365 Days on the Road

We have been on the road for a whole year.

When we embarked on our journey I thought that this would be plenty of time to satisfy the explorer in us but 365 days went by in a flash and we are not ready to go back home yet. Kuba, the biggest homie in the family, admitted that he can keep on traveling for a long time. Now that we have a tent and sleep in it every day (thank you Ruslana&Ispaneza!) it even feels like we carry our home with us. Travel has become somewhat cozier and simpler that way, but even downgrading to a tent has us burning through our money with alarming speed as Africa is crazy expensive compared to Asia. For us though this might be a blessing in disguise, otherwise we might never make it back home:)

Moving in a slow pace has given time for our curiosity to replenish itself over and over again and the more we see and experience the more we yarn to keep on learning, connecting and tasting the unlimited vastness of the world out there. I have to admit that the children are the driving force behind this hunger. Without them as travel companions a journey like ours runs the risk of becoming somewhat self indulgent after a year.

Looking back I don’t regret turning away from work and seizing the opportunity to burn through whatever savings we had. To many this decision might seem unwise but in the course of this year I discovered that the satisfaction of showing our children the world gives me immense pleasure greater than any career achievement. You can’t put a value on spending quality time together as a family. Moreover I finally feel like I am doing one thing right rather than doing a half decent job at raising the kids, juggling work and taking somewhat care of myself and my relationship with Kuba. On the road I can focus all my limited energy on our family and that feels very gratifying.

Our journey has also been invaluable in teaching our kids lessons important to me that are hard to teach at school or at home ~ How to trust in the unknown and to feel at home everywhere, How to be tolerant to different cultures, customs and believes and How to make friends wherever they go. Most of all though the decision to pursue our dream has been an example for them that following ones heart is what makes us humans truly happy inside.

I believe that finding happiness is simple really.

It is not about owning or achieving and it is not something we need to pursue constantly. Taking stock of what we have and making time to appreciate all the treasures we already possess is often plenty, but sometimes one has to take a leap of faith in following a passion or a calling and this is tough. For me kissing good bye the familiar comfort of a life tailored to make me feel secure was daunting. I am not going to lie that right before separating from our wonderful community of friends I found the fear of the unknown as intimidating as becoming a parent for the first time, building a house from scratch or leaving my motherland for a life abroad.

Yet, our bravery paid back in ways I couldn’t have imagined and I would never be able to quantify. I will attempt to capture it in one long confused sentence. The four of us have fallen head over heels in love with our world and its stunning beauty and disturbing ugliness, its sparkling goodness and mind boggling complexity, its arresting peacefulness and exhausting madness, its commonness and the unbelievable richness of detail that makes each place unique and unforgettable.

I am not going to get carried away and type an inspiring word concoction about how lucky we are to be taking so much time off and frolicking around as I always find such public outbursts of gratitude somewhat lacking. Moreover we have worked super hard to be able to make this trip happen and have made conscious sacrificed for quite a while before setting out. The sacrifices and the constant budgeting have never left our side actually. Traveling on a shoestring is challenging but at this point it is our natural mode of existence and the four of us fully understand that it is part of the deal.

The thing that surprised me most though was how easy traveling turned out to be. What seemed daunting at first slowly became a lifestyle of unexpected surprises and reality of waking up each morning to a new day that carried the potential to morph into anything.

This spontaneity of existence is the one thing I find most alluring about living on the road. Being the master of your days is exhilarating! I wish for everyone to experience such freedom and simple daily joys of living whatever dream you might be harboring in this heart of yours <3

Blessings,
~M