Montenegro

Interview with Mara at the end of our year of traveling (age 9)

Q: Have you enjoyed traveling this past year?
Mara: Well… it’s fun at times. But sometimes I miss just having a house. But it’s great – I love traveling the world and it’s amazing!

 

Q: What do you like most about traveling?
Mara: Going new places and experiencing new cultures. And I love to try the different foods. And the different treats are always fun.

 

Q: What did you like least about traveling?
Mara: I don’t get to have much stuff and it’s kind of hard to make friends when you know you’re going to be leaving soon. Sometimes I just miss having friends and having a real house and being able to decorate it.

 

Q: What toys/games are you happy you brought with you?
Mara: Well, I’m happy I brought my stuffed animals. Or some of my stuffed animals. And I’m happy I brought my Barbies. That’s pretty much all I brought.

Q: What were your favorite places? Why?
Mara: I loved Thailand because there were so many adventures and there are lots of crazy markets. I loved Paris because I wanted to go there all my life and I SO LOVED going up the Eiffel Tower. And I loved Hong Kong because there was a restaurant we called “Noodle Girl” and it was soooo yum! Santorini was AM-AZ-ING!

Q: What were your least favorite places? Why?
Mara: Well, that’s kind of hard but Spain was the worst place we went. But it was still pretty darn good. And in Istanbul, all the restaurants served Turkish food which got boring.  Plus the Grand Bazaar was just ok.  There are so many stray cats and dogs which got scary.

 

Q: What were your favorite experiences?
Mara: I loved the elephant camp in Thailand. It was UNBELIEVABLY cool! And I also loved the crazy markets. I liked the Noodle Girl restaurant in Hong Kong – it makes me so hungry for grilled steak. Yee Peng was amazing! Great Wall of China! Marrakech ATVs were awesome!  Seeing my family paraglide was neat.  The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France was amazing!  It was so cool.  And there were lights on it that blinked and made it looked like it sparkled.

Q: What were your least favorite experiences?
Mara: Pamukkale (in Turkey) was ok. And Tiger Kingdom was ok. I really disliked the Louvre, Notre Dame, and La Sagrada Familia. The Alcazar (in Seville, Spain) was bor-ing. The Parthenon was boring. I disliked the ferry from Rhodes to Turkey because the sea was so rocky and wavy and over half the people threw up.  Climbing up the Kotor wall was just so long and boring.

 

Q: Did you enjoy being homeschooled?
Mara: Yes because less school hours. And I don’t have to wake up early, early, early. I have the nicest teacher in the world.  I also liked the way she taught multiplication and division.

 

Q: What was your favorite homeschool subject?
Mara: I don’t have one. I do like multiplication.

 

Q: What was your least favorite homeschool subject?
Mara: My least favorite was spelling.

Q: What have you learned from your travels so far?
Mara: A lot about how boring planes are. And how rocky and wavy ferries can be. And how annoying it is to wake up early. I also learned a lot about geography. I also learned how to negotiate. And how fun tuk tuks are. And I learned how annoying it is to have everything you own fit into a suitcase. And that elephants are fun and amazing creatures.

 

Q: What were some of your favorite foods?
Mara: Pizza in Fethiye, Turkey at Nil Bar. Steak at “Noodle Girl” in the Hong Kong airport. And Nic’s in Chiang Mai, Thailand had great meatballs and pizza. The baguettes we had in Spain were AMAZING! Mint tea in Marrakech. Mmm mmm. The crepes and macarons in Paris – yum! The gyros in Santorini and the olives in Athens were good.  I also liked sushi and coconut milk straight from the coconut in Thailand.

I did NOT like the orange hot dog under the Eiffel Tower. Blahhhh.

Q: What do you miss the most about the USA?
Mara: I miss being able to talk to kids in English. And I miss English TV. I miss going to swim team.  Girl Scouts!  Toy stores!

 

Q: What will you miss the most about traveling?
Mara: I’m going to miss the food and the cultures and going new places.

 

Q: Where do you want to travel next?
Mara: Egypt to see the Pyramids. And Russia – I like snow.