19 Year Old World Traveler

Follow a nineteen-year-old world traveler on a real-life journey across 13 countries in 225 days, making new friends, with narration by Theresa Tucker and writing by Brianna Gryner.

Before embarking, a naive 19-year-old traveler reflects on a 225-day journey across 12 countries and 36 cities, meeting people who helped him grow wiser.

Journal the voyage home from Hawaii Nei, detailing culture shock, homesickness, and fortifying away from Kailua by seeking people, places, and food during a year apart.

Chase sunsets across Hawaii while recalling family, home, and luminous moments from beaches, mountains, and starry skies. Embrace a deep sense of place and homesickness that defines the narrator's adventures.

Experience hiking adventures with a longtime partner, night owl, as they chase a hidden waterfall along a rugged ridge, navigating plan-free exploration, mud, and mossy pools.

Explore how culture, homeland, church, and family shape a library geek who loves Star Trek, the Bible, mountains, and the ocean, while cherishing Hawaiian rice and Thanksgiving prayers.

Follow a traveler as they recount Japan adventures from Machida and the Tokyo region to Kobe, Sapporo, and Hokkaido, highlighting mission trips, research, and trusted friends guiding the itinerary.

Follow a 19-year-old world traveler as they explore Kansai through Kobe, Universal Studios Japan, and Arima onsen, meeting generous hosts and locals and sharing cultural moments.

Tokyo adventures with Sayaka explore language learning, culture, and friendship through shrines, Kamakura and Enoshima trips, and memorable farewells at Narita.

In Hokkaido, the traveler notes how friendships change and boundaries form as growth diverges, recalling Sapporo memories, lavender fields, onsen, and debates about feminism and gender equality.

Explore how travel weaves goodbyes and hello moments into personal growth, revisiting favorites and discovering new adventures—from melon pan in Japan to sunsets on canals with friends.

Navigating Beijing in China, the traveler relies on offline maps and a local guide, Lisa, and after hours of being lost, two strangers help carry her bags to the hostel.

Beijing unfolds through Lisa's hospitality, hot pot, tea tasting, and a climb of the Great Wall's unrestored sections, ending with meals and laughter at a family dinner.

Experience a day in Shanghai caused by Beijing storms and passport trouble. Witness 13 hours at the airport, an unmarked van, and a hotel stopover to Ho Chi Minh City.

Explore reflections on travel, friendships formed on the road, and unexpected city detours, as a 19-year-old remembers Shanghai, dinner conversations, and Lisa's upcoming graduation.

Journeying through Vietnam, a late-night arrival and new friend Coye from Buntao illuminate travel challenges, customs help, and the city's free-flowing traffic, while letters back home keep the connection alive.

Explore Ho Chi Minh City to gain a richer understanding of Van's world by visiting museums, markets, and the Notre Dame Cathedral, and meeting her family.

Embark on a two-day Mekong river tour from Saigon, visiting ornate temples, boats on tributaries, horse-drawn carts, and a floating market, with Vietnamese folk song and dance.

Vung Tau's mountains meeting the sea, with a 100-foot Christ statue, Sermon on the Mount sculpture, lighthouse views, local foods, and new friendships.

I recount a rough journey to Vietnam, Beijing delays, meeting Coye and Van, and a stranger's kindness that helped me reach home safely amid mountains, ocean, and a giant Jesus.

a budget traveler journeys to the United Kingdom, dreaming of London, and endures a hectic multi-country flight while encountering a loud, disruptive stranger on a Bangkok to Mumbai leg.

Follow a 19-year-old traveler in London, from a Chelsea hostel to walking tours of landmarks like the Tower of London, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey, amid homesickness and chance friendships.

Travel through Cardiff on a budget, meeting locals and a Cardiff-born comedian, visiting landmarks like Cardiff Castle. Savor Welsh cakes and a veggie burger near Bute Park by Cardiff Bay.

I reflect on wandering London from Platform nine and three quarters to Cardiff Bay, visiting Globe Theatre and Buckingham Palace amid medieval alleys and modern architecture, centre of world history.

Explore daily life in Paris and the people I spent time with, while chapter seven reveals unusual happenings in Paris and places I traveled in France.

Paris unfolds through metro commutes, long walks between four campuses and iconic sites along the Seine, Jardin de Luxembourg, and Nuit Blanche art and music.

Explore the people you meet in Paris, from random acts of kindness to rude and bizarre encounters, including friendships with Kevin and Sophie.

Discover how a supportive school program, Paris university culture, and rigorous 25-minute exposé presentations cultivate research skills, critique resilience, and adaptation to diverse teaching styles.

Embrace the city life shift and parisian school experience while recalling personal milestones, friendships, and a mix of funny, bittersweet moments that shaped a memorable Paris stay.

In Paris, I live with radical wonder, visiting the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Notre Dame mass, the Louvre, and Pompidou, amid Christmas markets and a Panic at the Disco concert.

Explore Île-de-France with organized trips to Chateau de Fontan Blue, admiring grand grounds, fountains, lakes, and painted rooms. Experience French meals and cooking that stretch for hours.

Explore the Alsace region with a Strasbourg visit, canals, and a history museum, then a bold plan to walk into Germany, while navigating travel forms and homesickness.

Travel through La Bretagne and La Normandie with a friend, visiting Mont St. Michael and St. Malo, while cherishing handwritten letters, long-distance friendship, and cultural discoveries.

Reflect on five months in France, exploring Paris and the rest of the country, while strengthening French skills and forming lifelong friendships; feel homesick and plan a return someday.

Join a budget traveler as they navigate Italy and the Vatican on two midsemester trips, visiting Milan, Rome, and Florence within an eight-destination plan and a 438 euro budget.

Travelers journey from Bergamo airport on Ryanair to Milan, exploring alpine hills, renaissance architecture, the Galleria and Duomo, and the quirky urban budget experience before a late-night bus to Rome.

Mary and Francesca guide a nine-hour walk through Rome's ancient sites and the Vatican, blending Latin history with modern Italian life and budget travel adventures.

Navigate Tuscany through Pisa, Florence, and Bologna with Natalie, as miscommunications, getting lost, and memorable moments—gelato, the Arno, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa—unfold.

Reflect on friendship dynamics and travel logistics, weigh good and bad traits in a travel buddy, and recall Italy's food, the Vatican, the thousand-dollar dress on a dare, and Francesca.

Explore part 38, everywhere else, building on chapter nine themes. These voyages spread across the semester.

Navigate Brussels on a tight budget with seven-euro flights and a freezing three a.m. station wait. Celebrate an 11-euro thrifted winter coat and a pineapple-filled waffle memory that didn't impress.

Travel through Budapest with a student host, exploring a math program, Turkish baths, Mathias Church, Roman ruins, and the Danube’s icy reflections, while bidding a heartfelt farewell.

Explore how Europe's interconnected cities enable cheap, easy travel. Treasure shared moments with Ginger and Iona that turn wandering into memorable adventures.

Disembarking at Bryn Mawr, the narrator wrestles with homesickness, gratitude, and wonder, cherishing journeys, friendships, and future possibilities while embracing life to the fullest.