Life-changing experiences, unforgettable recollections and exquisite photos — these are issues that come to thoughts when folks consider a year-long household journey.
But there are additionally blunders behind the adventures, mentioned Margaret Bensfield Sullivan, recalling the yr she spent overseas along with her husband and two youngsters.
From encountering piranhas in Brazil to getting trapped in an airport in Mozambique, the Sullivans endured many sudden challenges throughout their journey to 29 nations.
Unexpected beginnings
“I think people were very surprised that we were doing this because we did not fit the profile of a family that you picture when you think of a family that would do this,” Sullivan mentioned. “Our lives were good. We were settled, coming along — two great kids, nice careers, apartment, a dog.”
The Sullivans, proven right here in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, visited 29 nations on six continents throughout their year-long journey journey.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
But that modified after Sullivan, who beforehand labored as a associate at a model advertising company in New York, got here again from a piece journey in Tanzania in 2017, which she described as an “eye-opening event.”
The journey made her understand the world was massive, and her life operated in a such a small fraction of it.
I spotted our household sort of wanted a shake-up. We wanted to get on the market and see what was occurring.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“So I had to ask myself: ‘What else am I missing because I’m busy at work or consumed with the daily tasks of my life?'” she mentioned. “And I realized our family kind of needed a shake-up. We needed to get out there and see what was going on.”
Plus, Sullivan mentioned she wished to spend time along with her household whereas she nonetheless had the possibility.
“I worry that I will wake up one day, and ask myself: ‘Where did the time go?'” she mentioned. “Taking a year off like this was a way to future-proof against regret.”
The planning
Before they left, Sullivan and her husband Teddy, an entrepreneur, spent months making ready for his or her yr overseas. She mentioned they’d each reached pure stopping factors of their careers, in order that they determined it was an excellent time to take a yr off.
The Sullivans at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“The best part: canceling all bills. Not a single bill and we hit the road … our home was now our suitcase,” she mentioned.
Budgeting for a yr away was an enormous consideration, she mentioned.
“What kept us sane was — it was finite,” she mentioned. “It had an end date, and that was very reassuring.”
Sullivan mentioned she and her husband selected a heat climate itinerary, or to “follow the sun,” which later grew to become a part of the title of a guide she revealed about their yr overseas.
“We bought a giant white wall map, put it on the wall of our apartment. And we would spend every day just staring at it dreaming about the places we wanted to go,” she mentioned.
In the top, the Sullivans employed journey brokers to assist with planning.
“This was not a ‘winging-it adventure’,” she mentioned, including that after they left they’d three months of plans in place.
In January 2019, the Sullivans left New York, journeying first to South America, then to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and eventually to Asia and Oceania earlier than heading dwelling.
The mishaps
During the journey, the Sullivans endured a “terrible” abdomen bug in Beijing, altitude illness in Peru and a lice infestation in Berlin.
The Sullivan household, proven right here at Machu Picchu in Peru, bumped into a number of unexpected circumstances all year long.
Source: Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“We had packed every conceivable medication, and it never occurred to me that we would encounter lice,” she mentioned. “In New York, there are all kinds of services where people would come and eliminate these lice from your children. That did not exist in Germany.”
There was additionally what’s now generally known as “The Piranha Story” within the Sullivan family, which occurred whereas fishing within the Amazon rainforest.
Sullivan, who’s afraid of fish, mentioned somebody threw a reside piranha onto her lap of their boat.
“I screamed bloody murder, lurched backward, crashed into the floor of the boat, taking my daughter back with me, all while the live piranha flopped around between us. It was the most absurd thing that has ever happened to me,” she mentioned.
“We wound up eating the piranha that night, and its jaws are framed in our home now.”
The errors
Besides the mishaps, Sullivan mentioned her household made their fair proportion of errors too, together with following a journey agent’s recommendation to go to an orphanage in Vietnam.
“We immediately realized we shouldn’t be there. We felt terrible about it,” she mentioned. “I cannot state strongly enough that this kind of tourist destination is completely irresponsible, and no one should visit an orphanage.”
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan, proven right here admiring a sundown within the Amazon rainforest along with her youngsters, mentioned when issues occurred, the household did not battle or blame each other. “We just rolled with it.”
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
In Cambodia, the Sullivans encountered an indication close to the airport that said: “Children are not a tourist destination. Do not visit an orphanage.”
“Wealthy tourists come into a place and feel like they want to contribute or do good. And so, they … hand out school supplies at a school and that’s not helpful for a community,” she added. “It is harmful and potentially exploitative.”
“Visiting a country with deference and respect and curiosity, the same way you would visit France or Japan, is just the way to go,” she mentioned.
The misguided assumptions
During their time overseas, the Sullivans additionally mirrored on the hole between their expectations and the fact of their year-long journey.
“We assumed we would have tons of free time,” she recalled. “I thought: ‘this was it, this was my big year’ to sit back and do all those creative projects I wanted to do, and [watch] all the shows I meant to watch.”
“But we had two small children with us. There was no free time,” she mentioned, of her youngsters, who had been 4 and 6 years outdated on the time.
The Sullivans reluctantly left dwelling with solely carry-on baggage, however had been shocked to return dwelling with their baggage solely half full.
“You just don’t need as much as you think,” she mused.
The couple additionally discovered themselves shocked by their power ranges throughout their intensive travels.
“We were in our rooms asleep by 8:30, basically every night. Turns out, rest and the lack of stress can do wonders for your energy,” she famous.
As they ventured into unfamiliar territories, Sullivan mentioned the household division between adults and kids disappeared.
“My husband and I were bumbling, clueless, didn’t know the language, vulnerable … we didn’t know everything. We quickly shed that invincible parent facade,” she admitted. “At the same time, our children are proving themselves to be very funny, very brave, and very curious.”
More good than unhealthy
Amid all of the challenges, Sullivan revealed that the most important lesson for the household was studying tips on how to go to locations with out bias.
“We just learned to go to a place with a blank slate,” she mentioned. “Take it in, just ask questions because we all have assumptions about other parts of the world.”
After journeying to 6 continents, Sullivan mentioned she discovered individuals are simply attempting to assist one another by way of life.
After a yr overseas, Sullivan, proven right here in Egypt, mentioned her household returned dwelling with a stronger bond.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“Around the world, the common language truly was kindness,” she mentioned. “We came home from that year thinking there were more good people in the world than bad, that most people just want to help.”
When requested if she had any recommendation for others, she mentioned choose a date and keep it up.
“Once it’s on the calendar, you can work backwards,” she mentioned. “It makes it more real.”