Thursday Traveler: nod ‘n’ smile

Every Thursday, A Dangerous Business will be shining the spotlight on a world nomad, travel blogger, armchair adventurer, or just someone really cool in the travel world. This week, the traveler is the blogger behind nod ‘n’ smile. nod ‘n’ smile is the online storybook of a NYC-based blogger sharing her never-ending search for adventure at home and abroad. Her next great adventure will be a round-the-world trip beginning in July 2012 that will take her through Europe, Asia and South America.

1. How do you define the word “traveler,” and why would you consider yourself one?

I would consider a traveler someone who embarks on journeys and seeks out experiences with the intent to understand a place and its people. I try to find opportunities to do that whether I’m going around the world or just down the block.

2. What has been your favorite travel experience thus far?

Cop out answer: every trip has been my favorite in its own way.

BUT my trip to Ukraine was pretty incredible. I went to volunteer for 3 weeks, restoring an after school club for orphans. I was looking to volunteer overseas and picked Ukraine because I knew nothing about it. I was wide-eyed and a bit of an emotional basketcase throughout because the experience impacted me so deeply. So many wonderful memories from that trip.

3. How about your proudest travel moment?

One of my proudest travel moments is also one of my earliest. At 19, I backpacked around the country by myself, taking Greyhound buses everywhere. I had no idea what I was doing, or what to expect. At the time, my travel experiences were limited to one school-sponsored trip overseas and a few pretty tame trips within the States with friends or family. I’d never stayed in hostels. I didn’t know what a real backpacker’s backpack was so I used a little school backpack on wheels. I was exceptionally shy. And yet I completed the trip (somehow!), doing things I never would have imagined, and making friends most everywhere that I went. That trip changed the course of my life.

4. Have you had any travel mishaps or bad experiences? If so, have these influenced how you view the place where they happened? Would you go back?

Getting ravaged by bedbugs at a hostel in Malaysia was pretty bad! Luckily, I didn’t know that they were bedbug bites until years later, but it was still uncomfortable to say the least. I would definitely go back to Malaysia, but I’ve certainly learned to research places (anywhere in the world) a lot more thoroughly before making a reservation. And check the sheets.

I really try not to judge places (especially not entire towns or countries) based on a single experience or person. It’s just not fair. In NYC, where I live, it always seems like the bad things happen in front of tourists. Recently I read a quote from a tourist who said she was in town for two days and saw two people being shot — one on each day! Agh! What are the odds? I’ve lived in NYC for nearly 10 years and have never seen anyone getting shot. It’s awful and it happens, but it by no means defines the city.

5. Name one thing you can’t travel without.

Packing cubes, packing cubes, packing cubes! I’ve told so many people about them, I feel like a broken record. But they are magic — no more upsetting every single sock and doohickey in your bag when you need to take something from the bottom or unpack for airport security.

6. Name one thing you wish you COULD travel without.

I’m really torn about carrying around my SLR camera. I’ve always prided myself on being a light packer, but now that I have my SLR and its accompanying lenses, I’ve had to add an entire bag to everything else I schlep around. Part of me thinks maybe I should just leave it at home, but I can’t seem to let go.

7. What do you think has been the biggest thing you’ve learned while traveling (about yourself, a destination, a culture, travel itself)?

I think regardless of how reflective or insightful you are, there are still so many more layers of yourself that you’ll discover through travel.

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I am madly in love with New York City. I thought I’d be here for just a few years after college, but I’ve stayed much longer and it really feels like home. I think it’s a great home base for someone with wanderlust because it’s constantly evolving and the opportunities seem limitless. There’s always something else to try or explore. It’s a city that never fails to challenge me or keep me intrigued.

9. Name one place you’d like to see or one experience you’d like to have before you die.

I’d love to discover something extraordinary and majestic that somehow hasn’t made into any guidebooks yet. I want to believe that there are still many incredible things yet to be discovered.

10. If there was one thing you wish somebody would have told you before you started traveling, what would it be?

Most of the things that you worry about beforehand will work themselves out somehow. I have a horrible sense of direction and I usually am not proficient in the language of the country I’m traveling to. But when I look back on my trips, I often can’t even remember having issues in these areas or how I worked through them if I did. The challenges are always trumped by all of the great things that happened. Go in with the mindset that you’ll make things work, and chances are that they will.

Visit the site: Nod ‘n’ Smile 
Follow on Twitter: @nodnsmileNYC 
“Like” on Facebook: Nod ‘n’ Smile NYC

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Are you a travel blogger who has something to say on these topics? Do you know of somebody really interesting in the travel universe that you’d like to see interviewed? Speak up! The Thursday Traveler needs some interview subjects.

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