I knew I was far from the New England town where I grew up as I entered congested streets.  Even with few, if any, traffic laws cars managed to get where they wanted to go and avoid the seemingly unavoidable fender-bender.  Out of my passenger side window I gazed upon living conditions that were far from what I was used to.

This was a simple daytrip from Downtown Lima, Peru to the outskirts of the city, but to me it was as if I had switched worlds during that 45-minute drive.  Gone were the tourists, taxis, skyscrapers and luxurious restaurants that I was accustomed to in North American cities and seen in Lima thus far.  While this is far from the biggest culture shock that one may experience as they leave their comfort zone and travel to different countries, it was my first time outside the United States and a culture shock nonetheless.  But, I had no desire to turn around or book the first flight back to the States.  If anything, I wanted to stop the car and walk through those areas and experience what was so very foreign to me.  I wanted to speak with the locals, learn about their lives, and maybe change the way I lived my own.

Something in me changed that day.  I wanted to grab my passport, leave New England behind and experience that culture shock once again in cities and countries around the globe.  Perpetual Footsteps is my way of documenting my travels, both foreign and domestic, using words, pictures, and videos.  Whether my feet are in running shoes prepping for a race in Cincinnati, hiking boots ascending Huayna Picchu, or barefoot in the sands of Oahu, I hope you’ll follow along as I try unfamiliar foods, navigate unknown cities, and when necessary, attempt to survive using very broken forms of foreign languages.

 
-Paul