A native of the San Francisco Bay area, Sam caught the travel bug early. Her overseas experiences include teaching English in China, Japan, and Austria and a research internship on beach tourism in Thailand. Her travels have taken her to all seven continents, more recently to Asia as a volunteer vacation project leader and on a Trans Siberian train journey. In the US, Sam has worked briefly as a legal aid in immigration law, directed education and travel programs for international high school children, and managed an international adventure travel company.