Everyone we have talked to has asked us why we are doing this.
Besides the obvious “Why not!” there are some very good reasons why we are doing this and why we are doing it now.
Avinash is 3 years old and we realized that this would be the last year that we would be able to do a year long trip before he entered school. Sure we will have Summer and Winter breaks, but we will never again have a full year. Meeta and I have always wanted to take an extended vacation so it seemed like the perfect time to do it.
We realize that at this age, Avinash will most likely not remember much of his experiences during this coming year. This is why we hope to be able to document as much of it for him as possible and to be able to re-enforce and create those long term memories for him through stories, pictures and videos.
We hope that although he may not remember the details of his travels, he will be molded by the experiences just as every experience molds him in some way.
With that in mind, we are trying to do things that are very memorable and experiential. Instead of just visitng places and looking at sights, we want him to experience the world and be a participant.
It is our hope through all of this that he will benefit somehow and become a better citizen of the world. If not, well then we all had fun as a family!