A Day in the Life of a Worldwide Traveler

By age fourteen, some people may have lived in a city or maybe even two and have traveled out of the country maybe once or twice, but Ana Narayan has lived in 5 different countries and has seen more of the world than most people do in a lifetime.

Narayan was born in New Delhi, India and her little brother was born in China. Her dad works at Nike which is why they travel so frequently.

Most people think that this makes her trilingual and exotic and they “seem to think that India is like another planet,” Narayan says. It isn’t, and that does not make her any different than anyone else. And yes, she is fluent only in English.

Before she moved to the United States, she says she felt overwhelmed and thought that the people would be mean. But when she moved at age twelve, she says everyone was “so welcoming” and “I felt like I was home.”          

Before the U.S., Narayan came from Jakarta, Indonesia and has lived in China, Norway, Singapore, and India.

Attending an international school, Narayan grew up in a diverse community with friends and traditions from all over the world such as Germany and all over Asia.

One of the challenges that she worked through was schooling in Chennai, India when she was young. Even to this day, “my parent regret sending me there,” says Narayan.

“The teachers were really mean and would hit you with rulers,” Narayan remembers. It was a very tough time in her life. “I went to school crying every day.”

Of all of the places she has lived, she says that she couldn’t pick a favorite because “after you live somewhere, you get settled and have friends from all over the world. Each place feels like home.”

Every time Narayan moves, she “makes friends and loses them” in a cycle that never ends. During her time in the United States, she has become a teenager and she grew as a person.

Narayan considers herself a “global kid.” She is here on a visa and cannot get deported. Throughout the ups and downs of life as a world wide traveler and overcoming the prejudice around her, she is “grateful to have had the opportunity to see so much of the world at such a young age.”