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你是否曾想过放弃舒适的房子、稳定的工作以及原本井井有条的生活，来一次环球旅行？这是英国人阿特肯斯夫妇十几年来的梦想，而现在，他们离梦想已经越来越近了。
2007年7月，阿特肯斯夫妇带着他们的4个孩子—最大的15岁，最小的才7岁—开始了历时18个月的环球旅行。他们变卖了在英国的一切，包括他们的房子，开始追逐多年来的梦想。
这样的勇气，不是每个人都有；这样的生活方式，不是每个人都适合。我们祝愿他们旅途平安。如果有可能，希望18个月后他们会给我们带来同样激动人心的故事。
My 12-year-old son Harry yelled: “Mum, we have to go to Rome! We had a lesson about 1)Julius Caesar today and I want to see the 2)Colosseum.”
Handing him a pen, I said: “Put it on the list on the wall.”
“If we’re going there, can we visit 3)Pompeii?” asked my daughter Beth, who’s nine.
I told her, she could go anywhere she wanted, and the pair began 4)brainstorming about all the places in Italy they’d like to see. Ten minutes later we had six additions to the list.
This “list” is not some 5)pie in the sky; it’s a chart of the places we intend to visit in a round-the-world trip my family is taking.
On 14 July my husband Joe and I, along with our children—Beth, Harry, Luke and Arthur—will head off for the adventure of a lifetime: 18 months traveling around the globe. Instead of flying from one location to the next, we will be driving in a specially converted 6)Leyland Tiger coach which will be our home for the entire time.
Ever since we got married in 1990, Joe and I have talked about seeing the world. When our children were younger this idea had to be put aside, but Joe and I still talked about places we wanted to see.
We both have flexible careers. Joe is a lighting designer for events and stage plays, and I’m an actress. In 2005 we began planning our round-the-world trip. First, we needed to raise funds. That November we sold our seven-bedroom home for £425,000 and moved into a rented house. We used the profit from the sale to pay off our loans and debts, and were left with £70,000.
To many, this must seem 7)drastic—to let go of the financial security we’ve built up over the years for an 18-month trip, but we’ve felt it is worth the sacrifice. In a few years Luke will want to go off and do his own thing, so it is a case of 8)now or never. Both Joe and I are 9)resourceful, so we’re not worried about how we will survive when we get back.
By this time, we’d been discussing our thoughts with the children, bouncing ideas off them. It was great to see them so enthusiastic about how we’d go about it.
Next, we considered the 10)logistics. We knew it would take 18 months to 11)squeeze in everything we wanted to do, so that meant the kids would have to come out of school.
Dealing with currency and exchange rates will require a bit of maths, and there will be lots of foreign languages and cultures to absorb. History and geography will play a big part, too.
We then started thinking about how we’d get from A to B. Ideally, we would have used 12)Winnebago, but at £100,000 they were too expensive. It was Joe who suggested converting an old coach.
This might sound daunting but, being a
designer, Joe is incredible at creating things. In May 2006 we bought a 1987 Leyland Tiger Coach online for £4,500. Joe designed a layout with six beds at its rear, a kitchen and four desks at the front where the children could study. The desks 13)hook up to a satellite phone and internet connection, so that the children will be able to access an online learning program wherever we are. There is also a shower room and toilet. Lights are powered by a generator in the coach’s original luggage compartment under the bus, which also houses two water tanks.
We then started drawing up the route. This hasn’t been finalized because we keep adding places. So far the plan is to tour Europe, then head down the east coast of Africa to South
Africa, taking in Kenya and 14)Mozambique. In South Africa we will catch a boat to Brazil—a voyage that will take several days—then drive up through America and Canada, where we will catch a boat to New Zealand—another week-long journey. From there we head to Australia, then up to the Far East, taking in Thailand and Malaysia. On the 15)home straight to the UK we’ll stop off in India and 16)Oman, then work our way back through Europe.
Lots of people have said that we are mad to embark on such a massive trip, leaving behind
everything we’ve built up back in England. I realize this kind of lifestyle wouldn’t suit everyone, but I’m sure it will all work out for us.
In today’s society people are 17)conditioned to accumulate wealth, houses, cars—and to plan the rest of their lives. I hope we’ll be getting the chance to experience much more interesting and worthwhile ways of life, untainted by the desire for fame, fortune.
This will be especially good for the children who will receive a much wider education than they could get at home. I hope that what we’re planning will give our children a wealth of fabulous expe-riences, along with a lifetime of happy memories we can share for years to come.
我12岁的儿子哈里大声叫嚷着：“妈妈，我们要去罗马！我们今天上了一堂关于尤利乌斯·恺撒的课，我想去看看古罗马圆形大剧场。”
我把一支笔递给他，说：“把它列在墙上的清单上吧。”
“如果我们去那里的话，可以去庞培古城看看吗？”我9岁的女儿贝丝问道。
我告诉她说，她想去哪里都没问题。于是他们俩就你一言我一语地讨论起想在意大利游览的所有地方来。10分钟后，我们的清单上就多了6个地点。
这张“清单”可不是什么白日梦，它罗列的是我们一家即将开始的环球旅行的目的地。
从7月14日起，我和丈夫乔，以及我们的孩子——贝丝、哈里、卢克以及亚瑟——将开始我们一辈子绝无仅有的大冒险——用18个月的时间进行环球旅行。我们将不是坐飞机从一个地方飞到另一个地方，而是驾驶一辆特别改装过的利兰·老虎牌长途汽车进行旅行，这辆车将是我们在整个旅途中的家。
我和乔自从1990年结婚后，就一直希望到世界各地走一走。我们的孩子还小的时候，我们只能把这个愿望暂搁一旁。然而一直以来，我和乔都没放弃这个梦想。
我们俩的工作时间很灵活。乔为各种盛会和舞台剧设计灯光，而我是一名演员。2005年，我们开始筹划环球旅行。我们首先得筹集资金。那年11月，我们以42.5万英镑（约649.5万元）的价钱，卖掉了我们所住的那套有7间卧室的房子，搬进了一间租来的房子里。我们用售房所得还清了贷款和债务，还剩下7万英镑（约107万元）。
在许多人看来，这实在是难以想象的转变——我们舍弃了经营多年的财产保障，就为了一次18个月的旅行。但我们觉得这是值得的。几年后，长大成人的卢克会离开家独自去闯荡，因此这时候全家环游世界，是今生难逢的机会。我和乔都是足智多谋的人，所以我们不担心回来以后的生存问题。
到目前为止，我们一直都在和孩子们一起讨论这项计划，从他们的主意中汲取灵感。旅行计划让孩子们兴奋不已，我们见了也非常高兴。
接下来，我们要考虑时间花费问题。我们知道，如果要在旅途中做我们希望做的一切，需要18个月，这也意味着孩子们要暂时休学。
到时候我们要整天和各种货币以及汇率打交道，这需要我们做一些算术；我们还要吸收很多种外语和外国文化知识。历史和地理到时候也会大派用场。
随后我们开始考虑旅行中的交通工具问题。最理想的是我们能有一辆温尼贝戈旅游房车，但10万英镑（约152.8万元）的价格太昂贵了。乔建议将一辆旧长途汽车进行改装。
这听起来似乎有点使人畏缩，但身为设计师的乔，动手创造东西的能力是一流的。2006年5月，我们以4500英镑（约6.9万元）的价格从网上买了一辆1987年产的利兰·老虎牌长途汽车。乔对汽车进行了改装：在车的后部分安放了6张床，在车的前部分安置了一个厨房和4张书桌，孩子们可以用来学习。书桌还接通了卫星电话和互联网，这样无论我们去到哪里，孩子们都可以使用网上教程。车里还有一个淋浴室和一个厕所。车里的灯靠位于车底的原行李舱内的发电机发电，两个水箱也放置在行李舱内。
然后，我们开始设计路线。目前最终的行程还没有确定，因为我们还会不断地添加景点。我们暂时定下来的行程安排是这样的：穿越欧洲，然后沿着非洲东海岸一路向南，途经肯尼亚和莫桑比克，到达南非。从南非坐船到巴西，这段海上旅程大约会历时几天。之后我们会驾车一路北上，穿过美国和加拿大，再从加拿大坐船到新西兰，这次在海上会花费大约一个星期的时间。从新西兰到澳大利亚，然后再向北，到达远东，途经泰国和马来西亚。在返回英国前的最后阶段，我们会在印度和阿曼停留。此后穿越欧洲返回家乡的具体行程，到那时再详细安排。
许多人都说，我们为了这样一次大规模的环球旅行而放弃了这么多年来在英国积累的一切，简直是疯了。我知道这种生活方式并不适合每一个人，但我肯定我们全家会没问题。
在现代社会，人们倾向于积累财富，追求房产和私家车，并为余下的人生作出周详的计划。我希望我们不为名利所诱，能有机会去体验其他有趣得多、有价值得多的生活方式。
这些经历对孩子们来说尤其有益，他们会接受视野宽广得多的教育，这些都是他们在家乡获取不到的。我希望我们的决定能给孩子们带来一笔财富，那就是无比丰富的生活体验，当然还有今后能让我们一家人共同回味的一生的幸福回忆。
2007年7月，阿特肯斯夫妇带着他们的4个孩子—最大的15岁，最小的才7岁—开始了历时18个月的环球旅行。他们变卖了在英国的一切，包括他们的房子，开始追逐多年来的梦想。
这样的勇气，不是每个人都有；这样的生活方式，不是每个人都适合。我们祝愿他们旅途平安。如果有可能，希望18个月后他们会给我们带来同样激动人心的故事。
My 12-year-old son Harry yelled: “Mum, we have to go to Rome! We had a lesson about 1)Julius Caesar today and I want to see the 2)Colosseum.”
Handing him a pen, I said: “Put it on the list on the wall.”
“If we’re going there, can we visit 3)Pompeii?” asked my daughter Beth, who’s nine.
I told her, she could go anywhere she wanted, and the pair began 4)brainstorming about all the places in Italy they’d like to see. Ten minutes later we had six additions to the list.
This “list” is not some 5)pie in the sky; it’s a chart of the places we intend to visit in a round-the-world trip my family is taking.
On 14 July my husband Joe and I, along with our children—Beth, Harry, Luke and Arthur—will head off for the adventure of a lifetime: 18 months traveling around the globe. Instead of flying from one location to the next, we will be driving in a specially converted 6)Leyland Tiger coach which will be our home for the entire time.
Ever since we got married in 1990, Joe and I have talked about seeing the world. When our children were younger this idea had to be put aside, but Joe and I still talked about places we wanted to see.
We both have flexible careers. Joe is a lighting designer for events and stage plays, and I’m an actress. In 2005 we began planning our round-the-world trip. First, we needed to raise funds. That November we sold our seven-bedroom home for £425,000 and moved into a rented house. We used the profit from the sale to pay off our loans and debts, and were left with £70,000.
To many, this must seem 7)drastic—to let go of the financial security we’ve built up over the years for an 18-month trip, but we’ve felt it is worth the sacrifice. In a few years Luke will want to go off and do his own thing, so it is a case of 8)now or never. Both Joe and I are 9)resourceful, so we’re not worried about how we will survive when we get back.
By this time, we’d been discussing our thoughts with the children, bouncing ideas off them. It was great to see them so enthusiastic about how we’d go about it.
Next, we considered the 10)logistics. We knew it would take 18 months to 11)squeeze in everything we wanted to do, so that meant the kids would have to come out of school.
Dealing with currency and exchange rates will require a bit of maths, and there will be lots of foreign languages and cultures to absorb. History and geography will play a big part, too.
We then started thinking about how we’d get from A to B. Ideally, we would have used 12)Winnebago, but at £100,000 they were too expensive. It was Joe who suggested converting an old coach.
This might sound daunting but, being a
designer, Joe is incredible at creating things. In May 2006 we bought a 1987 Leyland Tiger Coach online for £4,500. Joe designed a layout with six beds at its rear, a kitchen and four desks at the front where the children could study. The desks 13)hook up to a satellite phone and internet connection, so that the children will be able to access an online learning program wherever we are. There is also a shower room and toilet. Lights are powered by a generator in the coach’s original luggage compartment under the bus, which also houses two water tanks.
We then started drawing up the route. This hasn’t been finalized because we keep adding places. So far the plan is to tour Europe, then head down the east coast of Africa to South
Africa, taking in Kenya and 14)Mozambique. In South Africa we will catch a boat to Brazil—a voyage that will take several days—then drive up through America and Canada, where we will catch a boat to New Zealand—another week-long journey. From there we head to Australia, then up to the Far East, taking in Thailand and Malaysia. On the 15)home straight to the UK we’ll stop off in India and 16)Oman, then work our way back through Europe.
Lots of people have said that we are mad to embark on such a massive trip, leaving behind
everything we’ve built up back in England. I realize this kind of lifestyle wouldn’t suit everyone, but I’m sure it will all work out for us.
In today’s society people are 17)conditioned to accumulate wealth, houses, cars—and to plan the rest of their lives. I hope we’ll be getting the chance to experience much more interesting and worthwhile ways of life, untainted by the desire for fame, fortune.
This will be especially good for the children who will receive a much wider education than they could get at home. I hope that what we’re planning will give our children a wealth of fabulous expe-riences, along with a lifetime of happy memories we can share for years to come.
我12岁的儿子哈里大声叫嚷着：“妈妈，我们要去罗马！我们今天上了一堂关于尤利乌斯·恺撒的课，我想去看看古罗马圆形大剧场。”
我把一支笔递给他，说：“把它列在墙上的清单上吧。”
“如果我们去那里的话，可以去庞培古城看看吗？”我9岁的女儿贝丝问道。
我告诉她说，她想去哪里都没问题。于是他们俩就你一言我一语地讨论起想在意大利游览的所有地方来。10分钟后，我们的清单上就多了6个地点。
这张“清单”可不是什么白日梦，它罗列的是我们一家即将开始的环球旅行的目的地。
从7月14日起，我和丈夫乔，以及我们的孩子——贝丝、哈里、卢克以及亚瑟——将开始我们一辈子绝无仅有的大冒险——用18个月的时间进行环球旅行。我们将不是坐飞机从一个地方飞到另一个地方，而是驾驶一辆特别改装过的利兰·老虎牌长途汽车进行旅行，这辆车将是我们在整个旅途中的家。
我和乔自从1990年结婚后，就一直希望到世界各地走一走。我们的孩子还小的时候，我们只能把这个愿望暂搁一旁。然而一直以来，我和乔都没放弃这个梦想。
我们俩的工作时间很灵活。乔为各种盛会和舞台剧设计灯光，而我是一名演员。2005年，我们开始筹划环球旅行。我们首先得筹集资金。那年11月，我们以42.5万英镑（约649.5万元）的价钱，卖掉了我们所住的那套有7间卧室的房子，搬进了一间租来的房子里。我们用售房所得还清了贷款和债务，还剩下7万英镑（约107万元）。
在许多人看来，这实在是难以想象的转变——我们舍弃了经营多年的财产保障，就为了一次18个月的旅行。但我们觉得这是值得的。几年后，长大成人的卢克会离开家独自去闯荡，因此这时候全家环游世界，是今生难逢的机会。我和乔都是足智多谋的人，所以我们不担心回来以后的生存问题。
到目前为止，我们一直都在和孩子们一起讨论这项计划，从他们的主意中汲取灵感。旅行计划让孩子们兴奋不已，我们见了也非常高兴。
接下来，我们要考虑时间花费问题。我们知道，如果要在旅途中做我们希望做的一切，需要18个月，这也意味着孩子们要暂时休学。
到时候我们要整天和各种货币以及汇率打交道，这需要我们做一些算术；我们还要吸收很多种外语和外国文化知识。历史和地理到时候也会大派用场。
随后我们开始考虑旅行中的交通工具问题。最理想的是我们能有一辆温尼贝戈旅游房车，但10万英镑（约152.8万元）的价格太昂贵了。乔建议将一辆旧长途汽车进行改装。
这听起来似乎有点使人畏缩，但身为设计师的乔，动手创造东西的能力是一流的。2006年5月，我们以4500英镑（约6.9万元）的价格从网上买了一辆1987年产的利兰·老虎牌长途汽车。乔对汽车进行了改装：在车的后部分安放了6张床，在车的前部分安置了一个厨房和4张书桌，孩子们可以用来学习。书桌还接通了卫星电话和互联网，这样无论我们去到哪里，孩子们都可以使用网上教程。车里还有一个淋浴室和一个厕所。车里的灯靠位于车底的原行李舱内的发电机发电，两个水箱也放置在行李舱内。
然后，我们开始设计路线。目前最终的行程还没有确定，因为我们还会不断地添加景点。我们暂时定下来的行程安排是这样的：穿越欧洲，然后沿着非洲东海岸一路向南，途经肯尼亚和莫桑比克，到达南非。从南非坐船到巴西，这段海上旅程大约会历时几天。之后我们会驾车一路北上，穿过美国和加拿大，再从加拿大坐船到新西兰，这次在海上会花费大约一个星期的时间。从新西兰到澳大利亚，然后再向北，到达远东，途经泰国和马来西亚。在返回英国前的最后阶段，我们会在印度和阿曼停留。此后穿越欧洲返回家乡的具体行程，到那时再详细安排。
许多人都说，我们为了这样一次大规模的环球旅行而放弃了这么多年来在英国积累的一切，简直是疯了。我知道这种生活方式并不适合每一个人，但我肯定我们全家会没问题。
在现代社会，人们倾向于积累财富，追求房产和私家车，并为余下的人生作出周详的计划。我希望我们不为名利所诱，能有机会去体验其他有趣得多、有价值得多的生活方式。
这些经历对孩子们来说尤其有益，他们会接受视野宽广得多的教育，这些都是他们在家乡获取不到的。我希望我们的决定能给孩子们带来一笔财富，那就是无比丰富的生活体验，当然还有今后能让我们一家人共同回味的一生的幸福回忆。