Raquel Martini

1. When do you leave?
   January 2003

2. How long do you plan to be away?
   6-12 Months

3. How much have you saved?
   $3,000 – not enough

4. How old are you?
   24

5. Nationality
   Brazil

6. Where do you live now?
   Miami, Florida, USA

7. Occupation
   student... almost finished

8. Is this job one that you actually like, or are you only doing it to pay for the trip?
   I'll come back if they'll have me

9. Have you traveled around the world before?
   No

10. What is the route you plan to take/places you plan to visit?
    New Zealand... from there to Fiji and other Pacific islands... then wherever the wind takes me.

11. Why did you decide to take this trip? What got you into this type of travel, and/or influenced you to go?
    I left for a year to Hawaii, but that was not enough. There is something inside of me, that makes me want to travel and dream about travelling the world. I 'm following my instincts.

12. What is your biggest fear about this trip?
    Not having enough money... which I don't.

13. Are your family, friends, co-workers, etc., supportive of you? What is their opinion of your going around the world?
    My family tells me to hurry up and go before they find something wrong with this idea.

14. How much planning and preparing have you done?
    Planning is for tourists.

15. What are you packing? What do you consider your most indispensable item(s)?
    A big backpack with the essentials. Most indispensable item: bikini, to swim in the crystal-clear water of beautiful Fiji.

16. How do you think your round-the-world trip will change your life? How do you think it will affect and change you as a person?
    It will not change my life, it will only make me what I meant to be as a person, more courageous.

17. Why do you think people should go on round-the-world trips? Why not just take a regular old one- or two-week vacation instead?
    Because that is life... not what society thinks you should do for the rest of your life. Travelling is our own choice, our own mind, being what it is.

18. What is the biggest myth that people have about round-the-world traveling?
    That it's imposible, and that you have to have $$$.

19. Why do you like to travel?
    Just to see things that are not a part of my world.

20. What is your advice for people planning their own RTW trip?
    Stop thinking so much, gather as much $$ as you can and go. Don't listen to people, just simply GO!