My first journey to a foreign country was at the age of 11 when my family moved to the US. The one thing that has stuck with me since that first trip, was how tourism can be a tool for growth in a community. The first job that my dad took was as a mechanic at a bicycle rental shop on an island popular with winter visitors. This supported our family for many years, and I saw many other immigrant families get their start with that small mom & pop owned shop. I’ve seen this play out in many other communities around the world and believe that this type of small footprint, locally owned tourism, can be a force for good for communities and nature.

My first long trip travelling across Eastern Europe, couchsurfing and meeting incredible people along the way, showed me how similar we are and how the differences are not scary, but rather an opportunity to learn. While traversing the big and small countries by train, it was fascinating to see how the languages changed, but the desire to communicate with a passing traveller intensified the more politically closed the country. How my preconceptions of a place or people based on the media, melted away once I entered someone’s home. This trip taught me how important it is to go see for yourself and connect deeply with the people.