Lets imagine for a second that you are not my mom, scanning this site to make sure I’m not in one of her “are you stupid?” countries (hi mom!), and lets assume you’re not one of my close friends who is only looking at this site because they know I will be quizzing them on it later (and i will be, friends).   No, you are a random viewer, perhaps lead here by some haphazard googleing, maybe directed by nasty chain letter forcing you to send this site on to 10 other friends (who knows where those things start?), or perhaps you’re in an internet cafe, feigning interest while a pale, homesick American boy named Ben stands over your sholder showing you “just one more thing.”  Either way, you don’t know me well, and I am quite sure you want to know more.

Fist off, kudos to you for discovering this wayward site, and might I add that you have exquisite tastes in web viewing (and have you lost weight?).  Second, its a pleasure to meet you!  I’d love to hear from you so feel free to send me an email or leave a comment somewhere around this site.  I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about where I am or what I’m doing during this trip as well.  In fact, I’d better go ahead and answer a couple of your likely questions now before my inbox fills up with all the inquiries…

Who am I?  Wow, pretty deep first question, nice to see that brains come with those looks!  I am Ben Bonetti, a 26 year old American (and British!) citizen from Atlanta who has decided to quit his job, leave his friends and family behind, and go deeply into debt while traveling the world for a year (or more).  I was born in the Midwest, grew up in the South, and have been able to do a little bit of traveling before now to keep my wanderlust in check.  Additional, I’m an aweful speller, speak broken German, have no alergies to worry about.  In the states I was a ”Consultant,” with a Big Four firm for about 4 years.  After traveling every week around the country for work, I’ve decided to put the frequent flier miles to use. 

Why are you going?   There are a few different answers to this question, each with there own merits:

1. I have a big mouth - My friends and family will tell you that I have a tendency to go on (and on and on…) about an idea once it gets into my head.  Well, for some absurd reason I chose this idea to actually follow through on.  I kinda thought people would just forget about it, let me move on to the next idea, but instead they kept bringing it up.  Asking; “When are you leaving?”, ”Why are you still here?”, and “What can I do to help send you on your way?”.  Turns out I’ve mention the Round the World Trip (RTWT) a few too many times trying to sound cool, and it’s a little too late to back out now…
2. Cool Uncle Envy - My first nephew, Jack, was born recently, and I’m already running a distant second for the “cool uncle” title against my older brother, Nick.  Nick already has a lot going in his favor; a house, car, dog, wife, in addition to HDTV and about every gaming console.  My only hope is to make up for these with tales of towering elephants, hot desert sands, edible insects, and flocking foreign women.  Sure most of the stories will be…enhanced, but they should be a little more believable when returning from overseas, instead of returning from Jersey.  Between these stories and buying him beer, I figure I am at least in the running for the cool uncle title. 
3. To visit distant lands, discover new cultures, promote human understanding, give back to society, yadda yadda yadda.