Here is the translation of the article we talked about in our previous post (but go to Polish article too if you want to see the pictures!:) And we won't bother translating the comments...
They quit a job in corporation to travel with kids. Now they eat breakfasts in front of their trailer in Florida
Anna Wittenberg, NaTemat.pl
Maciek is less than 4 years old and he already flew on a plane more than 30 times. Kalina, his younger sister spent her first vacation in Dominican Republic when she was 3 months old. Now they both went with their parents to the US for 6 months. Ola and Paul Wysocki show, that kids are not a problem when it comes to making dreams come true. Even despite hurricanes, revolutions and the fact that anywhere they go it’s raining.
"Why don’t we just leave it all behind and go somewhere …" - most people say it few times a week, but this time it was the beginning of a very special journey: four heads, eight feet, one trailer and half a year. Ola and Pawel together with their children - Kalina and Maciek have just started their journey across the US. Their trip is not only a dream come true. It’s a proof that kids don’t have to be an obstacle on the way to fulfilling dreams, sometimes they can even help.
From Libya to Poland
I meet with Ola on internet chat. When it’s freezing cold in Poland she is having breakfast with her family in sunny Florida. They started their journey there because in January it’s the only really warm place in US.
Even though Wysocki family landed in US only a few days ago, the whole journey started much earlier. Two years ago when Pawel and Ola worked on contract in Libya. He was in Administration, she was in Procurement. After nine months the uprising in Libya started. Ola says for next 6 months they had no idea what was going on in Poland but they knew every step of Kaddafi’s army and all about American bombings. They managed to get out of Libya a day before it all started but they left there all their belongings. For a year they thought they lost them.
- We know people who almost got killed. Most of people we know there lost someone. Maybe it sounds a little dramatic but we realized you can lose everything in a moment and this also gave us more courage in making decision to leave it all and come here. Four years ago I believed in working in corporation and I would never believe that having two kids I would just quit my job ad go on such a journey - says Ola and adds, that what they’ve witnessed helped them realize, that people often work hard and save money dreaming of something and then they lack courage to make those dreams come true. - Sure, we have our fears, but we thought, now is the time - she underlines.
Pregnant in Guatemala
Ola and Pawel did have some experience before. Four years ago they went to Guatemala. Some time after they bought the tickets Ola took the pregnancy test. - "What now?' did cross my mind. But my doctor told me that if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. And of course she gave me a long list of what I can and cannot do, and I checked the hospitals on our route - says Ola.
When Maciek was four months old, they went to Israel. Ola says they were careful - they went to visit their friends, they borrowed a car from them. Later they traveled to Malta and to Italy with a 12-year-old car.
Traveler’s luck was with them - few yeats after Guatemala they found very cheap tickets to Dominican Republic. - And again, three days later, pregnancy test… We wanted to rebook the tickets but it was impossible. Kalina was only 3 months old, but we did go there after all and we don’t regret it - says Ola.
That’s their strategy - go places, where they can find cheap flights to, look for discounts and promotions. - If you look well, it’s cheaper than going to Baltic Sea. Once we rented a car in Gran Canaria, it was 10 euro for three days, thanks to Groupon - she says.
Thirty flights
Their kids are more experienced travelers than many adults. As Pawel and Ola counted, Maciek took over 30 flights. They don’t pretend it’s always easy, traveling by "eight feet" is difficult: you have to take more luggage, be better prepared. Flights with a few stops are not an option anymore and you cannot drive as long as possible, cause the kids just won’t sit for that long in the car. - Besides it’s being 24/7 with kids, which is both good and bad. Sometimes at home we ask grandmas to stay with them and we can have some time off, now it’s only us - says Ola.
But she believes it’s worth it. First of all they enjoy showing the world to the kids. Second of all, without kids they wouldn’t go to many places - they wouldn’t feed the giraffe, they wouldn’t visit the butterfly farm. And the local people treat travelers with kids differently. Kids get lots of small treats and parents can count of strangers that they will sometimes take care of their children. Like in little restaurants in Dominican Republic
- Yesterday at the campground Maciek made friends with a guy who was showing us our spot. He got into his golfcart and they took a ride together, and after they got back Maciek said "thank you" and "bye, bye" - says Ola.
500 times "why?"
Even though Ola and Pawel admit, that sometimes there are difficult moments ("after 500th why question asked by Maciek, especially when we’re tired, it’s late and we just missed our exit off the highway"). - We’re not gonna say it’s always wonderful, but it’s worth it. Especially when we see that kids are having fun, when Maciek is learning new things and when we do what we love - says Ola and adds, that it’s important to them to plan the route for themselves at the same time remembering they travel with kids and not for kids.
Ola and Pawel are going back home in mid-July It’s their only deadline. Until then they plan simply to enjoy their journey. What next? Ola says right now she doesn’t feel like going back to working for someone. Traveling made her realize how little time she spends with children and how little she does for herself. - In Warsaw we used to leave Maciek in preschool at 8 and pick him up 5.30 pm, we were back home at 6 and at 8 we would put him down to sleep. In the meantime we had to feed and bathe him and read to him. We had maybe an hour of quality time during the day.
After going back home they want to open their own business. What will that be? They give themselves 6 months to come up with an idea.
But for now they’re heading west.
"Why don’t we just leave it all behind and go somewhere …" - most people say it few times a week, but this time it was the beginning of a very special journey: four heads, eight feet, one trailer and half a year. Ola and Pawel together with their children - Kalina and Maciek have just started their journey across the US. Their trip is not only a dream come true. It’s a proof that kids don’t have to be an obstacle on the way to fulfilling dreams, sometimes they can even help.
From Libya to Poland
I meet with Ola on internet chat. When it’s freezing cold in Poland she is having breakfast with her family in sunny Florida. They started their journey there because in January it’s the only really warm place in US.
Even though Wysocki family landed in US only a few days ago, the whole journey started much earlier. Two years ago when Pawel and Ola worked on contract in Libya. He was in Administration, she was in Procurement. After nine months the uprising in Libya started. Ola says for next 6 months they had no idea what was going on in Poland but they knew every step of Kaddafi’s army and all about American bombings. They managed to get out of Libya a day before it all started but they left there all their belongings. For a year they thought they lost them.
- We know people who almost got killed. Most of people we know there lost someone. Maybe it sounds a little dramatic but we realized you can lose everything in a moment and this also gave us more courage in making decision to leave it all and come here. Four years ago I believed in working in corporation and I would never believe that having two kids I would just quit my job ad go on such a journey - says Ola and adds, that what they’ve witnessed helped them realize, that people often work hard and save money dreaming of something and then they lack courage to make those dreams come true. - Sure, we have our fears, but we thought, now is the time - she underlines.
Pregnant in Guatemala
Ola and Pawel did have some experience before. Four years ago they went to Guatemala. Some time after they bought the tickets Ola took the pregnancy test. - "What now?' did cross my mind. But my doctor told me that if it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. And of course she gave me a long list of what I can and cannot do, and I checked the hospitals on our route - says Ola.
When Maciek was four months old, they went to Israel. Ola says they were careful - they went to visit their friends, they borrowed a car from them. Later they traveled to Malta and to Italy with a 12-year-old car.
Traveler’s luck was with them - few yeats after Guatemala they found very cheap tickets to Dominican Republic. - And again, three days later, pregnancy test… We wanted to rebook the tickets but it was impossible. Kalina was only 3 months old, but we did go there after all and we don’t regret it - says Ola.
That’s their strategy - go places, where they can find cheap flights to, look for discounts and promotions. - If you look well, it’s cheaper than going to Baltic Sea. Once we rented a car in Gran Canaria, it was 10 euro for three days, thanks to Groupon - she says.
Thirty flights
Their kids are more experienced travelers than many adults. As Pawel and Ola counted, Maciek took over 30 flights. They don’t pretend it’s always easy, traveling by "eight feet" is difficult: you have to take more luggage, be better prepared. Flights with a few stops are not an option anymore and you cannot drive as long as possible, cause the kids just won’t sit for that long in the car. - Besides it’s being 24/7 with kids, which is both good and bad. Sometimes at home we ask grandmas to stay with them and we can have some time off, now it’s only us - says Ola.
But she believes it’s worth it. First of all they enjoy showing the world to the kids. Second of all, without kids they wouldn’t go to many places - they wouldn’t feed the giraffe, they wouldn’t visit the butterfly farm. And the local people treat travelers with kids differently. Kids get lots of small treats and parents can count of strangers that they will sometimes take care of their children. Like in little restaurants in Dominican Republic
- Yesterday at the campground Maciek made friends with a guy who was showing us our spot. He got into his golfcart and they took a ride together, and after they got back Maciek said "thank you" and "bye, bye" - says Ola.
500 times "why?"
Even though Ola and Pawel admit, that sometimes there are difficult moments ("after 500th why question asked by Maciek, especially when we’re tired, it’s late and we just missed our exit off the highway"). - We’re not gonna say it’s always wonderful, but it’s worth it. Especially when we see that kids are having fun, when Maciek is learning new things and when we do what we love - says Ola and adds, that it’s important to them to plan the route for themselves at the same time remembering they travel with kids and not for kids.
Ola and Pawel are going back home in mid-July It’s their only deadline. Until then they plan simply to enjoy their journey. What next? Ola says right now she doesn’t feel like going back to working for someone. Traveling made her realize how little time she spends with children and how little she does for herself. - In Warsaw we used to leave Maciek in preschool at 8 and pick him up 5.30 pm, we were back home at 6 and at 8 we would put him down to sleep. In the meantime we had to feed and bathe him and read to him. We had maybe an hour of quality time during the day.
After going back home they want to open their own business. What will that be? They give themselves 6 months to come up with an idea.
But for now they’re heading west.
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