Explore
There is much to be learned through exploratory travel and seeing how people live around the world. Exploring peoples, lands, and foods with eyes wide open brings color to life.
I carry two passports and live in a third country. If asked where I am from, I often reply “the world.” My German grandparents grew up in the Ukraine, my dad in Paraguay, my mom in Canada, and I in Ecuador. Inter-nationality is at the core of who I am.
My first solo expedition into Asia was just after High School. Thereafter I spent a summer teaching English in China, and another trekking through remote Himalayan villages researching people groups. I’ve tasted Kyrgyz mares’ milk, Uzbek peaches, and Tibetan butter tea. I have experienced the initiation ceremony of the Hammer tribe in Ethiopia, summited Kilimanjaro, and touched the tip of South America.
I seek to inspire a life of adventure by providing glimpses into other parts of the globe. Come travel the world with me!
Explore category on the blog >>
Where have I visited? My Travel Map Yes, I am an Enneagram Type 3.
Endure
Long ride, run or hike? I’m there! Long days on the trail make tents, food, and people glorious. Endurance pursuits are a great way to travel deeper, and explore more.
I am an endurance junkie of sorts and tend to take the long or hard way to everything in life, including workouts. From summiting Kilimanjaro with food poisoning, Mt. Rainier on a very broken foot, and running the Annapurna and Nepali Mustang treck with worms, the stories are plentiful. Add to that competing in Ironman with an infection, the Duathlon World Championships with a leg too swollen to bend, and Leadville 100 mile mountain bike race while too sick to breathe.
The road is never easy, but usually worth it and certainly character building. These pursuits give me life perspective, and have lead me to many of my best friends and connections…including my husband! If you just keep going, you can endure more than you think you can.
Unlock
It’s hard to build cross-cultural relationships let alone find ways to bring justice and hope to the communities we travelers visit. My vision is to unlock opportunities: For travelers, experiences beyond a bucket list; For those in emerging countries, a link to pursue education and build dreams.
Unlocking doors starts with providing basic needs and education. Yet in most countries, having an education cannot by itself unlock jobs or dreams. In Myanmar, I was invited into homes of college- educated professionals working on family farms due to lack of jobs. They had entrepreneurial ideas, but lacked a market climate to pursue them. In Morocco, I watched hundreds picket because they had not been selected as teachers. The deeper problem was “teaching” was the only job available to college graduates, no matter the degree. There is a need for work across international markets and political boundaries to free up jammed doors.
I aspire to build links, unlock doors, and inspire hope to the otherwise confined. It is an aspiration larger than I, and will require us to work together.
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Learn & Teach
As I blaze interconnected paths around the globe, I hope to learn, as well as to teach. We all have something to bring to the table–something to learn and to teach.
From a dyslexic kid writing in mirror images, I have, by God’s grace, managed to learn. In third Grade I had the most creative teacher and decided I wanted to teach. Since then I have obtained an Electrical Engineering Degree, a Master’s in Business Administration, and a Graduate Diploma in Biblical Theology and Intercultural Studies. In other words, I’m likely to discuss and teach any manner of topics.
Despite the schooling, work has been my greatest ground for learning. I have been exposed to many aspects of business–product development, engineering support, as well as business development and marketing. Importantly, I have learnt to build bridges and teams with colleagues and companies across geographies. Today, you will often find me around the world teaching new technologies including computer vision and artificial intelligence. Long term, I hope to use this business experience to run a foundation, with the goal of business education in emerging markets.
What do you want to Learn? What can you teach? Let’s build benches for others to learn, and steps for others to climb.
Fingerprints
This world is broken and we are broken, but look around. You are sure to find the fingerprints of God. Smudges of God transform the shattered pieces into a masterpiece. I want to be among those that notice God’s fingerprints.
I am a firm believer that God is working everywhere. At the same time, sometimes it is easier to see and realize God’s hand when viewed through a different cultural norm. Trekking through the Himalayas we met a lady rejoicing that God had healed her schizophrenic husband, giving her courage to believe despite abandoning friends. In Africa I saw prayer un-bend a witch-doctor’s 90 degree back. Seeing through different norms is like taking off dirty glasses that cloud our view. It provides insight into how our own character needs change to welcome more of God.
If we but notice, creation is alive with music–every sound and note is a response to the Author of life. Would you join me in being a generation that sees the “beauty of God moving and acting in the world,” and calls out God’s fingerprints?
Fingerprints category on the blog>>
Do you have ideas and articles you could contribute to this category?
Meet my better half. We met at a Bike Race, and he may have lured me with his thick, fresh from Turkmenistan, accent. Read our story here>>
