Pre-Trip Ponderings: An Interview with globetrotter, Scott Koch
by Nicole Koch
NK: What is your current profession?
SK: Investment Advisor for the high net worth market.
NK: Why are you taking the time off?
SK: Sanity, because I didn’t get to do it when I was young, because I worked all the way through school until now. I never took the time.
NK: So your hard work is finally going to pay off now, right?
SK: Yup. Hard work and stress.
NK: How did you originally envision your sabbatical?
SK: Laying on a beach in Mexico, some sort of boat would be involved, I’d be sipping Mai Tais and…. (Scott’s eyes glaze over as if already in his happy place).
NK: As of this moment, is your vision being met?
Uhhhh….hopefully on the back end.
NK: Why? Why not? What are you doing instead?
We’re starting off with the crazy part of the trip first. It’s sort of being met.
NK: What do you mean?
SK: We’re starting off with crazy Africa and then bouncing through Europe, going down to India and then hopefully relaxing on a beach somewhere…we’re seeing the world.
NK: Let’s backtrack to Africa..what exactly are you doing there?
SK: Cheating death everyday.
NK: How?
SK: Terrorists, elephants, rhinos…
NK: Okay, okay, but what are you really doing over there?
SK: Taking a 7-week "participatory" camping trip through 7 countries beginning in Kenya and ending in Zimbabwe. We’ll spend most of our time camping in the wilds, cooking our own food, setting up our own camp each night and riding on an overland bus with 16 strangers and 1 guide.
NK: Hmm, so you’re a financial advisor and I’ve been labeled somewhat of a flaky transient. How do you think this union transpired?
SK: Fate. We balance each other perfectly. I remember the time we went to Tahoe together on a hike. You scrambled off the beaten path shouting, "All those who want to live life to the fullest, follow me." So I followed.
NK: Thanks, that’s sweet. Are you mentally and physically prepared for this journey? How?
SK: Yes, I’ve run through every possible disaster that could occur, and I’m expecting ones I haven’t thought of to happen.
NK: Like what?
SK: Elephant tramplings, hyenas knocking over my tent, lions, water buffalo..
NK: What about diseases..like Bilzahira, AIDS, Malaria and oh, I don’t know..Ebola?
SK: I’m not concerned about diseases..that’s what medications and vaccinations are for.. Wash your food, watch what you eat etc…
NK: How has 9/11, the Iraq war and all that’s transpired since (including the latest imminent terrorist threat in Kenya) affected your mental well being related to this trip?
(Scott pauses and looks to the sky, as though for answers) I don’t know, added stress, just another thing that can go wrong, like getting trampled by an elephant, but if we’re going, we’re going. I’m sure I’ll think about it.
NK: I was bitten by a bot fly that caused larvae to hatch inside my head during our honeymoon in Belize. Who do you think will return with the scariest ailment this time?
SK: You.
NK: Despite the appearance of this situation, I know you to be a man of your own will. This leads me to believe there is some underlying pull within you that’s allowing this to happen. What do you think?
SK: I agree. I wouldn’t have made the final payment for the trip if I didn’t really want to go. The bigger part of me definitely wants to go.
NK: That’s interesting, first time I heard you admit that.
SK: Well it’s true; you know I haven’t tried to stop anything from going forward.
NK: But you’ve sure complained a lot about it. Is that just to make me feel guilty?
SK: Well, I’m definitely scared..well not scared..there’s just a lot that can go wrong.
NK: What do you hope to gain out of this time off?
SK: More than I would from sitting on a beach for 7 months in Mexico is all I know..see the world, learn to survive..
NK: Do you think you’ll come back a different man? How?
SK: Scott chews on his pen pensively. "What’s the word I’m looking for? More adjustable?"
NK: Adaptable?
SK: Yeah, adaptable, dealing with things that don’t go according to plan..on a life scale. I deal with that stuff at work every day..but not on a life scale.
NK: Thank you for your time. If only we had a crystal ball.