Archive for the ‘Nomad’ Category

the trip of a lifetime?

January 12, 2012

you’ve all heard that saying, right?

but what does it really mean to ME (or YOU)?

i was thinking about this yesterday morning in a moment of quiet:

  • what would be MY trip of a lifetime?
  • somewhere i’ve been already?
  • a place i’m yet to visit?

it’s almost five years ago that my husband and i both got made redundant on the same day and, after an evening of talking it over, decided to sell our house in new zealand and go see some more of the world. since then, we’ve visited over 20 countries, some of them multiple times. if you’d asked me five years ago today what i’d be doing it five years time, i’m not sure i could have imagined up such an adventurous life, or that i’d be sitting writing to you here on gypsy girls guide.

i’ve been more places than some, fewer than others…. and i’ve made some amazing friends that i would never have, had i not left new zealand.

a few weeks ago a new friend emailed me… i’ve been invited to travel with them at the end of this year.

this is someone that, a few years ago, i would never have dreamed i would meet (let alone become friends with). since the trip has yet to be finalised, i’m not going to say where, or with who, but it’s certainly going to be an adventure.

the invitation was what started this whole thought process off – would this upcoming trip be MY trip of a lifetime?

 i actually don’t know the answer. it’s certainly not somewhere i would have imagined i would ever go.

have you ever thought about what your trip of a lifetime would be?

is it…

  • somewhere you have already been?
  • somewhere you have always dreamed of going?
  • somewhere you are already making plans to visit?

or… could it be the trip of a lifetime is already happening for all of us…

that it’s not a place, a continent, or one short holiday experience
it’s the life we are already living?

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leonie wise is a regular contributor to gypsy girls guide and co-creator of the new zealand creative retreats
you can read more about her travels and random thoughts at leoniewise.com

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Posted in Nomad, Places

It was a Gypsy Girl year.

January 1, 2012

Gypsy Girls, a happy and peaceful New Year to you all.

It was almost exactly a year ago I started posting here; I thought it would be a year-long series. The first post was called Getting Ready to say, “Yes!” It was about readying yourself to live your own, unique adventure. As I read that post again now, I cannot believe it was just seven and a half years ago I lived in a sprawling, cookie-cutter neighborhood in Colorado, my study of languages and love of foreign travel a distant memory.

In 2011 I was true to my word, true to that post. I readied myself and said, “Yes!” to all the adventures the Universe presented to me. They were far flung. As my very smart friend from Google’d said, how was just logistics. (At one point I was trying to figure out the best way to get from Livingstone, Zambia to work in Chengdu, China.) This video shares a small slice of what ensued. 22 countries. A TEDx talk at London Business School (that didn’t make the video). Feeding baby pandas in Chengdu, China. Safari in Botswana and Zambia. Rio, Hong Kong, Houston, visiting fellow Gypsy Girl Christine in Los Angeles.

I never imagined life could be like this. Thank you for being part of it. I hope you’ll enjoy the video. It was that same Googler friend who asked, “How was 2011?” Here is my reply. (The perfect Gypsy Girl song is Sara Bareilles‘ “Many the Miles,” purchased on iTunes.) Enjoy.

Life can look like this, Gypsy Girls. I would love to assist any of you who longs to create a life that’s true to you – your own unique adventure. How did the year go for you?

As inspiration, I’ll leave you with this snippet from Tara Sophia Mohr’s poem titled, “In the End.” ’Seems fitting. It’s included in the video above, too.

What you’ll want a thousand years from now is this:
a memory that beats like a heart–
a travel memory, of what it was to walk here,
alive and warm and textured within.

Rebecca is an American expat living in Zurich. She designs and delivers leadership development experiences for multinational firms and works as an executive coach all over the world. She took all the photos in the video in 2011 (except ones she’s in & one a travel companion snapped out their tuk-tuk in Siem Reap, Cambodia).

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Posted in Jet Setter, Nomad

Choosing adventure

December 19, 2011

I have been wondering about something. When you go on an adventure, at what point is it that you actually choose to go? Is it when you get to the airport, ticket in hand and bag on your back? Is it when you pick your dates and book your journey? Is it when the dream of somewhere new enters your head? Or is it some other time, when you just choose to break up your routine and do something different, just because?

There is something so exciting about booking flights.  I have booked hundreds over the years, but I always get a thrill from seeing the destination spelt out on my ticket. It is like an invitation to adventure. And we are going on a seriously big adventure. We are moving to Japan and have booked our flights for the end of March.  Not sure how long we will be away – it might be six months, it might be eight or nine.  All I know is that it is going to be so special, and I cannot wait!

What adventures are you planning in 2012?

Beth Nicholls is a regular contributor to Gypsy Girls Guide. After a hectic year of so much ‘doing’ in 2011, she is looking forward to a year of adventuring in 2012.

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Posted in Nomad