I traveled to Japan as a teenager without my family.
Somehow, I instantly felt more at home 5000 miles away than I ever did in my 400-person hometown in rural Northern California.
After that trip I was hooked on international travel. No matter what it took: I would escape “Nor Cal” and see the world.
![Why Everyone Should Study Or Live Abroad At Least Once 2 - Travel Startups View of the Kinkaku-ji or Temple of the Golden Pavilion.](https://traveltrade.xyz/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Why-Everyone-Should-Study-Or-Live-Abroad-At-Least-Once.jpg)
Kinkakuji, a beautiful golden pagoda temple in Kyoto, Japan
In college, I hustled and saved every penny I could for plane tickets abroad. Back then, flights were always my biggest travel expense. Because I hung out with the international students, I had dozens of friends who invited me to visit their home countries.
In Japan and Korea, my friends literally fought…