My passion for travel was sparked in January of 2008 as I rang in the New Year from the rooftop of an apartment building in Quito, Ecuador. Only three hours after landing, I was launching fireworks from the rooftop, and watching as cross-dressing men in the streets stopped cars and asked for donations. Children crowded around stuffed dummies dressed as family members, public figures, or celebrities, which they set on fire and burned to symbolize rebirth with the new year. As I stood there on the roof and watched the festivities I realized that this evening alone was worth far more than the cost of my plane ticket; for which I had saved up for all year. 5 days later, I made the decision to change my major, change schools, and seek out a more global existence.

The following fall I started my first semester as an Intercultural Studies major. That year, I would also meet my future travel partner, Gabby. Although she took years of convincing, she eventually decided to sell all her stuff and travel the world with me. Gabby has a bachelor’s degree in Art/Photography and captures beautiful memories from each of the magnificent places we get to visit. Together we’ve been traveling the slow way for 2 years.

We are currently living, working, and skiing in the high rockies in Summit County, Colorado. We’ve had great success working seasonal or temporary jobs in order to live in exciting destinations for short periods of time. As a HUGE culture nerd, I find that vacation-style traveling rarely allows me enough time to gain the insights into the culture of the place I’m visiting. I’d much rather slow down, get a job and a place to live for just long enough to soak it in before heading on to the next place. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE vacation. Working seasonally has offered me the chance to vacation between jobs, rather than taking time off from work to vacation.

This blog is about travel, culture, and perspective. Each new experience gives us a new and occasionally altered perspective on the world, life, and the community we live in.

Please leave us a comment or ask us a question; tell us about an experience YOU’VE had! We’ve got a lot of great travel plans ahead, I can’t wait to write about the exciting adventures we’re going on.