I hate finality and therefore I am afraid of changes – but most of the time my curiosity is stronger. That is why I was always eager to travel, to meet new people and to see new places.
After my A level I visited friends in the US and was lucky to stay with their families for three weeks. I flew to Illinois all by myself not knowing what to expect. On the flight I was upgraded to business class (which is a a big relief with a disability) and I ended up having the time of my life in the suburbia of Chicago.
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
Everybody welcomed me, took me places, no matter how many times my wheelchair had to be put in the trunk or how many stairs I had to be carried up and down. No matter how exhausting it was to entertain me. We had a blast and I am still so thankful for those weeks!
Six Flags Great America, Gurnee
Afterwards I studied the International Degree Programme in Applied Leisure Studies B.A. in Bremen, a northern German city 400 miles away from my home town – and 400 miles away from friends and family. Living independently with a disabilitiy was a great experience.
Earlier adventures in mind I wanted to spend my semester abroad somewhere overseas. My friends were crazy about Australia. So why not see the 5th continent? We got along pretty well during the semesters. There was no doubt: We wanted to do this together.
Two friends flew to Perth to start searching a flat, a friend and me followed three days later. That was when the odyssey started. Due to bad weather we missed our connecting flight in London. We had to stay in Heathrow. In addition our booking was changed and we had to fly from London to Sydney (which is on the other side of Australia as you know) via Singapore to finally fly back to Perth. To spice it up my luggage got lost somewehere between Stuttgart and Perth. As we arrived our friends told us right away that they already had found a flat share – for the two of them.
Joondalup, Western Australia
I guess they were in panic not to find a flat and grasped the first lifebelt. I am grateful that my friend stood by my side during all of the six months although it was a tough time for both of us. I was down a lot. And we had to lower our sights in a lot of ways because our accessible flat was way more expensive than we had planned. We were out in the great wide world but our opportunities were low. And still the Australia experience shaped me and made me stronger.
Harbour Bridge, Sydney
About nine months ago I called an old friend. 'What are you up to?' I asked him. 'I am planning to travel to Tokyo but nobody wants to go with me.' Now here we are, flights booked, excited to explore Japan in two weeks. Of course a lot of points are uncertain. We never travelled together, so will we get along? How accessible is Japan for real? But once again the thrill of the unknown was stronger!