3 Months In. Now What?
So it turns out that keeping up with posting while on the road is quite difficult, not only because of time but also because of energy. Travelling is HARD WORK, more than some people realize, especially when its something you're doing full time... and on an extreme budget. Everything from what you are going to eat to where you are going to rest your head at night and what the absolute cheapest tickets to your next destination are...it all has to be planned out and budgeted almost to the penny. That is, if you plan on being able to afford traveling around for a while. If not, be my guest and SPEND AWAY! oh, what a life.
While first planning out my adventures, I had only planned to stay in Paris, France for 2 weeks, 3 weeks MAX! I just wanted to check in on my dad doing his Study Abroad program for his Master's Degree, then scadaddle on out of there and on to the next city or country. Well... I ended up staying for a month and a half (minus a few days for an unplanned quick trip to Italy). WHOOPS! Those 6 weeks were both challenging and the most amazing weeks I could have imagined. I was fortunate enough to find out I have a distant cousin I never knew existed residing in Paris who was willing to help me out and guide me through the city. She went above and beyond and housed & fed me home-cooked meals so that I wouldn't have to incur any out of pocket fees (bless her and her husband's heart <3 ). During my last 2 weeks in Paris, I went on to meet friends my cousin from back home urged me to meet, and they introduced me to their friends, and those friends introduced me to their friends, and pretty soon I was surrounded by a group of the most amazing and caring people I could have ever hoped to find. A few of them are travelers themselves, had moved there from another country and/or work at a hostel and are familiar with the travel life. I will say a specific few have left a lasting impact and am eager to see their faces again someday. :)
I am now a month into being in Barcelona (I know I know, seriously, im sorry for not posting) and its been…interesting to say the least. Its been a strange compilation of all sorts of experiences. I’ve been sick for most of my stay here and have held a very time consuming job as a Server for 90% of my time here so… it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows for me.
I will say though, that my job has allowed me to meet some very interesting people from all over the world, and my dating life has been more lucrative in the past month than it has been almost my whole life. I guess I could call it a perk of being a foreigner…but to be fair, I’ve only gone out with guys who are from every other country but the one I’m in… *nervous laugh* I could write a whole blog post about this… but I’ll spare you. I mean… unless you want me to. my life is an open book.
Anyway, I’m almost 3 months into being in Europe. Specifically, in an are called the Schengen Zone. If you dont know what that is, I’ve linked some info for you, but if you’re not down for the link heres a quick recap. The Schengen zone is an area with an open-boarder agreement between 26 countries so that people can freely cross mutual borders freely and easily—similar to how you can go from state to state in the US. SO…as an American I’m allowed to be in this zone fore 90 without a visa, and then must exit the zone for an additional 90 days before I’m allowed back in. Well, those 90 days are almost up for me.
So now what?!
I’ve toyed with very many ideas to see how I can either stay in this zone longer or maneuver my way around the agreement so that i dont break any laws and can still continue traveling without having to go back to the US. My options are:
Apply for an extended tourist visa
Find someone to do a legal partnership with me so that I may legally find work. (called “Pareja de Hecho”)
Overstay the Visa and deal with the consequences once I’m done traveling through Europe
Travel to a non- Schengen Zone country and stay there/ travel around until I’m able to re-enter the zone (90 days)
After much research and discussion with fellow travelers/immigrants, I’ve decided to jet off to a non-Schengen county for a bit until I’m allowed back. Where, you ask? haha well you’ll have to wait and see! I’ll give you a hint though… Its a European country thats not part of the Schengen Agreement thats super tiny and most Americans haven’t even heard of. Oh, and its cold there. So if you know me well, you know this is a big deal. Can you guess where I’m heading?
So as of now, I’ve just left my job (it was a looooot of hours for super low pay), I’m trying to fit in a trip to Mallorca in the next few days, and will then be heading out of this zone and on to my next adventure. After hostel-hopping for the last month, working til 3am and not getting any real sleep, I’m super stoked to slow things down a bit and “settle down” for a while.
As always, I super appreciate all the love and support I’ve been receiving. It’s amazing to hear that some of you are now planning trips of your own you have been wanting to go on for a long time! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or send me a private message and i’ll respond as soon as I can.
Also, thank you to those of you who have donated/contributed to my travels up until now. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it this far without you guys. For those still interested in donating, the link is below. And as always, you will be receiving a postcard from wherever I am when you do donate. Or if you have any contacts or resources abroad you’d like to share leave them in the comments, email me or Private Message me on social media.
I came out here with very little and have relied on luck and the kindness of others I meet to find my way. I will say, I have been extremely lucky on my travels and there has been no shortage of kindness. Just strive to be a genuinely good person to everyone you meet and things will fall into place.
My heart is so full and I feel so lucky to have the life I have.
Ways to Contribute:
Venmo (best way):@Danni-Calderon
Paypal: danni.jay@me.com
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/world-travel-contribution
or click the button below!
