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| Ka'ena Point, O'ahu, Hawaii |
About Heather
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| Volcán Arenal, Costa Rica |
I was born in Chicago but moved to LA before I hit my first birthday. Ever since, I've been a SoCal girl. Like many Filipino Americans of my generation, I never learned how to speak my native language (Bisayan) but I could understand quite a bit of it. I just have to reply in English... I took French in high school and picked up a decent amount of Spanish in Costa Rica (March 2012). Most of my traveling has been through trips with the family while growing up, though I have forgotten a lot of them. I do remember being at the
Four Corners (thought that was the coolest thing when I was a kid, 4 states at the same time!) and of course, Walt Disney World (who can forget? I hope to take Ignas someday!). My international trips consist of Canada (one of the family trips that I have completely forgotten), Mexico (went there for a service trip in high school) and the Philippines (forgot everything about this trip except the moment I learned the concept of jet lag: why am I so tired when it's daytime?!). In the past year, I have developed a new found love for traveling, hiking, birdwatching and beer tasting. Up until I was 25, my favorite destination was Vegas. Currently, I work for a nonprofit to coordinate volunteering opportunities for youth, mostly high school students. In the future, I hope to see more of the world with my favorite adventure partner and capture our travels in this blog!
Number of Countries Visited: 5
Favorite Destination: Costa Rica
Favorite Foreign Food: Humba (Braised Pork Belly with Sugar)
About Ignas
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| Luau, Oahu, Hawaii |
I was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. I spent my early years growing up in the capital and my summers in the remote countryside where my parents grew up and my grandparents still lived. Those long summer days consisted of hiking in fields, swimming in lakes and rivers, and coming up with countless make believe games to play with other kids in the countryside. Adventure was something I always craved and searched for. I got used to traveling and exploring new cultures from an early age - my family moved to South Pasadena, CA for a year when I was in second grade. I didn't speak a word of English and had no idea of what America is like. Coming from early post-Soviet Lithuania, everything was a huge shock. The prosperity, the scenery, the different school system, the way kids interacted, being bullied for not speaking English. I like to think experiencing that at a young age made me comfortable with traveling and exploring later in life. I continued my travels back and forth from the US in my teen years: 3-5th grade in Lithuania, 6-7th grade in South Pasadena, 8-10th grade in Vilnius again. My family finally moved to the US for good in 2002. Every time I traveled, I was amazed at the cultural differences - the way people communicate, accepted societal norms, family values, etc. Throughout college, I
loved exploring different cities, national parks, I was willing to see any new destination without prejudice. After graduating school and starting full-time work, I was able to financially afford more far-flung destinations and to really feed my passion for travel and exploration. I have been to: Mexico, Costa Rica, Poland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, the UK, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Number of Countries Visited: 14
Favorite Destination: Thailand
Favorite Foreign Food: Yum Nuah (Thai Beef Salad)
