I grew up primarily in Germany as part of a military family, which meant travel and experiencing different cultures were part of my life from a very young age. Living in Europe gave me the opportunity to explore different countries regularly, and trips to visit my mom’s family in South Africa made the world feel both enormous and incredibly accessible. I think that’s why I still travel with so much curiosity today. I want to understand how people live, eat what the locals eat, wander neighborhoods, and experience a place beyond its famous landmarks.

When I was seven, my mom and I took a bus from Germany to London, and it’s one of my earliest vivid travel memories. We saw the Crown Jewels, ate in little cafés, walked everywhere—and inevitably got lost. I loved every minute of it. Looking back, that trip probably planted the seed for how I still like to travel: have a plan, but leave plenty of room to wander, get a little lost, and see what happens.

Probably my energy—and the fact that I smile a lot. I genuinely love meeting people and hearing their stories. Everyone has had experiences that shaped who they are, and I’m endlessly curious about them. Put me at a dinner table with a group of people I’ve never met, and there’s a pretty good chance I’ll know half their life stories by dessert.

I was detained and ultimately deported from India—which is definitely a sentence I never expected to say! I had to spend the night in a detention room with a guard outside before arranging a flight to Dubai. As stressful as it was, I stayed calm, figured out my options, and kept moving forward. I’m a big believer in being prepared for the unexpected, which is why I always keep the essentials in my carry-on. Travel has taught me that sometimes you can’t control what happens—you can only control how you respond to it.

My husband and I once wandered into a little bar in Rio de Janeiro that was packed with locals. We ordered this incredible crispy pork belly and drank caipirinhas, and everything about the moment was perfect—the food, the energy, the people around us. It wasn’t fancy or planned, and that’s exactly why I still remember it. Some of my favorite travel memories have happened around a table in places we never would have found on a “must-see” list.

Don’t overpack. I know the rule. I understand the rule. I completely agree with the rule. And then I ignore it every single time. Apparently, I need options.

On a flight to Colombia’s coffee region, I started talking with a woman sitting near me. My friends and I didn’t have plans for New Year’s Eve, and she told us about a celebration at the resort where she was staying with her family and suggested we come. So—we did. We ended up being the only non-Colombians at the party, dancing to Colombian music, drinking aguardiente, and ringing in the New Year with people who had been strangers hours earlier. It’s still one of my favorite travel memories because it captures what I love most about traveling: saying yes, connecting with people, and letting the unexpected become the story.

I’m inspired by people who stay curious, keep evolving, and don’t take their experiences—or themselves—too seriously. I try to approach life the same way I approach travel: stay open, pay attention, talk to people, try the thing, and appreciate where you are while you’re there. More than anything, I never want to take the opportunity to experience this world for granted—the beautiful moments, the challenging ones, or the wonderfully weird ones in between.