The Shaffer Nash Clan

We have been married for over 10 years, and ever since the addition of two kids to our family, we have been talking about living abroad for an extended period of time. Over the past two years, the discussions became more serious and we started narrowing down our destinations.

Europe was on the list for a while, however we felt it would be too expensive and not necessarily fit what we were looking for culturally.

Both kids currently attend a Spanish Bilingual school, so South America became a fantastic choice.

Jasper
Age 10, in Grade 5.
Howdy there folks. Today I will be talking a little bit about myself. Well here are some of my hobbies. I really like to play soccer. I play at school and every year that I can I will play soccer with a competitive team. Sometimes I like to play a little bit of video games. I only play an hour on the weekends and that’s it for the week. Finally I like to read. I could read all day if I was allowed. I’m reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. It is the sixth book. My favourite colour is red. My favourite food is my aunt’s butter chicken. I have 6 grandparents in total. I go to a Spanish bilingual school called Westgate. I used to have a dog but he passed away about 2 and a half weeks ago. I’m 10 years old. I turned ten the day before we left for South America. My birthday is October 1 2007. I love my family.
Adios Jasper

Macy
Age 8, Grade 3.

I am eight years old. My hometown is Calgary. My hobbies are mountain biking, hiking, playing with my friends, coloring and having play-time with my family. My favourite animals are a dog and a cheetah. I once dyed my hair pink. When I was little I had long hair, then I chopped it all off. I have a cabin in Kimberley. I love to ski. When I am back from South America I want to get a hamster. I love animals. Last year I did a project on a bottle drive to raise money and save dogs on the streets of Argentina. We raised $3000!   If you want to check out the video here is a link.

Argentina Dogs Video

Emily
This journey started for me many years ago (18??  Yikes).  I have an incredibly vivid memory from one of my treks in Nepal where a young mother and her 7-year old daughter were on the same trek.  Over a few days, I watched in awe,  such an amazing experience and thought to myself, “That is what I want to do one day when I have kids,”. I have never let that go….and here we are.  Thankfully Myles is an incredible Project Manager and is superb at planning and researching and organizing.  This has not been an easy nor simple “trip” to plan, but I trust it will be truly a tremendous adventure.  I am so deeply grateful.

Myles
Age 41. I have travelled to many parts of the world including South America previously, however the opportunity to take the entire family away for an extended period has always been a dream. As most of my friends and family know, I love to plan, so this trip was right in my wheelhouse.

We are often asked similar questions, so here we go with some answers:

What are you going to do about your jobs?
Emily works as a psychologist in a private practice so she will be taking a leave, and passing along a number of her clients to a trusted colleague.

Myles works as an IT consultant and will end his current contract with a fantastic employer.

What are the kids going to do about school?
We have no idea, hope for the best?
In actual fact, we will be road schooling the kids, concentrating on numeracy and literacy along the way. Our view is what better way to gain knowledge of an area and the associated culture than immersing the kids in it for an extended period. We really aren’t worried about the educational side of things, the kids are going to do great.

What about your house?
Luckily we have a wonderful family of 5 who will be living in our house for the duration of the trip. They are doing a large reno on their place, so it works out perfectly for both of us.

How much is this adventure going to cost?
A lot. We have a budget and will try to stay in line with the number, however this adventure is a once in a lifetime, so things may slide.