Vagabondingw it hkids.com
l et t hel ocat ion chooseyou.
By AK Turner (Mike's super awesome wife)
?Have you al ways want ed t o go t o Brazil ??
This is a question often posed
when acquaintances learn of
the next two-month trip my
husband and I will take with
our two young daughters.
Perhaps they think we?ve held a
long fascination with Brazilian
culture, or imagine that one of
us speaks Portuguese. Or
maybe they picture us spinning
a globe and stopping it with a
single finger to reveal our next
destination.
In reality, we rarely choose the locations of our travels, and
many people who embrace the vagabonding and digital nomad
movements will tell you the same. It?s less about traveling to
the destination of your choice and more about seeing where the
world takes you.
Some explorers follow a route determined by temporary jobs,
from teaching English in Eastern Europe to
serving as a deckhand in the South Pacific. My
husband and I are more the digital nomad
type, able to sustain our careers anywhere in
the world, as long as we have our laptops and
an Internet connection.
With our two young daughters in tow, though,
we?re not quite willing to hike through Latin
America sleeping in a tent each night. We also
can?t afford renting a home or hotel room for
two months overseas while still keeping
current with our mortgage and expenses at
home. So for us, the destination is simple: We
go where we have a free place to stay.
We?ve swapped homes, bartered services, and
unabashedly taken friends and relatives up on
kind offers. There is no bucket list of must-see
destinations, no ranking of countries or
landmarks. Our desire to experience the world
with our children isn?t constrained by
exchange rates or native languages or predominant religions.
We?re open to the world and we?ve found, as a result, that the
world has welcomed us with open arms.
Our upcoming trip will take place because we?ve connected
with a Brazilian family who share our thinking. We?ll trade
homes and cars this winter, reducing the main expense of the
experience to airfare (and here?s where airline miles come in
handy) and the general costs of daily living. When we finalized
dates and details, both parties committing to the exchange, I
was ecstatic. I can?t Samba and the Portuguese lessons are
grueling, but I?m ecstatic.
Have I always wanted to go to Brazil?
No.
But I sure do now.
AK Turner is a New York Times bestselling author, frequent contributor to The
Huffington Post, and travel addict. She and her husband have made it their mission to
travel with their two young daughters overseas for a couple months every year. B &