About Me
Hi, I’m Leandra. I was born (December 5th, 1990) and raised in Germany. Although I had a happy life with a loving family and friends, a nice childhood, and later a good job, I had known for a long time that I wouldn’t stay there forever. The main reason for this is the German climate. I really hate the cold, freeze easily, and have always experienced this feeling as very uncomfortable. I do like snowboarding though and can cope with the cold for that hobby for one or a maximum two weeks per year. But my comfort zone is between 25 – 30ºC (77 – 86ºF) and everything below 20ºC (68ºF) feels cold to me. In Germany, you seldom get more than a few weeks per year like that.
Thankfully, in 2017 I could start the Peace Love Travel journey. So far I’ve visited 12 countries. And I’m on a mission to help others travel better and cheaper, and by traveling, I want to connect with people from all over the world and spread peace, love, and happiness through cultural exchange, respect and positivity.
Traveling While Growing Up
For as long as I can remember I have loved traveling. When I flew on a plane for the first time, I was only 10 months old. I was very lucky that my parents took my sister and me on nice vacations to different places each year. I especially liked the ocean and soon knew that I wanted to live close to it one day. When I was still a little child, I always cried when we left the beach to go home. Growing up I didn’t make any plans as to where I would want to live because I figured that I would find a way to leave Germany and fulfill my dreams when I got older.
Family vacation in Italy: My little sister and I were ready and excited to go to the beach. 😉
Later, when I was 18 I took my first job as a waitress just in order to save money to travel. That didn’t change over the years and with each job I tried to save as much money as possible to see new places again. So now, I’m finally doing what my life ultimately has been leading up to: traveling and working at the same time.
Traveling Without Being a Tourist
Apart from vacations with my family, I could really experience different cultures through another kind of traveling. When I was 14 years old I did a school exchange visit to Paris, France, and stayed with a host family for ten days. Even though I didn’t speak a lot of French, it was great to experience how other people live. One year later, I did a similar program with my school in England. This time, communicating was easier and I could get a better idea of the British culture.
Even though these were nice experiences, I felt like two weeks were not enough to improve my language skills and to really get to know another culture. So I decided to go to a high school in the US and stay there for 10 months. Thankfully, my parents supported me and I could travel there in 2007, aged 16. It was my first time alone on a plane and being away from home for such a long time. I was very nervous and excited at the same time.
But luckily, I lived with a lovely host family in Richmond, Virginia. And I went to high school together with my host sister who is only one year older than me. I enjoyed learning many new things, making new friends, and living the American way of life. My host family became my second family and remain close to my heart up to this day. I visited them a couple of times over the years. The most recent one was in November 2017.
Working as a Volunteer & Learning More About Traveling
Two years after returning to Germany, I graduated from my German high school and went abroad again in 2010. This time, I traveled to Ecuador because I wanted to work as a volunteer and learn Spanish. I stayed in the capital Quito for five months and in the jungle for one month. In Quito, I lived with another nice host family and worked at a daycare where children could go to before and after school. Together with other volunteers, I helped them with their homework and played with them.
In Amazonia, I lived with a guide and indigenous tribe without electricity or running water. In the mornings, I walked for one hour through the jungle to a school of 15 students, all in one classroom, aged between four and 14 years old. I tried to help teach them according to their level of knowledge. And in the afternoons, we did some ecological work. I was very sad when I had to leave and was sure to return one day. During my six months in this beautiful country, I learned so much more than just Spanish because the Ecuadorian culture and way of life were unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
Backpacking & Couchsurfing
I also learned how to backpack. Before arriving in Ecuador, I thought it would be pretty dangerous to travel around in South America. But I was very wrong. Together with other volunteers, I did many trips around the country on the weekends and found out how easy, affordable, and fun backpacking really is. Like in most other Latin American countries, there were cheap buses going to most places regularly. We also found good and affordable hostels or guesthouses everywhere. If you take some precautions, like avoiding walking around at certain places at night, you can travel without problems there. It definitely helped that we knew how to speak Spanish and we were usually 2 – 8 people.
Couchsurfing friends: I had a great time staying with Shamoya and her family for two days. And I got to know many cool people.
When I returned to Germany, I moved to Cologne to study Media and Communication Management. On the weekends and during my semester breaks, I tried to travel as much as possible. My housemates introduced me to Couchsurfing. I really love it because it allows me to travel better, cheaper, and find good friends from all over the world.
Work, Travel – Work & Travel
Besides studying, I worked as a waitress and promoter to save money for my next big trip. After three years, I graduated with a bachelor’s degree and flew to Australia. There I met up with my sister, we bought a car and drove up the east coast in 2.5 months. We had a great time living the backpacker lifestyle, exploring new places, sleeping in our car, and Couchsurfing. I continued alone to the US and traveled from San Francisco, California, through Central America to Montañita, Ecuador. It was my longest solo trip (three months) and also the best time of my life up to that point.
When I came back to Germany I continued working as a waitress and bartender until I found an office job in Online Marketing. Luckily for me, I really liked the work and my colleagues, so I could bear to stay in one place even after traveling for half a year before. Of course, I started saving money and planning the next big travel again. After some time, I found out about the Digital Nomad Movement. Even though I had heard about it before, I thought it was too difficult to join. But the more I read and informed myself, the more I realized: This is exactly what I want, probably even have to do! I had the right mindset, a digital background through my studies and work as well as the travel experience. 😉
So in 2017, I quit my job, my shared apartment, got dreadlocks, sold or gave away most of my stuff, and started my full-time travel in September. Here you can find out how I prepared for this travel and how to money online. I don’t know where this journey will lead me and when it’s going to be over, but I will enjoy or learn from every step of it. Indeed, I’m excited to see what the next months and years have in store and you are invited to find out on this blog.
Hi, I’m Leandra. I was born (December 5th, 1990) and raised in Germany. Although I had a happy life with a loving family and friends, a nice childhood and later a good job, I had known for a long time that I wouldn’t stay there forever. The main reason for that is the German climate. I really hate the cold, freeze easily and have always experienced this feeling as very uncomfortable. I do like snowboarding though and can cope with the cold for that hobby for one or maximum two weeks per year. But my comfort zone is between 25 – 30ºC (77 – 86ºF) and everything below 20ºC (68ºF) feels cold to me. In Germany, you seldom get more than a few weeks per year like that.
Thankfully, in 2017 I could start the Peace Love Travel journey. So far I’ve visited 12 countries. And I’m on a mission to help others travel better and cheaper, and by traveling, I want to connect with people from all over the world and spread peace, love, and happiness through cultural exchange, respect and positivity.
Traveling While Growing Up
For as long as I can remember I have loved traveling. When I flew on a plane for the first time, I was only 10 months old. I was very lucky that my parents took my sister and me on nice vacations to different places each year. I especially liked the ocean and soon knew that I wanted to live close to it one day. When I was still a little child, I always cried when we left the beach to go home. Growing up I didn’t make any plans as to where I would want to live because I figured that I would find a way to leave Germany and fulfill my dreams when I got older.
Family vacation in Italy: My little sister and I were ready and excited to go to the beach. 😉
Later, when I was 18 I took my first job as a waitress just in order to save money to travel. That didn’t change over the years and with each job I tried to save as much money as possible to see new places again. So now, I’m finally doing what my life ultimately has been leading up to: traveling and working at the same time.
Traveling Without Being a Tourist
Apart from vacations with my family, I could really experience different cultures through another kind of traveling. When I was 14 years old I did a school exchange visit to Paris, France, and stayed with a host family for ten days. Even though I didn’t speak a lot of French, it was great to experience how other people live. One year later, I did a similar program with my school in England. This time, communicating was easier and I could get a better idea of the British culture.
Even though these were nice experiences, I felt like two weeks were not enough to improve my language skills and to really get to know another culture. So I decided to go to a high school in the US and stay there for 10 months. Thankfully, my parents supported me and I could travel there in 2007, aged 16. It was my first time alone on a plane and being away from home for such a long time. I was very nervous and excited at the same time.
But luckily, I lived with a lovely host family in Richmond, Virginia. And I went to high school together with my host sister who is only one year older than me. I enjoyed learning many new things, making new friends and living the American way of life. My host family became my second family and remain close to my heart up to this day. I visited them a couple of times over the years. The most recent one was in November 2017.
Working as a Volunteer & Learning More About Traveling
Two years after returning to Germany, I graduated from my German high school and went abroad again in 2010. This time, I traveled to Ecuador because I wanted to work as a volunteer and learn Spanish. I stayed in the capital Quito for five months and in the jungle for one month. In Quito, I lived with another nice host family and worked at a daycare where children could go to before and after school. Together with other volunteers, I helped them with their homework and played with them.
In Amazonia, I lived with a guide and indigenous tribe without electricity or running water. In the mornings, I walked for one hour through the jungle to a school of 15 students, all in one classroom, aged between four and 14 years old. I tried to help teach them according to their level of knowledge. And in the afternoons, we did some ecological work. I was very sad when I had to leave and was sure to return one day. During my six months in this beautiful country, I learned so much more than just Spanish because the Ecuadorian culture and way of life were unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
Backpacking & Couchsurfing
I also learned how to backpack. Before arriving in Ecuador, I thought it would be pretty dangerous to travel around in South America. But I was very wrong. Together with other volunteers, I did many trips around the country on the weekends and found out how easy, affordable and fun backpacking really is. Like in most other Latin American countries, there were cheap buses going to most places regularly. We also found good and affordable hostels or guesthouses everywhere. If you take some precautions, like avoiding walking around at certain places at night, you can travel without problems there. It definitely helped that we knew how to speak Spanish and we were usually 2 – 8 people.
Couchsurfing friends: I had a great time staying with Shamoya and her family for two days. And I got to know many cool people.
When I returned to Germany, I moved to Cologne to study Media and Communication Management. On the weekends and during my semester breaks, I tried to travel as much as possible. My housemates introduced me to Couchsurfing. I really love it because it allows me to travel better, cheaper and find good friends from all over the world.
Work, Travel – Work & Travel
Besides studying, I worked as a waitress and promoter to save money for my next big trip. After three years I graduated with a bachelor’s degree and flew to Australia. There I met up with my sister, we bought a car and drove up the east coast in 2.5 months. We had a great time living the backpacker lifestyle, exploring new places, sleeping in our car and Couchsurfing. I continued alone to the US and traveled from San Francisco, California, through Central America to Montañita, Ecuador. It was my longest solo trip (three months) and also the best time of my life up to that point.
When I came back to Germany I continued working as a waitress and bartender until I found an office job in Online Marketing. Luckily for me, I really liked the work and my colleagues, so I could bear to stay in one place even after traveling for half a year before. Of course, I started saving money and planning the next big travel again. After some time, I found out about the Digital Nomad Movement. Even though I had heard about it before, I thought it was too difficult to join. But the more I read and informed myself, the more I realized: This is exactly what I want, probably even have to do! I had the right mindset, a digital background through my studies and work as well as the travel experience. 😉
So in 2017, I quit my job, my shared apartment, got dreadlocks, sold or gave away most of my stuff and started my full-time travel in September. Here you can find out how I prepared for this travel and how to money online. I don’t know where this journey will lead me and when it’s going to be over, but I will enjoy or learn from every step of it. Indeed, I’m excited to see what the next months and years have in store and you are invited to find out on this blog.
