World traveler Sam Reinders is the epitome of a free spirit.
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Reinders is currently a teaching assistant for Ohio University's Global Learning Community (GLC), helping students prepare for a trip to Thailand, along with finishing her master's degree in photojournalism.
Reinders is not just any graduate student -her uniqueness can be attributed to her eccentric travel experience. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in journalism from Rhodes University in Grahamstown, about 600 miles from Cape Town, she jumped at an opportunity to fly to Brazil to help a friend move his yacht from Rio de Janeiro to Trinidad. She and her brother, Richard, flew over together to work as ship crew. She sailed for two months, ending her trip early to explore the rest of Brazil.
We were out at sea for days on end
she said. After a while all ocean looks the same. So I went overboard and stayed in Salvador Brazil. I basically had my backpack and copied pages of a Lonely Planet travel book.
Reinders then explored Brazil and the Amazon by herself, meeting traveling companions along the way. This experience was not new to her.
My parents were adventure travelers
she said. I traveled to Europe in my teens
and in college
I took a trek through Africa for about two months. I always knew this is what I wanted to do.
Reinders eventually flew out of Brazil after becoming ill in the Amazon.
This did not end her travels; she endeavored next to London with a working visa. There, she lived in a three-bedroom apartment with 13 people. She worked odd jobs, including secretary work by day and bartending at night.
I lived like a complete 'squatter
' she chuckled in her thick accent, reminiscent of Nicole Kidman's --she would probably shudder at this comparison because of a rivalry between Australia and South Africa. Reinders said squatter is South African slang for bum.
A load of people from South Africa go to London with a working visa
she continued. And then you either do the sensible thing and go back to South Africa and get a house and a car
or travel like me.
London was not the greatest experience, she said, but it served its purpose
and I have no regrets.
Reinders then lived in Mongolia for about two months and China for a month. From China, she flew to Nepal, where she extended her stay from one month to four.
Besides Cape Town
it's the only other place I can consider home.
Soon after Nepal, she decided to pursue a master's degree. She chose OU at the suggestion of a former student that she met at Rhodes. She is now busy writing photographic grants so that she can return to Nepal, as well as working for GLC.
I've learned more than I possibly thought I could
