Solo Female Feels At Home In A Mini Van - Travelling Without The Bounds Of Rent - VAN TOUR

Yesterday there was sun and there was rain, beauty in the mundane. And as the light startled our eyes, we let go of disguise. My name is Lisa and this is my little house since two months. And this is my little Chevy Astro 1997. And yeah, let's take a look. So, first thing, very important, this is my Ottoman. This was my first purchase for the van. Bought it at Goodwill for $10 and it is great. It's a seat, it has some storage. This is the best thing and it's a good height. So, just barely, but yeah. So, yeah, back when I bought the van, I mean, it was just completely empty. It still had the carpet in there and everything. Just a regular Astro. And so, first step, I tore it all out. And then I started building it. And yeah, I definitely wanted to have the bed lengthwise, because it just leaves so much more space to do stuff here. And also being a girl and wanting to wash my face and brush my teeth inside the van and cook and wash up, whatever. I definitely wanted a sink. It is, well, this is, yeah, it is dirty. But hey, that's van life for you. Yeah, so I got a little foot pump and it works pretty well. There's a five. Yeah, this is a little messy, but that's just how it is. So, this is my trash bag. This is my trash can. A water tank. This is my gray water tank. They have some nice sleeves, because the condensation is really annoying when it gets colder. It's just super moist, so I kind of wanted to combat that and put a sleeve on to not drip on the floor. And there's also a little microfiber mat down there. So, yeah, this is really great to have. I love the sink. I think I wash up usually, not yesterday or today, but that's just how it goes. I mean, it's my house, and I need some house shoes. I love it. And it's great. I don't always want to wear super thick socks, and so this is perfect. I mean, yeah, this is... It's awesome. It fits my little carpet. It's wicked. So, yeah, the build, I did it in like one and a half to two months, so that was nice. So, first, yeah, installation is pretty simple, I would say. It's like the half-inch styrofoam, and then I put some cork things on the top, and I put some, I don't know, some cotton sheets on top of it and then the fabric, because I didn't want to have wood paneling because of the weight, and also it's just, I don't know, I don't want to deal with too much of that. The cork, I mean, it's basically, this is this. So, this was just what was left over, and I thought it would look nice, because the problem with like the walls is like all the edges, you know, they look weird, so I wanted to cover them with cork. So, makeshift. I don't know if that's the right word. I'm from Germany, by the way. You probably hear my accent, and yeah. So, yeah, the bed is perfect. So, I'm 5'5", I think, or no, 5'5"? Yeah, I'm 5'5". I know it in centimeters, 165 centimeters, and I fit perfectly. I mean, I touch the thing, but here, this is, now my feet are completely there, and it's perfect. This is my couch. This is how I chill and eat also, watch YouTube videos, whatever. And so, I have two of those. One is here. The legs are underneath there, but you just drop them down there, and then you have one table here, one dirty table. Yeah, there's some stuff in there. Just, I don't know, this is kind of my junk drawer, junk thing. So, yeah, food and beauty stuff and whatnot. And this is the second one. One moment, it's cute right now. So, this is my cooking table. I cook from here, from the ottoman, and then there's obviously a second leg or just the same that goes underneath there. And my cooking device. I'm just going to use my knee for now because I'm lazy. Just one single butane stove, which works great. I love it. It's all I need. One burner is fine. You just make one pot of pasta dishes or simple things like that. And yeah, this is where I cook. And if I have very smelly stuff or whatever, I prop this little fan up here, and it just blows the steam right out. And the Astra has those little pop-up window things, so it just blows out of the window, which works pretty well. Yeah, I just feel like being a solo female traveler, it's, you know, there's obviously more guys doing it, but I've also met some girls. And, I mean, it's been fine. I've never ran into anyone who has any safety issues or so so far. I mean, you still, I guess you shouldn't be hanging out at East Hastings or, you know, some weird spots. Just whatever feels right to you where you have a good feeling that there's, like, no weird people around and it should be fine. I didn't have any, like, pepper spray so far. Like, I got a bear spray, like, I don't know, two weeks ago just because someone wanted to get rid of it and I could get it cheap, and that was it. And, I mean, obviously, I haven't used it. So, yeah, that has been a breeze, basically. Parking was fine, too. Like, there are some spots, some even, like, bigger parking lots in a park where you can sometimes stay. And, like, the beach, obviously, is super easy. And, yeah, me being new to driving a car, parking can be kind of hard because I suck at parking. That's the biggest problem. So, if there's, like, a tight spot between two cars, I just rather drive 10 more minutes and find another one. That's just my problem right now because I'm not used to driving a car. I mean, now I'm getting better, but don't overthink things. I mean, I obviously had time to build it all out the way I wanted it, and that was nice because I feel cozy here, and, you know, you have to feel comfortable in it because otherwise you're not supposed to, like, spend 24 hours in it. You know, you should go out and explore a little bit. But, yeah, always, like, when you come back home, you should feel comfortable, and that's important. So, make it feel your home. And, yeah, like I said, I've met many girls. I'm going to meet up with one girl tonight later, and they've all been fine. And, yeah, so, all girls out there, just do it. And about the peeing situation as a girl, well, first of all, there's really bathrooms everywhere. The, I don't know, McDonald's and some bakeries that are open 24-7. Or, I don't know, just park close to a gas station or something like that. And I would advise every girl to get a pee bottle. Get, like, that really is important. Get one with, like, a bigger opening because, you know, you'll want that. And at the dollar store, there's some, like, you know, for, like, sport drinks or protein shakes. Protein shake bottles, those are great. So, those are your friends. And really, and then it really is not a problem. Thanks for coming by and maybe see you sometime. I'm planning on doing some YouTube stuff. But, yeah, we'll see. You'll have it in the link in the description if it's on there. So, yeah, and thanks for checking out my van. Bye-bye. I don't know how you make me feel this way. I got you inside my head, inside my head. And you're never coming out. I don't know what you do to me. Maybe I'm insane. Oh, I just want you to stay.