Many of you have contacted us and asked for more background information regarding our decision to make this trip. Too bad the “because we’re crazy line,” isn’t providing sufficient logic. Here’s what did it…
“Vagabonding involves taking an extended time-out from your normal life – six weeks, six months, two years – to travel the world on your own terms. But beyond travel, vagabonding is an outlook on life. Vagabonding is about using the prosperity and possibility of the information age to increase your personal options instead of your personal possessions. Vagabonding is about looking for adventure in normal life, and normal life within adventure. Vagabonding is an attitude – a friendly interest in people, places and things that makes a person an explorer in the truest, most vivid sense of the word. It’s an uncommon way of looking at life – a value adjustment from which action naturally follows. And, as much as anything, vagabonding is about time – our only real commodity – and how we choose to use it.”
Rolf Potts, author of Vagabonding, An uncommon guide to the art of long-term travel
So, after considerable thought about our careers and our personal growth, and delving in shoulder deep in research, we have come to this conclusion. Take the trip. For Julie, the decision was easy. For Melissa, not so easy. Julie was ready for a career change and the timing for this trip was perfect. Melissa had just embarked on a new career and was really enjoying it. Then she opened the book “Practical Nomad, How to Travel Around the World” - believe it or not on her physicians’ (Dr. Kim Heydon, if you need a great doctor in Oregon!) recommendation – not because she was ill, but because she could not make up her mind. Here’s what she read –“85% of all USA citizens don’t have a passport. If you have spent six months traveling around the world, you have more bona fide international experience than almost all competing job seekers. ‘I quit my last job because I wanted to travel around the world’ is a strong line to use in a job interview when you get back.”
So for those of you who want to hire us, we can start in April!
No. We aren’t going just to get a better job. But it would be nice! Here’s our answer to your first interview question – “Globe-trotting destroys ethnocentricity. It helps you understand and appreciate different cultures. Thoughtful travel engages you with the world – more important than ever these days. Travel changes people. It broadens perspectives and teaches new ways to measure quality of life.”
Rick Steves, Europe Through the Back Door
So there’s your background. Hope this helps. By the way, if you are reading this maybe you could drop us a comment for all to see at the bottom of this blog post. It would be nice to hear from you, what you think, what you suggest, what you feel, etc.. Barbara Riley let us know we needed small binoculars in our backpacks after reading our packing list. Chylon from First Tech was worried we didn’t have deodorant. We do. Just didn’t list it with some other unmentionables. No smelly girls here! We know our parents would like to see who is back in touch with us as a blast from the past, and how many people from different states and countries are viewing. We know we have, West Virginia, oops sorry, West BY GOD Virginia, New York (Hello Rabozzi’s), New Jersey (Bob send chocolate!) Illinois, Missouri, Oregon, Washington (Cheers Tom and Dawn!), California, Canada. (Hi Derek and Maxine! We use that aero-latte daily!) and China. So please drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you.
By the way, Melissa’s email is melissa.jones3@gmail.com and Julie’s is julie.ferguson@yahoo.com. We will be checking them as we can. Thus the name, wegougo. Join us on our journey.
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