World not new to Scots Center coordinator Galen Schmitt and family

Posted Oct. 21, 2021

By Kim Phan

Cub Reporter

“Où se trouve la station de métro la plus proche?”, “C'est combien?”, and “Estoy perdido” , are all phrases that Scots Center coordinator Galen Schmitt may use in his wanderlust travels.

“My wife and I decided years ago that instead of a fancy house, or big TVs, we would rather spend our money traveling,” said Schmitt.

Schmitt, also the SAT and ACT go-to coordinator, is an experienced traveler. He has traveled to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Colombia, Iceland, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, France, Belgium, Jamaica—and other countries. He has traveled to far away places, such as Holland, and while he doesn’t really understand Dutch, he describes it as a very picturesque place. His destinations are usually spontaneous, so whenever he has an idea planted in his head, he’ll follow up with it. Schmitt has made at least 23 trips to 23 different countries.

“I would also like to visit Southern Europe, parts of France, Spain, and Italy,” said Schmitt.

Schmitt has also been all over the United States, including such places as Detroit, Cleveland and Colorado. His hometown is Dayton, Ohio. He does not, however, personally recommend Detroit, as it is overpriced. On the other hand, he highly recommends traveling to Colorado. Schmitt describes an interesting place there which is the Great Sands National Park, formerly the bottom of lakes.

His longest trip was two weeks to Colombia, located in Northwestern South America. Schmitt considers himself best at speaking Spanish from all the languages learned throughout his travels. His favorite dish that he’s tried is papadzules from the Yucatan area of Mexico. Papadzules are a traditional dish resembling enchiladas from the Yucatan peninsula. Simply put, it consists of corn tortillas dipped in a sauce of pepita (pumpkin seeds) filled with hard-boiled eggs, and garnished with a cooked tomato-pepper sauce.

Schmitt and his family prefer to travel with their own vehicles locally, and they rely on public transportation when traveling abroad. Other than that, Alaska Airlines is his go-to airline when traveling to distant places. Schmitt has relied on Airbnb and local hostels in his travels. He swears by Lonely Planet, a travel guidebook, to guide him on all of his trips. The essential items that he brings on all of his trips include a windbreaker, toothbrush, a carry-on, a book, and a swimsuit.

The Schmitt family travels together, and of his daughter Soph, who is 10, and his wife Sabrina, Soph enjoys it the most. She’s not scared of traveling at all and has been lucky enough to expand her worldview. They’ve been to the island of Maui in Hawaii where they went snorkeling and mountain biking. The best part of his day after traveling long hours is unwinding at the hotel pool, knowing he can just swim and relax. However, according to Schmitt, the worst part of traveling is coming home with jet lag.

Schmitt has had wacky experiences while traveling abroad, but that’s how he became more knowledgeable on future trips. He recommends that when traveling, to be vigilant and do what the locals do. Otherwise, dangerous consequences may be on the horizon if traveling to risky places. Schmitt also recommends keeping solid connections with old friends as they may be of aid when traveling to other countries. Other tips include being careful with personal belongings as the chance, as being pickpocketed in some countries is commonplace. Most importantly, though, Schmitt’s last tip is do not eat mussels from some guy selling them on the beach unless the goal is to contact food poisoning.

Schmitt went on many road trips or small trips when he was younger, which gave rise to his wanderlust nature. That strong desire to travel only spread deeper after he married his wife. Both he and his wife work full time, which is how they're are able to afford their trips. The biggest expense are the flights. He and his family prefer to put aside their extra money and any earnings towards travel. Schmitt recommends Bend, Astoria, and Newport Bay as short distance trip destinations. He particularly recommends Hawaii as a travel destination because he had such a pleasant time while there.

“The Hawaiian culture is a favorite of mine that I’ve gotten to experience so far," he said. "It was very spiritual but all of them are unique in their own way."