Daily Hayley Adventures

My First Travel Experience

Travel makes you modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world
— Gustave Flaubert

As many of you know, I am very passionate about traveling. To this day, I am not sure where my drive came from. I lived in a very rural part of Pennsylvania most of my life and the only trips my family ever went on were to the Jersey Shore. My father sometimes traveled for work, but my mother never had any interest. I often think maybe my passions came out of the fact that I didn’t have the opportunity to travel and go on nice vacations like my friends did. I thought if my parents weren’t going to take me somewhere, I would take myself. And at 16 years old, that’s what I did.

June 2014-

I had just graduated high school in the top 10% of my class and was accepted into Purdue University’s engineering program. I had taken French classes throughout middle and high school, and at the end of the year our french class had a 10 day trip planned. I started asking my parents in the fall of 2013 when the information on the trip became available. Given that I had taken french for so many years, I thought it was a wonderful idea to get to visit and use my skills.

My last name is LaRiviere, and has the direct translation of “the river”. My grandparents on my fathers side had the french genes, and I was the only one in the family who was continuing the language. My grandmother used to write to me in her broken french, after settling in New England for the latter years of her life. I used these examples in the reasons why I thought my parents should let me go on this trip. After begging for months, I finally got the approval.

My parents agreed to split the cost with me. From my memory, the 10 day trip cost around $4000. On my 15th birthday I got a job and had been working since. I saved up a lot of money and started a payment plan with my father, sending him ~200$ a month until the trip.

When the time for the trip came around, I was SO excited. Not only was this my first international trip, but it was the first time I had ever been on a plane! Yep. My first flight was an overnight to Paris from Philadelphia. I wasn’t nervous or anxious at all, just so excited to finally go on a trip! I boarded my flight with my classmates and luckily Mason and I had a row of 3 seats to ourselves! After a few hours I tried to sleep for the night, and would wake up in a strange yet magical place.

And that’s how it all started. One incredible eye-opening experience in a foreign country. I realized how little I knew about the world, and I made it a goal of mine to learn as much as I could.

My name is Hayley and I’m 22 years old. I have two younger siblings and I’m from a small town 30 miles north of Philadelphia where I lived until I left for college at 17.

I studied Chemical Engineering and Global Engineering Studies at Purdue University, and graduated with my bachelors in May 2019. I’ve worked 4 internships since my freshman year. Two in Cincinnati in the pharmaceutical industry, one in California for a winery, and my last one in Rhode Island in the biotech industry. During my time at Purdue I also completed a French culture course on a 5-week trip in Paris, and studied abroad at the university of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

So now that we’re through the boring stuff, I’ll talk more about my personal life. I am a travel addict. My first flight was an overnight to Paris after I graduated high school. It was my first vacation away from the Jersey Shore where my family went nearly every year. I had saved up all my money working my part time job and split the cost of the trip with my parents. When I boarded that flight from Philadelphia I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had no idea that the journey would never end. After that, I had gone on many trips in the states including to California, Florida, Washington, and more within that next year. I drove to Canada over winter break two times with my best friends from home. When I went back to France for the maymester I also had the opportunity to visit Belgium. Little by little, the trips started adding up. I found myself researching trips and planning vacations I didn’t have time for. In the fall of 2016 was the biggest trip I had so far: Australia.

On July 12th 2016 I boarded a flight destined for Sydney, and then ultimately Brisbane. To this day, I still believe those 5 months to be the best of my life. Now it wasn’t all fun, I was juggling 3 engineering courses and an elective on Australia’s marine environment. I had to study but I also saved lots of time for fun and exploring. During the week before finals, I went to Fiji with friends from university. The week after finals, I set off to my first backpacking trip. I started in Thailand and spent 10 days exploring the beautiful islands including Koh Samui and Koh Tau. I went with a tour group which provided transportation and comfort along the way. After that, I headed to Bali and spent a few days exploring the island and the culture it had to offer. I had a day tour with a wonderful English couple who I still keep in contact with today. After that I headed off to the island of Java, where I would be away from the tourists and explore the wonderful landscapes Indonesia had to offer. Flash forward 3 years, and I have now been to 24 countries and 35 states.

I never thought I would be one to write a blog but seeing the impact some of my posts have on friends and followers really helped push me to do it. I often get messages like “How do you do it?” “Where do you find the time?” “How can you afford it?” And I plan to give my most detailed answer on my personal experience with travel.

The Start of it All

My First Travel Experience

About Me