🎵“Do you want to build a library?”🎵
I partnered with my teen to do good in the world. Best experience, ever!
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Let’s start this off with the deepest of apologies for my lapse in writing. To say life has been FAST is an understatement. I am going to write about it all in the coming weeks; there is so much to share. To say my head is spinning right now is a complete understatement, but I will come here with my spins, authentically, and give it all air. For now, we have settled into an apartment in Mexico, back with Will, back with Sentry, the boat being a stone's throw away, and if all goes well in the world, we will be living and sailing on the boat in under 2 months. I have a desk again, well, a sofa, my version of a desk. I have a regular sleep schedule, good food, a gym (it’s not the woods or hiking, but it will have to do for now because it’s 100 degrees here in Mexico), and I have the people I love around me, minus Avalon. Life is good. Can’t wait to share an update of the events during “a year of FAST” with you.
Hello friends,
And that’s a wrap.
We are wiped out.
Largo (my son) and I built a library at a village school, a 17-minute tuk-tuk ride outside the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia.
Say what? I know, we are still pinching ourselves.
Not only were we in a village, but it took a village. We had amazing volunteers on the ground (especially Molly and Pam, who joined us for a week). The local kids tried their hand at painting, book labeling, and relished in practicing their English with us. Plus, so many people in our community donated their money to fund this project, and also donated books that we carried with us to Cambodia. Finally, our amazing friends at Luena Foundation gave us guidance on how to do a project of this nature, and they also chose Largo for their Young Changemakers scholarship, which contributed to the funds to build the school.
Thank you if you are any of the above people. We all did this together.
Two years ago, we embarked on our Southeast Asia exploration as part of our 11-year journey of full-time traveling, which we affectionately refer to as WorldTowning. We divided our time between India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, covering an almost 5-month adventure before heading to Europe for 5 months to host more of our group trips. While in Cambodia, a friend of ours suggested we volunteer to teach English at an endearing school she had found during her travels. We have made an effort to engage in and give back through volunteering in the countries we visited during our decade-plus of full-time travel, and this opportunity aligned perfectly. We have consistently found ourselves drawn to engaging with children and, more specifically, children’s libraries, but never in our wildest dreams did we think we would end up transforming an uninhabitable building into a welcoming reading space.
The aqua blue sign with reverse white letters above its door spelled “library,” but cracking open the door revealed a couple of stacks of rain-damaged books with pages stuck together and covered in dust. The space was dark, creepy, uninviting, and full of bugs, cobwebs, and rusty shelves. We lingered in the space for only a couple of minutes, eager to exit. He turned to me and said, “Mom, I think we should fix this.” My immediate thoughts were “hell no, there is no way to fix this.” Luckily, those thoughts never made it to my lips, and instead, I responded to him more optimistically than I frankly thought possible. “Well, we are in limbo right now (having taken a live-aboard sailing break for land travel) and I am not saying no, but I am not sure how this can fit into our life, let’s brainstorm.” And that was it, we continued our travels in Southeast Asia and did not discuss it again.
Months later, I shared Largo’s comment with our friend, who had introduced us to the school and who was already working with them to set up a website and business cards. I decided to check back in with Largo now that the dust in our lives had settled.
“Remember when you mentioned wanting to fix that library in Cambodia? Were you serious? Is it something you still want to do?” And he answered, “Yes.” And so it began.
I think it's worth noting that we had no prior experience in the library building arena. I had never been a librarian or a teacher, outside of two years in my 20s when I taught Graphic Design in Los Angeles. And although my partner, Will, and I had done weekend remodeling in our 30s when we were investing in rental property, I had no international experience in a developing country where things are done differently and getting supplies is not as easy as a trip to Home Depot.
How would we fund this?
Was the structure even safe enough to bring young people into it?
How would we work with local craftsmen when we don’t speak the language?
Where would we get the books?
To say it felt a bit overwhelming would be an understatement, but Largo and I began with a shared note and added our thoughts, met every couple of weeks to brainstorm, and bit by bit, we started to see the library project shell develop. In full disclosure, this was not an overnight success; it was close to two years in the making and three weeks on the ground in Siem Reap to bring Largo’s vision full circle. Great things take time to evolve.
Will loves to say, “If someone else can do it, then I can learn how to do it too.” This statement was our guiding light. Largo and I learned how to build a library!
It turned out way better than our crazy vision in our heads and from that first shared note.
What do you think?
We celebrated with a grand opening with the kids and their families. Largo gave a speech about the joy of building the library, community responsibility, and a thank you to them for trusting us with the space. I gave a mini speech. Then we all ate, laughed, and watched the families enjoy the library we had created. It was magical.
It has only been a couple of weeks since we completed the library, and we are both still processing our experience, but I wanted to share this with you because I know many of you are wondering how it all went. Largo will be a guest on our podcast, The Why Matters, in the coming weeks to talk about the deeper side of a project of this magnitude.
What were the most significant obstacles?
Why is it important to do work like this?
What did we learn?
Will we do more?
And much more.
Hope your week is off to a fabulous start. After a week-long vacation in a nearby resort where I spent hours floating on the lazy river and evenings mesmerized by the ocean, it is hard to sit upright at the computer, but I also feel refreshed and ready to get back at it.
xoxo,
Jessica (Sunshine)
Applying to University Session!
If you have a kid 10 or older who wants to go to college, this is for you. Learn all the ins and outs of how to uncover this black hole. And you don’t need to be a full-time traveler to get value out of this event.
We don't associate our name with much these days because there's a lot of misinformation in the full-time travel sphere, especially when it comes to university after a traveling lifestyle. I am hosting with College Goals (we used them with Avalon and Largo) to bring you the truths behind the college application process. We were so lost about it, and they gave us clarity. We welcome you to chat with us next week.
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GLOBALLY SCHOOLED, COLLEGE BOUND
What does college admissions look like for families who’ve chosen a different path?
Whether you’re unschooling, worldschooling, or doing your own thing entirely, this free one-hour session is here to help. Join us for a global-friendly conversation that breaks down college admissions myths, shares realistic timelines, and explains how your unique educational journey can translate into a powerful college application – for students intending to apply to colleges, universities, community colleges, and other options in the US, the UK, and beyond.
You’ll leave with practical tips and the chance to ask your questions live. After the session, we will share some terrific free resources and other information!
College Goals counselors, who will be leading this session, have decades of experience in high school college counseling and university admissions that they leverage to help students uncover their strengths, align them with schools and programs that suit their goals, and guide them to craft applications that highlight their unique fit.
Testimonial from a Worldschooling parent:
“As a full-time traveling family for over 12 years, we’d consciously stepped away from traditional education. So when our daughter—who had spent most of her life worldschooling—decided she wanted to pursue a traditional college path, we were deeply out of our depth. During her junior year, she studied hard and earned a perfect score on the ACT. She wanted this path, and we wanted to support her. But the truth is, we couldn’t have navigated the complex world of college admissions without expert help.”
Jessica Trask Sueiro
WorldTowning
(full time traveler since 2014)
Audience:
Designed for both students and parents.
Offered at three different times to allow for attendance from wherever you happen to be in the world right now!
This program will be offered FREE for families! When you register, a zoom link will be emailed to you.
• Wednesday 8/20 at 1pm EST/5pm GMT
• Wednesday 8/20 at 6pm EST/10pm GMT
• Thursday 8/21 at 8am EST/12pm GMT
Fill out the Google Form to register for these free and helpful sessions!
Can’t wait to see you there!!!!
To learn more about us, our mission, and our business, you can visit us at WorldTowning. To view our most recent group trip offerings, head over to WorldTowningvoyages.com. If you want to book a coaching session to realize your travel dream, schedule it here. If you're going to follow the travels of our WorldTowning family, you can find us on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok,and The Why Matters Podcast.