Ian

Age- 30

Where am I from? God’s country. Indianola, IA.

Where did I go to school and what for? I went to a small liberal arts school in my hometown (thanks Dad) called Simpson College. I studied business management and had a minor in English.

What do I do for a living? Well right now, this is my full-time job. Traveling and writing. Before embarking on this adventure I was a product manager in Des Moines, IA. I started at a payments company called Dwolla and most recently worked for Meredith, a publishing company that controls subscriptions such as People and Better Homes & Gardens.

Where am I most excited to visit? Egypt and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Laos).

What am I most excited about? To see the world, duh. In all honesty this is what I am going to try and focus on, because at the end of it I can actually measure whether this happened or not. I know that I am going to come back a changed person, but I don’t want to put limitations on what that might look like because that almost assuredly will result in disappointment. Lastly, I am excited for the freedom. Being able to say “we like this place, let’s stay” or “this places sucks, let’s bounce” is going to feel so crazy and hopefully the good kind of crazy.

What am I most nervous about? Things that are out my control is what makes me the most nervous. Natural disasters, sickness, something being stolen that is hard to replace, and other things of that nature. I think we have done a great job of preparing when it comes to financial planning, route planning, and always talking about the “difficult stuff.” If we are honest with ourselves, that there will be hard nights where we miss home or some days where we want to wring each other’s necks, then that should make it easier when it actually happens, right? :) It’s the stuff that you don’t plan on that I am most nervous for. (BUT the unexpected can also lead to greatest memories!)

Why now? Why not? I personally think we are at the perfect age. We are old enough that we have money to do this and have a greater appreciation of the world around us. We are young enough that we don’t have children, can still go climb a mountain if we want, and can stay in a crappy place and make the most out of it.