Hope, dreams and expectations - Damien (dad)

We thought it would be interesting to each share our perspectives of what we might expect during our time away at the end of this year, for at least a year. As we travel, we will share our reflections on our experiences from four perspectives.

Our very first writing assignment….

I’ll go first…

We don’t really know what to expect!  We have a route planned out, but what happens along the way is a mystery. However, from experience, it’s this mystery of the unexpected that is most alluring. Some of the best experiences I’ve had have evolved from following unintended or spontaneous forks in the road.

But we will be on a chosen road to start with. It won’t be a well-trodden path, but one that will give us the opportunity to experience and explore our interests. This blog is titled Family Escapaides, combining escapade (an act or incident involving excitement, daring, or adventure) with aides (people providing aid or assistance to others). This sums up our trips objective of having a global family adventure integrating the provision of aid where it’s needed.

The purpose of this blog is to reassure our family and friends that we are safe and well, despite them thinking we are a little bit crackers. We are also confident that what we are doing is valuable, worthwhile and attainable for others, so we hope to promote the idea that this sort of thing can be done.

The foundation of this trip is to endeavour to engage with the people and communities we encounter, as we work and travel en route. By immersing ourselves in these communities, experiencing new cultures, traditions and beliefs, we are likely to gain more than we can give. We hope that these social experiences also give us the opportunity to contribute to the environmental welfare of these communities and planet.

Within this foundational basis, some more specific ventures I’d like to pursue are volunteering in animal rehabilitation and reforestation programs, like those for orang-utan, elephants and sea turtles in Indonesia. I’d like to be able to help out kids in impoverished areas and volunteer to help protect and restore natural environments. 

A Family Escapaide such as this would give us to opportunity to shape our children's views of the world, to inspire and empower them to help others and the environment.

There are an abundance of opportunities around the world to meet our objectives, which we look forward to exploring. As well as this we are hoping to get involved in other adventurous pursuits that we are interested in. I’m looking forward to searching out some secluded surf spots, hiking mountains and volcanoes, snorkelling vibrant reef systems, learning new languages and tasting different foods.

This adventure hopes to be a great opportunity to connect with our kids before they venture into the bigger world. I anticipate working together to make decisions and solve problems and learn from unexpected and diverse experiences.

I expect that any shift from routine is likely to have its challenges. With this trip, we need to be aware of the challenges we experience personally but be aware of how the trip is impacting on each other.

As a teacher, I’m fairly confident that we can deliver the Australian curriculum as part of a flexible and creative edventure, but do wonder how agreeable the class of 2 will be. I’m more than willing to enrol a couple of new students in to the local school if this becomes an issue, which will give me the opportunity to volunteer in these schools to contribute to my own learning and professional experience.

We have been diligently saving money and paid leave, and are confident that we can financially support our trip, but we do have some concerns and plans for if we run out of money. We plan on selling our car and other belongings, renting our house out, as well as finding creative ways to live abroad cheaply though housesitting, homestays and volunteering in places that provide accommodation. It won’t be 5 star hotels though…

So, as we plan this trip over the next 6 months we’ll discover more about the exciting opportunities ahead of us. I look forward to hitting the ground, getting amongst it and to discover what mysteries are revealed.