Glimpses into a Rancher's Life.

Life on the ranch in La Lucha de la Tigra, Costa Rica and in neighboring Florencia allowed us to experience so much we had never touched or tasted before. From hitchhiking on the back of an open trucks, to rainforest exhibitions by kindly neighbors, to working on the farm to fishing to volunteering,...

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Poverty for Christmas

This December, over 2.1 billion Christians will celebrate the Christmas season.  Children around the world will wait with baited breath for brightly colored packages under the tree. A huge majority of the Westerm parents will spend more money than they can afford, buy more unnecessary garbage...

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The Ying Yang of Living Without

Life is all about ‘living with’ and ‘living without’. Have kids or don’t; eat healthy food or don’t; travel the world or don’t. Live with, live without. Each path has its definite perks and downfalls. So, we’ve chosen to travel the world, we’ve chosen to stack our cards and organize our lives in a...

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La Lucha de la Tigra, Costa Rica- June 20

You never fall in love for the first time, again. This was our first taste of Latin America: strong, sweet, and now, bittersweet. La Lucha de la Tigra, Costa Rica. (I can't say it without a sigh). A loving glimpse back at a simplier life, one that was ours not that long ago; and yet, it feels like a lifetime ago. The following is a touching entry from my personal journal on Monday, June 20th, 2011. Then, we were living life as volunteers, life as locals,...

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Wednesday Wanderers- Roger the Panamanian Taxi Driver

Meet Roger. He's a 60 year old taxi driver who's madly in love with his country. He likes to talk economics and politics and reveals the secret to a good life-rum. Roger is one example of the goldmine of amazing people we are meeting along the way, people who are really teaching us (and our children)...

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My Biggest Travel Mistake

We all make mistakes, and I'm pretty much at peace with mine. OK, so when I enthusiastically whipped out my camera to take a picture of those armed soldiers who didn't smile back at me, and Kobi (with rich military experience) told me sharply, "They have silencers on their M16's. Put the F--- camera...

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What Would You Put Your Family Through To Save $1000?- Part One

Looking back, we would never have done it this way. But, hey; we're all geniuses in hindsight, right? As we enter of third continent in our world travels; our nomadic family experienced the longest, hardest journey to date. This journey, lasting two never-ending days and nights was from Panama...

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Bells of a Past Long Gone

  We heard the bell ringing. Like that great scene in the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory  when they romanticize 'the candy man' who brings sunshine to the world; we turned, and behold THE ICE CREAM MAN! He's calmly meandering down the street in his orange shirt; we're hysterically...

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Wednesday Wanderers- International House Sitting With Cat

Cat Vann (in pink) with Dahnya and Dell As we travel the world we meet all sorts of awesome people. Some travel the scale the globe; some stay near their nest. Some travel alone; some with kids. Some sprint on vacation; some meander slowly as a way of life. But, every single one of them is a fascinating...

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Happy 37th Birthday Gabi

Hi and welcome. If you've only just arrived, here's a hug to you. Our family, husband Kobi, wife (that's me) Gabi, and three unearthly patient children Dahnya, Orazi, and Solai are traveling around the world. They are unearthly patient not because they don't kick each other in the bathroom over...

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How It Feels Not To Feel Guilty

Last night officially ended the Jewish High Holy Days. It's a string of four holidays strung over the period of a month. Besides the Holy of Days in which (if you're a good Jew) you fast for your sins; the rest of the holidays are filled with celebrating, eating, reflecting, appreciation. All of...

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An Apple A Day

Benjamin Franklin was beyond wise in his untimely advise about eating right, sleeping right, and moving your body for optimal health. But my dear friend Ben probably didn't travel the world (actually he did!) and he probably didn't eat for emotional comfort (I have no idea on this one!). Ok, so screw...

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These Small Hours

In Meet the Robinson's Rob Thomas sings "All life remains in these small hours", and I know it, I know it, now. Until we can catch up (never) and make a video of it, I 'd like to share a collection of videos dear to my heart. This, This, This is why we are a nomadic family traveling the globe. Not...

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International American Dreams

Once upon a time, I woke up and realized that I have had a pretty transformational journey towards, around, over, and through the American Dream. Unlike most of the Americans around me; I am a naturalized citizen to the United States of America. It was not my born right to live the life of privilege...

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How To Make Money As You Travel The World- Part One- Ryan at Half Throttle

We were lucky enough today to bump into Ryan at Half-Throttle.com.Why were we lucky? A few reasons: a- he's a nice guy and jumped on the trampoline with my kids b- he's a nice guy and ate my food even though he's a picky eater c- he showed us how to finally use adobe premiere so that we can start...

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No One Told Me I'd Be Lonely

  This entry has video of me crying, cuz I'm really sad. The kids lately have missed their friends; Kobi misses having friends. I was the empathetic listener, until I broke down, and felt something missing, empty too.  I miss having people who love me and have known me for a loooooong...

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Dirty and Injured..

Back in the day when we homeschooled, a parenting school graduate of mine (and dear friend) took the kids for 10 hours a week to explore the world. Yael would take my three darlings out to nature trails, places of work, and anywhere that magnetized them, to learn from the serendipitous magic of...

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10 Nomadic Families Traveling the World, 7 Continents: How They Afford It

Way back when, when I would hear of some family scaling the globe; I assumed they were rich. They had to be. Who can retire in their thirties or forties and travel the world? When I was 36, my family had begun traveling the world and thus became a nomadic family; and then I knew, you don't have to...

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Sick Chicks

As a nomadic family, it doesn't make sense to have any pets. Back home in Israel, we had a dog for 15 1/2 years (who was hit by a car the year before we left) and several adorable cats. We are animal people and so, it's been nice to have chicks in our lives on the road. It's nice until they get less...

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Oh Shit! A Snake!

As of a few days ago, we were living in a cabana in Northern Panama and GABI SAW A SNAKE AND IT SCARED HER TO DEATH. (For the record, of the colorful list of things that Gabi is scared of snakes is very high up there.)The attached pictures reflect Kobi's [actual] bravery in searching for the serpent;...

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New Friends in Old Places

This is our fifth time in Panama. My father moved here back in '99. He remarried to a Panamanian woman and created his own little tropical paradise, if you will. So, the Chiriqui District of Panama is very familiar and precious to us. Over the years, we've made dear friends with a local family here...

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It's a Dog's World

Kobi loves dogs. He always has. As we travel the world as a nomadic family; he finds himself gravitating towards them. We could be on a mountain hike up Volcan Baru, Panama; at an outdoor show in Houston's Miller Outdoor Theater; or in a park in San Jose, Costa Rica; and we Kobi suddenly disappears....

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If I Only Knew Then

As a Skype family therapist, my parenting clients stutter when I ask them "what will your chicks have under their wing when they fly from the nest? What tools will you have given them to lead meaningful, joyful, productive lives?" And when I ask myself those questions too, I stutter. I want to teach...

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The US in Twelve Minutes

Life is not a dress rehearsal. We believe that this is our one and only shot at life, and nothing guarantees that we'll even be around tomorrow. Hence, when we set out for this nomadic family world dream; we also hoped for a smaller USA RV dream. We found a Cruise America deal for only $12 a night!...

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Edumacation

As a nomadic family, educating our children has always been a huge priority for us. In addition to the meeting people of the world, seeing new lands, learning new languages, and the street smarts that come with world travel; we also want to expose them to an educational curriculum rich in what...

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Bad Ideas and Precious Moments

As a nomadic family, it is hard to describe what our lives were like living on the ranch in La Lucha de la Tigra for 6 weeks. Sort of like your first summer camp experience, ranch life was one of our first steps in Latin America and our first time to volunteer on our trip. We were...

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Shattered

It’s Monday morning. We went for our morning exercise, all five of us. First round, second round: I'm with kids and Kobi, talking, singing, laughing.Third round. This time I'm alone. My sweet nomadic family has all gone to shower. And, alone, exercising, (very much like writing) my mind and soul...

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Peaceful Days

Part of peaceful days for a nomadic family is not being nomadic. When we settle down in a place for  while, we reap the rewards of routine and inner calmness. We've found the quiet spot in Alto Boquete, Panama in the little cabana the size of our living room back home. It is here that we have...

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The Perfect Family Evening

We got rare, inside footage of the Klaf family really (really, really) being that lovey, dovey Leave-It-To-The-Beaver's-nomadic-family. We were delighted (and shocked) that no fighting, whining, hitting, complaining (none of the normal stuff) happened, at all, all evening....

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Orange Misery

Orange is my son Orazi's favorite color. He has two orange shirts on the trip. He loves eating carrots and oranges. He loves picking oranges. Today, unfortunately, he is in orange miser...

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It's Gabi. Ugh!

It's Gabi. Ugh. It's been an unhealthy body week. I've had headaches and been dizzy a lot this week, and my plumbing is unwel...

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Saying Yes To Something Else

Last night, we had the most magical Sabbath Dinner to date on our journeys. Barbara and Mort opened their home by the river to us, and filled our stomachs and hearts with love. As we entered their home, every one of my senses were fired up and filled simultaneously....

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A Week Within

After the emotional and physical entrapments of last week, we took a week to go within. We barely spoke or saw anyone. We didn't go to the Tuesday night Gringo Party, didn’t go talk to the neighboring school about volunteering, didn’t go to the weekly Gingo morning market at Boquete Community...

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Glass Jars

I’m alone with Volcan Baru, a coconut, and my first glass jar. Back home, drinking water out of glass jars was a real joy for me. One of those simple things that made me so happy. I’d take a jar and go outside, with the sun and the air tickling my water and glistening on the jar’s translucent beauty....

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David Days

We find that all sorts of amazing experiences and gifts are magnetized to us on this little trip of ours. One of them is called David Barron. We met David in La Fortuna on our way from our ranch home in La Lucha de la Tigra in Costa Rica to Boquete, Panama. We hung out for a couple of days and...

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Kids Need Socialization

That’s right. And it’s one of the things I have felt guilty about, until tonight. I felt guilty because a- I guess parents always have to feel guilty about something and b- though I’m taking my kids on an open-ended world adventure, I feel I am taking them away from their social network of school...

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Who?

Who are they supposed to turn to? Who is supposed to guide them, direct them, comfort them, lead them? Who? Their grandparents? Their friends at school? Their teachers? Who? Who in the world is supposed to take care of my children’s emotional needs when Kobi and I are falling apart? Well, we are…...

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Media Coverage and Speaking

  We're honored and overjoyed with the attention our nomadic family and this site has received  We work hard (but joyfully) documenting our journey and sharing ourselves as authentically as we can, including the lows and the low lows of being a nomadic family. As we continue to share our...

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Our New Nomadic Family

As a nomadic family, we are touched by the kindness of strangers-turned-friends along the way. While living on the ranch in Costa Rica, so many community families adopted us as if we were their own. These simple, good-hearted souls opened their homes to us; and filled us with laughter, good food,...

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Jesus Talk

We’ve had a lot of ‘Jesus Talk’ since our day in San Ramon, Costa Rica.  And for a family of Jews, ‘Jesus Talk’ is pretty excitin...

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The Grandparents in Houston

Our kids know very, very little of Gabi's parents. My mom and her husband live in Houston; my dad and his wife and daughter live in Panama; and we have lived for the past 7 years in Israel. This trip was a great opportunity for us to reconnect our kids to their grandparents. Here's a mix of video...

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Ugly Gifts Too

We’ve spent a week travelling from central Costa Rica to Northern Panama. While in transit, we have had the joy of briefly meeting beautiful souls who have blessed us with their unique gifts. These gifts have come in all sorts of packages. Some of them I didn’t like. They hurt. But those, too, have...

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En Route to Panama

En route from Costa Rica to Panama, we discover all sorts of fun things: our rockiest movie yet, candy health commercials, and It's your typical family road trip but in Central America...

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La Lucha School

Volunteering in the rural school of La Lucha de la Tigra, Costa Rica changed our lives. We were welcomed and loved whole-heartedly by an entire community. We spent whole days in the school, after schools at friends' houses, and many weekends with overnight company, mostly Ever. Our kids marched...

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Free Rainforest Exhibition

en route with my son's new best friend Ever We know many who have paid $100 a person for a day in the rainforest. WE DID IT FOR FREE!!! So cool, and just one example of what is available to you when you are a nomadic family:  travel slowly, live with the locals, and get to experience EVERY...

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Best Friends, Cowboy Gatherings, & Pineapples

"Oracio es me mejor amigo"(orazi is my best friend) Ever (the boy's name) says, as he hugs my boy.Somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good. My motherly heart is overflowth. The rest of our day pales in comparison, it's just details compared to that. But, it's still worth...

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Costa Rican Shabbat

As a nomadic family, we are honored, when (once in a while) we get to share magical moments with our new friends. Here, on the ranch in La Lucha de la Tigra, Costa Rica we had so many magical sharing of cultures....

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Stay or Go

When you are a nomadic family scaling the globe, you have total freedom to decide each and every next step. Very cool, and, at the same time, very over-whelming. These two videos reflect our confusion and how we're trying to wade our way out of it....

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What I've Learned This Week- June, La Lucha de La Tigre, Costa Rica

As a nomadic family living on a remote ranch in Costa Rica, we discovered new and marvelous things. In this entry, I want to share 11 surprising and wondrous insights from our lives here...

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Sonia and Don Jose Ramon

Living on a secluded ranch, off a dirt road in La Lucha de la Tigra Costa Rica was our first nomadic family Latin American immersion. We dedicate this entry to all the magic and love that Don Jose Ramon and Sonia brought to our lives in those weeks....

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Joy in the Simple Things

I know I'm the mom, but Ithink they are just amazing. My kids refuse to be bored. Life as a nomadic family has allowed them to become even more inventive, creative, imaginative, and full of light. Watch this collection of videos from our slow-paced life on the ranch; and their magic, as they wait...

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