Teen Traveler

KINGSTON - The usual thoughts going on in a 16-year-old's head is what to wear to school tomorrow or feeling worried about presenting a group project in history class. However, this is not the case for Viki Seligman from Massachusetts. Now at 20-year's-old Seligman has already traveled to Peru, Chile, Indonesia, Italy, around the United States and Europe. Whether it was through an exchange program or vacation she has already hit countries some people twice her age havent even seen. She was 16 when she left high school and started her expedition.

Seligman fell in love with Indonesia so much that she went back for a second trip but instead this time on vacation with her brother, Steven, 25. They traveled the country for a few months by themselves and sometimes found people to travel with.

Teen Traveler

Her favorite country she visited was Indonesia on an exchange program. One of her experiences there included visiting a village of people who had never met foreigners. They live on the water in wooden sailing vessels and are sometimes called “sea gypsies.” She recalled one experience when an infant boy was very sick. The parents called the shaman of the village. The shaman took the infant and dipped him in unsanitary water and poured it into his mouth. Seligman said he did this because they don’t know of the germs and don’t have money to obtain proper medicine. They also held a ceremony for the boy hoping to help him get better.

At one point, she had joined a program called the National Outdoor Leadership School. In this program, she visited Wynoming and Utah where she camped out. She also hiked all over California, received her GED and was accepted into UMass, Boston. Being unhappy at UMass, she decided to come to the University of Rhode Island as an exchange student this year.

Seligman made friends all around the world but because she left high school so early, she’s never had a base group of friends. However, her friends that she met she still stays in touch with and sees every so often.

“After a while I sort of knew that was going to happen,” she said. “All of sudden having this amazing experience with someone then not seeing them anymore. I just tried to enjoy my time with them as much as I could.”

She is currently undecided about her major but is looking into film and creative writing and wants to minor in a foreign language.

By: Kelsey Maloney

"Why would I stay in school when I can travel?"

Photo credit by Kelsey Maloney

The trip that started this journey to travel the world was her summer trip to Peru, the summer before her sophomore year in high school. The trip was a four-week program that she had heard about through multiple sources. She was so inspired by Peru that she soon after decided to go to Chile, Indonesia, then Italy.