Here we are, trying to realize a lifelong dream...
Is it exciting? Yes! Very much so! After years of dreaming and talking about it, John and I have decided to take the step and plan a sabbatical. We sold our house, moved into a small rental apartment, sold our old motorhome, bought a new campervan, and talked to our managers at work about taking a sabbatical. We hope to leave early April 2022.
Is it scary? Absolutely! The prospect of quitting our jobs for a year, taking the kids out of school, and just packing up and go, is a liberating thought but also has that little voice in your mind tell you "Are you totally out of your mind?!". But John and I have felt a weight lifted off our shoulders the day we decided to go ahead with realizing this dream. We have always dreamt big and now it is time for a bold move. And as the young Australian poet Erin Hanson wrote in one of her poems: “What if I fall? Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”
Is it smart to do right now, at the tail end of a pandemic? We don't know. But what we do know is that our planet is changing and we want to experience the vastness of the African continent and the uniqueness of Europe with our children and we do not want to wait until we are retired and the children have started their own lives. We want to experience this together as there is nothing we love more than traveling with Myron and Raija and sharing in their eagerness to explore and learn.
Our plan is to ship our campervan to Europe, where we hope to travel for a few months before shipping it to Africa. Every time we are in Europe with the children, visiting family and friends, we wish for more time to explore the Europe we grew up in. We always wish we have more time to take them places where we do not have family, as Europe has so much to offer, but vacation days are limited here in Canada.
And ever since John and I have been in Africa (Kenya and Tanzania in 2004, way before kids) we have said that one day we will go back to learn more about this amazing continent and to show the children the different cultures and the wild life that makes this place so unique. We hope to travel between Cape Town, South Africa, and the countries hugging the equator.
We believe the children are at a great age right now to go on this amazing journey with us; Myron is 11 and Raija is 9. They are super excited by the prospect of it all, but have also learned in the last 18 months that plans can be made but are not guaranteed to actually happen at the time you wish. We are awaiting a Covid vaccine for the children, which we hope the Canadian government will approve soon. This way we can all be double vaccinated before we go. And of course, we hope that more vaccines will become available in the developing countries for the people for which health care is not readily available. One day we hope this pandemic will become 'just another flu' and a thing of the past.
The last few months have gone by really quickly and so much has happened. John and I were looking into buying a campervan in Europe, just because they have a lot more variety in small ones. But unfortunately, it is rather impossible to import a European built vehicle into Canada. We did not want to risk the possibility of having to sell the campervan after a year, as our intention is to keep it for life. We actually named our campervan Kleintje. Kleintje in Dutch means Little One. Initially it was our code word to talk about the new campervan when the children were still unaware of our plans. But once we told them, somewhere in May, Kleintje stuck and the search had begun for the perfect campervan.
In the beginning of August, I found the Winnebago Solis 59PX online. An one-of-a-kind campervan in North America where the children can sit close to the front. There were two available close by! We quickly made an appointment, checked one out, and fell in love. It was not 100% what we hoped for but the fact that the children are not stuck in the back, far away from us, and the fact we all can sleep properly in this van, made us decide that this one would be our Kleintje!
We soon decided that we wanted to sell our house and some furniture to start our downsizing. We staged our house, found a rental apartment, and put our house on the market. Within a week it was sold and 6 weeks later we moved out. Talk about a busy time! We have now been living in our new place for over two months and are actually really happy with our two-bedroom apartment. We will not have to worry about selling our house at the last minute before we leave on our trip and we now have the time to go through everything we own and do some serious decluttering. John keeps joking Winnipeg can start a whole new Value Village with all the items we have donated lately 😉
Right now, beside busy work days for both John and me, and fun-filled school days for the kids, we try to enjoy the winter weather and also try to find time to give Kleintje some upgrades. There is still a lot to organize before we leave, but at least the first few major steps have been taken!
WOW! Sisko and John, you continue to amaze. There is so much right about travel and adventure. The growth in knowledge of different situations, language, culture etc. - cannot to taught in classrooms. How brave of you both and so wonderful for Myron and Raija to have this solid education.