EER006: GotPassport, Family Travel and the Wireless Generation

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Meet the GotPassport crew. This family of three left a comfortable life in the United States for adventures in Thailand, Burma and beyond. Recently featured in the new documentary, The Wireless Generation, Jack, Aye and their daughter Emma have found meaningful ways to thrive through a traveling lifestyle.

GotPassport, Family Travel, Wireless Generation

In this Epic Education Family Travel Interview, we discuss how they manage money, how they educate on the road, all the gear they carry with them (Jack is a fellow gadget lover) and all the apps, websites and other resources that help them as they travel.

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EPIC INTRO

• Jack, Aye and Emma are an American family from Houston, Texas.
• A few countries they’ve lived in/visited: Thailand, Malaysia, Burma.

Find Them On:  GotPassport  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Emma’s site  |  Emma’s Fiverr  |  Aye & Emma’s Fundraiser

EPIC HABITS

• Instead of giving each other gifts, we give each other time by traveling somewhere together. Traveling is our tradition in the months of March and April to celebrate our birthdays and anniversary.
• Nightly hide and seek game Emma invented at bedtime. It’s quite a hyper one but she loves hide and seek and we have to look for her before we tuck her in.

EPIC ECONOMICS

• Rented & then sold house and most of their stuff
• Play “good defense” with money (ie. Don’t buy much, use the things/clothes that we already have)
• Jack teaches online at a few US Colleges, Psychology.
• Use cash as much as possible
• Stay with family when we can.
• We also plan to do WWOOFing and similar type work that will allow us to learn about organic farming, sustainable and simple living type learning (This also usually covers accommodation and sometimes meals).
• The Charles Schwab card
• The Mint app to track expenses and see big picture net worth.

EPIC ESSENTIALS

Computing:

• Laptop #1: Old MacBook Pro (2010) 13″. Upgraded from 4 to 8 GB RAM to extend life. Still usable!
• Laptop #2: ASUS Notebook PC (2013)
• Laptop #3: ACER ASPIRE (2009). Fixed motherboard instead of replacing — and saved us $$.
• Samson Go Mic Portable USB Condenser Microphone
• Asus Padfone S, with docking station (tablet + battery)
• Samsung S3 Mini

Other electronics:

• Nikon D5000 DSLR
• Emma’s old Nokia phone model: Nokia N8 (great camera, she uses it for photos and making videos)
• eBags GripScale Digital Luggage Scale (We recommend buying spare batteries when traveling).
• A Pacsafe portable safe
• And a multi USB charger to charge everything at once.

EPIC INSIGHT

• Started in Montessori school in Houston, then into an international school in Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Now homeschooling, using a scheduling system similar to what Jason does. We have a family meeting on Sundays, where Emma picks the academic subjects she wishes to study that week, such as math, science, reading, writing, social studies, Mandarin, Spanish and others.
• We look for opportunities to teach Emma about giving back to the global community.  We are a pro-social-enterprise family and one of the reasons we moved to Thailand was to assist the Burmese migrant community in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  In the four years we lived in Thailand, we were able to participate in many events related to supporting this migrant community in Chiang Mai and Mae Sot. Even after having moved to Taiwan, we continue to look for opportunities to give back.

EPIC RESOURCES

Emma’s Websites:

• Khan Academy
• Edmodo
• PBS Kids
• Good Reads
• Minecraft

Emma’s Apps:

• Kindle
• News-o-Matic
• Geocaching
• PBS Kids

Emma’s Book Recommendations:

• Extreme Weather
• Penny to a Million: Junior Entrepreneur Guide
• Once Upon an Island
• In Search Herobrine
• The Name of this Book is Secret
• The Candymakers
• Emma lists all her books on her Goodreads account

Jack & Aye’s Websites:

• Lifehacker
• A Mighty Girl
• Outside Magazine
• Humans of New York
• TED talks
• World Wide Opportunites for Organic Farms
• Facebook Group #1: Homeschool 4 free
• Facebook Group #2: Worldschoolers
• Facebook Group #3:  Roadschool
• Facebook Group #4: Homeschooling around the world
• Facebook Page #1:  homeschool4free
• Facebook Page #2:  Children and Nature
• Facebook Page #3:  Good Magazine
• Facebook Page #4: DoSomething.org

Jack & Aye’s Apps:

• Smart News
• Feedly
• Pocket
• Aye: “My approach to news has evolved over time. I used to read a lot of travel sites, now when I read, I’m looking for material that I can share with Emma, looking for teaching moments to share with her. I’m big on lifeskills and survival skills so I look for those opportunities. Also things like WWOOF, organic farming, sustainability, simple/minimalistic living, budget & money management, cooking and baking skills — all things that I feel are important to include in Emma’s learning and every day living. Worldschooling!”

EPIC ADVICE

• Make sure to maintain constant and open communication between each other.
• Logistics are just logistics — decide to do something, and you’ll figure it out.

EPIC DESTINATIONS

• Southeast Asia in general
• Malaysia: For the cultural diversity, the wide use of English, the ease to rent vehicle, and of course, the dosa
• We really enjoyed visiting the Cameron Highlands and Cyberjaya. We like green, open spaces, and we love mountains, too

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means, at no extra cost to you, we might receive a small commission if you make a purchase or book using those links. My opinions are my own and I only recommend places/services that I believe will genuinely help your travel.