A Chronicle of Amy and Sean's World Travels

About Us

We are Amy and Sean.   We are leaving on March 29, 2010 to begin a year long trip around the world.  We are a thirty-something couple who have been together for almost 12 years (married for almost five).  Before we voluntarily became homeless and unemployed, we lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Amy worked as a lawyer and Sean worked as a computer programmer.  We spent the last four years of our lives fixing up our 112 year old house money pit.  Just when we were finished, we sold it to turn our travel dreams into reality.

We speak no foreign languages (long forgotten high school Spanish notwithstanding).  We did not get passports until this year.  Our house was less than five miles from where we grew up.  Sean has never been out of the United States, save for one daytrip to Tijuana, Mexico, nine years ago.  Amy’s illustrious travel resume includes the same daytrip to Tijuana, as well as a trip to Niagara Falls, Canada.   She also travelled to Jamaica, where she was most fascinated by the airplane bathrooms (granted, she was five).

The following things remain unclear as of this March 2010 writing: how we are going to follow the Pittsburgh Steelers; whether we can survive without Fabulous, our trusty feline sidekick; whether it is possible for Amy to fit a year’s worth of stuff into her backpack; and can we Amy maintain a steady supply of chocolate worldwide.  Stay tuned, and we’ll let you know.

12 Responses to “About Us”

  1. Mom.Joan says:

    Bon Voyage, Amy & Sean! As you embark on this amazing journey to the far corners of the world, know that you’ll always be in my heart here in Pittsburgh. Be safe. This is your Woodstock ~ savor every moment ~ it’s going to be bigger than you dreamed it would be! Love you both, Mom

  2. danielle says:

    the question should be can Amy maintain a steady supply of cupcakes worldwide?

    Good Luck! We’ll miss you!

  3. Amy says:

    Day One: Cupcake achieved.

  4. Mom-Patty says:

    Now you are finally on your way. My heart was heavy as you said goodbye but I know this adventure will enrich your lives and the people you meet. Go with my love and prayers for a safe and exciting trip. A year from now we’ll be saying “Can this be the end?”

  5. Congratulations on your career break! Can’t wait to follow along. And we may check-in to see if you can share your experience with other Briefcase to Backpackers!

    Cheers,
    Michaela

  6. Akila says:

    I just realized that Amy is/was a lawyer. Woot! More lawyers traveling the world! Have you guys checked out Green Around the Globe (greenaroundtheglobe.com), Legal Nomads (legalnomads.com), and Mobile Lawyer (mobilelawyer.blogspot.com) who are also lawyers traveling round the world? We are starting a legal revolution.

    (And, by the way, Patrick is a huge Steelers fan so he just screamed into the computer “Go Steelers!”)

  7. Hi Amy & Sean – I run Dave’s Travel Corner, http://www.davestravelcorner.com and I was wondering if you have some time to check my site out and if you like what you see, perhaps you could add a link back in your Blogroll section.

    I have already added your site under my Resources >> Blogs of Travel section.

    Thanks 🙂

    Dave

  8. Susan Shin says:

    Hi Amy and Sean! I am doing an e-compliance presentation and wanted to show samples of blogs. Could I get your permission to use a screen shot of SBTS?

    Thanks!
    Susan

    ps Jenn Rodgers says hi

  9. Hi Guys, I just found your blog and loved the comment about your old house resembling the Taj Mahal.

    I’m updating my links page on my blog http://www.theaussienomad.com for the new year and wanted to know if you were interested in doing a link swap. Let me know if your interested and if I don’t talk to you before hand have a great new years.

    Chris

  10. Kim says:

    So, I need to know (as this is crucial to my own mental well-being) were you able to score the chocolate?

  11. Amy says:

    Hi Kim! I am happy to report that I usually do not have to go without chocolate. Most places in the world carry KitKats, M&Ms, and Twix, although sometimes they don’t taste the same as at home. I have found that Twix does not do well in hot climates at all. The cookie part gets all mushy and the chocolate melts, so don’t even bother. KitKat actually makes an international recipe that stands up to heat better. When in doubt, I usually go with KitKats – I supplemented nearly every tiny meal in Japan with one. It goes without saying that chocolate is plentiful in Europe. South Africa and Ireland carry Cadbarry products mostly, which was fun to try since I was only familiar with the eggs at home. It was harder to find chocolate in Laos than in other developing countries, but Oreos are plentiful (and French pastries in the big towns). I eventually gave up on chocolate in India because it was either melted, stale, or infested with ants. Of course, there are often fun local desserts to try, although in Central Europe and the Middle East they always stuck things like super sticky honey and nuts in them and in Asia, you never know what will be in there, like red bean for example. But I have found memories of desserts world wide – gelatos, smoothies, mango and sticky rice, treats from many local bakeries, the occasional foreign bakery that gets American baked goods right, and, most especially, my saving grace – the worldwide availability of Nutella.

  12. Kim says:

    Haha, AWESOME! Okay, I can breathe easier now. (Typed as I begin to dig into my fudge brownie Ben and Jerrys ice cream 😉

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