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 running to the house to find Kobi (well, actually his wallet). But the 'ice cream man' means a lot more to us than just sweet coldness.To us, it signifies a past long gone.

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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 person with a great story to tell.These fine folks have honored us all by sharing their messages with us. You're gonna love our new series Wednesday Wanderers.  

Wednesday Wanderers highlights the unforgettable saga of mankind towards his own truth: locals, fellow travelers; people who have found creative ways to many money and sustain their world travels; people with strong opinions about the way things should be; people just getting by, living their life one day at a time; and people who are changing our international world one small footstep at a time.

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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 who gets to spit first in the kitchen sink, or because they think we don't know that they blackmail and bribe and threaten each other for candy and such; they are unearthly patient cuz their parents are dragging them all across the globe and have really creative ideas about education and the meaning of life and family, and they are very patient with us as we try to figure that all out.

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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 that cleansing and  renewal is just behind us and besides the bananas browning and the rains starting earlier in the day, nothing indicates to me the passage of time, of a new year. It's September so my kids are 'supposed' to be starting another school year. I'm 'supposed' to be entering my soul and reflecting on what I feel guilty about, and I come out blank. My mind and soul are blank; I am totally at rest; I don't feel guilty about anything at all.

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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 Ben, I have no excuses here. I'm not standing up to the nutritional standards I strive to. And when I'm not beating myself up for wolfing down sugary/starchy things at night while I chug away at the keyboard; I'm actually quite proud, amazed, and fascinated by how well we have been able to bring a strongly-accented raw food diet stably into the ever-changing, every-alluring world of international travel. And so, enjoy our "apple a day"- sprouting (detailed instructional video at the end) ....

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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 to discover foreign lands (an added bonus), not to raise trilingual children (looks good on a resume), not to create open-minded world citizens (though it's cool), and surely, not to live our one life to the fullest by making our dreams come true (ok, so I'm almost lying). But, why do this nomadic family thing? Watch the videos and find out! (and tell me what you think!)

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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 that I did. My American Dream began in 1975 when my parents came to the land where "money grows on trees". We had an eventful roller coaster of being rich with a private plane, pool, and live-maid to declaring bankruptcy.  Maybe I had to taste the world of  materialism and consumerism  (My parents' American Dream) to reach my own dream?

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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 making decent videos with cool effects
d- he is another great role model for those who wish to travel the world and make money.

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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 time [These are Gold]. As a nomadic family traveling the world, we are constantly meeting new. beautiful strangers-turned-friends. [Those are Silver]. But, because I suck at keeping up with people; I feel sad. Of course, in a second, I could fix that; but I don't. These are the sad moments when I feel lonely on the road as we travel the world.

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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 whatever came up. My directions to her were always the same, "For me to consider this day with you a successful one, you are required to do two things: return my children to me dirty and injured"..

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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 be rich to live this dream lifestyle. Turns out, a vast majority of nomadic families are not. Almost all of them, in fact, are quite normal, everyday people who dreamed big, and saved bigger. They envisioned something they wanted, and went for it. Below you will find out how 10 nomadic families have afforded their world travel dreams. May our collective frugality, persistence, creativity, and courage inspire you to look into your own life, and seriously contemplate this once way-out-of-reach dream as plausible. this is great.

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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 fuzzy and Mommy has to beg the kids to take care of them. (That's another story). This blog reflects our lives with chicks, in pictures and in movies, and all the amazing lessons children get to learn having pets in their lives: responsibility, physical affection, and the cycle of life.

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