Interview of Hannah Whitesides by Sabriya Dobbins, Project Passport Founder

When considering people to share their travel experiences, we knew we had to interview one of our own, Hannah Whitesides. Currently serving as the Business Development Partner for Project Passport, the soon to be 23-year old has been around the world and back. Born in the small suburb of Belmont, NC right outside of Charlotte, she was raised by loving parents and inspired by her adventurous older brother. For a long time, she never really thought about going abroad but a few key things in her life changed everything.

“My brother really was my biggest influence. He just told my parents he was picking up and doing his senior year of high school again in Germany then moved there for a year. At first I was like, I would never do that. But when I saw him doing all of this cool stuff, I wanted to do it too!”

The next major moment for her was in third grade. She remembers clear as day learning about the coliseum in Italy and falling in love. Her passion for history grew over the years and she knew she had to visit Italy one day. That day came 9 years later in her senior year of high school when she traveled with People to People to experience several European countries including Italy. Traveling soon became an addiction for her. Referring to her love for history, she stated that, “I think it is so important to appreciate what was there and understand what is going on now.”

One of her biggest travel experiences was when she lived in Florence, Italy for five months in 2018 through NC State University for a study abroad program. She experienced many difficulties but also so many positive things while living there.

According to people who study abroad, participants often go through three phases: Excitement, Feeling Homesick, and finally Comfort. Hannah believes she went through each of them. One of the hardest parts she mentioned were the sidewalks.

“The sidewalk etiquette was awful. Florence is so small that only emergency vehicles are allowed on the streets during the day. Sidewalks are so small. People will bump you if you don’t move over. All of the locals and tourists don’t care. One time, on the first week I was there I was pushed into the street by an old man. *laughs* My friend got hit by the side mirror of one of the cars.” 

Something as simple as larger sidewalks were just one of the things she appreciated about back home. She found herself grateful for simple things like having a car and takeout boxes from restaurants. Just the little things that America, her home country, have to offer and Italy didn’t. She explains,

“When people get down, they are not appreciative of things in their lives. Travel really helps that. This does not mean you have to go to a third world country. This even applies to going to similar countries because their ways of life are not the same.”

The highlight of her experience was hands down, the people. Since she was studying at an international school, she had the opportunity to meet friends from places like Belgium and the Netherlands. She found herself learning more about their cultures and how they viewed American culture. Though she did not get to spend as much time with people from Italy at her international school, she stayed in Florence on the weekends for the first few months to truly immerse herself in the culture.

A few of her top travel tips for keeping safe when experiencing international travel include: visiting the advisory websites prior to departure for travel warnings and an app called Air Doctor, which became her saving grace when she needed a specialist practitioner while abroad. When asked about how travel has impacted her overall mental health she compared travel to medication.

 “Just like anxiety medication or any other medication, it releases the dopamine in my brain. So when I am feeling sad or down, I want to travel because I know it will make me feel better.” 

With the spirit of a writer stemming from her mother, she documents all of her travel experiences and kindly shared beautiful journal entries of her experience in Italy. It was truly one of the most transformational adventures she has ever had. See entry below.

She is excitedly planning her next travel experience to South East Asia with a friend this coming January 2020. Connect with Hannah at Hannah.Whitesides@project-passport.com.

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Project Passport is a mental empowerment retreat and event company created to help women connect with one another and gain the tools to improve their lives in the best way possible. Each retreat experience has a unique theme with carefully designed activities to help participants grow and experience transformation. We are making mental wellness the norm, one retreat at a time. Learn more at project-passport.com.