Sorry it’s taken me so long to publish this blog post. It’s totally my mom’s fault. I’ve been bugging her for weeks, but she’s been too busy working on her TEFL certificate to help proofread my work. Lucky for me, though, she just turned in her last assignment – so I guess I can withdraw my classified ad for a more reliable editor and we can finally go back to things being all about me again. But I digress… Because…
Two years ago, Stephan and I visited Elephant Nature Park. It was an experience that forever changed my life… an experience that touched me so deep in my core, I can’t begin to put it into words. It was a place that enveloped me with an overwhelming sense of happiness and peace. It was a place that was a world away, but somehow felt like home. And it was a place, unexpectedly, where I found my best friend. I think,…
On the afternoon of December 11, 2016, our Norwegian Air 787 Dreamliner touched down at Logan Airport after 344 days of life on the road. Days later, a seemingly endless parade of friends and family eagerly welcomed us back to the States, many itching to hear of our favorite places, and all with one burning question: how does it feel to be back? At the time, the question didn’t seem to have a suitable answer. Of course, I was excited…
After being back in the U.S. for about three weeks, we find ourselves regularly fielding the same few questions by family, friends, and strangers alike: what was your favorite place? were you ready for it to end? would you do it again? Sometimes I spew out an answer in a seemingly contrived tone, having responded dozens of times to the same query. Other times I find myself stumbling through my answer, often looking over at Stephan like a little kid…
Here we are, back on U.S. soil 344 days after our eye-opening journey began. To celebrate its successful circumnavigation of the globe, the penny requested one last photo – from where it all began when my brother plucked it lovingly from a Boylston Street sidewalk in Boston. The penny would like to thank everyone for following it on its grand adventure – it truly was the trip of a lifetime, and something we will always hold dear. As this part…
A scientist and a network engineer traveled the world. What did they bring back with them? Data, of course! Geeks to the core, tracking, trending, and generating spreadsheets are kind of fun tasks for the two of us. While we know we’re a little weird, we also know we’re not alone in our dorkiness. So for our fellow number nerds out there, below you will find some statistics from our trip (including our cost per day in each country we…
Jenn: Now that our trip has drawn to a close, some of you are probably wondering what we learned about ourselves along the way, since packing up and abandoning everyday life is considered a little bit outside the box. What’s more, I’m not sure you can embark on a trip like this without a smidge of introspection along the way. And now that we’ve made it back, I suppose it’s time for some of that self-reflection crap. For those who…
While we tried to mention some nuances from the countries we visited in our Fast Facts posts, we had a few unshared regional discoveries that we I (let’s not drag poor Stephan into this) also found important enough to want to pass on. Of course, the following entry primarily focuses on my two favorite topics – restroom customs and environmental awareness – so I guess it’s another one of those ‘blush and/or roll your eyes’ posts. Don’t let that discourage…
It seems that all too often today, we watch the news or read the papers and perceive the world as a terrible, if not terrifying, place. In truth, though, the world is remarkably beautiful, and largely filled with love. Does every country, without exception, have its own set of flaws and challenges? Absolutely. Are some plagued with poverty or corruption, or still shadowed by historic turmoil? Sadly, yes. However, something great can be found in every corner of the world, and…
One thing that continually astonished us on this trip was just how many amazing, generous people we met throughout our travels. People we didn’t know, who owed us nothing, yet treated us with the kindness typically reserved for close friends and family. If some of them seem familiar, we’ve shared parts of a few of these before, but we thought they deserved their own special post. These weren’t the only incredible people we ran into on our trip, just a…