Life-changing experiences, unforgettable memories and beautiful pictures — these are the things that come to mind when people think of a year-long family trip.
But there are also blunders behind the adventures, said Margaret Bensfield Sullivan, recalling the year she spent abroad with her husband and two children.
From encountering piranhas in Brazil to being trapped in an airport in Mozambique, the Sullivans endured many unexpected challenges during their 29-country journey.
Unexpected beginnings
“I think people were very surprised that we did this because we didn’t fit the profile of a family that you imagine when you think of a family that would do this,” Sullivan said. “Our life was good. We were settled, we were getting along – two great kids, nice careers, apartment, a dog.”
The Sullivans, pictured here in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, visited 29 countries on six continents during their long journey.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
But that changed when Sullivan, who previously worked as a partner at a commercial marketing agency in New York, returned from a work trip to Tanzania in 2017, which she described as “an eye-opener.”
The trip made her realize that the world was big and her life worked in such a small part of it.
I realized that our family needed a shake up. We had to get out there and see what was going on.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“So I had to ask myself, ‘What else am I missing because I’m busy at work or with the daily tasks of my life?’ he said. “And I realized our family needed a shake-up. We had to get out there and see what was going on.”
Additionally, Sullivan said she wanted to spend time with her family while she still had the chance.
“I worry that I’ll wake up one day and wonder, ‘Where did the time go?’ he said. “Taking a year like this was a way to avoid regret.”
Programming
Before they left, Sullivan and her husband Teddy, an entrepreneur, spent months preparing for their year abroad. He said that both had reached natural stopping points in their careers, so decided it was a good time to take a year off.
The Sullivans on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“The best part: canceling all the bills. Not one bill and we hit the road … our house was now our suitcase,” he said.
Budgeting for a year away was a big consideration, he said.
“What kept us sane was — it was finite,” he said. “It had an expiration date and that was very reassuring.”
Sullivan said she and her husband decided to take a warm-weather route, or “follow the sun,” which later became part of the title of a book he published about their year abroad.
“We bought a huge white wall map, put it on the wall of our apartment. And we spent every day looking at it, dreaming of the places we wanted to go,” he said.
In the end, the Sullivans hired travel agents to help with the planning.
“This was not an adventure,” he said, adding that when they left they had plans for three months.
In January 2019, the Sullivans left New York, traveling first to South America, then Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and finally Asia and Oceania before heading home.
The misfortunes
During the trip, the Sullivans endured a “terrible” stomach bug in Beijing, altitude sickness in Peru and an infestation of lice in Berlin.
The Sullivan family, shown here at Machu Picchu in Peru, faced many unforeseen circumstances throughout the year.
Source: Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“We had packed every possible medicine and it never occurred to me that we would encounter lice,” he said. “In New York, there are all kinds of services where people come and get those lice off your kids. That didn’t exist in Germany.”
There was also what is now known as “The Piranha Story” in Sullivan’s household, which happened while he was fishing in the Amazon rainforest.
Sullivan, who is afraid of fish, said someone threw a live piranha in her lap onto their boat.
“I screamed bloody murder, ran backwards, fell to the floor of the boat, taking my daughter back with me as the live piranha fell around us. It was the most absurd thing that has ever happened to me,” she said. .
“We ended up eating the piranha that night and its jaws are framed in our house now.”
The mistakes
In addition to mishaps, Sullivan said her family also made several mistakes, including a tour operator’s advice to visit an orphanage in Vietnam.
“We knew right away we shouldn’t have been there. We felt terrible about it,” he said. “I cannot state strongly enough that this type of tourist destination is completely irresponsible and no one should visit an orphanage.”
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan, shown here admiring a sunset in the Amazon rainforest with her children, said that when problems arose, the family didn’t argue or blame each other. “We just rolled with it.”
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
In Cambodia, the Sullivans came across a sign near the airport that read: “Children are not a tourist destination. Do not visit an orphanage.”
“Wealthy tourists come to a place and they feel like they want to contribute or do good. And so, … they hand out school supplies to a school and that’s not helpful for a community,” he added. “It’s harmful and potentially exploitative.”
“Visiting a country with respect, reverence and curiosity, as you would visit France or Japan, is the only way,” he said.
The wrong assumptions
During their time abroad, the Sullivans also reflected on the gap between their expectations and the reality of their yearlong trip.
“We assumed we’d have tons of free time,” he recalls. “I thought: ‘this is it, this is my big year’ to sit back and do all those creative projects that I wanted to do, and [watch] all the shows I wanted to watch.”
“But we had two young children with us. There was no free time,” she said of her children, then aged four and six.
The Sullivans reluctantly left home with only carry-on luggage, but were surprised to return home with their bags only half full.
“You just don’t need as much as you think,” she thought.
The couple were also surprised by their energy levels during their extensive travels.
“We were in our rooms and asleep by 8:30 basically every night. Apparently, rest and lack of stress can do wonders for your energy,” he noted.
As they ventured into unknown territories, Sullivan said the family divide between adults and children disappeared.
“My husband and I were confused, clueless, I didn’t know the language, vulnerable … we didn’t know everything. We quickly discarded this invincible parental facade,” she admitted. “At the same time, our kids turn out to be very funny, very brave and very curious.”
More good than bad
Through all the challenges, Sullivan revealed that the biggest lesson for the family was learning how to visit places without prejudice.
“We just learned to go to a place with a blank slate,” he said. “Take it, just ask questions because we all have assumptions about other parts of the world.”
After traveling to six continents, Sullivan said she learned that people are just trying to help each other in life.
After a year abroad, Sullivan, shown here in Egypt, said her family returned home with a stronger bond.
Margaret Bensfield Sullivan
“All over the world, the common language really was kindness,” he said. “We came home from that year believing that there are more good people in the world than bad, that most people just want to help.”
When asked if she had any advice for others, she said pick a date and stick with it.
“Once it’s on the calendar, you can work backwards,” he said. “It makes it more real.”