We’re a married couple of five years, with a hair-brained idea to pack up our apartment in Chicago, quit our jobs in advertising, and travel for one year together.

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When we started to tell co-workers and acquaintances what we were doing, a lot of people asked where the idea came from. There’s no definitive answer to that. Since the beginning, travel has been a part of the conversation in our relationship. With our close friends and family, we must of spoken of our aspirations enough times that I don’t think we shocked too many people.

We promised to write, take pictures and keep a blog. So follow us as we learn new bathroom rituals, hope to lose weight but drink too much beer, and feel the freedom through our hair.

As soon as I reached the age where you start to think about what’s the next step after high school, the one thing I wanted to do the most was backpack around Europe.But for Hachem, travel was simply a part of his identity from the early beginning. Born on an island called Mauritius, he immigrated to the United States with his mom when he was six years old. He lived in Algeria for a brief stint beforehand and also traveled extensively during his childhood.

Contrast this with my upbringing. I was born in small town and raised in one as well. Family vacations were few and far between, and always consisted of driving for hours, never boarding a plane and landing somewhere exotic. I was 18 years old when I first flew. Hachem filled up a passport by the age six. Despite the differences in our background, we both quickly realized while dating that we never saw ourselves staying still for long.

When you start dating someone, and you talk about the things you enjoy and how you see your future life, we both quickly realized that each other desires and (usually) enjoys change. Stagnation and monotony feels uncomfortable and we both get restless unless we have some forward momentum in our lives.

There is no definitive moment that either of us can recall the idea originating. Traveling, has been a part of the conversation in our relationship since the beginning. Both of us dreamed of a day where we could indulge an urge to wander, explore, feel freedom through our hair.

We've been around