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"People can check out the site, and contact us..."

INSPIRATION: Zack Hill and Tip to Tip

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LIZ: What advice can you give to someone who wants to do a long trip?

ZH: Map out where you want to go, and try to set up as many contacts with people before you go. We’ve been emailing… email’s been great… because you can type in your destination in Google, and then get a hundred different web sites, depending on your destination.

So set up contacts and email people and make phone calls. It’s, what’s the term? The six degrees of separation--there’s just so many people and so many different connections to be made.

That would be my advice, try to figure out how you can get in touch with other people there. So that when you walk in, you’re still a traveler and you’re a tourist, but you’re not so isolated from the people.

People are so generous, you can find places to stay and half the time you’ll get invited in to have dinner and you hear so many neat stories. The more you can get in touch with the people, rather than just seeing the sights, the more benefit you’ll get out of your trip.

LIZ: What can people do to participate in your trip now?

ZH: Anyone can log on to our web site and give us feedback: send us information on what they want to see.

Our plan is to set up a system where we’ll be updating our site every two weeks, with new information and profiles of the people we meet.

Our site will hopefully be very video-intensive, and also we’ll have digital pictures and writing. People can check out the site and contact us through the “Contact Us” page, and if they have a place they think we should go, or if they have a place that they know we can have a free meal or a place to stay, that would be the best way for them to participate with us.

LIZ: I think this is an awesome commitment that you’re making to the youth of the world, to Americans, to inspiring people everywhere to go for what they want in life… this is a huge dream you’re making happen.

ZH: I hope it happens… this is scary.

LIZ: Do you have many concerns about your safety?

ZH: I really don’t. For so many years we’ve been going to these places where people have said. “Don’t go there! That’s a terrible place to go, it’s dangerous and the people are mean!” The places that have that reputation have been some of the neatest places I’ve been, and some of the nicest people.

I am worried about Columbia, obviously, because Columbia has a very bad reputation… I read in Lonely Planet that there were some 3000 kidnappings there last year. But personally, I don’t feel threatened.

IF YOU'RE STILL ALIVE, THAT'S WHAT REALLY COUNTS...

LIZ: Have you taken any precautions regarding your safety or the security of your stuff?

ZH: I have traveler’s health insurance, and we’re looking into insuring the camera equipment, and the car. I’m more worried about--and here I know I’m resorting back to materialistic things, but--I’m more worried about all the “stuff” we have. But when it comes down to it, if all that goes and you’re still alive, that’s what really counts. We are looking into insuring some of our equipment and insuring our bodies, that’s about it.

LIZ: There are a lot of people who have big ideas, not unlike yours, or who think, “It would be great someday if I did X or Y or Z,” but the vast majority of those people never take their dreams seriously enough to follow through with them the way that you have. What do you think is different about you?

ZH: That’s a good question. I guess just being persistent. I think a lot of people see their dreams and they really want to do their dreams, but they realize that in order to complete a dream you have to give up a lot of things.

And sometimes I think fear, like being scared of actually trying to complete what you want to do, fear of failure… it’s an extremely scary thing, it’s scary to me, it’s scary to a lot of people. But I think the less fear you have of failure, the more you’re going to be inclined to complete what you set out to do.

I’m scared, I have fears of a lot of things, but I try to get over my fears and push past then. By doing things that are scary, I feel more confident on the flip side. Ever since I was younger, I’ve always wanted to conquer things that scared me.

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