SHE LIVES IN THIS CAR… ALONE | Travelled Solo Thousands of Miles in America
So, we have a female volunteer here. Her name is Alison. She is an American and she is 25 years old. Since last one year, since when Covid came into picture, she has been traveling in her car.
That's her car, and she is traveling all alone. How to manage everything even in a small car, we can learn this from her. There are many other things as well. I shall come to the safety aspect soon. She is a great inspiration. To me and to people like me. She is an inspiration to travelers, especially for girls.
This is Jake. He is a mule. After coming here, I came to know that mules are modest compared to horses. In Tucson, where I am staying, a female volunteer is also staying. We both made a plan today. Whatever trails are there nearby, we'll go and explore them. It's 5.30 p.m in the evening.
The sun is about to set in the city of Tucson, Arizona. It'll be night soon. My stay at this place is about to end. Just a few more hours left. After that, I'll be heading to a new place.
But the thing that will keep going is the chain of meeting people, the chain of getting inspired by them. I was a volunteer here in this very beautiful house. There were animals like horses, dogs, cats. There were many birds. Beautiful and colorful. There were rabbits and for the first time in my life, I saw a Coyote here.
This animal is perhaps a native of the US and Canada alone. It's like a dog, a fox or a jackal. I came to know this here and got a chance to see it also.
I came across a cat here. What they call here? It's like a cat. Yes, a 'Bob Cat'. I got a chance to see it. There were many other things.
Though I had traveled to see all these, to explore some new experiences, but the motive of my volunteering is 'Cultural Exchange' and knowing about new people. My host here is an American family. And here, I got an opportunity... That was a call. I hung it up. And here, I got an opportunity to meet some volunteers like myself. My host is a little more regular.
The platform he's using for volunteering is called, 'Workaway'. I have provided the link in the description for your perusal. You are free to join the platform as well.
You'll add on a one-month extra period if you follow the given link. That's my referral link. Anyways, through this Workaway platform, not only my host gets the chance to host volunteers like me, but volunteers like me also get the chance to meet other volunteers. And today, I'm going to introduce you to an inspirational Workaway volunteer and a great traveler. There's a car parked behind.
And riding this car, this female volunteer... She's with me. Let me introduce her first. -Hi, Alison. -Hi.
So, here she is. Her name is Alison. She is an American and she is 25 years old. What's special about her...
Since last one year, since when Covid came into picture, she has been traveling in her car. That's her car and she's traveling all alone. I feel, she is a great inspiration. To me and to people like me.
She is an inspiration to travelers, especially for those girls who are scared of traveling alone. So today, I'll be talking to her. So, basically, she has a companion, her cat.
The US is the third-largest country in the world and she has completed three trips round the whole of USA. Her boyfriend... What's his name? If you don't mind. Her boyfriend has a van.
She told me that she had been working for many years. And while working... She is 25 years old. After saving for 10 years, she... She says that this was her dream trip and so she utilized all those savings for the trip. $1000 comes to around 80,000 rupees. We should not convert it into Indian rupees because the expense and income here is proportional.
So, let's calculate in dollars. We can consider her rental expenses to be, say 80,000 rupees. We can very well imagine the lifestyle of someone who lives in a rented house of 80,000 rupees, say, $1000 per month.
And today, that person is managing with a mere $1500 per month for the entire month. Necessities have come down. Her house is accommodated in a small car. Now, I'll be showing you all the stuff that's in her car. Petrol and food.
Loan a car and... Took a car on loan and started traveling. You can do it in this way. In India, there are many car rental companies. You can take a rented car from there. You may not travel for 5 or 6 months.
You may travel for 5-10 days even. How to manage even in a small car, we can learn this from her. There are many other things as well. I shall come to the safety aspect soon. How to manage funds? If you don't want to buy a car, take it on rent.
That's it. Rent a car and get going. Basically, as I mentioned many times, you can start with small trips. At first, travel with friends and then start traveling alone when you get that grip and confidence.
Alison did the same. She started traveling in and around her state, she started hiking, exploring nearby places by walk. The confidence starts building up when you start traveling alone. It was no different in my case. I used to travel alone in my childhood and eventually, I became confident. I traveled in India for starters.
Bit by bit, I began to cover larger distances. Started to travel in my state, out of my state and finally abroad. She had the same strategy.
And for the past 6 months, she is exploring this huge country all by herself. We are going to her car. I just tried asking her how she manages the morning... Basically how she addresses nature's call. To freshen up in the morning.
Well, that's how it works for her. This doesn't mean that one has to follow this and stay in the woods. You can spend the nights in truck stops and petrol stations and use the washrooms available there. Yes, she likes to do it in the open and... In India, a lot of Decathlon stores sell those... I guess they call it 'Toilet Tents.' Not exactly sure.
You can buy them from there. It's small and portable. It's properly enclosed. You can do your business there. I think in these situations...
Like with her, the car slipped over the snow and the wheels got bent and what not. She drove to a mechanic and... She paid $800 to get that fixed. I think in India, we have a lot of companies that provide on-road assistance if the car breaks down.
Today, she changed a headlight bulb of her car in front of me. I asked, "How do you know all this?" She said, "From YouTube videos." So, a lot of things are now possible with the help of the Internet and Youtube videos. She can repair car punctures by herself. Okay, this could be really helpful.
I used to think... ..when one leaves the city or the country... I had this thought that this practice of the entire family dropping that person at the airport or the railway station or bus station is done just by Indians. This is what we have been seeing from our childhood.
That was the case with me at least. But have a look what's happening here! Out of all these people, some are keen to see Alison's car. Alison is leaving and they are all there to see her off. It feels great to see this.
2021-07-23 16:38
