My very first trip abroad wasn’t a grand adventure and didn’t have much fanfare. It was a simple day trip across the border in Mexico in 2009. I didn’t have a carefully crafted itinerary, a must-visit restaurant list, or many photos to remember it by, which is surprising because I’m usually the type to take pictures of everything. Most of the details have faded over time, but a few moments still stand out vividly.
I was visiting my boyfriend at the time while he was working in south Texas. We had planned to spend a day in Matamoros, Mexico, but the night before plans changed and we decided to drive to a different city instead. I had never planned a trip to another country before and most of my previous trips I had been tour-based or someone else already had an itinerary in mind that I was happy to go along with. This trip to Mexico was similar to the latter so the next day we drove across the boarder to Nuevo Progresso.
Those few hours in Mexico felt like a blur. My Spanish was rusty, I didn’t know what we should see or do, and I felt overwhelmed being in a new place without a plan. We wandered the streets, grabbed some food, and browsed local shops. That’s when one moment imprinted itself in my memory: stepping into a store with shelves upon shelves of Día de Muertos figurines.
I remembered learning about Día de Muertos in Spanish class and had always thought it was a beautiful tradition honoring and remembering loved ones who have passed. I wanted to bring something home as a keepsake, so I chose a small shadow box with a mariachi band. It was the perfect size to tuck into my back pack, and it still sits on a shelf in my office today as a tiny reminder of that very first international adventure.
Aside from a long wait in line to cross back into the U.S., there isn’t much else I recall about the trip. Back then, there weren’t endless social media guides filled with tips or curated photos to inspire where to go. It was just me, stepping out of my comfort zone into a new place for the first time.
Reflecting on that trip reminds me that not all journeys need to be epic or Instagram-worthy vacations. Sometimes, travel is overwhelming, messy, or short-lived, and that’s absolutely okay. Sometimes, it’s about being present in the moment. And sometimes, like for me on that trip, it’s simply the first step toward greater adventures to come.
Travel doesn’t follow a one-size-fits-all formula, and that’s one of the things I love most about it. My first trip abroad wasn’t glamorous, but it was mine and I’m grateful I took that first step.