Hi there! I'm Emmajean: a traveler, writer and knowledge-seeker.

I love hiking, sampling every type of food and beer, and reading voraciously. I enjoy the challenge of learning new languages, attempting to do plyometric push-ups, and really anything that pushes me out of my comfort zone.

What I believe

I believe in travel that extends beyond beautiful pictures of beaches and lavish resorts. I believe in ethical, long-term travel and constant self-evaluation. I believe that how you present yourself as a traveler matters, and that we have an obligation to be courteous, aware of what businesses we're supporting, and make an all-around effort to put the burden of communication on ourselves. I also challenge myself to grow through different avenues -- through experiences, reading, and listening to other perspectives. 

My journey to becoming a traveler

Where it all started

I was born and raised in New Paltz, New York, about an hour and  a half north of the City. I was raised without television and with two older siblings. My parents themselves are slight oddballs: but most importantly for my development, they are unwavering in their desire to never follow the pack and intrinsically motivated to educate themselves but without college degrees.They had already planted the seeds of independence and boldness since I was little -- but they weren't huge travelers. 

I, on the other hand, had wanted to travel since middle school. By high school, I was working at McDonald’s and had decided that I was going to go to a three-week camp in Browning, Montana near Glacier National Park. I had saved up enough money to be able to pay for the fees, and eventually garnered support from my parents to assist with the airfare and buying some necessities. 

And so it all began. 

Morocco: The breakthrough

At 20, I was enrolled at university full-time and wanted to study abroad. I decided upon Morocco because, well, why not? I wasn’t studying Arabic or French or International Relations, but why does that matter?

Morocco opened up my world when it came to international travel. I realized that it wasn’t so hard to save money, buy a plane ticket, and travel to a different country. I was also able to check out Barcelona and Dublin while I was there.  

Morocco also provided me with so many wonderful opportunities to reflect and learn on my travels.  I was taking a Gender, Women and Islam course, a North African Political Systems course, and Arabic.  I began thinking about what identity was; how we were shaped; why we view people how we view them; and why, even when we travel, we stay in comfort bubbles.

Travel became less of a dream to see beautiful landscapes and more of a way to analyze, learn and understand who I am and what that means.

Chile: Working abroad for the first time

At 23 I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Urban Studies (check out my published senior capstone paper for urban studies). My next plan was already in the works: teaching abroad in Chile!

Chile taught me the harder truths of traveling: the loneliness, the difficulty in communicating, constantly; and what to do when the glitz and glamour of being in a new country wears off.

After my teaching stint ended, my partner Ramone came down from the States and we traveled for two beautiful months; one month in Chile and one month in Peru.  We had two wonderful Workaway experiences, which showed me another whole way to travel without completely breaking the bank.

I must say, those two months are still my fondest memories when it comes to travel.  It can be stressful traveling with someone else, but if you’re able to find the right person it can be the most incredible experience ever.

After being completely mind-blown by the spiritual feeling of the Sacred Valley in Peru, we returned to Milwaukee in February of 2018. I hit a low point: I wasn’t ready to be back, and I had anxiety physically manifest itself in ways that I had never experienced before. I didn’t know what I was doing next, and I felt that as a college graduate I wasn’t “successful” enough. And I certainly didn’t feel ready to settle down in a career job. 

But a job I did find: first bartending, and then as a paralegal at a law firm. And then I decided to make another move, this time to Chongqing, China. 

Moving to China

I ended up spending two years in China, because an unexpected thing -- a worldwide pandemic -- hit and blew my previous plans to smithereens. I wrote about my experiences during covid-19 in China here, and about traveling in China during covid-19 here. Due to unexpected border closures because of the above-mentioned pandemic, I was able to travel extensively within China -- all documented on the China homepage.

Current location

I moved back to the United States in August of 2021 and am currently living in Colorado Springs, where I've been able to explore the wild, wild west of the U S of A and see many states that I hadn't yet seen before. Come and follow my domestic and international adventures with me!