This interview was given to me by Sanja, Nina, and Naomi as a project for their tourism class. They contacted me via couchsurfing and asked if I would answer some questions for them. It was a great way to reflect on my thirst for adventure, so I’m posting it here for the world to see, understand, and get inspired.
General questions
Could you tell us a bit more about the adventures you go on?
I try to fill my life with as many adventures as possible–skiing, hiking, biking, scuba diving, climbing, traveling, wind surfing, etc. I worked as a ski instructor in Georgia (the country) for the winter where I had tons of opportunities for ski touring and traveling in places that I never knew existed, and since then have hitchhiked, walked, and ski toured around the mountains of Kyrgyzstan, traveled through Turkey from East to West on about $5/day, and exchanged work for free windsurfing lessons on the Mediterranean. I’ve been traveling for a year and a half, mainly by hitchhiking and wild camping or staying in the homes of local people, and seek new experiences as much as I can. Living without plans in foreign countries means that nearly every day is filled with crazy and unexpected adventures.
What is an adventure to you? Could you give more details on which elements should be included for you to consider an activity an adventure?
To me, an adventure means exploring somewhere new and breaking the “normal life” routine. This can mean going somewhere I’ve never been before or taking a new route to somewhere that I’m already familiar with. It has to involve physical movement, and the most important aspects are an element of surprise and a feeling of discovery. For example, the reason I consider climbing up a mountain and skiing down an adventure is because it’s outside in nature, not something a regular person does every day, is an adrenaline-filled way to explore new places, and includes many aspects out of my control (environmental conditions). For something like hitchhiking from one city to another, which doesn’t involve adrenaline as skiing does, I consider it an adventure because it’s always unpredictable and impossible to plan–you never know who will pick you up, which language you’ll (struggle to) communicate in, whether they’ll take you out to eat and invite you to stay in their home or just drop you off where you need to go, what they’ll teach you, whether they’ll play horrible music the whole ride or whether they’ll jump right into a deep political debate about the relationship between their country and yours–but every time it’s a wonderful experience to meet new, interesting, and helpful people. Also, the word “adventure” has a positive connotation, so I think that for something to be an adventure, you need to be excited about it. To summarize, adventure = new experience + movement + element of surprise/no plan + feeling of discovery + excitement.
Would you describe yourself as an adventurous person? Why? What makes you different than other people who are less adventurous?
Yeah I would, because whenever I see an opportunity that looks fun and exciting, I go for it. I don’t think there’s a strict definition of an adventurous person vs. a non-adventurous person, but I think the biggest difference between these ends of the spectrum is the willingness and motivation to go out and try something new without knowing the outcome. I’ve always been the one in my friend group who comes up with some crazy plan and tries to rally everyone else to get off the xbox and come outside to explore somewhere we’ve never been. I think what makes me more adventurous than many others is that I lack a fear of people I don’t know, I’m always confident that everything will work out without making a plan, and I get really frustrated and stressed when I sit in one place for too long. Some may call this attitude naive, but the last year and a half of traveling has taught me that if you go into the world with an open mind, a smile on your face, and flexible enough plans to jump on any opportunity that comes along, the best people and the best adventures will find you.
I will give some words which are related to adventure, can you say which word most refers to adventure for you?
Thrill Adrenaline Excitement Conquer Rough Fear Challenge Nature Ultimate
Success Expedition Culture Skills Activity Risk Daring Spiritual Outdoor
Daring. Dare to try something new, dare to push the limits of your comfort zone, dare to take a risk and conquer your fears, dare to challenge yourself and rough it on an expedition in nature, dare to learn firsthand about cultures and spiritual beliefs you never knew existed, dare to feel the raw adrenaline pump through your veins as you succeed in a newly learned activity, dare to ignore the media and go outdoors and see what the world is like for yourself, and you’ll be amazed at the new skills you learn and the thrill and excitement of the ultimate adventure.
Risk related philosophies
Do you think the adventures you go on come with a risk?
Yes, but so does walking across the street, and I think the adventures I go on have a greater benefit than risk. Of course something like strapping wooden planks to your feet and racing down a mountain, or getting in a car with someone you never met has its inherent risks, but these risks can be greatly reduced by analyzing the snow pack and the obstacles and choosing the safest path, or by talking to a potential driver for a minute and scanning their car for empty alcohol bottles to get a sense of their intentions. It’s a kind of double-edged sword, because he more experience I get, the more I learn how to reduce the risk of these activities, but I also get more comfortable trying riskier and more extreme activities.
Do you think your kind of adventure is also suitable for less experienced adventure travelers? Why or why not?
Absolutely, but it’s something that an inexperienced traveler would have to build up to. I began with very little adventure travel experience and learned about all of these adventures–hitchhiking, back country skiing, windsurfing, etc–from people more experienced than me. It helps a lot to hitchhike with someone more experienced than you, who can teach you where to find the best spot on the road and how to approach potential drivers, how to build a sense for knowing who wants to help you vs. who wants something from you, and how to find the best free campsite. As for activities in the back country, it’s completely necessary to begin with someone more experienced than you who can teach you how to test snow stability, plan the safest routes, how to practice using safety gear, etc. It’s easy to learn as you go, though, and there is a huge abundance of internet resources to help. Luckily, travelers are usually really friendly people and are very excited to help someone new become acquainted with this amazing lifestyle.
Have you ever been in an emergency situation during your adventures? If yes, how did you solve it?
No, I’ve been lucky. The worst thing that happened to me during my travels was having a horrible case of too-much-falafel-diarrhea while hitchhiking in Israel and having to use sign language to the driver who spoke no English to stop every 20 minutes so I could use the toilet.
Lifestyle related philosophies
What do you think is holding people back from going on your kind of adventure? Do you think it is because of risks involved in your adventures or more because they are not interested in your type of adventure?
I think it’s a mixture of both of those, plus many people lack money and time. Skiing can be very dangerous and hitchhiking is perceived as risky due to the negative media. It takes a certain type of person to want to go hitchhike around the world, skiing everywhere they find snow in countries with little ski rescue or avalanche control, trading long work hours for free windsurfing lessons in foreign languages, and skipping bar nights in order to save money for scuba diving. Many people feel that the opportunity cost of spending time on activities like these would be too damaging to their future career prospectsand most people don’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what’s coming next, so this type of travel is not for them. Skiing equipment is very expensive, so only very wealthy people or people who make it their absolute priority to buy ski equipment are able to afford it. For many people their priorities are elsewhere–eating at restaurants, buying a showy car, paying bills, looking fashionable, feeding their children, etc.–so they work a lot and just make enough money to pay for these things which are more important to them, but don’t have enough money left over and don’t feel that they can take the time off for adventures. For me, the biggest priority is adventure. I don’t own a car or house so I don’t have bills to pay, I don’t have a wife or kids, I don’t have a job contract that I’m locked into, and I very rarely spend money on restaurants, new clothes, or anything other than absolute necessities because I prefer to spend my money on adventures.
You have been on adventurous trips. Do you think that these trips have changed you as a person or was it just fun for that period of time and there is no long term satisfaction?
These trips have definitely changed me. They’ve helped me find what makes me happy and what doesn’t. They’ve helped me break out of this common idea that I need a mainstream job and a lot of money to be successful. They’ve given me the feeling of accomplishment that I’ve been doing something meaningful, learning about the world, becoming a more open-minded person, learning how to survive and find satisfaction everywhere, and spreading this knowledge to people I meet. Thanks to traveling, I now have friends all over the world and I’m not scared of people who are different from me. Traveling has taught me that no matter what the world throws at me, there’s a way to turn it into an exciting adventure and make the best of it. Thanks to traveling, I’m comfortable in new situations without knowing what’s going on or what’s going to happen and I’m motivated to never give up until I reach my goals. These are skills that I think will help a lot in every aspect of my life.
Have you ever had a situation where you reached your goal, which gave you long-term satisfaction?
Yeah, all the time. For example, last year when I was traveling, I had the goal of traveling for 6 months without spending a penny on transportation or accommodation. In the end I hitchhiked about 12,000km (7,500 mi), spent countless nights in my tent and in the homes of friendly local people, and came out with an incredible feeling of satisfaction, knowing that I could live this lifestyle without stressing about money. There were times when it was pouring rain and I knew my tent would be soaked in the morning, so I walked around asking if anybody knew a farmer who could give me a room for a few nights in exchange for help with some work on their farm. In the end it always worked out, plus I had the interesting experiences of milking goats, driving ATVs, trying to understand village Scottish accents, and eating farm-fresh haggis. Having had this experience and knowing that it would be easy to do again is an incredibly liberating feeling.
Do you think your parents have had any influence on your adventurous personality or are you a born adventurer?
I guess some of both. My parents took me on a lot of trips as a kid, so traveling became part of my lifestyle well before I was able to appreciate the privilege of being able to do that. They also traveled quite a bit before I was born and spent a lot of time hiking and exploring the mountains around North America, so they have always been very supportive of me doing the same. As a kid they always encouraged me to go outside rather than sit and play video games. When I look at my friends, many of their parents are constantly encouraging them to settle down in one city and find a long-term, well-paid job with very few vacation days and just do that for the rest of their lives. I’m incredibly lucky to have parents who fully support my adventures and want me to have the experience of traveling and learning about the world firsthand before (if?) I settle down somewhere.
