Ever since I started travelling in my early 20s, I have always sought out the comfort of strangers. A conversation in a restaurant or a park can open up amazing opportunities and introduce you to sights you may not even have thought about going to visit.
When we had kids, we decided to continue along the same vein; we encourage our kids to strike up conversations with others and to play with whoever happens to be around that day. That's just how it is when you are long term travelers. We don't have the luxury of creating long term friendships but wherever we go we have learnt an amazing skill, how to create awesome and lifelong friendships with people we happen to bump into. It's all about being open and honest - what you see is what you get with us.
Stranger danger is something rarely discussed in our household - our 9 year old is totally aware of people who may act a little untoward her and knows to walk away from an odd scene; our 4 year old is yet to learn this, but he will. But it doesn't stop us talking to anyone and everyone we meet.
Case in point, since arriving in Arequipa, we have met so many amazing people who have gone out of their way to help us find suitable accommodation and/or a teaching job. Matt has become acquainted with one of the locals who sleeps outside on his couch behind a gate marked garage and he loves to take Matt out and introduce him to his friends. It enables him to practice the dozen English words he knows and Matt doesn't mind being paraded every now and again. And I have many play dates and meetups arranged in our future to keep the kids and mum happy.
When we were in Cusco, we set out to meet as many world schooling families and like minded travellers as we could, to learn from them and also to help the kids make connections with others - regardless of the ages or where the kids were from. It is in these moments that travel truly becomes precious.
Travel for us is not only about what we see and do, but also the people we meet. When we travel we tend to see the best side of people; strangers who open up their arms and welcome us into their lives for as long as we will be around and we appreciate that. Some people can go their whole lives and not know who lives in the same street; the people we meet are what makes our adventure truly special.
When we had kids, we decided to continue along the same vein; we encourage our kids to strike up conversations with others and to play with whoever happens to be around that day. That's just how it is when you are long term travelers. We don't have the luxury of creating long term friendships but wherever we go we have learnt an amazing skill, how to create awesome and lifelong friendships with people we happen to bump into. It's all about being open and honest - what you see is what you get with us.
Stranger danger is something rarely discussed in our household - our 9 year old is totally aware of people who may act a little untoward her and knows to walk away from an odd scene; our 4 year old is yet to learn this, but he will. But it doesn't stop us talking to anyone and everyone we meet.
Case in point, since arriving in Arequipa, we have met so many amazing people who have gone out of their way to help us find suitable accommodation and/or a teaching job. Matt has become acquainted with one of the locals who sleeps outside on his couch behind a gate marked garage and he loves to take Matt out and introduce him to his friends. It enables him to practice the dozen English words he knows and Matt doesn't mind being paraded every now and again. And I have many play dates and meetups arranged in our future to keep the kids and mum happy.
When we were in Cusco, we set out to meet as many world schooling families and like minded travellers as we could, to learn from them and also to help the kids make connections with others - regardless of the ages or where the kids were from. It is in these moments that travel truly becomes precious.
Travel for us is not only about what we see and do, but also the people we meet. When we travel we tend to see the best side of people; strangers who open up their arms and welcome us into their lives for as long as we will be around and we appreciate that. Some people can go their whole lives and not know who lives in the same street; the people we meet are what makes our adventure truly special.
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