Hi there! I’m Tyson Beilan, a Florida-born American who’s been living the Netherlands for the last 6 years. I came to the Netherlands for my master’s degree, and surprised myself by sticking around long after the studying was done. Before stepping off the plane here in 2007 I had never been to Europe, and moving here has been one of the great experiences of my life. The time has come to move on and search for new adventures, and once again shake up my life.

I’ve always thought of life as an adventure, but I thought it would work for me the way it worked for Bilbo: I would quietly mind my own business until some small, seemingly insignificant event would come and sweep me away and change my life forever. My dreams and travels were relegated to “someday”, and it took me a while to learn that dreams don’t just happen, you’ve got to make them happen. This trip is the physical, active decision to turn my “Someday” into my “Now”.

Well my name is Hanne Vervaele, from Ostend, Belgium. I graduated as a physical therapist in 2011. Though, after my studies I decided to move to the Netherlands to professionalize my passion for Theater Of The Oppressed in Formaat, Rotterdam. Tyson and I met in the Netherlands.   After a yearlong internship, studying, working and learning I moved to Palestine/Israel to join Combatants for Peace in their struggle against the occupation. I was a member of the Tel Aviv/ Tul Karem group that uses mostly theater of the oppressed as their action tool.

Following my motto: L’homme meurt une première fois à l’âge où il perd l’enthousiasme…,  ‘Men dies a first time at the age he loses his enthusiasm’, I joined Tyson after his 5 months experiences of cycling alone, to go into the adventure together…