I Traveled to 99 Countries and Learned We All Seek the Same Things

I grew up on the north side of Chicago in a pretty diverse school district that had students with backgrounds hailing from all corners of the world.

I remember hearing a classmate speak to his mom in Polish when she picked him up. Another classmate brought Pakistani Biryani his mom made for lunch.

It was a quite riveting experience at a young age to have exposure to such a vibrant student body. Everyone had a story, a history, a culture, yet we were all American kids raised on a steady diet of pop culture and pop tarts.

Nonetheless, these kids' subtle yet unique cultural undertones first sparked my curiosity to know more about the world.

This curiosity would eventually evolve into me digging deeper into my own roots. From a young age I was always reminded of my half-Korean heritage; I even have pictures of me as a baby on my 100th day celebration wearing a Han-bok.

Yet, my Korean heritage was usually more of a "lingering backdrop" to my identity, as it wasn't pressured on me by my parents to "be more Korean" growing up.

My parents would speak Korean to each other but mostly spoke English or "Konglish" to my sister and me, as our understanding was limited. Over time, I admit, the concept of "being Korean" didn't really take priority in my mind.

In 2014, I posted the very first video on my YouTube channel, Geography Now. Back then, I was just a guy with a camera, a script, and a passion for geography.

Ever since I can remember, I had always been fascinated by the world: Its maps, borders, cultures, and histories. While other kids were busy playing games, I'd be fixating on atlases or studying flags.

Even then, the world felt like this enormous puzzle, and geography was how I'd learn to fit all the pieces together.

With the channel, my goal was simple: To make a video about every single United Nations-recognized country in the world in a way that would make each country's geographical, cultural, historical, and political information accessible and entertaining for audiences of all ages.

Within the decade, I had grown this small account to nearly four million subscribers, had my videos watched over 450 million times, and made connections across the globe, reaching even the most remote places like volcanic caldera of Annobon Island, Equatorial Guinea, or the dried up Aral Seabed with abandoned Soviet fishing vessels in the sands of Uzbekistan.

Over the past decade, Geography Now has taken me on virtual journeys through nearly every country on the planet, but it's also brought me to 99 countries in real life, with each destination teaching me something new, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.

During my travels, I learned how to drive stick shift from a new friend named Malik, while traversing through a blizzard in Nuuk, Greenland. In Bangui, Central African Republic, I became more confident in my French speaking skills, thanks to a friendly local man who wanted to join me for my morning jog.

I learned so many practical and real-life skills through my adventures, but back then, I had no idea how much my travels would teach me about myself.

The ironic twist to being exposed to so many cultures was that, inevitably, I would have to take those lessons home and deal with my own questions about my heritage.

I come from a rather rare upbringing. Both my parents are Hapas, the word used for half-Asian people. Both my mom and dad were children of the Korean War, born to American soldiers and Korean Women. That made me a second-generation Hapa.

I always consider the U.S. my fatherland and Korea as my motherland, so when I finally ended up making our Geography Now video on South Korea, I knew I wanted to go there in person.

Being physically in Korea, eating the foods, and learning about the culture really helped me embrace the complexities of my identity.

Growing up, I often felt unsure of where I fit in, with one foot in two cultures but not feeling fully connected to either. But being there, honoring where half of me had come from, I felt a sense of peace and connection.

I learned that identity isn't rigid and sometimes it takes stepping out into the world to understand who you really are.

On October 15, 2024, I will have reached a major milestone: Posting the final video in my video project.

Ten years, 193 videos, and nearly half a billion views later, I will finally have completed the project that has taken me across the globe and completely changed my life.

It's surreal to think that this project, which occupied the majority of my last decade and took countless hours of research, filming, and editing will finally be complete.

Finishing this project felt like both an end and a beginning. While I've now profiled every country in this project, I still feel like I've only scratched the surface.

There are endless stories to tell, places to explore, and cultures to dive into. In many ways, I'm still learning, not only about the world, but also myself.

We live in a time where social misunderstandings are quite common among peoples and populations. I believe there is more value in drowning out the noise of politics and media, and just listening and trying to understand the people you encounter head-on.

Regardless of where you come from, everyone in this world more or less wants the same things: Food, shelter, peace, and joy.

While the first Geography Now project may technically conclude this month, my journey is far from over. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the world is an endlessly fascinating place, and the more I discover, the more I realize how much there is left to learn.

As I look back on my last decade of travel, I'm so grateful for the opportunities I've had and the connections I've made.

For me, geography has become not just a subject I'm passionate about, but a way of life. It's shown me the beauty of the world, the importance of diversity, and most importantly, the value of staying curious.

Paul "Barbs" Barbato runs the Geography Now channel on YouTube, which is dedicated to profiling every country in the world.

All views expressed are the author's own.

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