About us

Hello to you, the JetLago community I hope to build with you. The idea of JetLago is simple - create a place for individuals passionate about travel find comfort in knowing that there are others seeking the same. I've had countless conversations with family, friends, collegues, acquaintances, and strangers about traveling and there's always been a theme. The fear of the unknown. The fear of not enjoying yourself. The fear of traveling alone. The fear of not knowing where to go. The fear of not seeing everything on your list. The fear of discomfort.

Who am I? My name is Will, an American born into an immigrant family. My story is common, my parents came to the US for more opportunities and I spent my childhood split between my American and Egyptian identities. Until college, my idea of international travel was visiting my family in Egypt - which as a kid I didn't appreciate at all. Unfortunately traveling to Egypt was entirely normalized that it lost novelty in my eyes. My Egyptian origins, although very much made me an outsider in the suburbs of Chicago, is the catalyst to shaping my mind that there is always a different way of thinking and doing.

While I was studying at Purdue, I had the opportunity to join a 1 month study abroad in China. 4 cities in May before my summer internship: Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Harbin. Knowing what I know now, it's funny to think about my mindset going into this trip. I was excited to visit a new country and see how a different culture lived, but I have Chinese friends - how different could it be? Different. It was exhilarating. I certainly felt it when I was there, but reflecting on the trip after I returned to the US was where the magic happened. 21 year old me knew that something was unlocked in my mind that would never subside again. A goal was set - in the next 9 years, married, single, kids, no kids, I would find an opportunity to move abroad and experience life somewhere new. Since then I've moved around the US taking any opportunity I had to travel abroad: Europe, Asia, South America - no where was off limits. Fast forward 9 years and I was packing up my life to move for a job in a country I've never been: Switzerland. I'll jump into being an expat in Switzerland in other posts, but the time in Switzerland has had a profound impact on me.

Traveling this world has been so eye opening and uplifting, I've created JetLago to share this with all of you. I've been blessed with the opportunity to travel to 59 counties in 6 of the 7 continents. I've driven myself around 28 of these countries. I've only been hospitals in 5 countries. I've gotten food poisoning probably a 20 times - but stay tuned for the South Africa story. I've learned new ways of thinking about travel and have shifted my approach to traveling, mostly thanks to Covid-19. One day, I'll sit an think about the number of airports that I've crossed through. I know you don't care, but I'm a numbers guy and I simply want to know.

Now together, I want to tackle this fear. Lean into the pains of travel. Take in travel complications as a way to recharge and prepare for what's on the other side. Know that you may not be able to see and do everything, but all the things you've done have been incredible. Together, we will embrace the jet lag.

To the JetLago community - jet lag isn't just jet lag. Jet lag encompasses all of the pains, fears, inconveniences, and hesitations of exploring this beautiful world and the beautiful people within it. 

Thanks, 

Will