Raul Rangel made his first trip overseas about six years ago, while a junior at Wichita State. A native of Guadalajara, Mexico, he spoke three languages and dreamed of seeing the world, so he inquired about study-abroad programs.
“I always thought study abroad would be cool, but I was like, ‘It's too expensive,’” Rangel said. “I had some friends that went, and they were like, ‘No, just apply and just see what happens.’ So I applied, and it ended up being the best decision in my life.”
His first study abroad was in the scenic French Basque Country, in the communities of Biarritz and Bayonne. The school program was only a month long, but he bookended it with some strategic wandering.
“I arrived to Paris, and then I found a cheap train to Munich and then went to Slovenia, Croatia,” he said. “Whenever I could find a cheap way, I would just go and see what happens.”
He stayed in hostels, made friends, and learned to navigate airports, bus depots and train stations. And then he set an audacious goal:
He would visit every single country in the world.
Now 28, Rangel already has seen 90 countries — nearly half the total, depending how you define the number. The standard count of world countries is 195, which includes 193 United Nations member states, along with Vatican City (which Rangel has visited) and Palestine (which he has not). Others put the count at 200 or more, considering various definitions of sovereignty.
When he’s not working as a translator or teaching Spanish at Butler Community College, Rangel travels the world and documents his adventures on his Instagram account, @TapatiloPorElMundo, which translates loosely to “man from Guadalajara goes around the world.”
Rather than planning lengthy trips to single destinations, Rangel takes a “sample flight” approach to travel.
“A lot of people, they'll plan two weeks in Japan, which is all right. But for me, I would say maybe five days (in Japan), and then go to South Korea, and then maybe go to Beijing, and get a little vibe of all three, just a glimpse,” he said. “Because who knows when you'll be on that side of the world again?”
During his travels, Rangel has gleaned advice from other travelers about how to navigate the world safely and economically. Some work temporary jobs teaching English. Or they pack light, with only a backpack, and use apps like Hostelworld to find inexpensive lodging.
After his initial study-abroad summer, Rangel landed scholarships for two more programs — one in South America and another in Europe. After completing master’s degrees in Spanish, Slavic languages and Indigenous studies, he was offered a Fulbright scholarship to study in Costa Rica.
“And then I found cheap flights to El Salvador and Ecuador and Colombia,” he said. “It was very cheap, like $50 from Costa Rica one way.”
The key to being a global traveler, he said, is curiosity and flexibility.
“I like Google flights, and I like to put, ‘Destination: anywhere.’”
Why spend $400 for a ticket to Denver, when you can spend $200 for a flight to Moldova? When he’s home in Wichita, Rangel also cuts back on things like restaurant meals — and especially alcohol — to save money for travel.
“Here, a bottle of wine in a restaurant is so expensive. But I know that if I go to Europe, it’s like $4 for a bottle of wine,” he said. “So I’m like, ‘OK, I can save until I get there and then drink wine.’”
The “destination anywhere” approach has taken Rangel to Andorra, Argentina, Senegal and South Africa, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. Instagram photos show him beside the Great Pyramids in Egypt, beside the Parthenon in Greece, and mimicking Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” at a museum in Norway.
“Seeing the Great Wall of China, that was just breathtaking,” he said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is incredible.’”
Of the more than 40 countries in Europe, he has visited all but five: Cypress, Wales, Lichtenstein, Russia and Belarus. Rangel said traveling offers insight — and faith in humanity.
“Most people in the world, they don't want to do you harm. If they see you struggling, they want to help you,” he said. “Most people genuinely are just good people.”
About 25% of his travel is planned out. The rest is spontaneous. Before joining two friends on a trip to Albania, he looked for potential side trips.
“A week before, I was like, ‘You know that Albania is really close to Macedonia and Kosovo.’ … And they’re like, ‘Let's go.’”
And traveling teaches things you just can’t learn at home, he said.
“You see the world for what it really is, and not really like the news and all that,” he said. “You might have some perceptions about some countries and people, but when you meet those people, it's different. … The world is much less scary once you realize that we’re all human.”
