Donnie’s Wife Reveals What It’s Really Like Traveling the World with Him | Drop A Pin Ep. 100

Drop A Pin

On the 100th episode of Drop A Pin, Donnie's wife, Kira, joins the podcast to share her candid experiences traveling the world with him. Fro

Key takeaways

• Traveling with Donnie is both exhilarating and stressful due to his perfectionism and punctuality obsession.
• Kira's multicultural background—born in Saudi Arabia, raised in the UK and South Carolina, lived in China—gives her unique perspective on global travel and cultural adaptation.

Main topics

• Life as a travel companion to a high-profile content creator
• Cultural experiences from living in Saudi Arabia, the UK, South Carolina, and China

Notable quotes

"There was a little kind of like brown mark on the bed. Kira was like, did you shit the bed? And I'm like, yeah, I think so."

"I remember going home crying to my mom, you know, like four years old, like he just said. That's super aggressive for a four-year-old."

Conclusion

Kira reflects on the wild, unpredictable journey of traveling with Donnie—filled with

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Hey, Barstool listeners, you can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Speaker 3 (0:08) On game day, get subs stacked high at Jersey Mike's, like the number 13 original Italian loaded with meats, cheese, and toppings, or the number 56 big kahuna cheesesteak with grilled steak. peppers, onions, and mushrooms topped with jalapenos and melty cheese. Get your sub fix on game day and order in store or the Jersey Mike's app. Today Speaker 6 (0:30) on Drop a Pin, it is our 100th episode. So we're having on one of my most special travel partners. And the way I say this is probably going to Speaker 2 (0:37) make you cringe. Speaker 6 (0:38) Mowaf. One of those nights in the morning, there was a little kind of like brown mark on the bed. Kira was like, did you shit the bed? And I'm like, yeah, I think so. And honestly, Speaker 5 (0:50) you guys should have known from that moment on that trip, you were going to get married. Yeah. Speaker 4 (0:57) All right, Donnie, today's top five. What are the top five countries that have produced the most NFL players? All right. The United States doesn't count. Speaker 5 (1:07) Oh, Speaker 6 (1:07) okay. All right. Then what about Samoa? Speaker 5 (1:12) No. Samoa's only had five people. Speaker 6 (1:15) Okay. Give me Canada. Speaker 5 (1:17) Canada is number one with 138 NFL players. All Speaker 6 (1:21) right. Now give me... Speaker 6 (1:26) Australia? Speaker 5 (1:27) No, Australia is not in the top five. Now Speaker 6 (1:29) it's going to get tough. Mexico? Speaker 5 (1:31) No, Mexico is not in the top five. Germany. Germany is number two with 88 players. Speaker 4 (1:43) Impressive. Speaker 6 (1:45) This is just in the history of the NFL. History Speaker 5 (1:47) of the NFL, yep. Speaker 6 (1:51) France. Speaker 5 (1:52) Nope, France is not in the top five. Dude. Speaker 6 (1:55) You don't think of a lot of like... Speaker 5 (1:57) And there's one more in Europe. There's one more in North America, which is probably going to piss people off that I'm saying that it's in North America. And one is in Africa. Speaker 6 (2:11) Nigeria. Speaker 5 (2:12) Nigeria is number five. They have 40 NFL players. Speaker 6 (2:16) Yeah, such a large population. You're going to get some beauties. Some beauties. Some absolute beauts. And so is the one in North America actually in the Caribbean? Yes. So Cuba? No. The Dominican Speaker 5 (2:37) Republic? No. Huh. That would be the answer for baseball. Speaker 6 (2:40) Yeah, I know. I mean, but I'm trying to think like. There's not like a Caribbean island that comes to mind when I think American football. I think Speaker 5 (2:50) super fast people. Jamaica. Jamaica is right with 43 people. And the last one is in Europe. Speaker 6 (2:57) Yep, another one in Europe. So... Speaker 6 (3:05) Switzerland? Speaker 5 (3:05) No, we play a lot of NFL games there too. Ah, the UK. Yeah, the United Kingdom with 46 players were born in the UK. When I Speaker 6 (3:14) played American football out in China, we had a British center and he would just truck stick people. Actually, no, he was the nose tackle and he would truck stick the center. When I played in the Chinese Super Bowl, he was just running over their center and he was just caught and just freaking them out so that the center got the yips and was just... hiking the ball way over the QB's head, and that's how I won a Super Bowl in China. Speaker 5 (3:39) Bonus fact. Shout out the British Bulldog. Oh, the British Bulldog. That was an old-school wrestler, too, in WWE. Yeah, Speaker 6 (3:47) and I think that's also what they called Churchill. And this guy kind of looked like... That's probably Speaker 5 (3:51) a more well-known one than the WWE one. Yeah, way Speaker 6 (3:54) more well-known. Speaker 5 (3:57) But yeah, sorry for that tangent. All right, let's get back in the pod. Speaker 6 (4:03) Welcome back to Drop a Pin, a very special episode because this is our 100th episode. Thank you for supporting us so far. And to commemorate this occasion, we decided to bring on the wonton wifey. Hey, Speaker 1 (4:16) how are you? Shout Speaker 6 (4:17) out my wife. She's on the pod. We have had a lot of travel adventures together. Speaker 6 (4:25) no one knows what it's like to travel with me more than you. So yeah, we thought you would be better or worse. Yeah. For better or worse. And yeah, I mean, we go way back. We've kind of, we've been all around the globe together. So we thought you would be a solid guest for this episode. And you've also, you've lived all over the globe. You want to tell people your backstory? Speaker 1 (4:48) Yeah. So. A little bit unusual, I guess, compared to most. I was born in Saudi Arabia. And then when I was six, moved to the UK. I lived there for eight years. A lot of good memories there. And then when I was 14, we moved to good old South Carolina, which is where I went to college and high school. And then shortly after graduating from college, I... decided I why not give China a go so then moved to China um and that was my early adulthood and then that's where we met yeah Speaker 6 (5:29) and and just to clarify your parents um are not from Saudi Arabia no Speaker 1 (5:35) my mom is born and raised from Ireland and my dad is a Puerto Rican from New York Speaker 3 (5:41) okay so Speaker 1 (5:42) they just so happened to be living and working in Saudi Arabia back in the 80s and Yeah, the rest is history. Speaker 6 (5:50) How many memories do you have from living in Saudi Arabia as a kid? Speaker 1 (5:54) I've got a good few strong memories. I mean, it was a pretty normal childhood. So back then, and I'm sure it probably still is the case, expats have to live on certain compounds. They can't really just live wherever. So everyone that you were integrating with was an expat themselves. Speaker 1 (6:17) So, yeah, we had lots of swimming pools to go to in our compound. They had grocery stores on the compound. And we would go off the compound to go to schools, which we'd go to international schools there. So pretty pleasant memories. I mean. The one sort of traumatizing memory I have was riding bikes with some of the other compound kids. And I think he was one of our Egyptian neighbors sort of yelled down to us like, if you kids don't shut up, I'm going to come down and chop your heads off. Oh, my Speaker 5 (6:53) God. Speaker 1 (6:54) Yeah. So I remember going home crying to my mom, you know, like four years old, like he just said. That's super aggressive for a four-year-old. And in Saudi, you know, that's like. Pretty believable. Yeah. Speaker 6 (7:07) Oh, yeah. We will have. Your dad has not agreed to come on the pod, but I know he did mention this was back when maybe when you guys were living there or before you were born. He had friends take him to a public execution. Speaker 1 (7:20) Yeah. That Speaker 6 (7:20) was I don't know if that still is commonplace there, but he said that was a little traumatizing. Speaker 5 (7:25) I would imagine. Very traumatizing. Go grab a meatball sub after. Speaker 6 (7:32) His coworker was like, you got to come with me to the public execution. Speaker 5 (7:35) You're not going to believe this shit. Speaker 6 (7:37) And then you did mention, I think women are now allowed to drive in Saudi, but you mentioned like you hurt your head at the pool. Yeah, I cut Speaker 1 (7:47) my chin open at the pool and was bleeding out of my chin and needed. to go to the hospital, get some stitches. And my dad was traveling out of the country at the time. And I just remember my mom driving around in the minivan and just bleeding profusely, just thinking, oh, God, this must be really bad. My mom is driving. Speaker 6 (8:10) Yeah. So she was breaking the law just to get you to the hospital? Speaker 1 (8:15) She was. I think we just drove to a taxi stand and then may have taken a cab from there. All the details are a little bit hazy. Speaker 6 (8:23) Yeah. Speaker 1 (8:24) Yeah. Even when she was working, she would still have to wear an abaya going to work. Speaker 1 (8:32) when we were on the compound, I think she could dress pretty. Speaker 5 (8:36) Yeah, because that was probably 20 years ago at this point, right? So it was so much more extreme. Like they've loosened up so much in the last 10 years, but 20 years ago it was like a totally different world. Speaker 6 (8:48) Oh, yeah. I mean, even movie theaters, I think. Like women weren't allowed in movie theaters. Yeah, Speaker 5 (8:52) still Speaker 1 (8:52) a lot. Not to age myself, but a bit closer to 30 years. But movie theaters were illegal back when we were living there. Yeah. Speaker 5 (9:01) And so Donnie goes over there as like he goes to China as a college grad. I feel like it's a little different when your daughter calls you and like, I'm going to China. How was your parents reaction when you were saying that you're doing that solo? So Speaker 1 (9:16) actually, it was my dad who was the one who kind of convinced me to go. Oh, really? Speaker 2 (9:21) Yeah, Speaker 1 (9:21) my dad and my brother. So my dad still does do some. work in China. So I had been on a couple of business trips with him before. And, you know, I actually had really horrible experiences. Like, so the fact that I moved there, it's still kind of a little bit shocking. Well, when I went with him on some trips, we'd go to some second and third tier cities, and also Beijing and Shanghai. And, you know, third tier, second tier cities can be a little bit rough. But I remember thinking Shanghai was this incredible city. Speaker 6 (10:00) It'd be like going to like the Youngstown, Ohio of China and then going to the Chicago of China and being like, oh, I could live in the U.S. after going to Chicago. But after Youngstown, Ohio being like, I don't know. Yeah, it's Speaker 5 (10:13) different when you're in Tuscaloosa. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1 (10:16) But yeah. And then at the time, so it was shortly after college, I was working for an IT recruitment company. Speaker 1 (10:26) I had just gotten fired. And so I was like, what am I going to do? And my brother was living there at the time. And they were just like, yeah, why don't you just go for a year? And I ended up staying for six and a half years. Jeez. Speaker 5 (10:42) And how long were you there before you and Donnie met? Speaker 1 (10:47) Maybe five years. Oh, Speaker 3 (10:50) yeah. Speaker 1 (10:50) I think we had Speaker 5 (10:51) met Speaker 1 (10:51) once briefly, actually. Speaker 6 (10:53) Maybe your first year in China, but we never really connected. Speaker 1 (10:57) Yeah, we met once at a Christmas teppanyaki. That's right. Yeah. And then, Speaker 6 (11:02) was Speaker 1 (11:03) it, must have been five or six years later. Speaker 6 (11:06) Yeah. When I had just came back, I had already left China at that point. I was living in Clemson. Go back and listen to our Clemson episode if you want to learn. Speaker 5 (11:15) Maybe the most I've ever giggled on the podcast. Yes. It was probably one of the Speaker 6 (11:19) worst times of my life living in Clemson, but it made for a very funny podcast. Yeah, it made me happy several Speaker 5 (11:25) years later for sure. It's Speaker 6 (11:26) kind of how me and Kira hit it off because we met. I was living in Clemson, but I had gone back to China. It was just going to be like two months. And I said I was going for work, but it was really just to like see friends. And I was just going to hop from like friend's couch to friend's couch. I didn't really have a plan for those two months. Speaker 5 (11:41) They call that the Ben Mint special. Speaker 6 (11:42) Yeah, it was the Ben Mint special. I was just living off the kindness of strangers and old friends. And I met Kira at a house party that a friend was throwing. And we kind of hit it off when I found out that she had graduated from Clemson. And I was like, oh, I'm actually living in Clemson right now. And honestly, you were like, you had to go back to the U S in like 10 days or something. And we hung out a bunch of those next 10 days. And then when you left, you were like, if you just want to stay in my apartment after I leave, you can. So within like us really hitting it off, like 10 days later, I was just living in her apartment. So that's the Ben Ben special. That was Speaker 1 (12:23) very generous of me. Yeah, very Speaker 6 (12:25) generous of you. So, yeah, things moved pretty fast. But I wasn't living in China at that time. So eventually I had to go back to the U.S. And that's when Barstool Idol popped up. And I applied to Barstool Idol. I got the job and I pitched them on me going back to China and making more content in China for them. Speaker 5 (12:43) Now, was she in the back of your mind? I knew, like. Speaker 5 (12:48) Yeah. Yeah. Cause like, yeah, she was. And when Speaker 6 (12:53) she, when I, when I called her and I was like, Oh, I just got a job at barstool. She was like worried. Cause she was like, Oh, well that means you're never coming back to China. And then I was like, Oh no, I pitched them on being the foreign correspondent based in China. And she was like, Oh, sweet. Um, so then when I moved back out, we moved in together. Um, and we kinda, we like, I think our first big travel experience was. pretty shortly after we were officially dating. Um, yeah, Speaker 1 (13:20) maybe Speaker 6 (13:20) it was right when I think it was Speaker 1 (13:21) February Chinese new year, lunar new year. Yeah, Speaker 6 (13:24) it was actually, so I was planning on moving back to China full time, but, uh, on the way to China, I, I was like, Oh, there's really cheap flights to the Philippines. Let's, um, go to the Philippines for a week. I can film some content for barstool. Cause my, like, uh, I think my contract started in February 1st, 2017. I was like, I'd like to hit the ground running. I already have some content filmed and edited when my job starts. Why don't we go to the Philippines? So that was our first official vacation together. And it started off incredible. We went to the island of Cebu. We got to swim with whale sharks, which was just, it was amazing. Apparently now they say like, you shouldn't really support those whale shark tourism companies because But it's really too far gone, though. The reason they say you shouldn't is because they've been just feeding these whale sharks. So they now, like, know to come to this exact same spot every day. And they've stopped following their natural migration patterns. Oh, yeah. But it's kind of the damage is already done. If they stop operating, the whale sharks are still going to be showing up looking for food. Like, maybe not know how to feed themselves. It was an incredible experience. You just jump off the boat and you're surrounded by these enormous creatures. And we also went canyoneering, which is kind of just you put on a helmet and Speaker 1 (14:47) like, I Speaker 6 (14:48) think just a helmet and a life jacket. And you hike down these canyons where there's these rivers and you just float down the rivers, climb up and down rocks, like beautiful blue water. Our first Speaker 1 (14:58) lagoon together. Speaker 6 (14:59) Yes, that was our first lagoon. Speaker 1 (15:03) That was before the trip took a turn. Speaker 6 (15:07) Yeah, that was before the trip took a turn. So then you were the first one to get food poisoning. And I'm not sure how you got it, but the content I was filming for Barstool was cockfights. I was like, that'd be a great first two videos to ever make for Barstool. Should be me at cockfights in the Philippines. And you went to one of the cockfights with me. It was like this on. Palawan Island and a very like rural cockfighting ring. I just learned about it from some of the locals. And so it's kind of in the middle of nowhere, just a bunch of locals around this wooden cockfighting ring, maybe like 300 people there, 200. Yeah, Speaker 1 (15:46) it Speaker 6 (15:46) was Speaker 1 (15:46) hot and busy. Speaker 6 (15:48) And you said that you had to leave. Like I was filming a video for Barstool and you were like, I got to get out of here. Yeah, Speaker 1 (15:54) like at first I was like, you know what, I just need to sit down. I just got really sick and really nauseous. Yeah. And it was kind of in, like, on the top of a hill, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Speaker 1 (16:09) So I just like had to sit down and then like 30 minutes later, I just like had to go. I was like, I'm going to vomit everywhere. This is horrible. And our hotel was like, I don't know, like a 30 minute walk. But at that time I was like, I just have no choice. I either have to find a tuk-tuk or I have to walk back. I like I can't be in this heat. This is miserable. And like while I was like sitting there with like my my head in my hands, like trying. not to pass out um one of the big i don't know cockfighter coaches i don't know what you call them he's like he's like showing me all of like the talons that they put on the cocks yeah Speaker 5 (16:54) yeah and Speaker 1 (16:55) you know like oh look how big this one is like this one just rips their throw right out and cool yeah i'm like that's great yeah and so Anyway, so 20 minutes later, I'm walking down the side of the road, and, you know, there's, like, no Tuk Tuks to be found, so my only option is to walk, and then, you know, this truck pulls over, and it's the guy who was, like, showing me all these weapons. Who just showed you all these Speaker 5 (17:20) knives. Hey, it's me, Talon's guy. Yeah, and Speaker 1 (17:23) he was like, you look like you need some help. Get in. I'll give you a ride. And I kind of felt like... pigeonholed like I kind of don't really have another option right now and not just like sitting in the back of his truck like this is this is it he's gonna he's gonna take one of those blades and just gut me but no he ended up being a really nice guy and uh dropped me off somewhat close to the hotel and um I feel like I was pretty bedridden for the next day and a half that's Speaker 5 (17:54) gotta be one of the worst places to feel that way too because it's not only like you already feel like shit when you get food poisoning but then you throw in Filipino humidity on top of it in the middle of the summertime. Brutal. Speaker 1 (18:08) And you know when we first got there I think that we should have picked up on this like I went to the local pharmacy or beach store and they were all out of like Pepto, Imodium, any kind of stomach-related medicine you could think of. And I just remember thinking, oh, that's interesting. Yeah. So now if you see that, that might be a sign. I'm Speaker 4 (18:33) about to have Speaker 6 (18:33) to rip it and grip it. Yeah, if you want to look this place up, it's called El Nido, which has some of the most beautiful beaches we've ever seen. But it had blown up so much with tourists. Whoa. Speaker 1 (18:44) The infrastructure Speaker 6 (18:45) didn't really keep up with all the tourism. So just like the... the water that like a lot of food was being washed and was not clean. Speaker 5 (18:53) Is that where Beaches is from? The Leonardo DiCaprio movie? No, that was a beach in Thailand. Oh, that's in Thailand. Well, Speaker 1 (19:00) you claim you got food poisoning from the lettuce, but I think it was the balut that you ate at the cockfight. That would make Speaker 6 (19:09) a lot more sense. I didn't eat balut. Lettuce or fermented chicken Speaker 2 (19:15) egg. Speaker 6 (19:16) I didn't eat Balut at that cockfight. I don't think I ate Balut until I was back in Manila after I recovered from the food poisoning. I'm Speaker 2 (19:21) pretty Speaker 1 (19:21) sure that's why you ate it, because they were selling it out of the cooler, and I remember distinctly looking at that feeling horrible. Cooler Balut is Speaker 6 (19:28) not a good way to go. I don't think I ate the Balut there. I think it was... I don't think you Speaker 1 (19:33) did. So Speaker 6 (19:33) Kira goes home. You're kind of sick for the next day, but you're not, like, deftly sick. No. You're just, like, very uncomfortable. I... Stay at the cockfight. I finished filming. And while at the cockfight, I got a burger just from a guy slanging them. And I think it was the lettuce on the burger that did me in. I think it had been washed in water. Speaker 1 (19:54) We'll go with that. And Speaker 6 (19:56) so I get back. We meet back up. And the next day, you're starting to feel a little bit better. So we go out. We hit the town. And then I'm like, okay, now I have to go home because something does not feel right with me. And I go home, and it's still like the sickest I have ever been. I was just. clear liquid coming out all of my holes. And Speaker 5 (20:17) honest to God, like that's Speaker 4 (20:19) y Speaker 5 (20:19) 'all's first trip together as like a new couple. That's a nightmare situation. Like when my wife and I, when we first got together, she would have to come up from Mississippi to DC where I would live. And I was just waiting for her to leave on Mondays so I could shit and like feel comfortable enough. You don't have that option to be like. Speaker 4 (20:40) Oh, let me do a quiet little turd right here. You're like letting it Speaker 5 (20:44) rip. Yeah. And maybe even in a squatty potty. Speaker 6 (20:47) No, at that point we were staying in like a decent enough hotel. Okay. Yeah. It was not a squatty Speaker 5 (20:51) potty. Speaker 6 (20:51) You Speaker 5 (20:52) had Speaker 6 (20:52) that board Speaker 5 (20:52) going money at that time. Well, Speaker 1 (20:54) we did stay at like a really nice five-star hotel when I was sick. And then we moved to, I'd say it was more of like a three-star hotel, but it was cool because it was the treetop hotel. Speaker 6 (21:06) Oh, nice. Speaker 1 (21:07) that sucked for you because you had to walk all the way to the top. Speaker 6 (21:11) Yes. Yeah. And the bathroom there was not as nice. And that's when, so this is our first vacation together. I've got, it wasn't really, the thing is I wasn't like shitting my brains out. It was like clear liquid coming out of my butt, which is how you know you're like very sick. No, I think that is still Speaker 5 (21:27) shitting your brains out. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 6 (21:30) And that was, I mean, I'm very embarrassed about this, but I think. one of those nights in the morning there was a little kind of like brown mark on the bed and Kira was like did you shit the bed and I'm like yeah I think so and honestly Speaker 5 (21:46) you guys should have known from that moment on that trip you were gonna get married yeah yeah if you stick around after that