Worldly Women of Travel Series: Interview with Jennifer Blum

Jennifer Blum is highlighted in GIVEjoy’s latest interview in the Worldly Women series.  Jennifer (a.k.a. Jenny) and I have many shared connections including summers on the Chain O’Lakes, undergraduate years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison… and our continued passion for travel and adventure.  She currently lives in the Denver area.  When she is not sharing her legal expertise with clients in Colorado – she enjoys time with loved ones, hiking, and the beautiful outdoors.  It is my pleasure to share Jenny’s interview with you.  Enjoy and prepare to be inspired!

Per September 2024 Interview  

What / who first inspired you to travel?

Growing up in Wisconsin, we didn’t have a lot of exposure to different cultures, but my Mom raised me to be curious about the world. I was 14 years old the first time I left the country to visit family in Ireland, and that really opened my eyes up to how different other people’s lifestyles can be from our own and got me excited about international travel.

I decided to major in International Relations in college and ended up doing an internship working on a television documentary about Japan. Through that job I learned about the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and so I applied and was hired to teach English in public schools in a small town in Kagawa-ken on the Southern island of Shikoku.

Living in Japan, all of the English-speaking friends I made were adventurous travelers, so I learned a lot from them about how to navigate new places by getting out there and talking to locals and other travelers. On school breaks, I would fly off to Southeast Asia with a Lonely Planet guide and just wing it. It taught me that you don’t have to plan everything to have an amazing adventure. I think the thing I took most from living in Japan and the travel I did during that time was the confidence to pick a country and just go!

What / where was your most meaningful trip? Where was it, and why/how was it meaningful?

I was laid off from a job two days before my 30^th birthday. Which also happened to be a couple of months before the 150^th anniversary of the America’s Cup sailing race in England. I’d only been working a short time, so I didn’t have much in the bank. But leaning into that “just go” spirit, I bought a one-way ticket to London and decided to try to find work on sailboats to pay for the trip.

I’d spent a prior summer working and living on a classic sailboat in Newport, Rhode Island, so I knew a few people when I showed up on the Isle of Wight in Southern England. Through friends of friends, I ended up with a job on a 60-foot Swan sailboat with plans to cross the Atlantic. I worked in the boatyard for a month before I got an offer to join the boat as crew for the trans-Atlantic passage. After 20 days at sea with a stop in the Canary Islands, we landed on the island of Antigua. I found a room in a crew house with other “yachties,” and I would walk the docks in the morning, picking up “day work.” Every chance I got, I’d offer to join on as crew for passages to other islands in the Caribbean. Finally, I found a boat headed to Alaska through the Panama Canal and was hired on for that passage.

That trip took me a year and 13,000 miles at sea. I picked up marine navigation and boat maintenance skills and made friends from around the globe. I did have to dip into my savings a bit, but I was paid for the day’s work and sailing passages, and that covered most of my expenses for the year.

That year taught me that work will always be there when you get back. I’ve taken a few more extended breaks from work to drive from Central America to Colorado through Mexico and to sail from Fiji to Australia. In job interviews, people want to talk about my experience traveling as much, if not more, than my work experience.

How have your experiences traveling impacted your perspectives/actions?

In one sense, traveling abroad reminds me how fortunate I am to live in a place where we have it so easy in many ways, with clean water, reliable electricity, and safe highways. But you see such joy in places that don’t have all the conveniences we take for granted. I think travel helps remind me to be grateful for the good things our country has but at the same time to be humble and to realize that we could take many lessons from other cultures and places that get by happily on less.

“Travel helps remind me to be grateful for the good things our country has but at the same time to be humble”

What / where is next on your travel adventure list and why?

I’ve only been back to Japan once for a three-day layover since my two years there, just out of college. I stayed with a family my last six months living there after an earthquake forced me out of my home. I’d love to go see my host mother again, so that’s next on the list. And maybe while we’re over there, a quick trip to Southeast Asia to see how that’s changed over the past couple of decades. I never made it to Cambodia or Laos and would love to make it there. Oh, and possibly back to Malaysian Borneo, which has the most amazing scuba diving! I’m starting to think I may need to take another year off for this one…

What advice would you give to others considering an international trip?

Taking a week’s vacation from work or school is a great way to reset and refresh. But I’ve found that taking longer trips is an even better way to really get to know a different country and to find your passion. I would urge anyone who has the opportunity to take a sabbatical while you’re young and able! If you don’t have the cash, there are so many ways to earn your trip – teach English, pick fruit, find odd jobs.

Just go!

Thank you, Jenny, for sharing your story, sense of adventure, and passion to explore!

Check out these links to learn more:

American’s Cup

Japan Exchange and Teaching Program

Shikoku, Japan

University of Wisconsin – Madison, International Studies BA