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Top Ten Reasons that Road Trips Rock {Gadling}
Nov 7th 2009 3:14PM Love it! I still have fond memories of roadtrips from Michigan to Fla twice a winter with my family while growing up, taking a 6 month road trip from Boston to Key West then over to SD and up to SF in a tiny red fiat spider & pup tent in my 20's, and doing winter runs from Santa Cruz to the Sea of Cortez in Baja in a Datsun mini truck with a teenie 6pack camper with hubs & out cat!
Now we are on an open ended world tour as a family since 2006 ...perhaps one of the ultimate roadtrips...4 continents, 32 countries & 175,000 miles (most over land) so far!
Gotta love road trips!
@soultravelers3.com
9 reasons '09 will be the year of the "YAYcation" {Gadling}
Jan 5th 2009 9:16AM I so agree! I think it is going to be a great year for travel for the smart folks. DO see Morocco & Slovenia ( Montenegro while you are near too).
I think 09 will be a fantastic year for extended travel & it has never been easier to be a digital nomad ( which will be on the increase this year!).
Yep your #3 and #8 makes lots of sense, but then they all really do. Thanks! We needed this up view from a major travel source.
Can I add my post about how to do extended travel for those interested in planning such?
http://www.soultravelers3.com/2008/06/how-to-do-exten.html
Happy Travels!
The global childhood and "Third Culture Kids" {Gadling}
Dec 27th 2008 10:12PM Ah, but American and International schools are very different experience than a homeschooled child or one that attends a local school. Our child is out of school for 7 months out of the year when she is with both her parents for 24/7 as we travel & is only in school for 5 hours a day when in Spain.
Funny, we find Europe much LESS transitory than the States.We are in a small village of about 1000 people & almost all have lived here for generations. My daughter has 3 sets of different cousin pairs in her small classroom alone...not something we have ever experienced.
We are into attachment parenting and find the traditional ways of this village ( and probably most small villages in Europe) are very attachment oriented. It is a very embracing village where we walk to everything we need & my child will always have strong roots here as most of the people will be here forever.
Now the tiny expat community ( about 98% are native here) is much more transitory & I imagine you ran into more of that with international schools with kids of diplomats or corporations who are in an area for a short time.My child is immersed in the local culture/language all day and international or American schools are separate from the local community.
I grew up doing a lot of moving and feel it was the most beneficial thing in my life that helped to make me an out of the box thinker. I think I would have been a lot unhappier had we stayed in one little place my whole life, although I know it does really suit some personality types. My husband had that kind of life and could not wait to leave and still hates to go back to that "confining" environment.
That said, we thought long and hard about these issues and how to make the most out of them. If I had a shy or rigid child who needed more structure to be comfortable, we would not have made the choices we have made. Not everyone handles change well, but our daughter thrives on it and is very outgoing and adaptable.She is naturally adventurous and loves people, learning and exploring.
I think much depends on the child, family and how it is all handled. Certainly, a child growing up outside of her home culture will have a different experience than one who never leaves it ( like most American kids). I just think that for most children in today's world, it is a great advantage that will help them adjust to the changes of a 21st century world that is getting smaller by the minute.
It happens that my child's Godmother, now 60 took a world tour at 5 and spent a few years living abroad then. She says that experience still has the biggest impact on her life even today in a most positive way.
Travel enriches.
Isn't it great that today we can reap all of the good of extended stays and little of the disadvantages now with the web?
The global childhood and "Third Culture Kids" {Gadling}
Dec 27th 2008 7:52AM The problem with almost all of the research on Third Culture kids, is it was done before the internet which has totally changed the nature of living abroad.
There is a huge difference in kids that were brought up say in China in the 50's as missionary kids, or even Obama's childhood. They were extremely isolated. There was only snail mail & expensive calls and the world was much less connected.
I did lots of research on this topic because we are a family going on our 3rd year of an open ended world tour. (http://www.soultravelers3.com).
We find that all the benefits of third culture kids remains, but no longer do the negatives apply thanks to technology ( and the family bonding that we do).We are doing our 3rd winter in Spain where my daughter goes to the local school, immersing deeply in her 2nd language, culture and literature.
She can go to festivals here or her flamenco class, then talk about it to friends or relatives back home an hour later via free Skype webcam calls.
Today there is no isolation, she can immerse deeply in one culture, while maintaining her own culture. We live in an authentic 15th century small village in the winter, but there is also a Burger King and ToysRus not far away. Most of the kids are from here, but she also has friends from UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Italy, Poland, America who have moved here.
My child also takes her piano lessons in Spain with a teacher in Chicago over Skype. She has been interviewed by school kids in Boston during their school day, while she is here in Spain ( via webcam).
We even take thousands of disadvantaged school kids with us virtually through a non-profit ( and recently met them in Harlem, South Bronx etc) so even kids who might never travel can experience what life is like in other countries.
I think the trend toward a "global society" will continue as more people are able to live mobile lives. We have found it to be the best way to raise a global citizen for the 21st century. Travel does enrich the child and family more than anything else and helps us all realize how small and connected our world is!
Babykeeper Basic hangs your baby close while you pee {Gadling}
Dec 10th 2008 11:23AM I see your point, as traveling alone with a young baby is harder, but I guess I just have a different idea than most and prefer things the old fashion way. I was alone most of my daughters first year and had no problems with out this or other contraptions. Never used a baby bath, crib, pram, stroller, or diaper changer etc, so sure did not need this.
I did use a sling a lot which allows one to have hands free for every need & even allows one to nurse a child while standing in line for groceries at the store with no one the wiser. ( I did that a lot).
Why not just wear a sling with your baby? Keeps hands free everywhere including bathrooms. I used mine constantly when out and about, took up no room, was washable and organic. Baby loved it and I loved it.I never worried about getting dehydrated, nor tried to postpone going to the bathroom.
If one breast feeds and does family bed, that is all one needs IMHO. A sling ( possibly a Bundler too).
The rest is just endless marketing to try to make people think they need "stuff" that they don't. I prefer to think simple like native people and invest my money (saved from buying such things).
I think babies are much more simple than the marketing world makes them out to be. My mom raised 4 in the fifties with none of the crapola we have today. ;)
I want more experiences and less stuff. But, hey, if it works for you or others, that is cool with me too!!
Babykeeper Basic hangs your baby close while you pee {Gadling}
Dec 10th 2008 7:12AM Jeesh! What silly contraption will they think of next for babies? Poor new mom's get suckered into this nonsense and marketing.
We never used or bought even a stroller or crib and got along just fine and certainly would never use something this silly.
Travel read: 101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12! Here are 10. {Gadling}
Nov 13th 2008 8:40AM We have a great passion for combining family travel and education, so this book and post is right up our alley!
I am pleased to say that we have done all of the above 10 places, although not necessarily the ones listed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn9rDTZj-m4
We are a family on our third year of an open ended world tour, so have already done 101 great places before our child recently turned 8, but we're wide open to finding more!
I think every child should see the Sahara!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrrAFDt9W_U
We travel the world on 25K a year total costs for a family of three, so know well that travel does not have to be expensive and slow travel, deep immersion is best.
Many of the great things we have seen have been for free. Travel is partly attitude, knowing there are wonders all around us!
The top 10 ways to make phone calls when you are abroad {Gadling}
Nov 5th 2008 7:12PM We are into our 3rd year of traveling the world as a family on an open ended tour and we almost always just use Skype webcams from our computers! Love it and usually doesn't cost us anything...free is really good for budget travelers!
We have tried various phones and methods, but always come back to Skype. My daughter even takes her piano lessons on another continent over Skype!
No Wrong Turns: Snakes and Spiders and Scorpions...Oh My! {Gadling}
May 7th 2008 2:48AM Ah, the joys of creepy crawlies! They are not just in Mexico. ;)
We have been on a road trip around the world as a family since 2006 & have a few funny stories on this topic too. We will never forget the bugs in our mud hut in the Sahara in Morocco, a gigantic centipede that decided to take a shower with my daughter in Samos, Greece, or the huge snake that joined us on our third floor terrace in our village house in Andalusia, Spain!
www.soultravelers3.com
