There are some moments that make people feel excited. I feel excited whenever I hit the road. I play the songs of Nina Simone and I start to feel freedom. As a woman, it's difficult to travel alone. But I don't want to stuck in standarts. This is why I say " Thumbs up Züma! " to myself. I started to a trip a few years ago. I believe that, if I'm lost somewhere on the world, I find myself. I study at abroad so I can easily travel somewhere. I started to this trip from Turkey to Balkan countries. I hitchhiked for the first time in my life in the beginning of this trip. I saw that many of the people care their own benefits first. After some conversation, they start sexual conversations. But nobody can do something bad if you don't want it. Whenever they ask about sexual questions, I got off from cars when they change the topic to a dirty subject. So I got used to hear that kind of questions and I got used to refuse them. After that I saw this sentence (as a woman, it's difficult to travel alone) is not fully meaningful. But you cannot realize it if you don't start to a trip. It's same as If you don’t jump with a parachute, you will never fly in the sky. If you never enter into the water, you will never know how to swim. I've hitchhiked more than 2500 km so far. I learned about many different lifestyles, cultures and perspectives. When I turned to my 19 th years old, I had the feeling that I have the knowledge of a 30 years old person. Because hitchhiking adventures gave me that feeling. I am not a tourist. I'm a wanderlust who look for adventures. I learned not to judge people with their appearances. Because who could guess that I'm a hitchhiker. I tasted milky meatball in Macedonia, I tasted gjiros in Greece which is like a kebab. I tasted trilece dessert in Albania. I tasted the being adventurer on the road. I believe that Life is not about how many breathes you take, but about the moments that take your breath away.
Translate to English Show original