Juliana

There is a Chinese myth that says that an invisible red thread is tied around your ankle and connected to each and every person you will meet in your life who will be important to you in a certain way.

This thread may stretch, or tangle, but it will never break. And now, this thread has led me… to you.

Yes, you. You who are reading these words right now. We are already connected even if we do not know each other yet, and perhaps that red thread will bring us closer still. Perhaps you have been sent to help me. Perhaps I have been sent to tell you a story.

“Fairytales are more than true. Not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be defeated.”

A person wearing a colorful, patterned skirt and brown sandals walks on a sunlit path. They hold a white cloth, partially covering their upper body. A stone wall is visible in the background.

A smiling woman wearing a red dress and black shoes stands outdoors on a grassy path, waving. She carries a large blue backpack and is surrounded by greenery, including large plants, trees, and ferns.

Hi! I’m Juliana.

I grew up in Colombia, South America, in a museum. Yes, literally! My grandfather was an important artist, and his house was home to sculptures and pianos and all sorts of music.

An all my life, I’ve been fascinated by stories.

I would tell the stories of my family to visitors to the museum, →

then I started telling stories of my city Medellín to tourists from all over the world.

I got my tour guide license (which means I can enter museums for free!! Yay!) and I’ve taken over 12,000 travellers all over Medellín. Being a tour guide is never boring! I even caught a thief once! (And I was also got hired as a tour guide for a month in Seville, Spain, after being there only one day. But hey, I would research! The local guides would just make stuff up.)

A person with a large blue backpack stands in the middle of a flooded road, water reaching mid-calf, surrounded by green bushes and power lines under a cloudy sky.

Obviously you can’t be a tour guide if you don’t like to travel, right?

Except that my way of travelling is,

No money
No plan
Hit the Road and

the Road will provide!

A smiling person wearing a white headscarf and red sleeveless shirt gives a thumbs up while sitting on the side of a red vehicle, with greenery and a stone wall in the background.

How did I get into such a crazy way of travelling? Funny you should ask.

I went to Israel for some college credit, and due to a series of unfortunate events ended up stuck there penniless for two months. That was an adventure too! I wasn’t about to sit around and feel sorry for myself: I mean, this was Israel, come on!

So I slept on the streets and ate from the garbage, hitchhiked the whole country, and had the absolute time of my life!

A person wearing a blue shirt and a light gray headscarf sits above the clouds on a mountaintop, shading their eyes and gazing at a scenic, cloudy sky and distant mountains.

Now, looking back, I realize what a predicament I was in. But I wouldn’t change it for the world! That experience made me discover a strength within me I never knew I had, and now I can confidently take on nearly any challenge.

And since then I’m addicted to travelling (and to WHITE CHOCOLATE REESES WHICH YOU CAN’T GET IN COLOMBIA!!!!) and have never looked back.

Of course, along the way, there’s plenty of room for adventure!

A woman wearing outdoor clothing and a headscarf stands on a rocky terrain, looking to the side. Dark clouds and distant mountains are visible in the background.

A woman in a blue shirt and headband films with a professional camera and microphone by the roadside on a cloudy day, focusing through the viewfinder.

On one trip I accompanied two Indian documentary filmmakers on a motorcycle trip to help them film and translate.

A person wearing a black winter jacket and a white hat smiles while standing outdoors in a snowy, frozen landscape under a clear sky.

One time we got lost for two days on a volcano in the Amazon.

A person kneels by a campfire in a forested area, smiling at the camera. They are wearing a headscarf, dark top, and boots. Behind them is a large pile of pine needles and trees.

Good thing I’ve always loved wilderness survival!

I’ve been going on extreme campouts in Colombia for years, pretending to prepare for the Apocalypse.

(Never expected the real apocalypse to require a Netflix subscription).

And I taught nature, wilderness survival and edible wild plants at summer camps in the US.

PS: I love summer camps! I want to start one in Colombia some day!

A person wearing a headscarf and teal shirt walks through a rocky cave entrance, holding a stick. Roots hang from the cave ceiling, and green moss covers parts of the rock walls.

Always explore caves.

A person in a long red dress walks barefoot along the shoreline, with gentle waves touching their feet. Rocky cliffs and a large rock in the sea are visible under a clear, sunny sky.

And try your best to become a goddess.

Aphrodite’s birthplace, Paphos, Cyprus. (Though I like Artemis better)

Or go live in a cabin to learn to be a witch. J

(Note: no cats were sacrificed during this endeavor.)

A person stands on the grassy roof of a small, elevated house surrounded by dense green trees in a forested area. The house has a wooden balcony and supports raising it above the hillside.

But beyond all of those things, first, and foremost, I am a

Storyteller.

A close-up of a bright red flower with large, ruffled petals and yellow accents in the center, surrounded by green foliage in the background.

Planting stories like seeds to heal the earth is my Soul’s Purpose, my Life Passion.

I never knew you could be a storyteller, that that was a profession. But it just so happens, it is. There is a school for Storytelling in Colombia, called Vivapalabra, and since I discovered that, I’ve never looked back.

In my third semester I took a year off to hitchhike Central America, a trip that I paid for by telling stories in the parks.

After graduating in 2015, I realized there was so much more to learn around the world, so I took off to Europe to discover storytelling in other cultures.

And now I’m here.

Writing these words for you, without knowing yet who you are. Telling you my story. You know a bit about me now. I’m looking forward, and so excited, to getting to know you.

Now, I want to hear your story.

Illustration of a girl in a blue dress with long brown hair flowing in the wind, standing barefoot on soil. She has a red flower in her hair and is reaching out with her hands. The background is plain and light.