E o vencedor é….

I know you all have been eagerly waiting to hear who has won my round the world giveaway…and today, the wait is over.

We got thousands of entries and it was really hard to narrow it down. It took me a lot longer to read the entries than I originally thought and it took even longer to narrow down a winner. There were a lot of good submissions but, in the end, there can be only one and I had to pick a winner.

And that winner is…

Heather T. from California.

Heather, 26, attended Carnegie Mellon university as a materials science and engineering major and currently works as a senior expert for IBM. inspired by the life and death of her mother, she made a decision to start treating her life with urgency. Heather filled her complimentary time with singing, salsa dancing, scuba diving, amazing friends, and as lots of adventures as she could fit in. At twenty-six, she’s recently applied to grad school so that one day, hopefully, she’ll be making a difference with an advanced degree in Public Policy.

In her own words, here are ten facts about her:

I’m a scuba diver

My sister is 10 months younger than me. For one month, annually we are *technically* the same age.

I make homemade artisan ice cream in flavors like sour cream, mango jalapeño, and sweet potato.

I earned my degree in materials science and engineering from Carnegie Mellon university before taking a job in Business.

I’m used to moving around a lot. I’ve moved a lot more than 20 times (I’ve lost count). I went to 5 elementary schools 1 middle school, 2 high schools and three colleges.

I’m learning Spanish. I’ve always loved the language. growing up in LA I was surrounded by it and always wanted to learn. I’ve been taking lessons but I’m ecstatic for a lot more hands on experience!

I’m very allergic to cats and strongly dislike them. Technically allergic to dogs too but I’m a pet dog lover so I don’t mind so much!

I haven’t eaten fast food considering that I was 16. I saw incredibly size me in high school and gave it up instantly. soda too.

I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart.

I have a huge family. My daddy is one of 5 and my mommy was one of 14. and I have 9 siblings.

She’ll be leaving next month and we’ll be getting updates from her journey. Heather will be starting in South America before heading over to Africa then Southeast Asia and looping back to Europe before grad school! I’ll feature her each month to share what she’s been up to!

Here is her winning essay:

At 16, after 10 years of separation, I met my mother. She had previously been incarcerated in federal prison and I barely remembered her.

My mother was wild and warm. One time, she picked me up wearing bright green shoes, blue pants, a red top, and her hair newly dyed purple at the roots. Puzzled, we stared at her.

“Mom, what are you wearing?!” nós perguntamos.

“O que? My shoes match my pants, my pants match my top, and my top matches my hair.”

In January 2015, she was given 3 months to live when she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer that had metastasized to both breasts, lungs, liver, bones, spine and brain. My mother was tough, so she lasted 8 months. I saw the pang of regret in her eyes that only comes from a life unlived. She always waited, believing there would be a lot more time to meet her life.

My mother had the power to make any individual laugh and she could talk any individual into nearly anything. She taught me to live a lot more and take risks. Over the 7 years we shared, she became my best friend. We talked every day. She completed a part of me I never knew was missing. She was the most exceptional person I’ve ever known. even after all the pain in her life, she knew how to find happiness in life and she taught me to do the same. I am so thankful every day that she found me and saved me from who I was becoming.

I feel cheated a lot of days over the short time I had with her. When she passed, something awoke in me. six months after she passed, I took my first trip abroad. I checked out Spain with my sister. four months later I spontaneously traveled to Iceland and got scuba certified so I could dive between the continents in 0°C water. two months later, I got an unexpected break from work, so I traveled to London, Paris and Geneva on a whim. 5 countries in one year. I was on a roll. earlier this year, I took a solo trip to Colombia and in a month, I am headed to Berlin, Prague and Budapest. travelling is now my favorite hobby, especially solo travel, which gives me the opportunity to break out of my shell.

Each day I feel chained to the job that I worked so hard to earn. I dream about taking off and travelling for an extended period of time. This trip would be the best opportunity to do so. I would share my adventures through travel blogging and photography. I think my perspective as a single female black traveler is mainly missing from the travel blogging domain.

Life is short and beautiful and I want to make the most of it. I would much raHá minha mãe aqui nesta terra, mas na ausência dela, fico feliz por ter aprendido a sorte de ter as aventuras na minha frente.

(Heather e sua mãe)

***Obrigado a todos os que entraram. Eu gostaria de ter escolhido todos vocês, mas, infelizmente, não investi em Bitcoin ou qualquer outra criptomoeda estranha, então não posso!
Espero que este concurso o tenha inspirado a agir, planejar uma viagem e sonhar grande. Desejo -lhe bem em suas futuras viagens e espero que meu livro como viajar pelo mundo por US $ 50 por dia ajude você a aprender a viajar mais barato, melhor e mais inteligente!

Boas festas, Feliz Natal e Ano Novo encantado!

Como este é o último post do ano, vejo você em 2018!

– Matt

Como viajar pelo mundo por US $ 50 por dia

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Clique aqui para aprender muito mais e comece a ler hoje!

Reserve sua viagem: idéias e truques logísticos
Reserve seu voo
Encontre um voo barato usando o Skyscanner. É o meu mecanismo de pesquisa favorito, porque ele pesquisa sites e companhias aéreas em todo o mundo, para que você sempre saiba que nenhuma pedra é deixada sobre

Reserve sua acomodação
Você pode reservar seu albergue com o Hostelworld. Se você quiser ficar em algum lugar que não seja um albergue, use o booking.com, pois eles consistentemente retornam as taxas mais baratas para househs e hotéis.

Não se esqueça do seguro de viagem
O seguro de viagem o garantirá contra doenças, lesões, roubo e cancelamentos. É uma proteção detalhada, caso tudo dê errado. Eu nunca viajo sem ele, pois tive que usá -lo muitas vezes no passado. Minhas empresas favoritas que oferecem o melhor serviço e valor são:

Segurança (melhor para todos)

Assegure minha viagem (para aqueles com mais de 70 anos)

MedJet (para cobertura de evacuação adicional)

Pronto para reservar sua viagem?
Confira minha página de recursos para as melhores empresas usarem quando você viajar. Eu listo todos os que uso quando viajo. Eles são os melhores da aula e você não pode errar usando -os em sua viagem.