Interview Dadakan dengan Michael Ruppert (Starring you)

Beberapa hari lalu Michael Rupes (Starring you) nyapa aku di message facebook, senang deh karena terakhir Michael nyapa aku pas pertama aku gabung starring you bulan Agustus tahun 2014. Kenapa aku gabung ke starring you, karena waktu itu ada di timeline fb  yang promosi kalo gabung starring you bisa dapat postcard gratis he...3x. Yang penasaran bisa banget mampir ke fbnya:

https://www.facebook.com/starringyouaroundtheworld

Balik lagi ke chat antara aku dan Michael,walau bahasa Inggrisku pas-pasan kalau nggak mau dibilang rada ngaco, aku nekad aja wawancara Michael. Soalnya penasaran dia kok bisa yaa kerjanya jalan-jalan terus, abis tuh apa aja yang dia bawa pas traveling. Dan ternyata tanggal 1 Juli ini Michael mau ke Aceh, hanya dia belum tahu mau nginap dimana.

Aku udah minta izin sama Michael untuk nulis diblog hasil chat kami dan Michael berbaik hati mengirimkan email special berisi pertanyaan-pertanyaan dan jawaban yang paling sering ditanyakan seputar starring you. Jadi aku mix aja pertanyaanku dengan email Michael

Ini loh Michael Rupes

Me: Mmmm i have a lot question about starring you. Starring you is kind of foundation or only one person?What is motivation of starring you

Starring you(SY): You can ask me many questions if you want .I will try to answer all of them!There are many people who don't have the time, the opportunity or the money to travel.  By sending out many souvenirs and postcards, I try to take everybody with me around the world. On the first of July I will start my trip through Sumatera and I will also start a new project there. Together with the local people I want to try to clean up some cities!

Me: that its so sweet,what does meant clean up some cities? how you choose lokal person to help   you clean up cities

SY: Most Indonesian cities are so incredibly dirty. Many people throw everything on the streets Together with my followers I will try to do something about it. And I'm sure the local people will help me

Me: When you travel, is there any tools you always bring to support your program?what you bring when you travel

SY: I only have a small backpack with me, its less than 10kg. Very convenient when Im flying, because it's only handluggage

- What first led you to travelling? 

  After finishing highschool I didn't know what to do. My dream was to travel around the world, but I had no idea how to arrange that financially. So first I joined the army, then I became a triathlete and finally I went to university. All that time I didn't have the feeling that i was chasing my dream. When I was 24, I finally made the best decision I could make, although I didn't have much money, I quit everything and started to travel.  

- Where did you go?

Because I didn't have much money, I started my travels in Eastern Europe. The flight from my home country, The Netherlands, to Bulgaria was less than 20 Euro and life is relatively cheap in that part of Europe. It gave me some time to think about how to continue and where to go next.

- To how many countries have you been until now?

So far I've traveled through almost 60 countries. 

- Are you travelling now? Where?

I don't have a home anywhere in the world, so my trip never stops. Right now I'm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Some schools and universities here asked me to share my story with their students. It's great to motivate them to follow their dreams as well. The keyword is focus! I've wasted 6 years after finishing highschool, I hope those students won't make the same mistake and go for their dreams immediately.

- What is your main source of Money? Does it have anything with your travels?

When i started to travel I wanted to keep my family and friends up to date about my adventures, that's why I started to send them postcards and small souvenirs. After a while also strangers started to ask me to send them something from the places I visited. At that moment I started the Facebookpage called ''Starring You''. Everybody who is interested can send me his or her home address and I will send something nice from one of the countries that I'll visit, for free. Some people like the project so much, that they make a donation from time to time. That's how I can finance my travels and make other people happy at the same time.

- What was your biggest trouble during a trip? How you dealt with it?
I didn't experience many problems during the last years. I travel with a small backpack (less than 10kg) and have experienced that the only things I really need to travel are my passport and my creditcard. If something else gets stolen or lost, it's not a big deal. In some countries the corruption can be annoying sometimes, but you learn how to cope with that.

- What is your favorite(s) parto of travelling?

My Facebookpage ''Starring You'' has more than 12.000 followers from all around the world. 90% of the time I stay at the homes of my followers! That's a great and unique experience, because in every country I have the chance to experience the local lifestyle. I try to avoid hotels and hostels and so far that works really well.

- Do you already know where you are going next?

Right now I'm in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In a few weeks I'll make a trip through Sumetera, Indonesia and after that I'll continue in The Philippines and Taiwan. 

- When you travel you tend to stay only in one place or visit a few?

It always depends on the families who invite me. Usually I receive many invitations from my followers and can make a trip through the whole country. 

- What is your main tip for any kind of traveler? 
Travel the way you enjoy it the most! If you read about traveling, it sometimes seems that you are only a ''real'' traveler if you go ''off the beaten track'' and avoid touristic places. I completely disagree with that. Every person is different and everybody travels for a different reason, do whatever makes you feel happy. 

- What is the first step you take on planning trips?

For me it works really well not to plan anything. I know roughly which countries I'll visit the next weeks, but I don't book anything ahead. It's great to arrive somewhere, join a family and just go with the flow. 

- How do you save money for your trips? 
I can keep traveling and sending out the postcard and souvenirs because of the donations and the help of my followers. The ''Starring You'' project is my full time job. 

- Is there someone who inspires you or helps you on your trips?

All my followers on Facebook and Instagram are my great support They always help me wherever they can! It's wonderful to experience that.

- Is there any apps/books/services that you use for your trips? Which ones?

Nope. Just my ''Starring You'' project, it connects me with thousands of people. They are the best travel guide i could ever imagine.

-How do you capture your trips? (photos, films, texts)
For my followers I take photos and of course I send them many postcards and souvenirs. Especially nowadays, with all the social media and online communication, people are really happy and surprised when they receive a handwritten postcard with a personal message from a far away country.

Itulah sepengal wawancara saya sama Michael, yang mo ketemu Michael di Aceh catat tanggalnya 1 Juli 2015, selanjutnya kota Medan, Palembang dan Pekan Baru. Dan satu lagi, buat yang masih suka buang sampah sembarangan. Stop deh mulai dari sekarang masa nggak malu sama Michael :)