We posted about our next adventure and something happened that reminded us exactly why we keep doing this — the people. It is always the people.

I have to say, we are pretty humbled and energized to a different realm right now. After our last post, the positive feedback and encouragement we received brought the biggest smiles to our faces. We read each comment over and over… those from both my business page, personal page and our facebook page.

Then, ,we received a comment on our blog that once again created that warm feeling inside.

Dennis, I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to share your comment…

Hi folks, Thank you for the post. Adam we’ve not met yet ,and Nicole, i met you right before you all left for Korea, I worked at the Ace in South Shore. Stoked to hear that you are all still living the good life …free and full of the next adventure. I have finally pulled the trigger and decided to do much the same. Put the house up for sale with no real plan, although I am liking what I’m seeing in Northern Maine and it’s just a hop to Europe. I have my two sons 13 and 15 and they are down with the plan as well as a girlfriend and her son who also are looking for a change, so who knows the world is our oyster, with a few changes of course. Anyway, probably run in to you at some point, my experience is the adventurous souls typically do.

Cheers, Dennis S.

This had Adam and I talking about all the people over the years that have asked us for travel help or advice. People we have helped teach in Asia, or friends we met along our travels.

• We still receive holiday cards from the Kemps who we met in the lobby at breakfast time in New Mexico.
• Our bestest family friend Kaisa, who we met in Korea in 2009… still speaks to us 🙂 And we get to visit with a few times a year.
• Vanessa and Rod from Australia that we met sharing a yard and two tiny homes.
• Dalys read our blog and we helped ignite her excitement of Korea, she is now teaching there.
• Mr. Lee, who we visited two years ago with the kiddos, we met him when I tutored his son Do Heung back in 2009 in Korea
• Daniel from Switzerland, whom we met on a Junk Boat in Halong Bay, Vietnam and then stayed at his family farm when we drove through Switzerland.
• Akemi was our housemate in Japan, we still message with from time to time.
• The AMAZING Van Der Borden’s we met on our Honeymoon on a cruise ship, they live in the Netherlands and one day, we will see again.
• Our wonderful neighbors, the Ponce’s, in Tahoe.

Our dream is to travel the world, introduce our kids to culture, people, places, smells, landscape that is different than what they are used to. We want to do this to teach them respect and understanding of life different than the one they are used too. To us, being a bit uncomfortable is where we learn.

If you have met us along our travels or we have helped you in any way, please do share in the comments. It is so much fun to reminisce and think of all of you.

Keep Dreaming and Living because no one is going to do it for you.

-Nicole

Q: Do you keep in touch with people you meet while traveling? A: More than you would ever expect. A couple met at breakfast in New Mexico still sends us holiday cards. A friend from Korea in 2009 visits us multiple times a year. A man we met on a junk boat in Halong Bay hosted us at his family farm in Switzerland. A woman who read our blog was inspired to teach in Korea and is there now. The connections made through travel are not shallow — they are some of the most genuine and lasting relationships of our lives.

Q: How does traveling change the way you see the world? A: It replaces assumptions with people. Every country, every city, every bus ride and guesthouse lobby is a potential friendship with someone whose life looks completely different from yours and who will change the way you see everything. Our kids are growing up understanding instinctively that the world is full of people worth knowing — and that might be the most valuable thing we can ever give them.

Q: How do you inspire others to travel who are nervous about taking the leap? A: We share honestly — the hard parts and the incredible parts equally. When people see that a family of five with three kids and a Cavapoo can sell their house, leave their zip code and head into the unknown — and survive and thrive — it gives them permission to imagine something different for themselves. Dennis selling his house with no real plan after reading our blog is the greatest compliment this blog has ever received.

Q: What is world schooling and how does travel educate children? A: World schooling is the belief that the world itself is the best classroom. Every temple, market, foreign language, kind stranger and unfamiliar meal teaches children something that sitting in a classroom for six hours simply cannot. Our kids are learning respect, curiosity, adaptability and genuine understanding of people different from themselves — and they are learning it by living it.

Q: How do you build a community as a traveling family? A: You collect people. Slowly and intentionally across years and continents. The Kemps from New Mexico. Kaisa from Korea. Daniel from Switzerland. The Van Der Bordens from the Netherlands. Vanessa and Rod from Australia. None of these friendships were planned — they were all the result of showing up somewhere new with an open heart and a willingness to connect. That is the whole secret.