After a year of marriage, Kendall had finished her third year of teaching at a public high school and Jake had finished putting in two and a half years with a start-up robotics engineering company. We set out to explore the world for a year with completely open minds about what we might want to do for work when we came back. Our blog is a mixture of daily musings and adventures that we encountered along the way.
UPDATE: Upon returning to the United States, we picked up and moved all of our remaining belongings to Vancouver, Washington. Kendall got a high school teaching job similar to the one she left in California. It turns out that after a year of traveling, she really did enjoy teaching. We intended to settle down for good and even put in an offer on a couple houses, but after five tough months readjusting to our new home life in a brand new area, Kendall had a change of heart about our love for each other and our young marriage. Sadly, this resulted in us getting a divorce. A journey together every day for months at a time has a way of teasing out and magnifying a lifetime’s worth of mistakes and differences. -Jake
About the journey
Over twelve months, we visited 9 states and 12 countries in the following order:
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Wyoming
South Dakota
Montana
Idaho
Washington
Oregon
New Zealand
Australia
Indonesia
Thailand
Cambodia
Laos
Vietnam
Malaysia
Singapore
India
Nepal
Ecuador
Our goal for the year was not just to bum around and see the sights, but to get to know different ways of living. We were particularly interested in the concepts of community and education. As such, we planned extended stays in several locales of interest. Here are some highlights:
- Two months in New Zealand working at hostels and on organic farms (known as WWOOF’ing–look it up; it’s awesome!)
- Three months in Nepal in a cultural immersion and volunteer program, working in local schools and living with a family.
- One month in Ecuador visiting Kendall’s friends she met while studying abroad. They are indigenous Otavalo Indians who trade at a market that is over 500 years old.
Please update us on how you’re doing!!
Internet in Vegas was $15…crazy. We are updating as much as we can now before this coffee shop closes!
Wow guys! I am so excited for your travels… will definitely be following your progress on here!
Whaa! How exciting. It’s seriously unbelievable…like, I wouldn’t even believe it…but it’s right here! Ah! I really can’t believe it! I’m so jealous of you (Ms Smith…or, whatever) and your husband…Mr Smith ;P
I know I could never will myself to do something so amazing, and I’m almost a little surprised in you…I never realized just how extraordinarily exciting you were!
Have so much fun!! (And pretend I wrote this before you left!)
-Dv
Hi guys,
I saw that you participated in our new program and wanted to let you know your link is live at http://nightlife.uptake.com/music_theater/nevada/…. Looks great! Thanks for participating and feel free to participate at little or as much as you would like.
Best,
Brittany
Hi! I would like to swap links with your site. My blog is http://www.travelocafe.com. I’ve already added you under my “Links” section on my page. Please send me the description you favor for your site. Thank you!
I’m also looking for guest bloggers. Please let me know if you’d be interested in being featured on Travelocafe.
Regards, Laura
Hi!
Nice blog! Please check my out when you get the chance!
http://blondietravelblog.com/
Thanks,
Agata
Great site guys and let me just say that it is people like you that are inspiration to others…like me!
Happy Travelling!x
Hey Mel, thanks! Very kind of you to say. I just found your site and really love it. I am so jealous of your Bali adventures ;-) All the best, Jake
Hi Jake and Kendall,
I was wondering if you were interested with a link exchange? My name is Ada and I work for WanderingTrader.com. It’s a travel blog that has been around for a year or so. Do email me at the email address I provided to let me know whether or not you’re interested.
Thank you!
Hi,
I am contacting you because I am a blogger and I also work for an
online marketing company where I am part of the management of a number
of online brands.
I have been looking at your website and would be really interested in
finding out about advertising on the site, or the possibility of
adding a unique article?
If this is something that is possible or if there are any further
opportunities available then it would be great to hear from you.
Many thanks
Jesper
Hi ! I love reading about your adventure and want to thank you for putting this on a web site.
My questions is do you know what a woman in her late 50′s is able to do if she wanted to be a WWOOFER ?
I am thinking about joining but don’t know if i can do farming, weeding things like that because of a sore back. I want to see other countries so bad and think this would be a great opportunity!
Thanks for any suggestions.
Chris
cjmeema5@aol.com
Hi Chris! Sent you an email. Definitely not too old to WWOOF!