…I traveled. A lot.
My mother and father were inspired to travel the world by a story they had read about a family of modest income which had decided to sail around the world with their 3 children. Being from the doubly landlocked state of Indiana, no one in our family knew about sailing, so the dream was put on hold. That was until 9/11 dramatically changed the market for tourism. My parents being from immigrant families knew the world wasn’t filled with people wishing to do the everyday citizen harm. They knew the world was filled with kind, normal people, and that flying was still the safest form of travel, so they took advantage of dirt cheap air fares and airline miles, put work on hold, and embarked on a world journey with us kids in tow.
We did not travel in luxury. Far from it. We stayed on a tight strict budget. When arriving at an odd hour of the night we would opt to sleep in the airport, bus or train stations. When possible we stayed with family, friends, friends of friends, and very giving acquaintances/strangers. In places where we knew we might stay a long time and could acquire the proper resources we would also try to camp.
Despite our parents being about 40, the presence of kids afforded us many otherwise locked-off opportunities, like staying at youth hostels. There we could cheaply make our own food, and if we were lucky, do laundry. We had only a handful of quick dry shirts and zip-off cargo pants so they could be washed in a sink or shower. In water poor places it wasn’t uncommon for us to go a week without doing laundry or showering. But being young, us kids didn’t notice the smell and our parents quickly learned to accept it as a part of life.
Doing everything we could to save money to afford better experiences, my parents showed me you could negotiate for anything from the fare of a taxi to the price of an apple. So at the ripe ages of 6, 8 and 9 my siblings and I learned to haggle for everything we wanted. For me this usually included candy, small animals toys, or small experiences like a toboggan ride or a museum exhibit.
I can recall an example when hopping the islands of Greece. The owners of the hotels and inns of the islands would rush the ferry boats as passengers get off. They would attempt to convince us to stay in their accommodations. When the competition is 15 hotels and only 1 small family of tourists your leverage when negotiating is high even as a child. Being 90 degrees with 100% humidity, and no air conditioning for a hundred miles, my siblings and I wanted a hotel with a pool, plus it’d be hours of fun. While my mother and father took on 5 hotel owners a piece, my sister and I approached a man with a brochure with a pool on it. Knowing next to no English he communicated a single night with him would be 30 Euros. My sister and I convinced the man to 15 Euros. My parents however were settling on a room for 10 Euros, without a pool. They told us if we wanted to stay at the hotel with the pool we’d have to skip dinner to stick to the budget. DEAL. To get out of the miserable heat and have a few hours of fun, skipping one meal would be worth it.
The family deciding between comfort and adventure would become a common practice. Us kids complained very little about these decisions because we knew the rewards for temporary discomfort would be greater in the end. And if we were lucky, we might find a way to make it enjoyable anyway.