Make friends

One of the most important things I've learned about traveling is to talk to people and to make friends. I can't tell you how many times my trip has been saved or started due to the fact that I knew someone in the area.

The first example is when I was 16. My mother and I took a trip to the UK. I had been there once before, but my mom was new to it. We planned a crazy, whirlwind trip from London to Scotland, ending up in Ireland.

We were in Aberdeen Scotland (a great city) and we were trying to figure out how to get from Aberdeen to Holyhead England so that we could get a ferry to Ireland. While we were studying our maps and tour books, a nice English lady struck up a conversation with my mom. When the woman found out about our predicament she offered for us to stay at their house. My mom accepted her offer.

I was mortified. I couldn't believe that my mom would jeopardize her son's safety by staying at a stranger's house. I continued to freak all the way down to Birmingham, England. I was convinced that the elderly couple were going to either kill us or sell us into slavery or something. Needless to say, I was not comfortable.

Of course all my concerns were for naught. Nothing bad happened. Only the opposite actually. I was taught a lot about England (especially during the War) and my eyes were beginning to open to new points of view. It was a great and rewarding experience.

If it hadn't been for that elderly couple, we would probably never had made it to Holyhead, or at least we wouldn't have made our ferry. It just goes to show you the importance of making connections.

Several of my trips owe their awesomeness to the people of the place I was visiting. Another example is of my friend Kenny. He allowed me to crash at his place in Montreal, drove me around to all the cool places in the city and even took me out to steak on my birthday. I had a blast in Montreal. I doubt I would have had half as fun of a time if I had gone around the city by myself. I hadn't intended on staying with him, but he offered and I knew that if I hung out with him I would have a far better time than if I went alone.

I make friends rather easily and I can say that I have friends all over the world. Having this network is great. Not only might I get a place to crash or some great insider tips of a particular city, but I get motivation to go to different places. If I hadn't known my friend Tiffany, I probably would never have gone to the Philippines. But I did meet her and I'm glad I did. Not only is she a great friend, but she inspired me to visit her country and I'm better for having done so. I learned a lot about a place I knew little of previous to my venture there and on top of that, my perspective on life changed just a little bit more. Also, I got to eat so much good food with her and her family. I still crave this one dish her dad made. Man was it good.

What I'm trying to say is: make friends! Network network network! A friend may not be able to give you a place to stay, but they could tell you where to go and what to do, or give you good places to eat and where to avoid. They could merely tell you about their city or country and thus inspire you to travel there. They could forever alter your life by merely telling you about their native lands. So get out there and make friends. There's no such thing as having "too many friends".

Also, turn it around. Open your place up to your friends you meet. Offer them the chance to visit your hometown. If you can't do that, give them info and inspiration. I always tell my friends "You have a couch in Memphis." And I mean that. If they ever come to where I'm living, they can crash with me. I will always open my door to friends. It's hard sometimes, but I know that they may very well help me out someday in the future.

Use common sense of course. If you get a weird vibe or don't know the person very well go to a hostel. I seem to have a pretty decent gut feeling and I do well when I follow it.

Now, I'm not saying just make friends so that you can crash somewhere for free. Sure it's an added bonus, but it's not the primary objective. For me, I want to learn as much as I can about the world and the many cultures found throughout its diverse landscape. I make friends and that makes me want to visit them and to see their country (or state). If they offer to put me up, I go for it, but I always try to not overstay my welcome. That's an important thing, not overstaying your welcome. I try to keep my trips limited to a week, no more than that or my friends will start getting tired of me (it's hard with my winning personality though).

To my friends; thanks for everything. You have all enriched my life and got me to experience really cool things. I hope I can do for you or others in the future.

My last bit of advice is to pay it forward. If someone opened up their place for you while you explored their city, do the same for them. Or if they don't come to see you, open your place up to another friend. Keep in mind "Whatever goes around comes around.