THE WANDERLUSTERS MIND PODCAST

Abby Lewtas 11/12/18 Abby Lewtas 11/12/18

Welcoming chaos after sailing the Bahamas with Anne Fricke

Annie is a poet, writer, podcaster and mother of 3 daughters. She lives in the beauty of the redwood coast in Northern California so, even though she loves to travel abroad, she also always loves to come home. Annie went sailing in the Bahamas for months at a time with her husband and her oldest daughter. The first time she went was when her daughter was 17 months old. Anne has also embraced adventures to the Baja in a Volkswagen, the mainland of Mexico in a cab-over-camper, Europe for two months in a rental car, hostels and B&Bs and some time in Mexico, Baja and Guatemala with all three of her daughters.

Anne, her husband and first daughter would often escape to sail the Bahamas for months on end, returning to the real world with a more calm approach to life.

About Anne

Annie went sailing in the Bahamas for months at a time with her husband and her oldest daughter. The first time she went was when her daughter was 17 months old. Anne has also embraced adventures to the Baja in a Volkswagen, the mainland of Mexico in a cab-over-camper, Europe for two months in a rental car, hostels and B&Bs and some time in Mexico, Baja and Guatemala with all three of her daughters.

“The colour of the water and the colour of the sky just blend together and you’re just in this quite blue bubble.”

— Anne Fricke

When coming home...

Emotions and differences Anne faced - The chaos of so many people and things and all the anxiety that comes along with that. Everything seemed to be moving so much faster than life on the boat. She also found it nice to be in the comforts of home.
What had changed for Anne - So many choices when going into the store - especially the grocery store.
What was challenging for Anne - Being a mother of young child and seeing what other mothers were doing whilst she had chosen a different style of path.
How her mindset changed - Learned to not get involved in petty things when returning home. She had a more relaxed approach to life.
3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock

You get to see humanity and connect with people from so many walks of life.
Have faith that things will be ok.
Being open to trying lots of different things, especially eating and trying different foods.

Advise to herself for returning home - Trust the life she was living and everything was all good and beautiful and not to question where she was at.

“Trust the life we were living and that it was all good and beautiful.”

— Anne Fricke

Gabrielle Nancarrow - Bringing women together as a birth doula after living in the fast paced New York.

Gabrielle is a mum of two little girls and a birth doula. She grew up in Anglesea on Victoria’s Surf Coast and has lived in New York, Paris and Buenos Aires. She is currently back in Melbourne with her family and is close to launching a women’s space in the inner-west called Gather. Gather will be a place for women to come together and connect through the sharing of stories, thoughts and experiences. Gabrielle’s intention for the space is to bring connection back to a personal level and to provide a supportive place for women to come together free of judgement. She is passionate about speaking our truths, sharing our stories and celebrating honest motherhood.

Gabrielle has always been a traveller. After living in New York she has returned home to Australia to focus on her family, honest motherhood and purpose as a birth doula.

About Gabrielle

Gabrielle is a mum of two little girls and a birth doula. She grew up in Anglesea on Victoria’s Surf Coast and has lived in New York, Paris and Buenos Aires.

She is currently back in Melbourne with her family and is close to launching a women’s space in the inner-west called Gather. Gather will be a place for women to come together and connect through the sharing of stories, thoughts and experiences.

Gabrielle’s intention for the space is to bring connection back to a personal level and to provide a supportive place for women to come together free of judgement. She is passionate about speaking our truths, sharing our stories and celebrating honest motherhood.

“If you decide in a few years to go back, then you go back.”

— Gabrielle Nanarrow

When coming home...

Emotions Gabrielle faced - Contemplation of life back in New York, Excited and happy to be back with family and friends, loss of identity.
What had changed - Career was not fulfilling her in the way she would have liked.
How Gabrielle supported herself - Fostered and continued to build her strong friendship network, connected with her sisters back in New York.
3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock

The importance of family.
Giving yourself time, being patient and being kind to yourself.
Being in the moment and being present.

Advise to herself for returning home - be patient, its going to be hard but you will come out the other end and know you have made the right decision.

“I really think people are looking for that strong offline community, just a presence where they can be seen and heard for whatever experience they are going through.”

— Gabrielle Nancarrow

Igniting friendships when returning home from travel.

One of the hardest things, I found when returning home from long term travel was re-establishing my friendship circles. There was a mixture of old friends, plus new ones and other friends I was meeting along the way. There were often times when I so desperately wanted to meet with an old friend and it just take off from where we left off, but instead I found that I was the one, pushing and driving and hoping the friendship would be the same, when it was never going to be that way, it had taken a new path.

One of the hardest things that so many people face I when returning home from long term travel is re-establishing my friendship circles.

“People come into our life for a reason, a season or a lifetime, when you figure out which it is, you will know exactly what to do.”

What I have learned when reconnecting with old friends.

APPROACH EACH FRIEND WITH ENTHUSIASM AND A ‘PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF’ MENTALITY.

Be the one to actively approach and reach out to old friends to arrange to catch up.
Be interested in what they have been doing with their life as well as sharing your story.

RELEASE EXPECTATIONS ABOUT HOW YOUR RELATIONSHIPS ‘SHOULD’ BE.

Relationships may now be different closer or more distance depending on what has changed.
The friendship doesn't have to be the same as it was.
Acknowledge you have changed.
Your friends may have changed or they may not have, both is ok.

CONTINUE TO SEEK NEW FRIENDS IN YOUR OLD HOME.

Like on your your travels don’t let go of this skill just because you are now at home.
Seek like minded people though community and events.
Be the one to go first even if it feels out of your comfort zone

Natalie Roberts-Mazzeo - Leaving the corporate world for the Mediterranean, India and a spiritual journey.

Natalie left the corporate world and set off for Europe where she immersed herself in the Mediterranean countries of Turkey and Greece. For six months she lived in a treehouse, swam in the ocean, ate delicious food and learned about the local culture. She then headed to London to start a working holiday visa which didn't quite go to plan. She found herself packing up again and heading to India where she spent 6 months in Rishikesh practicing yoga and planting her spiritual seeds.

Leaving the corporate world to follow her calling to Europe and India, Natalie returned home to pursue her life of adventures and helping Miracle Mamas.

About Natalie

Natalie Roberts-Mazzeo is the founder of Miracle Mama, an online sanctuary that empowers and inspires mothers who are raising special needs children. Through coaching, community and connection, Natalie’s mission is to create a space for women to reconnect with themselves and what is most important to them.

Natalie is also a writer and speaker, based in Melbourne, Australia. She love’s a good chai, mojito and getting out into nature. Natalie also has a background in corporate, and is a qualified yoga and meditation teacher.

What Natalie is really known for is gathering, soulfully supporting and holding space for women who find themselves raising a child with conditions from mild to severe, to life-threatening. She supports them to find purpose and peace in their extraordinarily challenging circumstances, so that they can bring that love and compassion not only to their own families, but also to themselves.

“That sense of adventure and connection to mother nature has just been woven through my life.”

— Natalie Roberts-Mazzeo

When coming home...

Emotions Natalie faced - Unsettling time, the challenge was in merging her two lives together, it was a hard thing to work through.
Biggest stress - Felt like she was starting from scratch again, like her foundation was gone, Finances, pressures from society.
How Natalie supported herself - Get out and explore the cultures she had experienced in Melbourne. Tried to keep her sense of adventure. Yoga and Meditation.
How her thinking changed - learned to keep an open mind and push herself out of her comfort zone.
3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock

Adaptable and Resilate
Appreciating different cultures and making the most of your time travelling
Getting out of your comfort zone

Advise to herself for returning home - keep your mind open and keep living your life on your times and enjoy the ride.

“I’ve always liked to test my personal limits my limits have always been at the edges of full on fear.”

— Natalie Roberts-Mazzeo

Mike Campbell - Corporate marketer to living immediately.

Mike Campbell is a speaker, podcast host and writer behind liveimmediately.com. He encourages parents and organisations to live more with less, and to spend as much time as possible doing things they enjoy with people they love.

During 2016 Mike, his wife and then 4 year old daughter went on a family adventure where they attempted to house and pet sit their way through North America.

They spent winter in the north woods of Wisconsin, in a log cabin in the middle of a national forest, in a town called Clam Lake that has a population of 37 people. When they arrived there daughter was the youngest person in the town and Mike was the second youngest.

They then had spring in the Colorado Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, summer in Rhode Island, and Autumn in Upstate New York.

Slow travelling through North America and spending quality time with his wife and daughter.

About Mike

During 2016 Mike, his wife and then 4 year old daughter went on a family adventure where they attempted to house and pet sit their way through North America.

They then had spring in the Colorado Rocky Mountains of Breckenridge, summer in Rhode Island, and Autumn in Upstate New York.

“Everything works out in the end, if its not worked out its not the end.”

When coming home...

Emotions and feelings Mike faced - finding life rhythm, juggle finances, career and life. Unknown of what will happen next.
Biggest stress - Not wanting to come back to the 'normal,' trying to figure out what his next chapter was all about, continually maintaining the relationship with his wife and daughter.
How Mike supported himself - Support has always been around him with his wife and family. Diving into setting up his new website and podcast.
3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock.

Time is the true currency.
Our kids are always in contact with us.
The trip is only one part of the journey.

Advise to himself when coming home - This is just another stop on the adventure, this is not the end, just another destination so enjoy the ride.

“You don’t know what the end result is and you think you might be able to predict how something will turn out, but more times than not it turns out completely different, but even more beautiful.”

— Mike Campbell