Unpacked: The Inner Journey of a Year of Travel

Well that was quite the year! We hope you’ve enjoyed following along on our blog here and in social. As we wrap it all up, we wanted to share some thoughts in hindsight as we've returned home and continue to reflect. At first it felt like jumping off a cliff: scary, exhilarating, and definitely nerve-wracking. And there were so many emotions as we packed up, left our physical home of 20+ years, and said goodbye to our tribe.

The scary parts were in the unknown: buying one-way tickets around the globe, not having everything 100% planned, living out of a single suitcase, navigating a gluten-free diet, the list goes on. But it was all worth it. Along the way, we learned so much about different cultures, history, religions, food, alcohols, and ourselves.

A quick sidebar… You might be wondering about the word tribe, it’s a term I’ve come to appreciate after a conversation with a fellow traveler. Along our journey, I was never “home-sick” in the traditional meaning of the word. Rather, as this traveler suggested, I was “tribe-sick.” The word home feels too permanent and physical for me right now. Tribe became a way to describe what’s truly important: my people, my family, my friends, the heart of my community. That’s the part I missed most while traveling.

Like any new experience, hitting the road for a year was uncomfortable at first. Our daily schedule was unlike anything we’d known with no familiar rhythm. This wasn’t a 10-day vacation - we had to pace ourselves and find a new rhythm. Over time, we adapted and created new norms: living out of a single suitcase, being together 24/7 (literally), navigating foreign menus, supermarkets, public transit, languages and more. All of it became our new normal.

And as you might expect, I’ve learned a lot about myself, reaffirming some beliefs and expanding others. For those who know me, I’m not one to chest-thump, I’m sharing this to encourage you to get out there. Travel, with all its unknowns and discomforts, creates growth. I believe we can all benefit from getting a little uncomfortable now and then.

What I (Re)Learned About Myself:

• I’m mentally and physically strong.

• As much as I like control, I enjoy and value the magic of unplanned discovery.

• I really don’t need much stuff.

• I love traveling and learning about people and cultures.

• Damn, I’m good at logistics and planning.

• I’m genuinely humble with good intentions (yes, I see what I did there).

• The outdoors and time in nature help me reset.

• My tribe is the most important thing in the world to me.

• I have the best life and travel partner.

Having worked with global brands for years, I thought I had a decent understanding of different cultures. However, experiencing them firsthand humbled me further. There’s nothing like being immersed in another culture and way of life. And yet, through all the differences, we observed some universal truths:

• As humans, we have so much in common regardless of nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or politics.

• People are, more often than not, friendly and helpful.

• At the end of the day, we all want the best for our tribes.

• Poverty is real in many parts of the world; many people live in conditions Americans would consider uninhabitable with limited access to water, good hygiene, and adequate shelter.

• We are so fortunate to speak English; it’s a critical skill and economic advantage for those who speak it in many developing countries, it opens doors.

• Cultures are more similar than different: respect for elders, importance of community, presence of traditions, politics fatigue, and yes, every culture has its version of local soup and rice dish.

• Kids will be kids, regardless of circumstance, in all the best ways.

• The world is so small...we met people from “home” all over, including a family from down the road in Saratoga with whom we shared a Nile cruise in Egypt.

• History absolutely repeats itself. We need to learn from it. Doing the right thing isn’t always the easy thing.

• And the list could go on…

This past year was a dream come true, as cliche as it reads, filled with adventures, stories, and personal growth that will last a lifetime. I don’t take for granted how fortunate we’ve been. Travel opens your eyes. It gets you out of your comfort zone, pushes you to learn, try new things, bust misconceptions and it forces growth in the most exciting ways.

Back in January, a post from Jen Dulski (an amazing leader and role model I was lucky to work with at Yahoo!) spoke to exactly how I’d been feeling. She shared a mantra from her childhood at a summer camp she attended: “If I Can Do This, I Can Do Anything.”

It was just what I needed. We had just said goodbye to our son Josh in Egypt and wouldn’t see him for another eight months (as I write this, it’s still five weeks away!). We were about halfway through our year and the last two months had been full of fast travel through Morocco and Egypt, both countries where the standard of living is so poor and saddening to see. On a personal level, eating gluten-free had been rough. I was missing my tribe in a very real way.

Jen’s writing echoed in so many moments throughout our travels. Some of my most memorable “IICDTICDA” experiences:

• Sleeping in a jungle treehouse in Laos

• Staying in a village where no one spoke English and definitely had no understanding of “gluten”

• Getting comfortable with squat potties

• Not enjoying, but managing with all the Southeast Asia bugs

• Surviving an open-sea ferry above the Arctic Circle in Norway (motion sickness is real)

• Hiking a volcano in the pitch dark

• Driving on the left side of the road

• Conquering crazy high, narrow fjord trails; one was 2,000 steps straight up 

Imagine what we’d all learn about ourselves if we got uncomfortable and tried new things more often. Maybe, just maybe, the world could be a better place if more people had the opportunity to travel and experience life from other perspectives. To appreciate our unique differences and recognize our deep similarities. To create empathy. To build understanding.

My advice? Get out there! Do something uncomfortable. Do it today. It doesn’t have to require a plane ticket or a passport, but hey, those don’t hurt. 😉

Returning home will come with its own kind of reverse culture shock, which I’ll welcome as another new experience. We look forward to reconnecting with our tribe, celebrating milestones in person, and building a new home and community in Truckee, CA, for now.

What’s next, you ask?Maybe that unicorn job that lets me keep traveling, allows me to bring others together through our differences, and helps make the world a better place. Or maybe just living in the moment of what life brings - don’t laugh, there’s always opportunity for growth :)