Summary

Colette Langley, a writer for Globetrotters, shares her passion for travel, culture, and food, emphasizing the joy of exploring new places and the importance of experiencing local cuisines.

Abstract

Colette Langley introduces herself to the Globetrotters community, expressing her excitement about sharing and hearing travel stories. She reveals her love for travel stems from the lasting experiences, cultural insights, and historical understanding it provides. Langley is particularly enthusiastic about culinary experiences, considering herself a professional eater and believing that food is a gateway to a country's culture. Having lived in various places across the United States and abroad, she values the diversity of her experiences. Currently working at Walt Disney World, she enjoys the international interactions her job offers. Langley finds it challenging to choose a favorite travel destination but lists Egypt, China, Estonia, Italy, Russia, and France among her top experiences. In her free time, she engages in a variety of activities, including traveling, exploring, cooking, and writing. Her top travel tip is to not stress over the unpredictable nature of travel, instead embracing the journey and its surprises. Langley also entertains the idea of van life as a means to explore the world freely.

Opinions

Langley believes that travel provides irreplaceable experiences and a deeper understanding of the world's history and cultures.
She is passionate about food and sees it as a crucial aspect of cultural exploration.
Having moved frequently throughout her life, she values the diversity of experiences that come with living in different places.
She enjoys meeting people from all over the world through her job at Walt Disney World and often receives travel advice and recommendations from guests.
Langley finds it difficult to pick a single best travel destination, as each place offers unique experiences that are dear to her.
Her approach to travel is to remain flexible and not stress about uncontrollable aspects, turning potential mishaps into memorable stories.
She is intrigued by the concept of van life as a way to travel and live with minimal constraints.
Langley prefers to explore cities on foot, believing it allows for a more intimate discovery of hidden gems.
She has learned from her travels that the world is beautiful, life is to be lived fully, and every travel moment should be savored.

Globetrotters Writer Spotlight — Colette Langley

Not all who wander are lost, and even when I am lost, I am still getting to explore somewhere new!

I am awful at taking pictures of myself, but here is a rare picture of myself in the Old Town of Tallinn, Credit: Colette Langley

Hi Globetrotters! My name is Colette Langley!

I am so excited to be a part of this community and get to know all of you a bit better! I am looking forward to sharing travel stories and being inspired by stories from others!

I love to travel because the experiences you have will last for a lifetime! When you travel you get to learn so much about other cultures and the world we live in. You are able to step into such historical places and learn about the history that was made there. I experience so much awe when I step into landmarks that are hundreds and even thousands of years old. It is so incredible to learn about these places and see them with your own eyes. You are also able to interact with so many individuals and learn from every person you encounter.

My number one travel activity is eating. I am very passionate about food. A professional eater you might say. And I believe food provides wonderful insight into a country’s culture. Food is also magical. It is delicious, heart-warming, and often results in people gathering together to enjoy it. I think trying the local cuisine should be a top priority for travelers. I always seek out restaurants that are recommended by locals and reflect the local cuisine.

I come from all over the place! I moved around a lot while I was growing up. We hardly stayed in one location for more than two years. In total, I have lived in nine different places. Most of them are in different states in the United States but I also had the opportunity to live overseas. Starting from the very beginning: I was born in Colorado, and then lived in Virginia, Hawaii, Kazakhstan, Belgium, Maryland, Texas, California, and Florida. There are also a couple of these states that involved a few moves within them, however, I will not bore you with the details of each and every move.

I was also so fortunate to have been able to travel a lot growing up. My family took advantage of each location we lived in and explored areas close by. While we lived overseas, we were able to visit so many countries.

I work as a Cast Member at Walt Disney World. I have been working here for almost three years now. One of the great aspects of my job is that I get to meet people from all over the world. I learn a lot of travel advice from our guests, and I love when I get the chance to have a conversation about where a guest is from. There have been numerous locations that have been added to my bucket list due to a guest recommendation.

The best place I’ve been is…this is a really difficult question. I am lucky to have been able to travel to so many places and it is extremely difficult to pick the “best place.” The locations that top my list include Egypt, China, Estonia, Italy, Russia and France. Each place I have been to had unique characteristics and experiences. I love being able to experience new things, so I often think my most recent trip was the best. However, they all hold special places in my heart!

In my spare time, I like to travel, explore, eat, be outside, garden, cook, write and read. And many more things, those are just the ones I am able to fit into my schedule most often. I always feel the need to be active and I get restless being in one spot for too long. Traveling has allowed me the opportunity to learn so many things and explore spectacular places.

My top travel tip is not stressing about what you can’t control. In fact, don’t even stress about the things you can control. Traveling can stressful even for experienced travelers. The simple fact that you are traveling to a brand new country means that there are likely going to be situations that push you outside of your comfort zone. Those situations will likely happen multiple times every day and things will not always work out how you planned them. I am a planner and like to have trips scheduled out.

However, traveling usually involves at least a few mishaps and that is a part of what makes it so exciting! Try not to let the stress of traveling get to you and instead try to take in each moment and savor every minute of your adventure. Worst case, the crazy experience you are having will make a great story in the future!

If I could live somewhere else, I’d live in a van. The van life has always intrigued me. Being able to hop into your home and move it somewhere new is a mind-blowing concept. You could explore so many places and have minimal worries about being away for a long time. You can move to wherever your heart is drawing you. Then you can spend as little or as long as you want there. I would also love to take my van around the world. (I know that is not entirely feasible seeing as there is quite a large body of water in between the United States and many other countries, but I am sure there is a way that I could ship my van across the ocean). I have yet to work out all the details and there are still many things that are holding me back, but you never know where life may take you!

My favorite way to travel is by foot. I am that crazy person who thinks you can walk just about anywhere. I love exploring cities by foot as you are able to see so many things that you would rush by otherwise. I often find some of the most amazing hidden spots when I choose to walk around. It is not always feasible to travel around a city on foot and still experience all the landmarks you want to see. However, if there is a way to do it within a reasonable amount of time, I will likely be able to find it!

Three lessons I’ve learned from traveling are:

The world is such a beautiful place!

I can go down a major rabbit hole looking at pins on Pinterest related to traveling. There are so many gorgeous and incredible places that exist in our world. I am always amazed at getting to experience landmarks and monuments in person.

2. Live. Laugh. Love.

I know, I know. So cliché. But also, so true. Traveling has a way of enforcing this cliché. I feel most alive when I am traveling the world and experiencing new things. I find so much satisfaction from traveling, and it has provided life-changing experiences. You also learn to laugh things off and enjoy the small (and big) moments. Finally, traveling teaches you a lot about love in so many forms. You are able to experience the love people have for their countries and you are able to meet people and learn about their passions.

3. Savor every moment.

Traveling has been such a blessing and I am so fortunate for all the places I have been able to go. Traveling has taught me to savor every moment and not take anything for granted. When your travels get hectic, take the time to slow down and enjoy your surroundings!

This is day nine of the 60-day writing challenge! Thank you so much to Alain Polo for inviting me to join! I am so excited to be writing alongside everyone in this challenge! Many thanks to all the members of the 60-DWC:

Elvie Lins, Adriianna Lagorio, Jason Edmunds, Carmellita, Brendan — Coaching Apprentice, Pierre. My stories are my life., Indigo, Heather Cooper, Judy Derby, Kerrie Gutierrez-Diaz, Catherine Ware, Gustavo Gallina, Harmony S, Divyata Dewan