By Alyce Collins
THIS SCHOOL teacher aims to visit thirty countries before she turns thirty as she says travel makes her a better teacher after spending ÂŁ15K on exploring the world.
Teacher, Meghan Ramsey (29) from Washington, USA, has travelled to 27 countries around the world so far and is aiming to have reached 30 countries by the time she turns 30 years old, in eleven months.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
With having six weeks off a year as well as weekends, Meghan says that travelling has made her a better teacher because she can learn about new cultures and help her reflect on herself.
To fund her exotic travel lifestyle, Meghan also babysits and is a part-time professor as well as being a full-time teacher. Meghan earns approximately ÂŁ64K a year and is able to plan her trips in advance as she knows exactly when her school holidays will be.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
As well as visiting 27 countries so far, Meghan has also made weekend trips to 44 of Americaâs 50 states.
âI have pretty much always known I wanted to be a teacher,â said Meghan.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âMy 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.
âI teach primary school children and I cover all subjects including maths, reading and writing. I also taught during summers spent in Zambia and China.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âWhile 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 thatâs why I continue to teach to this day.
âI 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.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âAs a child, my family did a lot of trips to states like Colorado and Arkansas, which made me love exploring and getting outside. Itâs always stuck with me as something I love.
âIn 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.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âTravelling has always been a priority for me, thatâs why Iâve been able to go to so many places.
âI have a few favourite destinations, but my absolute favourite trip was probably my trip to Peru because itâs such a diverse and wonderful country.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âAnother personal favourite is Italy. I know it sounds clichĂ© because thatâs what everyone says about Italy, but itâs such a beautiful country with so much to offer.
âAs a teacher I actually think itâs 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.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âAll our breaks are planned out, so we can prepare for them. By June, I know what days off I have in December.
âIf you plan it, youâre able to find some amazing deals for when youâve 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.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âTravelling 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.
âThe better you know yourself as a teacher, the better youâre 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.â

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
Meghan wants to encourage others, of any profession, to travel more and to reap the rewards of travelling, as she hopes to travel to 30 countries by her thirtieth 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.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
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.
âTravelling has taught me a lot about myself, the world and how we as humans operate in general,â said Meghan.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âI have gotten stuck in different places and missed a day of work because of flight delays before. But I wouldnât say travelling interfered with teaching much. I would say the opposite is true.
âTeaching interferes with your ability to travel because there is so little flexibility. Yes, I get a lot of time off, but itâs completely dictated by someone else.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âYouâve got no freedom in asking for days off, I get one personal day a year which means I canât ask for time off to travel. Travel is really dictated by the school schedule, so itâs not all easy.
âOf course, everyone has something to complain about with their job. This is my complaint.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âTravelling 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. Iâve never felt like travelling was a waste of time and I always leave a trip feeling like it was well worth it.
âIf you make travel a priority in your life youâll stop talking about where you dream of going and youâll gain some amazing experiences.

Meghan Ramsey / mediadrumworld.com
âI feel like so many people make excuses for why they donât travel when what youâve got to do is make it a priority and a budget for it.
âYou can find a way; your best moments are those in which you take a chance and so you should just go for it.â
You can visit Meghanâs Instagram account @meghan_elise_