Learning How to Manage Life in Rural Brazil
With months to go in our first “gap year” country, Brazil, we must learn afresh how to be competent adults. It has not always been a smooth process.
Tales & Misadventures
A Lost Wallet, an Asthma Attack, and a Forgotten Pillow
Matt loses his wallet, Finley has an asthma attack, and Liuan forgets her pillow, all on the first week of our family sabbatical.
Purgatory: Our First Two Weeks of Prep and Travel
Enjoy our first dispatch on the road. Here I talk about wrapping up our home life and doing a bit of domestic travel before flying to a new continent.
Perils of the “Perfect” Itinerary: 3 Flights and a Train
A stressful four-leg journey —including planes and trains, amidst a smoking volcano and an airline strike — teaches me lessons about booking better itineraries.
No More Train Tickets: Winging it to Western China
A honeymoon getaway turns into a saga when train tickets to Guilin are sold out. We buy bus tickets from a shady vendor. It turns out to be quite the ride.
When You’re the First Tourist in a Remote Chinese Village
An excursion off the beaten path lands us in a village with no tourist services where we find a local family to stay with. Will tourism change the village?
Biking Through Tuscan Villages With Borrowed Bikes and Dog
On a day trip through small villages on Monte Pisano in rural Tuscany, we discover that in the Italian countryside, dogs eat free.
No Money, No Passport, No Cell: Stranded in Mexico
A day trip turns into an ordeal when I wake up by myself on an overnight bus and my passport and money are nowhere to be found.
A Chilling Encounter: Trapped in a Gorge with a Grizzly
An idyllic picnic at Glacier National Park nearly turns tragic when a grizzly creeps up and crashes the party. This is a cautionary tale about ignoring signs.
Alone in Zhangjiajie with No One to Translate
While visiting China, my wife’s relatives sent me on a Chinese-only bus tour armed with beginner level Mandarin and a pocket dictionary.
