Elvira Vida is mom to family of four who decided to temporarily give up life in Brooklyn for a more exciting one traveling around Southeast Asia for 6 months.
__________
I felt like 007 in front of our young, yet very aware 8-year old twins who would have been upset to know my secret mission. I dropped them off at the school and ran to the secret meeting. Our real estate agent was waiting for me in a car just a block away, ready to take me around the neighborhood. “Mommy, what is your plan for today?” They often ask… I had to be careful not to give away my cover.
“Did you find it? Let me know if there is anything I should see.” My businessman “never-at-home” husband messaged me.
This was almost three years ago. Our search for a bigger, affordable for us place in Park Slope lasted a month. As all our neighbors know, the apartments on the market vary from “not suitable” to “unaffordable” with nothing in between.
Then one day, after yet another unsuccessful search I sent a message with a radically different text: “What if, instead of a bigger apartment, we chose a bigger world?!” “What do you mean?” was his response.
“Will you remember the day you bought an apartment in 20 years? If not, what will we remember?” The answer always came back to our traveling experiences, the time spent together, the people we met and still have in our lives. “What if we spent a fraction of our apartment budget on a trip of a lifetime?” While the answer was given, it was not an action we could take right away. A seed was planted and it started to flourish. It grew fast and steady over the next few months. We went from “We could never make this happen,” to “Let’s try to make it happen.” And we did!
Making It Happen
I joined a group called Worldschoolers on Facebook and was taken by the lifestyle, the learning opportunities and the freedom that these families had and admittedly, all the amazing travel photos. Traveling was not new to us. We are experienced home exchangers, travelers, experience seekers and understand the value of exposing children to new cultures and environments, but this was a much bigger undertaking. What about my husband’s job? Our children’s schooling? What would it be like to become nomads?
As a first step, we made an appointment with our school’s principal. We did not know what to expect, but she was more than supportive. She was excited for us and gave assurance that London and Lola will learn more life lessons traveling than can possibly be learned in our humble community.
My husband was hesitant to inquire at his place of work. A “sabbatical” is unheard of in this company and he was worried that it would not be supportive; his team would think he was a deserter. In reality, the opposite happened… his managers supported his request and guaranteed to hold his job for when he returned. They also believed that he’d be a better leader for the experience that he’ll have.
The Adventure Begins
On December 23, 2017, we left with four suitcases full of clothes and dreams for our big adventure.
We started in Singapore, in order to get acclimated to the time zone after 36 hours of flying and airport transfers. Our next destination was Vietnam. We travelled from South to North, from Ho Chi Ming City to Hanoi. We experienced the craziness of Ho Chi Minh over New Year’s Eve, took a trip on the Mekong Delta (the “rice bowl” of Vietnam); watched the sun rise on the Red Dunes of Mui Ne; learned how to make lanterns in Hoi An; kayaked in Ha Long Bay; worked the fields with a water buffalo, visited countless pagodas, and played with local children on the streets of Hanoi. We decided to spread a little love everywhere we went and gave our travel another aspect – volunteering.
Finding a volunteer opportunity for an entire family is challenging at times, but we managed. We taught English in Sapa, North Vietnam, to underprivileged students from the Black Hmong hilltribe. London and Lola taught their favorite song, “Count on me by Bruno Mars,” to the students while playing their ukulele. It wasn’t “just” an experience to remember; it was a place we will return to, a place where we have friends and will be welcomed as family.
In Laos, we trekked to and stayed a night at a remote, electricity-free Khmu village in the mountains. My husband took our daughter to the bathroom the night of our homestay (an outhouse with a squatty potty) in the middle of the night using the flashlight on his phone. When they returned, she asked “How do people live this way with no electricity, no drinking water, and no hot water?”
The amount garbage on the streets we’ve encountered in some places is sad and staggering. It has helped us become more conscious of our use and abuse of natural resources than ever before. We have an ongoing conversation about how we will make our current and home environment more environmentally-forward after returning home. They/we are learning about the world that we knew existed, but was unimaginably far from our Brooklyn reality.
The Tuk Tuk Library
In Luang Prabang, Laos, we saw a poster asking for book donations for a Tuk Tuk library. This “library on wheels” brings books to remote villages where they are a rarity. Rarity? “But how could that be?” London and Lola asked. We set up a GoFundMe page and within a few days were able to fundraise for a tuk tuk library full of books, school supplies and hygienic items. With the help of two wonderful library employees, we visited a school and gave away books … a luxury in this community.
Our trip is not even half over… we are now in Cambodia… and our world has already changed. We all changed. We can see a wonderful path that our kids will walk on once this adventure is over. The friendships we’ve forged, the experiences we’ve had are leaving a mark. When we get back home in September, our apartment may be exactly the same, but our world as we knew it, will be exponentially bigger.
_____
To follow Elvi, Geoffrey, London and Lola on their South East Asia adventures,
follow: @lolotogo2018 on Instagram or LOLOTOGO on Facebook.