What seems like such a simple question has a more drawn out answer that we wanted to explain. This is something we get asked quite often, by our family, friends, and co-workers. “You are crazy to travel to all of those countries! Aren’t you afraid?”
We love travel for several reasons and because of those reasons, we are not afraid to take a little risk and adventure outside of our comfort-zone.
1. It opens up your mind to other cultures: There are hundreds of other cultures that are completely different than your own. It is amazing to see how other people live and their traditions and ways of life. We also did not truly know what it meant to be an American until we started traveling abroad. Here in these other countries, we learned how they perceived our country. It opened up our own minds to other ways of thinking on healthcare, education, etc. Knowing all of this helped give us a sense of where our country fits in the world.
2. It helps you figure out who you are: When we started traveling together, we learned so many new things about each other as well as ourselves. For instance, Jonah does great with direction and getting us from point A to point B and Sierra does great with planning out the finances and itinerary of the trip.
3. Meeting new people: We have made lifelong friends with many of the people we have met during our travels. This has built our network across the globe.
4. The rush of Adventure: This is something we look forward to, on all of our trips. From riding hot air balloons in Luxor or riding camels next to the Great Pyramids of Giza, to driving in a whole new country (Jordan). Sense of Adventure comes to every country we have visited one way or another.
5. The Food: We are big foodies and this is a huge reason we travel. Cuisine can vary depending on what part of the world you are at. You can be eating koshary in Cairo or some yummy margarita pizza in Rome. Our tastebuds experience food that is different than what we are used to here in America.
6. It challenges you: Sometimes traveling is not picture perfect like we put in our blog. Traveling is a challenge, but a challenge that rewards very well. We have times where we are just exhausted from what traveling has given us. Some examples are getting lost while driving in Jordan, getting ripped off by taxis in Paris, Rome, and Istanbul, or crashing in a banana boat in Oman. Even with a few challenges we smile in the end and have a crazy story to tell from it!
7. Learning new languages: Traveling has also helped us get out of our comfort zones by learning new languages. By no means are we are fluent in any language other than English, but since we embrace the cultures around the globe, we also embrace the different languages. We learn bits and pieces along the way, and sometimes we can butcher what we say. Our personal favorite language experience was in Venice, Italy when Jonah tried saying “Possiamo per favore avere l’assegno?”, meaning “Can I please have the check?”, in Italian. We were so excited that we thought we nailed the saying, we gave each other high fives. The next thing we knew the server brought us over desert. Maybe we need a little practice?
8. Appreciate History: When we travel we learn so much history, its like we jumped inside a history book. We gather a lot of information in museums and different landmarks around the world. We take time out of our day to experience things that effected world and local history.
9. Travel like a local: We may not always look like the locals, or act like them, but we do respect their cultures by dressing appropriately and being respectful. By doing this we get to experience our trips in the view as a local. Many of our trips we buy clothes that will make us fit in with everyone else. We also support local restaurants, shops, and guides when we travel.
10. The stories we get to share: The reason we made our blog was to share our travels with our friends across the globe. We develop many tips and tricks in many countries that would be beneficial to anyone traveling. We also write for those people who like to stay at home but like to read about adventure and excitement! Each trip has a story to tell and each country we visit has shown us new things. We will keep sharing our exciting travels with our fans!
Now here are some pictures of us with just some of the countries we have visited together!
Keep on traveling and making those incredible memories!! Stay tuned for more updates on our own travels as well!
I am so thankful that my grandson found someone to travel with him who loves it as much as he does. You two keep on traveling to wherever you want and keep sharing it with everyone else. Love you.
We love you too! Thanks for always supporting our dream of traveling!