What is your “What if?” that will lead you to write your next chapter?
This was the message we recently brought to TEDxWarsaw, the 4th largest TEDx in the world. It was both an honor and a thrill to be on stage in front of 800 people.
Bunny Chow Serendipity in Durban, South Africa
This is a story about an afternoon in Durban, South Africa where everything seemed to go wrong, but somehow ended up right. It’s also everything you ever wanted to know about bunny chow but were afraid to ask. And how we found the most perfect and delicious bunny chow in Durban.
South Africa: From in the Books to on the Ground
This is a slice of backstory regarding our current visit to South Africa. It’s about a man named Tutu, a book entitled Invictus and a musician called Rodriguez. It's about South Africa and about our relationship to places before we've ever visited them. Finally, it’s about our journey from Cape Town to South Africa’s Northern Cape.
Extreme Wine Tasting, New Zealand Style
This is our on-the-ground introduction to the New Zealand wine scene, focused on the South Island regions of Marlborough, Central Otago, and Nelson. It includes recommended wineries, a wine cottage experience for the romance bucket list, and an insight into how wine tasting in New Zealand can be more frightening than jumping off a bridge.
Channeling the Spirit of the Marathon: Hope Going Forward
As I struggle to process what happened at the Boston Marathon yesterday, I wonder: “How is it that we humans invest so much energy in our own destruction?”
Then I consider what’s at the heart of the spirit of marathons, and the reasons why crowds of people were gathered at the finish line in the first place. Through this process, I attempt to restore some of my lost hope in humanity, because I believe if we lose that marathon spirit, that’s when we’ve really lost.
Pump your arms, your legs will follow…
— Marathon advice. Life advice?
The Danger Map of the World: Fear vs. Awareness
This is about fear and awareness and how recognizing a distinction between the two can improve your travels…and your life.
At the extremes, we have two choices in life: a) sit back and be afraid of absolutely everything and never leave the couch, or b) proceed recklessly and lean blindly into situations that will likely harm us.
Or, there’s a third way.
New Zealand North Island: Don’t Sell It Short
This is a story about living in someone else's shadow. It's also the beginning of our answer to the question: New Zealand, North Island or South Island?
Imagine a geeky younger boy who grows up in the shadow of his brother, the all-star. The big brother gets all the attention, all the fame. But it's the younger brother with whom you develop a special relationship, who was allowed to surprise you because you spent some time with him.
The Evolution of a Nomad (or, Why Berlin?)
This is a story about deciding to move to Berlin. It's about life shaping and shifting. Plus, a thank you to the people who have helped make it possible.
Hiking Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand
One minute, you're in the center of the town of Franz Josef, a cafe on one side of you, a pizzeria on the other. Then, within minutes, you are transported to another world. Your helicopter pops up into the air, through jagged mountain crags, just before dropping you into the heart of a glacier, an otherworldly ice field of turquoise blues and glowing whites.
This was Franz Josef Glacier.
10 Life Lessons from Learning How to Surf in New Zealand
This is a story about losing our surfing virginity on the beaches of Raglan, a town on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. It’s also about taking a step back to appreciate that learning to surf is a lot like learning to live life itself.