So, why would someone ask me if I am afraid so frequently? Well, as many know, one of my great passions has always been to travel and to see the world. It is such a great adventure, this life, and it is so enjoyable to visit new places, learn of new cultures, meet new people, and experience new things.
My overseas travel started at birth, as I was born on an Air Force base in Japan. That doesn't count, you say, as I had no choice in this matter. Well, you are correct in that I didn't have a choice there; however, I always knew I had been born in another country and always thought that was something special. In addition, my father had such a love of travel when he was younger. My mother would say he had "itchy feet," meaning he didn't like to stay in one place for too long and liked to get out to see new places and things, and she always said that I had inherited his “itchy feet.”
When I was in the early days of my first career (Medical Laboratory Science), I decided it was time to begin to see the world. An opportunity came my way to live overseas, by going to work in an American run hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Was I afraid? Absolutely! Was I going to let that stop me from taking on this adventure? No way!
From the outset, I was determined that my fear would not ruin this opportunity for me. As a result of that determination, I purposefully did not take enough money with me to allow myself to chicken out and return back to the USA on the next flight after I arrived there. That meant that I had to stick with it and could not return until such time as I had accumulated adequate funds by working there in the UAE.
When the airplane landed in Abu Dhabi, before we disembarked, an armed soldier (holding a rifle) came to stand in the entry way of the aircraft and we all had to pass by him to leave the airplane. Talk about intimidating! By the time I left the UAE, after living there for approximately 4 1/2 years, they no longer greeted airplanes in this way, but it certainly made an impression on my first arrival to the country!
Once I cleared customs, there was someone there to meet us and to drive us the 2 hours from Abu Dhabi to the hospital in Al-Ain. The scenery was primarily one of big sand dunes and sand stretching out for miles in the distance. There were occasionally camels and Arabic people in native dress (long garments with headdresses) to be seen. About half way into the journey, they stopped at what I can only describe as a wooden shanty type of building. To my amazement, this shack was a stop for refreshment and inside was a little store/cafe with tables. To my relief, not knowing what to expect in regard to available refreshments, they did have Coca Cola (even if the writing on the can was in both English and Arabic script). Although I am not a big fan of carbonated drinks, it was so nice to see something with which I was familiar, so I had some Coca Cola.
We safely arrived at Tawam Hospital, in Al-Ain, and were taken to our new lodgings. This, in my case, turned out to be a little apartment like dwelling that was essentially a duplex, with one bedroom, a kitchen/dining area, and a small living room.
This all began a period of my life in which I did a great deal of travel to different countries and new places. It was all such a fascinating adventure! Sometimes there were people with whom I would travel and other times I would venture on my own somewhere new.
It was those times that I chose, and often still do choose, to travel alone somewhere new that I was asked if I wasn't afraid to travel alone? Even more, wasn't I afraid to be a woman traveling alone? The answer - not really, and certainly not because I was or am afraid of traveling as a woman. I have met the nicest people throughout the world in my travels and often met them when I was traveling alone. There are such interesting, kind, and wonderful people everywhere, if we will open our hearts and our minds to meeting and talking with them.
I have always been baffled that someone would believe I should be afraid to travel alone, as a woman, as if that somehow meant I was more weak than a man would be who traveled alone. I have never felt that I was weaker or somehow less because I was a woman. I never saw the point in letting fear rule my life to the extent that it prevented me from reaching for my passions or dreams, especially in regard to travel. Am I careful to avoid silly risks? Sure. I don’t think traveling alone as a woman is a great risk, however, and it has never proven to be such.
So, am I sometimes afraid? Yes. Will it stop me from reaching for my dreams or passions? No. I am simply not made that way and I have more often than not chosen to move past fear or nervousness to go for it. That philosophy has served me very well over the years and has helped create a truly enjoyable, and unusual, life
