WANDERLUST - noun - a strong desire to travel; strong longing for or impulse toward wandering.

3rd Culture kid. lifelong traveler.

The term “Third Culture Kid” was coined in the 1950s to describe children who spent their formative years growing up in countries that weren’t their parents’ own, and that’s precisely how I grew up. While my father is from the United States and my mother is from Thailand, I grew up in neither; I spent my childhood and teenage years in Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Egypt.

That upbringing - living in different countries and moving around every few years - instilled in me a lifelong obsession with travel. I somewhat facetiously tell people I get restless and antsy if I don’t leave the US for a foreign country at least once a year (somewhat facetiously because, to a certain extent, it’s actually true).

Growing up in different countries, immersed in entirely new cultures and having to learn entirely new languages every few years, was a remarkable experience; the regular travel that was a part of my life, in addition to the regular relocations, was likewise remarkable. As kids, my brothers and I found ourselves on safari in Kenya, crossing the English Channel from Dover to France in hovercraft, island hopping through the Galapagos, swimming around lakes in the Amazon rainforest, hiking amidst volcanic peaks in the Andes - we were endlessly fortunate to grow up as true “citizens of the world”. What’s even more remarkable - and something I was again endlessly fortunate to experience - was how much our parents supported our traveling the world alone and on our own. I was 15 the first time my parents let me travel to Spain and The Netherlands (from Ecuador, no less) on my own, and that wasn’t the last European adventure I’d find myself on before high school was done.

Nowadays, you can find some recurring themes in my travel - seeking out historical sights in grand European capitals, castles, locations tied to popular media (OK I’ll just say it - Harry Potter. I’m hopelessly obsessed with Harry Potter), trains, and numerous other passions and preoccupations get satiated through my travels.

When not traveling, I spend my time in northern Nevada with my boyfriend, our two neurotic dogs, and a very sleepy ferret.

What I share through Tripping On Travel isn’t about trying to generate revenue or anything of the sort - any of the travel I post about is paid for out of pocket. I’m very fortunate to have a job that allows me to travel (and even work with people who are as enthusiastic about international travel as I am) and this site and my social media accounts are all just about adding a layer of fun to my travel experiences.

My hope is you might find some ideas and inspiration for your own travels through my posts, pics, and videos, and that folks might reach out to share their own ideas and inspiration with me! More than anything else, though, I hope this blog and the things I post can help generate or contribute to in others the kind of enthusiasm to travel I’m lucky enough to enjoy myself.

For a list of places I’ve been, where I’m going next, and other assorted travel stats I might include there, visit my Travel Stats page!