My cousin completed an amazing study abroad trip last year. This darling go-getter has used organizational skills and adventure that have enhanced her driven spirit. She was based in Seville, Spain for this study abroad trip. At only 19 years old, she has achieved some unique goals and building a great resume.

I heard recently you have a goal to do “thirty countries by thirty” Tell me about that.

I set this goal for myself to visit thirty countries by the time I turn thirty. I know that’s ambitious since I’m turning twenty this year but I’ve visited thirteen so far.

“13 Going on 30!” (like the movie title) Did that all happen last year on your study abroad through college?

I did nine countries last fall in Europe on the study abroad. (and she had seen some of those countries with her family before).

Most are in Europe and the other four are where?

Mexico for Project Mexico and a spring break trip for school, Argentina for college, and I just did Nicaragua for a medical mission trip for college (and I count the United States.)

Do you have a favorite country?

Greece.

I agree. There’s no where like Greece. (we’re both sighing).

I never get tired of it. I will never not want to go back. With all the islands, I feel like it’s an endless vacation. That’s kind of why I would’ve loved to study abroad another semester and maybe in Athens so I could just keep going to other Greek islands instead of European countries.

What surprised you about yourself in traveling. What did you discover are your strengths or weaknesses?

I think I’ve always known myself to be an independent person just signing up for the study abroad and not knowing anybody else going. I definitely found out a lot more when I was there alone. (Just being willing to schedule the solo trip to Italy that I took and go explore by myself one weekend after having traveled with my roommates for a couple of trips.) A weakness I discovered and still kind of have is navigating public transportation on my own; not airports. It’s still confusing with the buses, boats and train routes. Airports I have down.

Do you think being multi-cultural makes you more adaptable to travel?

I don’t know…that’s an interesting question. Because I was raised in the Greek culture, I’ve grown up around a unique community of people that I wouldn’t have otherwise met. This community includes those from my local parish in Tulsa and those that I have met through G.O.Y.A. (Greek Orthodox Youth Association). All the Greek stuff definitely helps not having a culture shock whenever I go somewhere. For some people, it takes them a while to adjust. Also, being a part of the Mexican culture, it’s very family based. There’s not a lot of privacy necessarily. People are going to be straight up with you. In our American culture, people tend to be more reserved and private. That was nothing new or shocking to adjust to for me. Many European cultures are like that…very close and wanting to share what they have to say.

Now, why the study abroad? Was that part of your nursing program?

No, that was for my Spanish major. I am a double major—Nursing and Spanish. I finished all the nursing pre-requisites and going abroad really helped me focus on Spanish.

Was the Nicaragua medical mission trip part of your nursing program?

It’s to support my nursing resume. I elected to go on it.

Were your parents nervous at all for you to go on the European study abroad trip and do those weekend trips by yourself? How did you prepare for it?

They’ve seen me as a traveler when we travel together as a family. I like organizing things for our daily itinerary. They had a lot of trust in me going to Europe and seeing how I handled myself over there. When I returned and found this Nicaragua trip, they didn’t question it.

That’s really great and probably because your mom was in the Navy at your age.

Yes. She was eighteen when she signed up and went.

Tell us what a typical weekend would be for you on your study abroad trip. Tell us what basically a 72 hour trip was like for you. Did you have Fridays off?

It would depend. One of my roommates had a late class on Thursday so we would get up early Friday and go. On one of the trips to Greece, I think we took every single form of transportation in order to get to the island we wanted to get to. We started off on a bus at nite and drove three hours to another Spanish city. From the bus station, we ubered to the airport and waited until 2 a.m. Then, we had a flight to Athens and arrived at 6 am. Having been there (before to Athens) was the most helpful part because I knew we had to go down to the metro and took it all the way to the ferry port. At 10:30, a.m. we took the ferry to the island of Hydra. We finally made it!

Patrick and I have done some trips like that and we don’t mind. It is handy to have those flexibilities for various trips.

On a typical day of a weekend trip, however, we’d check into our hotel or hostel and relax but not for long so we could start immediately exploring. We’d try to hit the most historical sites…like in Paris, the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral even though it had caught on fire before we went. We saw the Eiffel Tower and things like that. One of my biggest focuses was tasting the best food in every country, because that is something I tend to remember each trip by. I started a TripAdvisor account when I was there and was constantly researching the best spots to eat. At the end of my semester I think I had made about 160 contributions on the app. The museums are important but when I think back to Paris, I remember, “I had the best crepe there.” or “I tried oysters and they were way saltier than they are in America.”

People get a lot more out of those visceral connections sometimes than they do from informative ones. I like to ask my interviewees what’s the craziest thing you’ve seen while traveling?

Our craziest experience was a hostel gone wrong in London. Initially, we were there because we are college students trying to be cost-effective. It was 18 pounds a night and near Kensington Palace so although we were a bit skeptical, we did not expect any problems. When we arrived, it did not look like the pictures. Towels were an extra cost, wifi was a cost. We elected to be in an all-female dorm but when we arrived, it was mixed. They split us up in different rooms. It smelled bad and there were men in there from different countries. We don’t know for sure but there might have even been refugees in there. We ended up going to stay in a nice hotel and paying a larger price than had we booked smarter the first time. That situation was crazy because we didn’t get everything settled until 2 a.m.

The picture of you at the top of the Alps with the Swiss flag… it gave me goosebumps and made me feel so connected to you in this love of travel. What inspired this pose?

That was my weekend in Switzerland …another completely by myself trip.  I had met my friend (who wanted to see Zurich) in Interlaken for that night. But up to that point, I was by myself. I paid the train ticket to go to the very top. It was a personal journey to go see all that natural beauty in the Swiss Alps. It seems cheesy to say but it felt like I was at the top of the world in that moment.

It looked like that! DIdn’t one of your friends comment on Instagram something funny about that picture? Like it looked like the landing on the moon…?

They said it looked like I was about to steal the Declaration of Independence. Another person said, “So proud of you for climbing Everest.”

I was cracking up when I read that.

The Top of Europe was really cold. I think my phone died because the temperature was so cold up there.  I was trying to look cute in those suede boots. There were so many tourists up there trying to take cute pictures.

What has inspired your love for travel? Anything in particular?

I definitely owe it to my mom because when we were kids she was always taking us to see different places. One of my fist trips was to Puerto Rico and I remember all the tropical surroundings, snorkeling, and seeing fish. Those were things I never saw here at home. That inspired me. Another thing was that I set a goal for myself in middle school  to work towards becoming bilingual in Spanish. Having studied Spanish for  12 years now has given me access to an entirely different part of the world. It allows me to understand all the Spanish speaking cultures. South and Central America—etc… I’m still working towards that and learning more about that. Ultimately as a nurse, I want to be able to speak Spanish to my patients.

That’s a huge plus. Even my basic skills in speaking Spanish have helped me on travels. It just comes to me when I need it. I am able to help get Patrick and me around a little bit more and translate some things for him. That’s why I also love Central and South America. Did you inherit your dad’s organizational skills for travel and his adorable travel binder? You really have the best of both–your mom’s wanderlust and your dad’s uber-organizational skills.

When I went to Nicaragua, between the time that I planned the trip and left for it, I had my own binder with my trip tickets (in case my phone died), my medical Spanish tip sheets just to have with me, etc.

I bet he was so proud! Also, do you have a favorite travel quote?

I don’t know. I don’t really have one.

I really like your “30 by 30”! So, how has traveling enriched your life?

Being able to meet people from different parts of the world and see how they live. Seeing that  makes me realize how I want to live my life here.