I'm dying here. It's been a year since my last international trip and I need borders to cross, foreign currency to squander and, if possible, a language I don't understand. I was just camping in the Mojave Desert and almost decided to drive south, into Mexico and Mayan lands beyond instead of home. Why didn't I? We've got to put this issue together, don't we? But really, jobs, responsibility, family, habit - those are the things that often hold us back from throwing on our Tevas, grabbing our packs and jumping on a flight. Does that mean if you want to really travel it's time to ditch the daily routine (and all that comes with it) for the life of a modern nomad?

Maybe.

I'll never tell anyone they shouldn't take a year abroad; especially during university learning is flexible, and about more than your GPA. If your job doesn't suit you, or the dotcom bomb has hit, I'll be the first to say, "Read this issue, move to Florence, get a job making pizza." There's nothing quite like the freedom of not owning a damn thing but what's in your backpack. Death to all To-Do lists.

But it's a misconception that only a six-month expedition is a worthy journey. Two weeks is different than two months in Japan, but the quality of your travel experience doesn't equate with time - it depends on your openness.

Go forward, never straight,
Jeff