What happens when everything goes catastrophically wrong while traveling abroad? You get the best stories of your life—and often, the most transformative experiences.

That's the philosophy of Jenna Farber, a travel industry professional who represents luxury safari operators across Africa but whose real education in travel came from years of beautifully messy cultural exchange programs in Latin America. From living with host families in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador to navigating language barriers that led to truly catastrophic miscommunications, Jenna has learned that the moments when travel strips away your polish and forces you to be authentically, messily human are the ones that shape you most.

In this episode, Laura and Jenna swap stories that most people are too embarrassed to share—laxatives mistaken for menstrual cramp medicine, doorless bathrooms during community lunches, toilet clogs that become public theater in small Ecuadorian towns, and airport security incidents that still make them cringe. They get real about why vulnerability is at the heart of meaningful travel, how to recover socially after mortifying yourself abroad, and why your most cringe-worthy moments often become your most treasured memories. If you've been playing it safe because you're terrified of looking stupid in a foreign country, this episode is your permission slip to embrace the chaos, laugh at yourself, and remember that being human is universal—even when you're pooping in a doorless bathroom in a foreign country.

Ecuador wasn't even on the radar — until it suddenly was. When Laura received a last-minute invitation to scout the country and couldn't go herself, she did what any resourceful travel entrepreneur would do: she called the one person she knew would say yes without flinching. Enter Krista Parks, energy healer, trauma coach, resident woo-woo, and now — self-proclaimed birdwatcher.

What followed was a whirlwind private tour through some of Ecuador's most jaw-dropping landscapes: cloud forests, the Amazon rainforest, volcanic highlands, and the adventure town of Baños. Krista fed hummingbirds from her hands, got a cacao facial in Mindo, navigated a thigh-deep cave hike with a machete, and learned about shamanic traditions from an Amazonian tribe — all in one week.

In this episode, Krista walks us through every highlight, what surprised her most, and why Ecuador is the perfect destination for Laura's signature New Year's group trip.