San Jose educator joins Eeite global travelers
A San Francisco Bay Area schoolteacher has achieved a remarkable feat by visiting every country on the planet. Lucy Hsu, a second-grade teacher from San Jose, California, has officially visited all 193 United Nations member countries. Hsu, as reported by NBC Bay Area, completed her journey by visiting Syria in May 2023.
“I waited a long time for Syria to be open again to Americans,” Hsu said. The United States Department of State placed Syria on its “Do Not Travel” list months after her visit. “When we got into Syria, I felt excited and a little bit surreal. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. I felt very calm, like there was a sense of calm that ‘Oh, I’ve reached my goal.’”
From modest beginnings to global explorer
The daughter of Vietnamese refugees, Hsu didn’t travel much as a child and got her first passport at 23. “Growing up, it was a very modest upbringing and we never went anywhere,” she said. Before pursuing her master’s degree, Hsu decided to get her passport and backpack through Europe, which ignited her passion for travel. She made it a goal to travel every summer.
Cost-saving strategies and volunteer programs
As her country count climbed, Hsu developed strategies to keep travel costs low. “I realized if I planned my summers properly, I could travel on a low budget and see a couple of countries that are clustered together,” she explained. By the time she had traveled for five or six years, she had reached 60–70 countries.
Hsu discovered international travel networks and joined the Century Club, aiming to visit 100 countries. After achieving that milestone, she set her sights on all 193 nations. “I just thought, ‘Well, how could I go to 193? Is it possible?’ Then I realized, ‘Oh, you actually can go to Afghanistan safely. And you can actually go to Iran and North Korea safely.’ So why not?”
Affordable travel tips
Hsu, 42, often receives questions about how she affords her extensive travels. She uses a variety of cost-saving strategies, including volunteer exchange programs and homestays. She frequently stays in hostels and has even worked at hostels in exchange for room and board.
She also suggests earning credit card points for rewards and taking low-cost buses and trains across borders. Hsu emphasizes that travel is more attainable than many people think.
“There’s still a lot of misconceptions about travel being unattainable, unsafe, or unaffordable,” she said. “Travel is attainable if you’ve learned ways to do it in a budget-conscious way. And those methods are out there if you want to do research. Travel is less unattainable than people think.”
Hsu hopes to inspire others, particularly minority women, to pursue their travel dreams.
