One Memory from Countries I’ve Visited (So Far– Part 1)

Traveling has been a huge part of me since childhood– even before I had recollection of it, my parents had already taken me to Taiwan at least twice to see my relatives, all the while taking me around the bustling, metropolitan Taipei. During my primary school years, we would take annual summer trips to different parts of the U.S., then Europe and Asia: it was from these vacations that I found my love for travel.

After I graduated college, I headed to France to teach English, a profession which I’ve kept at for the last three (soon-to-be four) years. While living in France, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to see Europe, which even further instilled the wanderlust in me. I created bucket lists for every destination, and I felt so happy when I visited the places.

Following my South American trip this summer, I discovered that I’d hit my 40th country in the world, that being Peru. It was a pleasant surprise, as I’d had already seen one-fifth of the world at that point in my young life…as well as inspiring me to see the remaining four-fifths soon!

I stumbled upon this video of a man who has seen every single country in the world express each memory he’s had there, and I was inspired to do something similar on this blog. In other words, I plan to recap the countries I’ve visited (so far) with a memory/opinion expressed in a single sentence. While it’s by no means a reflection of the country itself– good or bad– it’s my honest impression of how I’d perceived each of them when I visited– I’m sure you’ll have differing ones based on your own experiences.

As of now, I’ll be listing the first 10 countries in alphabetical order of the places I’ve been so far. I’m certain that it’ll break the alphabet-scheme as I continue to travel and add more countries visited to my list, but for the sake of this post, I’ll keep it in alphabetical format (as of August 2018). I hope you’ll enjoy and understand my commentary, and I’d like to know yours, if they differ! Let’s get started.

1. Austria (April 2016)

…the underrated “Germany” with the best schnitzel I’ve ever had.

2. Belgium (October 2015)

…food is greasy, artery-clogging goodness (I’m talking about you, la mitraillette!).

3. Bosnia & Herzegovina (May 2018)

…the “mini Istanbul” with the saddest, overlooked history ever.

4. Canada (summer 2001, February 2007)

(couldn’t find any travel photos of Canada, since it was so long ago…sorry!)

…the “better, nicer” U.S. with amazing maple cookies.

5. Chile (June 2018)

…hard to navigate without learning Spanish…plus, it does ceviche and Pisco Sours better than Peru (sorry!).

6. China (August 2009, August 2011)

…hot, dense, and so many damn temples (not to forget insects!).

7. Croatia (July 2006, May 2018)

…Italy’s eastern cousin that’s more expensive than you might think.

8. Czech Republic (October 2015, January 2018)

…multi-colorful buildings everywhere (not just in Prague!).

9. Denmark (July 2012)

…there’s really not that much to Danish food.

10. England (December 2015)

…somewhere I hope to give a second chance one day.