Our Laos post began with a reference to our homestay host’s comment that Lao people “eat everything”. One of us may have heard those words as more of a challenge than a statement. In quick time, Oliver proudly started making deliveries to the kitchen. Grasshoppers, snails, and bugs were all…

Our ten-week South East Asia experience began and ended in Thailand. However, it feels like a million years since our family landed in Bangkok, travel-weary after a 27-hour journey from Malealea, Lesotho. So many firsts from those early days feel commonplace to us now. We flinched and hesitated crossing streets…

Discovering Laos “We eat everything.” That’s what our homestay host, Kham, casually shared as we purchased food at a market outside of Luang Prabang, Laos. Oliver was poking at what looked like severed a Buffalo hoof. She quickly clarified that Lao people don’t eat monkey, elephant, cat, or tiger meat…

The Vietnam War is an event etched into the consciousness of most Americans. My parents’ generation were in their 20s and 30s while the conflict escalated and eventually shattered the fairy tales of American exceptionalism told by their parents. Among the fathers of my friends who fought in the war…

On the morning of December 31st, we awoke to the howls, growls, and barking of what seemed like every dog in Southeast Asia. At the same time, a series of horrific squeals started to rise above the growing cacophony of the dogs. I stepped outside of our homestay — a…

Thank you so very much for your generous donations. Thank you for also trusting us to deliver the funds and help direct the impact of our shared donation. Together we were able to bring $2,010 to the Malealea Development Trust! 😊 *Rob wrote about our time and experience in Malealea — can read more of the details here. Just a few days before we were to arrive in Lesotho, I made a post sharing our next stop and intention to volunteer in…

Our trip to Lesotho was more emotional than I expected. As we drove from the capital city of Maseru into the country’s rugged Southwestern interior, the mountains climbing higher and the villages becoming more sparse, the feels started and spread throughout my body. I grew quiet and pensive about two…

Before landing in Nairobi, I have only seen the airplane vomit bag used once. That was on a flight from Mexico after a bender of a wedding weekend with friends. This time, it was on the tarmac after 16 hours of air travel, most of it through the night. Poor…

Travelers often describe Morocco as an assault on the senses. Our assault began as we pulled out of the underground parking garage of our hotel in downtown Casablanca. We arrived near midnight the previous night, driving through empty streets and guided by Google Maps. Ten hours later, our rental car…