MEET HANA
Some people choose travelling as an escape tool and that was what Hana did to have a break free from all the hassle of life. However, she was not aware of the travel bug in her that was about to expose until she purchased that one flight ticket to Australia. That one year living on that world end land, she got to learn about the life of a solo traveller and how to survive under a budget.
“I’d been living the London life as a working professional – as a Make Up Artist, which I’d worked really hard for after leaving school and I’d managed to land my dream job working in the West End by the age of 20. This then progressed and I joined one of the biggest shows 6 months later. The Lion King became my family for 3 whole years and I cherish the friends and the moments that I made there, they honestly helped me become the person I am today”
Hana was a Makeup artist for some years but she did not want to limit herself in only just that part of the career. In 2013, she had to go through a tough time of her life which made her decide to quit everything for a fresh start. At that time, she was ready to be on her own for awhile. She decided to take one year break from everything to explore a new land and she chose Australia and to also fulfil her passion for surfing. At that moment, she did not know anything about what it would be like to travel alone but somehow it never got to her. ” I never felt scared of being alone and I was never alone” – Hana shared with me how she scoped with being alone while travelling even though those moments were scarce. “However, travelling alone was like having all the freedom you could get – you get up and go on without no commitment. You also don’t have to worry of upsetting anybody”.
“The freedom I’ve learnt to appreciate is different to this kind, there’s been some real spirit lifting moments that I’ve had since travelling, and quite often and it’s always when I realise that I have nothing to tie me down whilst travelling. Nothing to keep me in one place when I feel like moving on to somewhere new. Nothing to stop me from making spontaneous decisions or taking spontaneous trips, meeting what ever kinds of people I like, spending my time however and with whomever I choose and the one part of this freedom I’ve appreciated and enjoyed the most, even though it hasn’t always worked out like it did in my head at times, is being completely in charge of myself and learning to make my own decisions based on myself and not on anyone else’s input or influence”.
– Hana’s thoughts on What becoming a backpacker has done to me..
During that one year she was trained and became a surf instructor in Australia. It was like a dream come true for Hana and it also helped her with her stay in this expensive country. At that time, the travel bug in her got her like a disease that she did not want it to be cured. This travel bug however has developed a person that knows Hana better and what she wants in life. While travelling, she did not want to miss out a chance to document her journey so that Backpacking Han-solo was born. She passionately shared with me her love for writing once she’d first started writing the first ever post. “The more I write, the more I love it”. At the moment, Hana is in The UK about to get a degree on nursery. Ferhweh still lingers around but she aims to move back to Australia one day and never stop living a life of a wanderer.
Angela Koblitz 