About Danyelle
My love for travel ignited when I was a teenager with a month long solo-trip to Germany. I had already lived on both coasts in the USA by then, and at the ripe old age of 16, I was confident that I had a lot to share with the world. Some would say that hasn’t changed much *wink*. My time in Germany created my thirst for the unknown within the world, and within myself. Since then I hit the road as often as I can, and in my early 30s I went backpacking alone for 5 of the most impactful months of my life to date.
It has always been difficult for me to articulate why the experiential lessons of the world have been so significant in my life. I often resort to encouraging others to try it for themselves instead; but in a nutshell, I’d say that traveling has trained me to see people more honestly, to look for the similarities in our humanity regardless of our respective circumstances, and to appreciate the value of each person’s unique perspective. Perhaps most importantly, my journeys have shaped and honed my worldview in ways that my formal education and the influence of those most similar to me never could.
I rarely do much research before traveling to a new place. I like to arrive with as few expectations as possible so that I can take in all that place has to offer without filtering my experiences through any sort of disappointed hopes. Essentially, I like to understand basics about safety concerns, the climate, how much things cost, and how to get there. Figuring out the rest as it comes is part of the adventure.
Danyelle is a thoughtful, relational woman. She talks to everyone and she doesn’t have much interest in small talk. She asks people she has just met about their life dreams, their home life, and she listens with great interest. I do not. In fact, I sometimes cringe at the level of vulnerability she eagerly jumps into, but she has a way about her that people find disarming and engaging. Danyelle’s superpower is that she sees beauty everywhere. She is able to take in a billion more details than I can, which I know because she’s constantly pointing out the patterns in the clouds, unique characteristics of a person’s face, unusual architectural details, and other such things that I hadn’t noticed. She’s smart, quick witted, and a rule follower. Due to the fact that no rules really apply to me, it’s a good balance. She often keeps me out of jail – or the hospital. She loves nature, hikes, art, discovery, and trying interesting foods. One of the things that I particularly appreciate about her is that she can rough it out with me. As I write this, we are in our 9th day of car camping in Iceland. I think it’s cool that she can rock a pair of hiking shoes or 4” heels and she looks great in both. - Diego