Solo Traveling, Socially Awkward Introvert

by Alecka Edwards (United States of America)

Making a local connection Italy

Initially, a solo trip to an introvert sounds absolutely amazing. Going to a new country or city with the freedom to explore what you want when you want? I couldn’t wait to do it. When I finally got frustrated enough with making travel plans with friends, I got over the fear of traveling alone and booked a flight straight to Venice, Italy. As a teen, Italy had topped my list of countries I wanted to visit. The art, the drama, the history; they all appealed to my inner romantic and I couldn’t wait to get swept up in the alleys and canals of Venice. I did some research on solo travel before I went, especially as a black woman. There was all the usual advice that you’d give to anyone going to any city; be aware of your surroundings, keep an eye on your things etc. but some advice was geared towards actually meeting people. As an introvert, this concerned me. I didn’t want to go on a trip to meet people. If anything, I wanted to get away from people. That was the whole point of going on a trip by myself. Yet, the message boards persisted: If you were going to all the touristy places you were definitely going to meet other tourists. Sometimes you went to dinner. Sometimes you hung out. Sometimes you became lifelong friends or even lovers. I groaned. All I wanted was a peaceful trip by myself. Now, I had to worry about being socially awkward in a whole different country. I couldn’t win. After 14 hours of traveling from Connecticut (which consisted of a car trip to Boston, a flight to Portugal and then another flight to Venice Marco Polo airport) I almost made it to the city. The Venice airport was on the mainland and I still had to make my way to Venice island itself. Luckily, I had done my research beforehand and found a water bus that would take me pretty close to my BnB near the Piazza San Marco. I was very enthusiastic to take something as simple as a water bus. It was a bus! But on water! I knew it was something I had to experience. Trying to find the boat, I bumped into two other black women who were also trying to find the boat. So far, all the tourists I had seen in the airport were white. I wasn’t expecting to see more black women. My surprise pushed my social anxiety aside and we all figured out where we were supposed to go. Eventually, we sat near each other on brightly colored plastic seats and talked a little bit as more people boarded. They were both professors from South Africa who had been to Venice before and loved it, so they came again. They gave me recommendations for great places to eat before the bus took off and we all settled into our seats to the view of the sinking city and our own thoughts. At the end of the bus ride we exchanged numbers, them insisting that I reach out in case I needed anything since I was a woman traveling by myself. We parted ways and I made my way through the small, charming streets to my BnB. For the rest of my time in Venice I met similar people – a student from Chicago who was studying abroad, a retired couple who was very proud and encouraging of my travel efforts, and a gondolier whose welcoming demeanor somehow shone through his broken English. No, physically they weren’t similar in the least, but they all made an effort to connect without the pressure of keeping the connection. No one asked me to dinner or asked to hang out or insisted on being lifelong friends. They all respected my decision to travel solo and wished me luck and in turn I felt comforted by the fact that even though I was alone, I wasn’t completely isolated. Though my solo trip was not as devoid of people as I initially hoped, I came to appreciate them. It was good to be reminded that people aren’t that bad, even as a solo-traveling, socially awkward introvert.