It is no secret that we live for adventure, passion, and true discovery. We like to push ourselves to the limits and often past our comfort zones. While we are adventurers at our core, some of our stunts have called for a certain pair of… cojones.
Skydiving, mountain climbing, and swimming with sharks may take a fair amount of cojones, but the most ballsy move that we have ever made was our decision to pack up and move to South Korea. At the time, we found ourselves as recent college grads and the only thing that we were sure of (aside from our impending student loans) was that we wanted to see the world. Having little money, we agreed that teaching in South Korea would not only give us the funds we needed, but also allow us to experience a new part of the globe. We found a shady recruiter on craigslist (not advised), put all of our worldly possessions in storage, and waited for our visas to come through.
The big jump across the Pacific turned into a giant leap of faith. Neither of us spoke Korean or had been away from our families for more than a year. We didn’t know the traditions or customs, the transportation system, or what our new jobs really entailed. We were leaving our friends and families behind and taking off to a country that we knew only for its kimchi and Kim Jong-Il. To say we were wary would be an understatement.
We vividly remember stepping out of the airport doors at 11 pm and being greeted by the humid South Korean summer air. We had a crumpled piece of paper that was messily scrawled with directions on how to get to our new hometown. “Exit airport. Turn right. Find limousine bus to Gyeongju and Pohang.” Those instructions sounded so simple but were laced with uncertainty and the unknown. It was in that moment, exhausted, jetlagged, and, overwhelmed that we truly needed a good pair of cojones. We took a deep breath, looked at each other hopefully, and took our first step to the life that we’d live for the next two years.
It was one of the most defining moments in either of our lives.
South Korea ended up changing our lives forever. In the two years that we lived in Pohang we found lifelong friends, made unforgettable memories, and experienced life at its fullest. We made South Korea our home and were heartbroken when it came time for us to return back to the States. Given our rough and uncertain start in the country, our ballsy move turned out to be the experience of a lifetime.
Expedia’s Find Yours Campaign.
Our defining travel moment was found outside the Busan airport in South Korea. Regardless of what you’re searching for, Expedia wants to help you find and define your travel moment. The new “Find Yours” campaign is centered around the universal truth that travel is deeply personal. The growth and memories that one faces while exploring our world are unequivocal to any other experiences that we have. For us, South Korea was where we found our cojones, but the search won’t stop there. We found our bliss in Thailand, our strength on Kilimanjaro, and our wonder in the Galapagos.
Expedia wants to help you Find Yours.
Expedia want to see your cojones! Well, not literally. We’d love to see pictures and hear your stories of when you found your “pair.” Be it when you ran with the bulls in Pamplona, swam with whale sharks in Mexico, or sampled balut in the Philippines, we’re open to it all. The best part is that you could be rewarded for your photo.
Over the next three weeks you can submit your travel photos using the hashtag #ExpediaFindYours. Doing so will automatically enter you to win a $250 Expedia voucher or a four-night stay in Aruba. We’re going to be following along and retweeting our favorite pictures of readers finding their cojones. Be sure to use the hashtag #ExpediaFindYours and #cojones so that we can find your photos and share them. You can enter as many times as you want!
Know before you tweet:
- The campaign is called the Expedia Find Yours Twitter Photo Contest. It kicks off today, July 11th and runs through Tuesday, July 31st.
- There are multiple prizes, including $250 travel vouchers from Expedia and a four-night stay in Aruba at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts.
- The most immediate way to participate is by taking part in #Expchat today (Wednesday) from 10:30 a.m. to noon PST. Prepare to share your favorite travel photos of all time. One participant from the chat will win a $250 travel voucher to use on Expedia.com.
- Over the course of the next three weeks, Captain and Clark along with 9 other travel bloggers will be giving away $250 travel vouchers. You can see a full list of bloggers and how to win here.
- At the end of July, Expedia will be giving away the four-night stay at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts to one participant on Twitter. You can find out more about the prize and full terms and conditions on Expedia.com.
We are extremely excited to be taking part in this campaign and we look forward to seeing your inspiring travel photos. What will you find?
Super awesome contest! You said we can enter as many times as we want, you may regret that….to say that we have a lot of photos is an understatment!
We might regret it if you didn’t take such amazing pictures! I think we’d love to sort through your albums. Your stuff is great! Don’t even get us started on your video work. Jealous…
Moving to any country in Asia would take a lot of cojones for me. It’s just not a part of the globe that I feel psyched about generally. [Perhaps a sign I need to do something similar?!] Definitely inspired by you two, not just by all the cojones you have, but also by the way you do indeed live passionately and adventurously in big and small ways. XO
You always say the nicest things. You’re making us blush over here. We think you’d do extremely well in South Korea. You’d be welcomed with open arms and the kids would adore you!
Excellent. Now I just have to find the pictures of me finding mine. That’s easier said than done. I’m writing “Aruba” on my calendar in ink, too. Well, I’ve put it in my iPhone. That’s kind of the same thing, right?
The iphone is the new notepad! We’d be so happy if any of our blogger friends won. You’ll take us with you to Aruba, right?
How fortuitous that I read your blog this morning! I didn’t know about this chat before. That was fun!
Isn’t #expchat fun?! What’s even better is that you have the chance to win a $250 Expedia voucher every week. Have you posted your epic cojones picture yet? We’re intrigued!
so you guys are ineligible, right? we feel like we might stand a chance if we’re not up against the sky-diving couple who hung out in a tiger cage.
Haha we are ineligible… but I feel that you have a good chance regardless of if we could participate or not!
Show us your epic travel pics. We’ll be here all month 
My moment was when Q & I first took off for this RTW trip. Now the question is which photos to use to show off our ‘cojones’? Great to see Expedia working with you and other travel bloggers still.
Sounds like an awesome contest!
What a fun competition! I will try to find some!!
you two are so encouraging, what a great contest, I will be putting my pictures in soon,although I have not traveled like the two of you, you will get an idea of my favorite place to visit.