In Hawaii Without Money: Experiences from the Travel Journal

What if I suddenly had no money, no home, no work anymore and would be all alone? What would I do? I asked myself this question at the age of 19, during my applied studies of economics in Ravensburg, Germany. There, the bona fide country boy was confronted for the first time with homeless people. "What if, for whatever reason, all of this was suddenly gone what would I do?" This question became deeply engraved in my mind, although gradually it slipped into the background of my consciousness. Fast forward four years. I am lying in my bed in the big tent and reading under a solar-powered camping lamp. I’m on Cortes Island, British Columbia, Canada and have been away from home for over a year at this point. In that moment, I remember my studies and the question of destitution, which had been burnt into my head. Could I get by without money in Hawaii? I play with the idea... but I’m still scared. Fear is shaking my whole body and I’m searching for arguments to soothe the sense of challenge. Hawaii is warm, so I will not freeze. Besides, there are a lot of fruits that I could probably collect, so I won’t starve. And finally, I still have money. Should the experience become too fierce, I can pull the brake. I’m doing it! From the moment of my arrival in Hawaii, I will not use any money — for 40 days! The following story chronicles this period, in which I not only survived, but got a whole lot richer.