For the last seven years, I have been an outdoor guide: three years of working on guest ranches in Wyoming and Colorado, and four as a Trip Leader for Backroads. For me, working with my hands, outdoors and with people is what truly brings me to life. And you can throw travel in there as well. Finding a connection with someone from a completely different culture, who perhaps speaks a different language, is an experience so gratifying that I have forever pledged my allegiance to the strong and ever-growing global community of wanderlust junkies. This is why it pleases me deeply that the United Nations has declared this year--2017--as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.