We are ready. We have planned, saved, studied, and prepared. A big part of the preparations was getting four kids ready to leave home, friends, and school to travel into the unknown. We’ve tried everything we can think of and now it’s time to take the leap.
We made international friends
After our fourth child was born, it suddenly became more reasonable to have a nanny than to be signing everyone up for daycare or before/after school care. As soon as we started researching, it became clear that an au pair would not only help us out, but would share their culture with our family. We hosted au pairs from both Brazil and Columbia and those countries became our children’s first exposure to a world outside of the mountain west of the United States.
We took our first international family vacation
Almost two years ago, we convinced our then 6 year old to choose Costa Rica for her birthday present (the most extravagant birthday of all time, but we had an ulterior motive to get them all out of the country for a test trip). She’s a lover of sloths and critters, the beach, and adventure, so convincing wasn’t too hard. We explored Arenal, Monteverde, and the coastline near San Manuel Antonio. And the kids loved it. They speak most often of the locals they met, the foods they ate, and the animals they saw.
We studied LOTS of countries
We started studying countries before COVID hit, and then we really ramped it up during lockdown. Each kid took turns choosing a country of interest and then they all studied and created presentations about the country. The youngest colored flags, learned about foods, and shared tidbits about languages. The older kids studied the history of a country, the customs, the major sights and destinations, and created budgets for travel to the country. We ended each country study with a celebratory night where we ate traditional foods, shared our presentations, and danced to traditional music.
We talked about it all the time
All of our friends knew our big dream, the teachers at school were on board, and even the grandparents started getting excited (although they said they’d miss us terribly). The kids have been surrounded by positivity about this trip for months, and it has rubbed off on them.
And now we’re ready!
We know we will have kids who are homesick, who are sick of staying in temporary places, and who just want to return to their routine. It will be hard, but it will be worth it! We’ll ride the excitement as long as we can and then stop for long breaks and rest when it all becomes too much. We will all learn to adapt and grow.
We’d love to hear about your adventures! (Scott’s 6th grade teacher and friends of Kathy and Dan)
What a cool way to broaden their horizons first through study then real-life! Enjoy the Pura Vida, world travels, and safe travels to you all! 🗺❤️🌍
Dan and Kathy have told me much about this trip and your plans, I am so jealous! My cousin and his wife did something very similar 20+ years ago. My cousin built a ocean going sail boat which took him a long time to build while they lived and worked on an island in British Columbia, Canada. After the boat was completed him and his wife learn all the intricacies of maneuvering and sailing a large sail boat in the Pacific ocean. From there they sold everything they owned and set off on a multi year sail around the world. They tried to fly home to Ohio to visit family several times while they were gone but mostly they sailed, meet new friends and reconnected with them as they too sailed the oceans. My cousin would take odd jobs when they had to hold up for the winter season and they got to learn the customs of a few particular countries. They got home safe and sound and have lived in BC since their return. I know you too will gain lifetime stories to tell your friends and entertain them with many tails of your adventures.