Why and How?

Back in 2014, I had graduated with my degree in engineering, completed a two month trip through western Europe, and moved back in with my parents in the San Francisco Bay Area desperately searching for my first real job.

In early 2015, a company went out on a limb, hiring me despite the my degree in a different field. I was quickly transferred into a stressful but opportunistic position (Project Management). I decided then and there that I was going to save up for another trip (houses just sounded so boring, like the beginning of the rest of my life). So over the course of four years and two companies, I saved up enough to pay off my loans and embark on this trip.

Initially, the plan was to go to the Men’s World Cup in Russia 2018 and then take the trans-Mongolian railway to Asia. That became a pipe dream once the USMNT lost to Trinidad and Tobago 2-1, six months before the planned start of my trip. So instead, why not got to the Women’s World Cup in France 2019 where we actually stand a chance of winning it? Starting in South America became an excuse to leave for my trip earlier so I could enjoy a prolonged summer.

One way tickets were bought in November 2017 with a loose plan in place revolving around specific focal points: learning Spanish, Anjunadeep Explorations, the Women’s World Cup, and my brother’s graduation in Glasgow. New focal points keep being added along the way as friends or family reach out or random decisions change my course.

After putting in my two weeks and hurriedly moving or donating all my stuff, I said my goodbyes and so the new adventure began!