Where Did She Go Now?

It all starts with one word: Hello. This word is the doorway to the human connection, the first word we say that may lead to the greatest bonds of all time. This is the one word, besides thank you that I learn in every language possible before visiting a new country. It is our key to unlock other cultures.

So let’s begin…
Hello, my name is Elena Favaro Viana and I love to travel. I’ve read many a time that our generation, or mine in particular is the 20-something generation of travelers or what I like better, the walking wanderers of a dream. I just turned 20 this year, and can now loosely use this term, however, I feel as if I am the walking stereotype of our millenium. Therefore my goal is: To be as different as possible when I travel, and really embrace the human connection. During Buddha’s enlightenment he achieved three great knowledges that lay as the foundation to his teachings, one of these principles was the interconnectedness of the human kind. How one aspect of our life, can send out a ripple effect reaction, affecting everyone we meet. I want to honor this.

In my fine, ripe age of 20 I am currently taking my time in getting a BA degree in Global Studies with a minor in Religion and Culture at Wilfrid Laurier University just outside of Toronto, Canada. Yes, I am a Canadian, eh! My traveling obsession has gotten the better of me seeing as most of my essays are now centered around some form of tourism, cultural destination, or political instability in countries I still want to visit.

The BIG Goal: According to the United Nations there are approximately 195 countries in the world today, and I am aiming to visit 100 of them. I have a love for photography, a passion for writing down everything I see, hear and smell and a calling for being anywhere but here.

You can check out my personal favorite post for a taste of what this blog is about, the connections of hello: A Story from Cambodia.

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Asked Alice

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to” said the cat.

-Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

THE SOLO TRIPS:

(My whole life) I have to been to Italy over 45 times and am returning again this Christmas

(2008) I experimented with Solo travel at age: 18 to Montreal for New Years and Cuba with some friends.

(2009) Time for my 6 week Adventure throughout East Coast Australia. I planted tree’s for two weeks, and backpacked the rest!

(2009) Headed to Fiji…. why not?

(2009) I got a special invitation to spend two week’s in Czech Republic, 1 week in Prague, and another week in Pardubice with a friends family.

(2010) Semester At Sea: USA, Mexico, Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Brazil and back to USA

(2010) Back to India for a Spiritual Retreat at an Ashram, and bus trip through Northern India, the flew to London, England and Amsterdam.

(2010) Little trips continued to keep my busy… New York City, the Hamptons, Vancouver, Miami etc…

December 2010 A getaway to New York City, Christmas in Italy, and a weekend in Budapest, Hungary

February 2011 Guatemala

May-August 2011  The Next Big Trip: Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia

December 2011 Christmas in Italy and New Years in Miami

TOTAL COUNT ON GOAL: 34 Countries

GET TO KNOW ME BETTER

• I AM a vegetarian aspiring to one day be vegan
• I HAVE Sky dived three times, working my way up to ten
• I AM addicted to chocolate chip cookies from Chips Ahoy
• MY FAVORITE movies are: One Fine Day, Penelope and Finding Nemo
• I AM Italian, speak the language but do not like the food
• I WILL never leave my house without my camera or journal
• WHEN TRAVELING the food I miss most is Apple Pie and Mashed Potatoes
• I LOVE reading biographies of struggle. Some favorites include: The Damage Done and A Piece of Cake
• I AM not brave, terrified of leeches, spiders and the dark
• ONE DAY I will live in a bungalow on the beach and wake up every morning to a sunrise over the ocean

CONTACT INFO:

The only reason we don’t know each other is because you haven’t sent me an e-mail saying hello!

What are you waiting for?

elena.favaroviana@hotmail.com

TWITTER: www.twitter.com/weredidshegonow

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