Welcome to our travel journal!

Family and co-workers already know this, but for those I just keep in touch with via Facebook, the big news is that Xander, Daisy, and myself are taking a year away from our day-to-day lives to live in different countries around the world. In fact, we already started – July 31st we boarded the plane to San Jose, Costa Rica. I’m still not quite sure how we settled on the six countries that we’re going to go to, but tickets have been bought and AirBnB reservations made. The Big Six are:

• Costa Rica: August – October. Famous for it’s beaches and wildlife (and coffee!), we are here during the rainy season, so it’ll be hit or miss as far as beach days go. But the big appeal for us for this time of year was to see dolphins, whales, and nesting sea turtles.
• Australia & New Zealand: October – Christmas. This almost needs no explanation whatsoever because who doesn’t want to go to Australia and New Zealand? One of my best friends from college lives here, there is the Great Barrier Reef, and, of course, kangaroos, koalas, and more dolphins! We will hop over to New Zealand for a couple weeks while we’re in that part of the world to visit the old shire and other Lord of the Rings-y things.
• Thailand: January – February. I went to Thailand many moons ago and loved it. It was decided in the earliest conversations about this trip that Japan would be a part of it, so this is essentially a reaaaaly long (5-week) layover on our way to Japan. Xander and Daisy are totally looking forward to going to an elephant sanctuary where you “get” to walk into a big puddle and give an elephant a bath. I am totally looking forward to getting a lot of pictures of that while standing several comfortable arms-lengths away. What I’m excited about is seeing all the giant Buddhas that dot the country towering over the trees again. And, of course, the beaches, even without dolphins.
• Japan: February – May. Xander fell in love with Japanese culture a couple years ago for reasons unknown and Daisy is a huge fan of Studio Ghibli and both kids are general fans of anime. They also want to see what it’s like to live in a country that is so different than what they’re used to. Xander wants me to add that all the good video games are made there as well; so, that’s a bonus. We already have a place rented in Kyoto, the former capital and now cultural capital of Japan (with a third bedroom for any interested parties!) Cannot wait to return!!
• China: May – July. In a word: Joon! Xander’s  best friend moved there in 2016. He and I went for a week to visit Joon and his family a couple years ago but only ventured out of Shanghai for a 48-hour trip up to the Great Wall. So we’re headed back for a more in-depth round two, with Daisy this time.

 

But….your job? School?

I get asked about logistics a lot and it’s pretty straight-forward. You know how people say they’d like to quit their job and travel the world? That’s what I’ve done. Or we’ve done, rather. Here comes the first truth bomb of the journal, though: it’s not half as exciting as it sounds. Well, maybe it is just as exciting as it sounds, but it’s also just as stressful, exhausting, and daunting. I spent much of the last few months trying to talk myself off the ledge when the planning and preparation all seemed too much. Picking out where to go, best times to go there, where to say, what to do while we’re there, what we can afford, health insurance, travel insurance, where to put our stuff while I’m gone, how to set up my cell phone in different places…. the list goes on.

There are very good reasons most people don’t actually quit their jobs and take off for places unknown and all of these are true for me as well. Primarily, money. I have not saved money for this – in fact, I just paid off the last of my credit card debt in the fall. We’ll be living off the income I earn from a part-time writing job. I really have no idea if that is going to be enough; and, yet, it will have to be enough.

Also, this is the first time the kids have been in a different country for longer than 10 days. They will miss their father in New Hampshire. They will miss their friends. We had to give up the townhouse we’ve rented for the past three years, so they will not have their “home” to go back to. I worry about them. I worry about me – I’m going to be on mom-duty 24/7 for 2-3 months at a time and will be helping them adjust to new places and cultures while I try to adjust at the same time. Honestly, I don’t really know if I am mom enough for what this year will require; and, yet, I will have to be enough.

So, while the logistics are pretty simple, they are also pretty terrifying. The principal at my school gave me a bracelet at the end of the year that reads “Que sera, sera.” I take it as an extremely abbreviated and slightly bastardized version of the AA pledge: I’ll control what I can and accept that I can’t control everything. Whatever will be, will be. I’ve said it to myself repeatedly (sung it, actually – it’s become my own personal earworm) many time over the last few weeks as I packed my office, packed my house, put everything in storage, said good-bye to a job I loved and people I love.

The kids were studying the Oregon Trail this year, with its hardships and unknowns and one dark night when the panics were getting to me, it seemed an apt metaphor as I wrote in my journal: “There will be mountains. And dysentery. Maybe hostile locals. We will lose some of our belongings along the way, no doubt. We will see beautiful vistas and things we have never seen before. We will be making it up as we go along.”

There will be tears and plenty of cuss words, I am sure. But I’m also counting on many moments of joy, wonder, discovery, and growth. Trusting that those are what will shape our memories when it’s all said and done. I’m pretty excited to see what the “whatever” will be.