Backpacking

katliamom
Thu, 28 Sep 2006 13:02:49 +0000

Go for it. Go with a friend. Don’t hitchhike. Dress appropriately (and not in an obviously American way.) Stay in hostels, pensiones and cheap hotels. Talk with the locals as much as you can, open yourself to the new culture as much as you can. Email home often. Repeat: email home often.

This is the advice I gave D when she was traveling in Argentina last year as a 17 year old high school exchange student. (Yes, it was scary for me.) But I did same as a 17 year old in Europe, except with a backpack, and no such thing as email.