So i'm a 23 year (M) old American and graduated college last May and I keep finding myself without direction in life and a gnawing desire to do something more meaningful with my time over the next year or so while I debate the idea of Graduate school. I recently went to visit a friend from college who lives in Mexico which was the first time I had left the country. Growing up in the US Midwest I could not have predicted how much I would enjoy and appreciate the stark contrast between both the different standards of living, the food, the culture, and the architecture. I must note that I dont speak Spanish but landing back in Chicago I thought to myself how nice it was to hear English again but as I made my way home I noticed the smell was different and even a turnoff, sure Mexico may be third world but there are less glamorous sides of Chicago than Lincoln Park or the Loop. I felt myself missing the feeling I had of being in a foreign land and being the minority for once. Im a big foodie, I'll try anything and usually I end up liking it, I think its an important part of understanding a culture and makes the experience much richer. Being the New Years holiday I got to see most of her family which was a bit overwhelming at first but it was so interesting to see the value placed on family, sticking together, greeting every single man and woman when you walk in individually, it was a much more personal feeling than I'm used to.
Overall I think I learned the more about myself physically, emotionally, and mentally than I could have ever expected and thats where the real desire for me to travel more lays. I can honestly say that it was worth more than what I spend on therapy. I was outside of my comfort zone which has happened before and I tend to have great experiences being out of my element but they are few and far between. I have social anxiety, I'm not a socially outgoing person to where I can travel alone but I do have the underlying desire to be social and interact with people if that makes sense? I'm just reserved and takes a little time for me to warm up to people, time I wouldnt otherwise get or be able to exploit in meeting someone in passing and whenever I get the chance I always seem to leave a good impression. Some say to save up and travel when you are older but I think that right now I'm at a more critical juncture in my life in that I need to discover more about myself to truly know who I really am and whats important to me before my youth quickly fades and my personality becomes more set in stone. I am fortunate enough to be from a well to do, albeit conservative, household and I realize that I have an opportunity that most do not and for that I am grateful, however I think that not taking advantage of this would be a mistake for me the longer I wait. My friend highly recommended her experience with Topdeck as a way to see it all in Europe and to be able to party as well as being with people in my age group. One thing I think I dont like is the rushed itinerary and not having a few days in each city to really take it in. I read some reviews about people with mixed feelings or complained about the level of drinking, but that doesnt bother me because I think thats all part of the experience and I like to have a good time. Some of the best memories.
Sail Croatia was also recommended as I expressed a desire to sail in the Mediterranean and soak up some sun. Really this post is about attempting to give you an idea of what my mentality is like in order to properly discover trip offerings that are similar to my interests. Like i said, I want to do group travel in order to meet people and enrich my life with more unique friends that I otherwise have the opportunity to do at home.
Dates: does not matter, I like warm weather though so anything in the summer for Europe or South Africa in its prime time, I'm ready to peace out anytime.
Places on my list for this type of trip: Europe in general but specifically wouldnt mind including a couple of these countries Spain, Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Greece. Finally a dream of mine has always been to visit Capetown South Africa/surrounding countries and a safari or hiking trip for the outdoor aspect of Africa.
Budget: 3-6K
Would ideally like to spend over 3 weeks wherever I go, get the most out of my plane ticket expenses. Its about the journey and the time invested rather than a rushed showcase of those places.
So my questions/final comments really boil down to:
1) What are some other travel groups for young people within my age range? (singles group trips wouldnt be a bad idea either, not for hooking up or anything like that but because I feel like it would be possible to connect to those people easier because they may be like-minded but I could be wrong)
2) Im also fond of the outdoors and would love to do an adventure trip/hiking, more (imperative in Africa than Europe) in order to get away from society for a bit while taking in and feeling connected to nature. What services and groups are available for that?
3) Museums, food, drinking, beach, art. Really anything, I'm pretty fit so any sports, watersports etc would be welcome.
4) Any out of the box suggestions would be cool as well
5) I know I'm most likely missing some things so dont be afraid to ask questions and grill me