Five Lessons I Learnt on My Trip to USA

Originally this blog was going to be called “Highlights and Lessons learnt on my trip to USA” however I cannot actually identify any highlights. The whole thing was just one big amazing trip that I will remember for a lifetime. Of course, nothing ever runs smoothly so here are some lessons I learnt on my trip.

1. Always drink water, especially in the desert (i.e Vegas) and especially if alcohol is involved. One thing I didn’t realise was how much traveling, and traveling around the desert would do to my body. Add in food on the go, alcohol and late nights *Cough vegas cough* and you might run into a bit of trouble. For me it was one day out after vomiting on the bus.
2. Always, always have Travel Insurance. Nothing ever goes wrong for me so I wasn’t worried but WOAH did I have a scare and cross my heart I was so glad I got hooked up with Worldcare. Basically, I was at Universal, Orlando and watching a Fear Factor Show. I flicked my phone out to take a photo and boom I dropped it - 12 metres below the stadium! And I had to wait an hour before I could find out if it was okay and I was so stressed! Then I remembered I had Worldcare and I breathed again. You can't always be in control of everything when you're travelling so sometimes it's best to get everything covered so you can enjoy every single moment.
3. I have a golden ticket - This was something my Topdeck tour guide taught me. The golden ticket is my accent. It makes me an easy target for the locals to strike up a conversation, I can talk to the locals and learn from them. Get the intel, learn and make friends. Americans are super friendly and you never know where it might lead us too.
4. Always have back-up's - Cards, cash, documents. In Vegas, I may have lost one of my money cards but no problems because I had a backup debit card so I just transferred the cash and sorted it in minutes. Honestly, it can be stressful and it really doesn't hurt to have back-ups when you're traveling.
5. Changing through states is well, complicated -   America has 50 states and without realising it I traveled through about 7 of them. The times changed and the laws changed. This was pretty important especially as a few times I was behind the wheel of a car. Make sure you do a quick refresh on the local laws before entering each state - believe me they have some weird ones!

I feel like there are so many lessons I learnt but at the end of the day just make sure you're prepared, you have travel insurance, backups and are aware of your surroundings. It sounds silly but you are in a foreign country miles away from home comforts so be smart and have the time of your life.