About DandY

DandY South


The idea behind "DandY South" is to travel in a unique humanitarian sort of way.  We still like to travel the normal way (seeing touristy things, eating good food, hiking, surfing, etc.), but we also like to lend a helping hand whenever we can.  So, we jump from country to country, stay awhile in certain towns, volunteer, raise money, and make donations wherever we can.

This also gives our friends and family a way to donate money and see exactly where it goes, and also hear about our travels and what we are up to!

So get on out and travel friendly!



D for Dominic

I guess what inspires me to travel is the unknown that awaits me at the end of the road.  The sense of adventure that one feels while jumping from one town to the next and from one country to the other.  Nothing else in the world brings me a feeling alike.   

Growing up as the youngest of four brothers, my family vacation (or as my parents say "trips") consisted of piling into our 15 passenger van and driving (never flying) to our "trip" destination.  We always camped, and almost NEVER stayed in hotels.  We would pitch a tent outside the van for my oldest brothers and the rest of us would simply sleep in the van.  These camping trip experiences are my most prized memories.  

My first experience away from my home, family, friends and country was in 2008, which I spent in South America.  I fell in love with the latin culture while living, studying, traveling, and volunteering throughout South America.  I lived and studied for seven months at La Universidad de Palermo in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  From there I felt the urge to do more, I moved to the small town of Piura, Peru near the border of Ecuador to volunteer with a church.  I spent four months in Piura constructing homes, delivering food to homes, spending time with an all girls orphanage, and playing futból with the locals.  Peru really gave me a reality check on life.   Seeing the extreme poverty of the country opened my eyes to the true "real world".  Little did I know that this is how a majority of the world struggles to live.     

I returned back to the States to finish my degree (construction management - civil engineering), work as a freelancer, and start a music promotion company. 

In September 2011, Yasmin and I decided it was time to share our joy in traveling, Latin culture, and humanitarian work and fly off to Central America.  

Live to love, love to live.

Paz,

DOM
domabbott@gmail.com





Y for Yasmin

Traveling is an essential part of my life. I have been blessed to have the opportunity to travel out of the country since I was young. As a child, we never went on "normal" family vacations, in that we avoided hotspot destinations, big commercialized resorts, and first world-countries for that matter. All of our family vacations were surrounded by cultural immersion, given that my father is a spanish professor and cultural folklorist. He wanted his children (and students) to have an open mind and see first hand how other people live in this world. Well... it worked. 

I have vivid memories traveling through tiny, remote villages in Michoacan, Mexico in a University of NM van packed with my two brothers, mom, dad and a group of university students. I still remember experiencing the "culture shock", as my mom diagnosed it, after witnessing the extreme impoverished conditions that many people live in. As a child living in the USA, I couldn't fathom the idea of people struggling day in and day out to have drinking water and food. The feeling I had impacted me in such a way, that I knew I had to help...one day. 

I graduated from the University of New Mexico with a nursing degree in 2008. After working for two years as an RN in an intensive care unit, my friend Rachael (also and RN), and I decided to travel to Haiti and volunteer during the cholera epidemic. My time spent in Haiti was one of the most physically and emotionally demanding experiences of my life, yet I left more revived and inspired than ever. The feeling of helping those in need is very addictive and fulfilling...I wanted to feel that way always.   

I went back to work in the ICU after volunteering in Haiti. After about six months, I felt something missing inside. I had a wonderful job, worked with amazing people, had an exceptional boss, and made good money for a 25 year old. I felt torn about leaving my situation, but knew that I had to fill that void of traveling and helping those people who have nothing. 

Thankfully Dom shares the same desire to volunteer and travel, so we decided to pursue this adventure together. We did a countless amount of research and found endless volunteer opportunities all over the world (if interested, check out www.idealist.org!). Why did we choose Central America? It is close "ish" to home, relatively affordable, we can both speak Spanish and bottom line, we love the latin culture and people. 

So our journey begins... 

Salud, 

Yasmin
aylamadrid@gmail.com

¡CHEESE!