your family has its ups and downs. It is nice to have quality time with my family now that my parents have taken a break from work. But too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Being constantly together makes alone time a dream. Being squeezed into one hotel room is the worst. Sleeping in the same bed with other people and not having your own space sucks. We fought a lot on this trip due to not having enough alone time or personal space. I got really frustrated sometimes when I was in my room and my sisters came inside constantly asking questions. Looking back I think it would have been better if we had had bigger houses in the places we went to, or distractions that kept us from being at each other's throats. 

7. What, if anything, would you do differently if you were to do this again?

If we were to do this again I would definitely go to colder places and maybe get bigger houses with no shared rooms. That way we can each have our alone time. Also, if we were to do this again, I think that we should do more volunteer work like we did in Peru. In Peru, we went to this volunteer animal rescue center called RAREC. We stayed there for a week and worked with many animals. It would be fun to do more volunteer work, maybe with more marine life. I would also like to go on an overnight boat trip. Like maybe a cruise ship or at least an island tour.

8. Would you want to do a trip like this again? If yes, where would you want to go?

I would love to go on another trip like this. If we did a trip like this again, I would want to go to the continents we missed. Those continents are Australia/Oceania, Antarctica, and Africa. I would also love to go to Bolivia, Russia, and Chile. Now, because we were basically following summer the entire trip, I would like to instead, follow the winter and go to some places with snow. I think Alaska, Canada, and Greenland would be fun to go to, as well as Iceland. We’ve already been to Iceland, but because it was just a layover, I didn’t get to explore as much as I would have liked. All in all, I would like to go to cold places, as well as Australia and Africa.

In conclusion, I think that this year was a chance to learn and grow for all of us. After this trip we will definitely be more aware of things happening around us and outside of the bubble we live in. This trip offered learning experiences about life and ourselves. It pushed us out of our comfort zone and helped us to be more independent. This trip was one of the most fun things I've ever done. I would love to do something like this again.