:: First things first ::

• Who are you? And why am I reading your website?
• Cool! But why call the website Hedgehogs Without Borders?
• Sooo, how much travel experience do you guys have?
• Ok, so now that I see you’ve hardly traveled anywhere, do you think you’re prepared for this kind of international travel?

:: The basics ::

• So where are you going?
• So how did you decide where to go?
• That’s great! But, um, you just told me how you decided where not to go. How did you decide where to go?
• Now tell me all the details. How are you traveling between countries? Are you booking all your flights in advance?
• Where will you be staying?
• When are you leaving? When will you get back?
• But what about your jobs? And your apartments? And your adorable cat?

:: Step by step ::

• How long did it take to plan this trip?
• How much stuff are you taking with you? And what kind of gear are you taking?
• What kind of vacinations did you get?
• How in the world can you afford this trip?! It must be expensive!
• Aren’t some of the countries you’re going to dangerous?
• What about terrorism?
• But what if you get sick? And what if one of you gets injured?

:: Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera ::

• Hey! I’ve actually read this far and I’ll be in [some country] while you’re there! How do I get in touch with you?
• Pssst…So, uh, how did you make this website?
• Ohhh! I really like some of the pictures on your site, can I use one of them?

:: Who are you? And why am I reading your website? ::

We’re Tim and Jessica. Pleased to meet you. (Click on each of our names to learn more about us. Go ahead, it’s worth the click.)

This is our website that tells the story of our 12 month round-the-world (rtw) trip together.

Now, if you’re reading this website it’s probably for one of the following reasons:

1) You’re one of our friends or family members checking up on us to make sure we are still, in fact, alive and kicking. If this is the case, then rest assured that we are (probably) still alive and kicking. Somewhere. But knock on wood (just in case).

2) You stumbled across our website after doing a travel-related search or followed our link from Bootsnall.com. If this is the case, welcome!! We hope you enjoy our site, our stories, and all of our pictures. And we’d love to hear about your travel plans or your current trip too!

3) You stumbled across our website after doing a hedgehog-related search. If this is the case, we’re very sorry! Although we are not a website about hedgehogs, we adore the friendly little creature just as much as you do. But, yea, we have no information on them. BUT! BUT! If you stay and take a peak, you may find a picture or two of a stuffed hedgehog traveling the world. Now how’s that for excitement? They get good rates at airlines. Seriously.
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:: Cool! But why call the website Hedgehogs Without Borders? ::

It all started long, long ago…back in December 2003. Tim surprised Jessica with their very first Christmas ornament (for their little, tiny Christmas tree – something along the lines of the one in that Charlie Brown Christmas special) and it happened to be a figurine of two hedgehogs snuggling. A few weeks later, we stumbled across some adorable, little stuffed hedgehogs and we proceeded to buy some for ourselves…and all our parents.

Thus, the minor (ok, major) obsession began and we started thinking of hedgehogs as a symbol for us – cuddly, sleepy, and kinda cute. (Well, one of us is cute at least.) And so we decided when we traveled the world we wanted to take along some “travelhogs” with us to share in our adventures.

Anyway, when we were brainstorming names for this website, Hedgehogs Without Borders was offered initially as a joke. (Tim’s a funny guy like that.) But it soon became the choice we liked the most…and so here you are at a website named for a stuffed animal. Lucky you!!
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:: Sooo, how much travel experience do you guys have? ::

Jessica has virtually no travel experience other than within the United States. In fact, her first time out of the country was with Tim in February 2003 for a short trip to Montreal. (Although her parents will point out she was in Canada at a mere 3 months of age.) She’s been to Canada all of 3 times now. Look at her go!

Tim has a bit more experience, although not much more. Of course, having grown up on the US/Canada border, he may as well be Canadian. But in addition to Canada, Tim has visited England and South Africa. (And South Africa doesn’t count because he was only 8.)

Wow. We’re screwed.
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:: Ok, so now that I see you’ve hardly traveled anywhere, do you think you’re prepared for this kind of international travel? ::

We have 2 answers to that question – not at all and absolutely. Frankly, who is prepared for this kind of international travel? Probably the only way to fully prepare is to experience it. And there are hundreds of things that will happen to us in the course of 12 months, some amazing and some involving horrible stomach viruses. (We’ll have cameras for the former, and toilet paper for the later. Don’t worry, we won’t get confused.)

We’ve been extremely practical while planning for almost 2 years – we know that some things are going to go wrong on our trip. We think the trick is to accept that up front and roll with it when it happens. We won’t be happy all the time. We won’t know what’s going on most of the time. But we’ll be ok, we’ll learn as we go, and we’ll be together. And isn’t that what life is all about anyway? (Awww.)
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:: So where are you going? ::

You can view the handy dandy Month by Month Map for our full rtw itinerary. But the short of it is: South America, Mediterranean Europe, Northern Africa (well, ok, Egypt and Morocco, but Northern Africa sounds cooler), Turkey (it gets it’s own category because it’s all funky), and Southeast Asia.

Oh!!! *points up* And the places we’re visiting are also listed along the top of this site. We’re user friendly like that.
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:: So how did you decide where to go? ::

To be honest, it wasn’t something that came to us overnight. Frankly, we were completely overwhelmed with the number of choices when we first started thinking about it. It’s hard to narrow the world down. And it’s a little scary too…how do you decide to go somewhere you don’t know anything about? Or somewhere you’ve not heard too many positive things about? So, yea, we were a little overwhelmed.

We did a lot of reading. And by “a lot,” we mean a lot. Almost all our free time was spent reading about different countries for a few months. And it probably took us about 2 months before we determined a very rough itinerary. And by “rough” we mean continents, not countries.

For the continents, there were a few things that pushed us towards our final decision. First, Antarctica is out. Really, it’s just too cold for our delicate nature. (That was Jessica writing that part.) Although it is slated for our 2nd rtw trip.

Second, New Zealand and Australia would have added a heck of a lot more to each of our plane tickets; multiple that by 2 and all we’d be able to eat down under would be Marmite sandwiches. (And, wow, that would have sucked.) And while NZ and Oz are definitely wonderful (although their choice in sandwich condiment is not) and we will get there at some point (again, on the 2nd rtw trip), we just couldn’t afford flying there this time around.

Third, Africa. This was an even harder one for us. Jessica studied African politics in college and will probably spend many more years studying it in grad school. And Tim’s entire family is from South Africa…so, you know, there’s a reason to visit. And that’s the point. Africa needs more time than we have to give it on this trip. It’s too important, too precious, if you will, to do this time around. And, nope, it’s not even getting in on the 2nd rtw trip. It’s getting its own trip. (And, yup, we know when too, but we aren’t telling. Muhahahaha!)

Finally, places like India, Russia, Northern Europe, and Central America were crossed off because we just didn’t have enough time. We know that sounds funny given we’re traveling for a year. But we want to be able to spend more time experiencing places rather than spending all our time traveling to places. So it’s a tough balance to strike, but no worries! These places will all be on our 2nd rtw trip. Just stay tuned!
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:: That’s great! But, um, you just told me how you decided where not to go. How did you decide where to go? ::

Well aren’t you picky? Ok, given our druthers we would have gone everywhere in the world. Unfortunately, we haven’t won the lotto yet, so it just isn’t possible to do this time around. (Not to mention, Jessica couldn’t bear to be away from her cat for that long. Meow.)

So how did we decide? Again, it started with a lot of reading. And pictures. Have you ever seen a picture of Machu Picchu at sunrise? Or a picture showing Cappadocia from a balloon ride? The beaches of Thailand? The tortoises of Galapagos? Or the temples of Angor Wat in Cambodia, or Bagan in Myanmaar, or the pyramids in Egypt? What about a picture of a romantic ride in an Italian gondola or people dancing the Tango in Argentina?

You see, these are the pictures we saw, these are the stories we read. And that is the way we decided where we wanted to go.
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:: Now tell me all the details. How are you traveling between countries? Are you booking all your flights in advance? ::

We’ve decided to buy all of our tickets as we go - this includes all air tickets between continents and any short flights within contienents. We’re writing an entry all about this soon (there was quite a bit of decision making behind our…um, decision), so we’ll include a link to it here in the future. (Again, we’re user friendly. Go us!)
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:: Where will you be staying? ::

Hostels and hotels, for the most part. And of course there’ll be a few boats, overnight train rides, and cabanas on the beach along the way. (Well, hopefully, several cabanas.) Similar to our transportation, we’ll be booking our accommodation as we go. We’re doing a lot of research, but we want to be able to freewheel as much as possible when we’re actually abroad.
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:: When are you leaving? When will you get back? ::

Very soon!!!

We’re leaving Philadelphia on February 26, 2005. We have a few mainland US destinations for some last minute goodbyes. And then on March 3, 2005 we board a plane bound for Buenos Aires! Whoo-hoo!

We’ve already left! Wheeee!

We plan to return by March 2006, although our parents are hoping for a few months sooner. So, in total, we’re shooting for 12 months, but it might be as little as 9 months…or, *cough*AsManyAs15?*cough* (Just don’t hold your breath, Mom and Dad.)
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:: But what about your jobs? And your apartments? And your adorable cat? ::

Quitting them, leaving them, and sending her to stay with Jessica’s parents. Meow.
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:: How long did it take to plan this trip? ::

We started planning in June 2003, and it’s pretty much consumed us since January 2004. The majority of the first year was spent day dreaming, telling one another about fun places we’d found online, flipping through guide books, and just imagining what it would be like to sit with one another on a beach in Thailand.

Of course, we’ll still be planning at some level all throughout the trip: time on buses and airplanes, for instance, will likely be spent pouring over photocopies of Lonely Planet guides. (Actually, Jessica will probably spend most of the time complaining about “not feeling comfy” while traveling, especially on planes, and Tim will have to spend time comforting her. But it’s nice to dream, right?)
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:: How much stuff are you taking with you? And what kind of gear are you taking? ::

Surprisingly little. A full list will be posted when we’re ready to leave (well, crap…that’s just in a few days…so a full list will be posted when we’re in Buenos Aires, just be patient), but it won’t be much because Jessica’s a wimp and Tim doesn’t want to carry everything. But we’ll each have our own backpack (with hopefully less then 20 pounds each) and we’ll each be carrying a small messenger bag too. We won’t be checking anything when we fly, though, because that’s just crazy talk.

We’re pretty much taking only the bare essentials. In fact, we’re thinking of traveling primarily in our birthday suits. (Noooo…not really.) In general, we’ll each have a few changes of clothes, a couple things for our feet, and toiletries. But that’s about it. (Ok, again, not really. There’s some really cool gadgets we bought too!) We figure that a lot of people have complained they brought too much stuff with them, but no one seems to have ever complained about not bringing enough. Besides, we want to make backpackers the world over jealous with our small packs. Heh.
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:: What kind of vaccinations did you get? ::

We’re working on that this month. We’ll let you know. (Our rough estimate, though, is oodles and oodles which will cost somewhere around $400 each which doesn’t include the $65 each for a consulation visit. For our fellow travelers - these are Philly prices, so they may or may not be high for your area.)

Wow, were we fools. Read all about the jabs to our arms and the jab to our bank account here.
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:: How in the world can you afford this trip?! It must be expensive! ::

We lived like monks for the past 2 years. Really. Ask our friends how often they’ve seen us at a bar in the past year. I mean, we’re drinking boxes of wine right now, for God’s sake, just to save money. (We found this lovely merlot for only $11 that is roughly the equivilant of 7 small bottles!)

Anyway, it’s surprisingly not as expensive as you might think. Once we’re out of the US, the cost of living in most of the places we’re visiting is much cheaper. (We’re talking $5 for a cabana on a beach cheaper.) The total costs for both of us for 12 months of transportation, meals, lodging, spending money, vaccinations, visas, gear, special excursions, and a whole lotta other stuff will be in the $26,000 range (or $13,000 each).

Now, before you have a minor heart attack, think about your yearly costs at home. They’re probably well past $13,000 a year for you, right? So, there you have it - we’ll be living for a lot less internationally then we do in Philadelphia. Kinda cool, right?

Of course, we know there’s a difference in that we’re quitting our jobs so we won’t have any more income coming in. But, it’s important to know that we’ve been saving and sacrificing for years now. So whereas some couples may have gone out for more movies or bought new clothes or even bought a new DVD from time to time, we’ve saved that money for our trip over the past few years. To us, this trip is like a first house or a fabulous wedding. And it’s taken a lot of discipline and a budget, but we made it possible. (Of course, it didn’t hurt that Jessica has been saving pennies for years and that Tim took a second job….)
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:: Aren’t some of the countries you’re going to dangerous? ::

Yes. But we’re from Philadelphia. Dangerous is relative.
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:: What about terroism? ::

We’ll be paying close attention to the news as we travel, and we are open to changing our itinerary if necessary. But, much like our life in Philadelphia, we won’t be consumed by this worry in our day to day living.
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:: But what if you get sick? And what if one of you gets injured? ::

Ok, let’s be realistic: on this long a trip, to this many exotic places, we will get sick. Even in Philadelphia we get sick at least 5 times a year each. (Have you ever been to Philly?) So, you know, we can do it. (With lots of toilet paper.) Seriously though, stomach aches, the flu, and general ickiness are to be expected. And we’ll have travel insurance to cover us if anything catastrophic happens, of course. But aside from that, we’ll just work through any unhappiness. (Hey, we may even splurge on a hotel room with our own bathroom! Wheee!) But while five days of a stomach virus would ruin a week-long trip to Tahiti, five days of a stomach virus would only delay us on this trip. So, ya know, we’ll manage.
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:: Hey! I’ve actually read this far and I’ll be in [some country] while you’re there! How do I get in touch with you? ::

Awesome! Just drop us an email and we’ll see what we can work out.
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:: Pssst…So, uh, how did you make this website? ::

With MoveableType, which we highly recommend. That and a lot of PHP and JavaScript refresher courses for Tim. (Not to mention the fact that Tim is pretty cool. Yea, that’s Jessica writing this bit.)
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:: Ohhh! I really like some of the pictures on your site, can I use one of them? ::

Why thank you! All of the images and words on our site are copyrighted to us. But if you’d like to use a picture, we ask 3 things: (1) Please drop us an email and tell us where it’s being used; (2) When you use the picture, please credit the image to our site; and (3) Bark like a sea lion. Ok, maybe we’ll let you off the hook for that last one…if you’re lucky.
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