Stage 7: Amore

Amore

The Episode 

It always happens when you least expect it. 

An eye glance or whiff of someone’s pheromones. 

The way they hold their body or the sound of their voice. 

Whatever it is, attraction has a way of consuming us. 

Of making us do irrational things for love and affection. 

Falling in love is an intense experience when we are home, and it is only heightened when we are abroad. 

We meet someone who you might look over at home. 

We relish in the idea that we found someone, who understands us better than our friends back home- out of the 7 billion people- we found someone to make out with or marry. 

What are the chances? 

How romantic is it that we met while traveling- the universe must have a bigger plan for us. 

Travel has a way of redefining our romantic needs and helps us expand more than our horizons. What can travel tell us about our romantic needs, desire, chemistry, and commitment. How human connection goes beyond language and how far we will travel for that special someone. 

In this episode, we are falling in love. 

We will talk to travelers who have had more than just their minds open up when they have gone abroad. From the hook ups to breakups and lifelong commitments, this episode will have all of our hearts hurting by the end. 

Make sure to put some headphones in, this episode is not safe for work. 

Listen here!

What we discuss 

How to not get your heart broken abroad. 

Hookups while traveling 

How travel lets you experiment with sex 

How human connection is beyond language

How to breakup abroad

Why travel is the truest test of a relationship 

How to fall in love

How to hook up while traveling 

Sexual passports 

How travel redefines romance 

How to find romance in travel 

How to choose your romantic partner 

Sexual chemistry 

Human connection 

Finding the one 

How travel can help you find the one 

Listen here!

Featured Guests 

Jamie Brickhouse 

When we travel, we crave spontaneity- the locking of eyes, smelling of pheromones, and uniting of two ( or more) bodies speak the same language! 

When we go abroad, we forgo the sexual norms of our homeland. This gives us time to experiment and expand more than our horizons. 

And for Jamie Brickhouse, an author and NYC storyteller, his association with sex and travel started pretty early in life. He shares with us a time in his early travels when he was able to push past sexual hurdles as he pushed a sexy Cretan onto a wall during his time in Paris. 

JAMIE BRICKHOUSE, is a New York Times published author, writer and performer, a four-time Moth StorySLAM champion, and has appeared on PBS-TV's Stories from the Stage, The Moth Podcast, and recorded voices on Beavis and Butthead

Authentic Asheville 

How many soul mates are out there for us? 10? 500?

Out of 7 billion people there have to be a handful ( hopefully). 

Who knows. But what are the chances of finding them when keep a limited radius are slimmer. 

That is what Erin McGrady and Caroline Whatley discovered when their tinder accounts glitched. They connected when they were over 200 miles apart and for some reason, there was something compelling enough to test the waters with each other. 

Erin and Caroline's story explains the divine intervention (and accurate algorithms) that helped them find each other while both of them were far away from home. Their lives were turned upside down and united for the better. 

Brad Lawrence

When we are in rocky relationships, we sometimes think that travel will fix everything. Let’s leave our problems at home and reconnect on the stunning beaches of Krabi. But as intense as it is to find someone abroad- breaking up is just as explosive. Brad Lawrence, an NYC storyteller, tells us of a time where travel was the straw that broke the camel’s back with his longtime girlfriend. 

Brad Lawrence is a writer and performer who can be seen at burlesque shows and live theater events around New York. He is a story coach for RISK! and the first person to win back to back Moth GrandSLAMS. 


Strangers Abroad is a travel podcast hosted by solo female traveler and storyteller, Adrien Behn. Strangers Abroad is ‘ This American Life’ for travel. Each show we bring you a theme and multiple perspectives on that theme. Each theme is a stage we experience when we travel and dissect it from every angle to make our listeners travel richer.

Adrien Behn