Photo by Kiara Farley
When I was 18, I had my first experience with international public transportation. The Tube (a rather endearing nickname for London’s underground subway system) just about dismembered me when the train doors slammed shut much too close to a few of my extremities. Somewhere in the back of my mind it occurred to me that I was probably going to need that arm later. Probably.
The good news is that I wasn’t injured, merely scared out of my wits. I got over the whole ordeal and stepped onto countless Washington, DC, metro trains during the long commute to my internship last summer. I subjected myself to all manner of similar near-death experiences on a daily basis—almost getting bumped onto the tracks, nearly being choked to death by the distinct odor of 12-year-old Boy Scouts, and practically sweating off my body weight when the air conditioning malfunctioned. These experiences occurred regularly, I can assure you.
I can also assure you that creating my arsenal of memoirs and retelling them has given me a dependence on laughter that you wouldn’t believe. After all, what’s life without experiencing a couple of tough flight landings, a few crazy double-decker bus drivers, and more than a handful of packed subway cars? Life isn’t meant to be a typical ride on your typical grade-school bus.
Just like life is not your typical bus ride, Stowaway is not your typical magazine read. This carefully crafted vehicle of sorts has been built to do exactly what you were meant to do—experience. Experience exotic foods, frustrating language barriers, heart-pumping thrills, and exhausting (but entertaining) layovers, with a pinch of common-sense tips on the side. Many of us won’t make it to Cambodia, Norway, and the Dominican Republic, but we can all muster the motivation to do something and to create memories wherever we stand, climb, bike, ride, or fly.
It’s not hard to become a memoir—and we’re here to pick you up and take you to the next stop in your story.
Enjoy the ride!
Talyn Camp
Managing Editor