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We’re Josh and Dana Penley, a couple from the Midwest USA. We lived and worked in Chicago for 10 years. Dana was an accountant, recruiter and then worked at a tech startup. Josh was a teacher in Chicago Public schools. We were tired of only being able to travel for 2 weeks a year so we started to look for opportunities to travel more. That’s when we found International Teaching! Now we teach internationally and live as expats. We’ve lived in Beijing for 3 years and now we are living in Kuwait. We love to immerse ourselves in different cultures and explore the world one adventure at a time.

Our travel style is budget-friendly with a touch of luxury. We prefer mid-range hotels over hostels. I want a clean hotel room, doesn’t have to be fancy but we’ll splurge when the experience is right. We also love to savor delicious meals and local flavors. Often we fall in love with the local cuisine. We’re passionate about sightseeing. And we love both urban hiking and hiking to stunning mountain vistas. What can we say, we love cities and nature!

Our travels are memorable due to the people we meet. For example, we shared tea and fish with a local guy in Oman. He didn’t speak much English and we didn’t speak much Arabic, but the shared bond of humanity brought us together. We love having a chat with those we meet along the way so be sure to say hi or let us know if we’ll be in the same place. We’ll meet up for a meal! 

Living abroad, we cherish all the new experiences we’ve found. The things we’ve fallen in love with have a daily place in our lives. We continue rituals like Chinese tea ceremonies every morning as a way to slow down, enjoy a delicious cup of tea, and start the day off right. We’ve also fallen in love with Arabic dates, but these we have to limit otherwise we’ll eat them all. Our home is decorated with an art piece from each trip. It’s just such a nice reminder of all the opportunities and exploring we’ve been able to do.  

Our mission is to inspire fellow travelers to step off the beaten path, embrace authentic experiences, and discover the joy that travel brings. Join us for travel tips, itineraries, and stories to ignite your wanderlust and fuel your desire to explore new horizons.