Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, months or years where you just wanted to sells all of your belongings and leave the states behind you? Well, my wife and 2 year old daughter did just that. As of 5:00pm 12/7/07, we sold it all (of course we kept a few belongings for ourselves) in Bend,Oregon. Now we are moving to South America for 1-2 years. A lot of you who live in Bend, Oregon or know of Bend, would probably ask "why?" There are numerous reasons, but mainly my wife and I decided that we wanted to take a break from the monotonous day-to-day tasks of work and all of it's burracacy and soap opera antics and actually spend quality time with our daughter. First of all, WE ARE NOT RICH AND OUR PARENTS/FAMILY are not supporting us with any financial backing. Getting any type of emotional support was hard enough. We truly are on a limited budget (in American standards) and will be living frugally.
How did this pipe dream become a reality? Well, let's just say that I am a dreamer. My wife will be the first to admit that I usually have 10 different things going on in my head, from new inventions and political views to various new adventures. Roughly 8 months ago I asked my wife if she wanted to take a year off from work and spend time with our daughter and travel . Surprisingly enough, she said yes. Truly when I approached Jen, she probably thought it was just another verbalized dream that I would never follow up on. After a lot of conversations and serious discussions with each other, we both came up with Argentina. It was a difficult decision, but ultimately I think Argentina and it's surrounding countries will provide us with an amazing cultural experience and adventure. You would think that after being together since 1996, and married since 2000 we would know each other well enough to come up with a country without any issues. WRONG! Don't get me wrong, I truly believe I know my wife very well, and she knows me. But I don't know if you truly know someone until you've jumped over a few hurdles together...
3 comments:
Not rich, even by American standards. C'mon man, who are you delusionally comparing yourselves to, my buddy chad hurley with YouTube, or the norm? You rock for stepping off the path regardless and we're all so excited for you!
Dear Payton,
I am so happy for you. My parents took me took me to Micronesia when I was 4 months old and we lived in Micronesia for the first three of my first six years. You have wonderful parents, just as I do. Please make sure you are still in S. America so that we can visit you this Fall (Spring in S.A.). Also, you can check out our blog at ariandlisa.blogspot.com.
Love, Ari
I can't believe you guys are finally leaving. It was great to see you before you left. Looking forward to hearing from you and watching your trip develop. Regards from Chico
Post a Comment