This Teacher Has Officially Been To 193 Countries, Meaning She Has Visited Every Nation On Earth

A second-grade teacher in San Jose, California, named Lucy Hsu has entered an exclusive club of humans who have visited every nation on Earth. After stepping foot in Syria in May 2023, she has officially been to 193 countries.

Hsu explained that most travel clubs and groups recognize the number 193 because that is how many nations are members of the United Nations.

There is no official tally of who has visited every country in the world, but it is estimated to be roughly 400 people. In comparison, over 600 people have been to outer space.

Hsu is 43-years-old and teaches second grade at Cadwallader Elementary School in San Jose. She got her first passport when she was 23-years-old. As the daughter of Vietnamese refugees, her family couldn’t afford international travel.

“They were in a new country. They never had formal education, being from Vietnam, like little village kids. They were starting really from zero,” Hsu said.

From a young age, Hsu had always been interested in history and geography. After graduating from UC Berkeley and working for a year, she saved up enough money to go on her first international trip to London. The experience inspired her to continue traveling.

She figured out how to plan big trips while keeping costs down. Every summer, during her breaks from teaching, she would visit several countries. After London, her next trip was to Australia and New Zealand. The following summer, she went to another part of Europe. Then, she explored Central America.

“I realized if I planned my summers properly, I could travel on a low budget and see a couple of countries that are clustered together,” Hsu explained. “And then I realized by the time I’d traveled for five or six years, I’d reached probably 60 to 70 countries.”

She also learned about networks of other international travelers in several different clubs. She joined the “Century Club,” which consisted of people who had been to 100 countries or were working on achieving that goal.

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