A school teacher who is on a mission to visit 30 different countries before she turns 30 has revealed she’s already spent a staggering makes her a better teacher after spending $20,000 on her trips across the globe.
Teacher, Meghan Ramsey, 29, from Washington, D.C., has traveled to 27 countries around the world so far and has 11 months left to complete her phenomenal feat before her milestone birthday next year.
But far from simply wanting to tick off a goal on her bucket list, Meghan – who takes full advantage of her six-week-long annual vacation, as well as her weekends, to plan and make her trips – insists that her global adventures have helped to make her a better teacher.
Off she goes! Teacher Meghan Ramsey, 29, pictured in China (left) and Greece (right) is on a mission to visit 30 different countries before her 30th birthday
Life experience: The Washington, D.C. resident has 11 months to go until her milestone birthday, and has thus far traveled to 27 different countries, including Puerto Rico (pictured)
Home and away: Meghan takes full advantage of her six months of annual vacation in order to enjoy her longer-distance trips to places like Capri, Italy (right) and visits different states in the US, including New York (left) on weekends
Home is where the heart is: The teacher, pictured in Washington, D.C., says that she has always known she wanted to help and educate children
However, while her travels may well be helping her to enrich both her personal and professional lives, it has taken a toll on her bank account, with the teacher revealing that she supplements her core income with part-time jobs as a babysitter and a professor in order to afford her getaways.
Meghan currently earns just under $84,000 a year, and is able to plan her trips well in advance thanks to the fact that her vacation days are set in stone based on her school’s schedule.
As well as visiting 27 countries so far, Meghan has also made weekend trips to 44 of America’s 50 states.
‘I have pretty much always known I wanted to be a teacher,’ said Meghan.
‘My first job was at an afterschool program. I loved helping children and knew it was something that I wanted to continue to do for the rest of my life.
‘I teach primary school children and I cover all subjects including maths, reading and writing. I also taught during summers spent in Zambia and China.
‘While I was in university I volunteered at a shelter for homeless children and students taken into foster care, and I saw major disparities between the education I received and what they were receiving. This gave me a huge passion for helping children of all backgrounds and that’s why I continue to teach to this day.
‘I believe that education is the way to a brighter and better future, no matter who or where you come from, an education can make all the difference.
‘As a child, my family did a lot of trips to states like Colorado and Arkansas, which made me love exploring and getting outside. It’s always stuck with me as something I love.
‘In school, I used money from my job to go on a trip to Italy and to Mexico twice. Then in university I worked over 40 hours a week while studying so I could go to England, France and Uganda. Once I got my full-time job, paying for trips became much easier and I could travel more often.
Culture: Meghan, pictured in Rome, Italy, believes that her travels around the world help her to be a better teacher
Special: She says that one of her favorite trips thus far was to Peru (pictured) because of its diversity
Anywhere and everywhere: Meghan has spent time teaching children during some of her travels to places likes Zambia (right) and China, while also enjoying some trips where she hasn’t taught, like Turkey (left)
Working hard: In order to fund her travels, Meghan supplements her teacher salary by working part-time as both a babysitter and a professor
Favorites: Meghan, pictured left in Barcelona and right on the Amalfi coast, says that Italy is one of her favorite places in the world because it is ‘such a beautiful country’
‘Traveling has always been a priority for me, that’s why I’ve been able to go to so many places.
‘I have a few favorite destinations, but my absolute favorite trip was probably my trip to Peru because it’s such a diverse and wonderful country.
‘Another personal favourite is Italy. I know it sounds cliché because that’s what everyone says about Italy, but it’s such a beautiful country with so much to offer.
‘As a teacher I actually think it’s fairly easy to find the time to travel. Yes, you work extremely long hours as I do 50 hours a week, but we do get holidays off and at least six weeks for them.
‘All our breaks are planned out, so we can prepare for them. By June, I know what days off I have in December.
‘If you plan it, you’re able to find some amazing deals for when you’ve got a week off. There are a few government holidays we get off as well, so I use those to plan trips within the U.S.
‘Traveling has definitely helped me become a better teacher. Understanding different perspectives and different people helps us gain perspective on what we do and who we are.
‘The better you know yourself as a teacher, the better you’re able to help your students. Teaching in Zambia and China also helped me understand the profession of teaching better and I brought back new practices for my own classroom.’
Meghan wants to encourage others, of any profession, to travel more and to reap the rewards of traveling, as she hopes to travel to 30 countries by her 20th birthday in August 2019.
Meghan has previously been stranded abroad and had to miss a day of work until she could get a flight back to teach her class of 25 pupils.
Uh oh: Meghan’s trips have not been without their difficulties, with the teacher revealing that she once got stranded abroad and had to miss a day of work until she could get a flight back to teach her class of 25 pupils
Scheduling: Although Meghan, pictured in Portugal, is very grateful for her lengthy vacations, she admits that it can make traveling tricky at times because you can’t be flexible about your dates
Life lessons: ‘I’ve never felt like traveling was a waste of time,’ Meghan, pictured in Versailles, says of her passion
Sights and sounds: Meghan makes sure to visit some of the most iconic areas of the countries that she visits, be it in the US with somewhere like the Grand Canyon (left), or further afield like Peru’s Machu Picchu (right)
Off she goes! The teacher, pictured at Havasu Falls, has become so skilled at saving for and planning her trips that she now manages to get away almost every month
Before becoming a full-time teacher, Meghan would take one or two trips a year after saving up, but now she manages a trip most months, including weekend trips within the U.S.
‘Traveling has taught me a lot about myself, the world and how we as humans operate in general,’ said Meghan.
‘I have gotten stuck in different places and missed a day of work because of flight delays before. But I wouldn’t say traveling interfered with teaching much. I would say the opposite is true.
‘Teaching interferes with your ability to travel because there is so little flexibility. Yes, I get a lot of time off, but it’s completely dictated by someone else.
‘You’ve got no freedom in asking for days off, I get one personal day a year which means I can’t ask for time off to travel. Travel is really dictated by the school schedule, so it’s not all easy.
‘Of course, everyone has something to complain about with their job. This is my complaint.
‘Traveling is always worth your time and the experiences you have will leave you wanting more time in a place or with the people you meet. I’ve never felt like traveling was a waste of time and I always leave a trip feeling like it was well worth it.
‘If you make travel a priority in your life you’ll stop talking about where you dream of going and you’ll gain some amazing experiences.
‘I feel like so many people make excuses for why they don’t travel when what you’ve got to do is make it a priority and a budget for it.
‘You can find a way; your best moments are those in which you take a chance and so you should just go for it.’
You can visit Meghan’s Instagram account @meghan_elise_