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 we value. This entry reflects our many teachers along the way and some of what we've all learned.

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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 wrapped in total love and friendship; and fell in love. (One of the reasons we've pulled back from volunteering as a family in Panama. For it really hurt to fall in love, and then say goodbye).   In this entry, we've summarized a few cool days; glimpses, if you will, into the honored lives we were blessed to taste.

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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 do their best scrubbing. Here’s the three shattered things that I recall running through my mind.

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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 the time to look at clouds, dance around in rain ponchos, invest in our family's health, and cut coconuts reflectively. Just normal, every day great family material- be it in our own backyard, or half way across the world.

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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 misery.

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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 unwell.

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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 Players, didn't follow up with the Boquete Rotary, we didn’t go online, didn’t go meet neighbors, didn’t follow up on classes and activities we wanted to pursue. We went inside, on a deep journey inside to cleanse and heal and balance our souls and our family relationships. 

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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. Just holding a cool glass jar in my hands is quite a spiritual thing for me. It’s mine. I love being alone, to write, with a glass jar. 

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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 thought he was just adorable.A couple of weeks later, we've settled down in my father's cozy cabana in Alto Boquete, Panama and David joins us for five days of magic. This entry highlights some of the magic and fun David brought into our lives while he was with us.

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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 friends and cousins. So, this nomadic way of life if great, but they miss having friends.

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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… and we’re not there for them.They’re fighting and falling over each other. They’re lost and have no lighthouse to shine their way.

Being a nomadic family has its very poignant disadvantages.

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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 ever-changing world, family discoveries, and travel tips to inspire others; we hope you too can refer to us any media. We appreciate it. This entry highlights some of the media coverage, blogs referrals, and speaking engagements we've been blessed to have. Enjoy!

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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, love.. This entry reflects some of the kind angels who wrapped our family in their wings, and became our new extended nomadic family.

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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 exciting.

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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 and pics that we captured in Houston that reflect some of the grandkid/grandparent bonding we hoped for.

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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 left us with something precious we’re supposed to receive.

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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 American!

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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 into classrooms in which neither the teacher nor the students could speak a word they could understand. As an ad hoc English teacher on the road throughout Latin America, the rewards of teaching has  ALWAYS been watching my kids gain friends from it.

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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 TOURIST ATTRACTION IMAGINABLE for free! We've had so far over a dozen such experiences. This exhibition was led by our neighbor Oscar who took us for a four-hour exhibition through rain forest, fields, and valleys. We went with my son's new best friend Ever. I still can't seem to write about  Ever too much.

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