After the pop-up, several families (us included) spent a couple more weeks in Budapest. We enjoyed getting lost down cobblestone streets, sliding down endless slides, eating chimney cakes, and meeting a man with an unexpected mustache. The kids had their crew — They spent hours playing Dungeons & Dragons in epic campaigns and chasing each other through parks like…
We used to wonder if choosing a non-traditional lifestyle meant our kids might miss out on the classic milestones—school dances, team sports, senior pranks, that whole big coming-of-age storybook. And then Lucas went to prom in Budapest. On a river cruise. On the Danube. With a stretch Hummer limo. So… yeah. We’re not worried about that anymore. Picture this: over…
The reason we decided to come to Budapest was for the Worldschool Pop-Up Hub in Budapest—and what an unforgettable experience it was. With 100 teens and 40 families from all over the world, the city came alive in a whole new way. It wasn’t just about the sights or the landmarks (though Budapest never disappoints on that front); it was…
Traveling with friends is the way to go. Nineteen of us flew from Budva, Montenegro to Budapest, Hungary. It wasn’t the fun travel day we all imagined, but being together helped us get through it. We arrived at the airport in Podgorica thinking it would be an easy check-in because it is a small airport. The security checkpoint was not…
It’s wild to think about, but it’s been six years since Michael’s second cancer diagnosis. Yep—second. The first one? A decade before that. We like to think of it as his version of a ten-year class reunion, except instead of bad 2000s pop music and awkward small talk, it came with surgery, scans, and many hospital snacks. The first time…
We enjoyed our time in Budva. It was relaxing, and the weather warmed up as the month went on. A large group of us took a two-hour hike along the coast from Budva to Sveti Stefan. It is a small resort town home to a five-star resort. The resort was not open, but we had a lovely lunch by the…
Montenegro is a small country located in the west-central Balkans. It became a sovereign state in 2006 when it opted for independence and broke away from Serbia, just three years after the Union of Serbia and Montenegro broke away from the former Yugoslavia. Montenegro means “Black Mountain”. The country borders Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Serbia’s breakaway province of Kosovo, and Albania.…
We met back up with our worldschooling family in Montenegro after a long, five-month separation. We were last with our friends in Southeast Asia. We met the Sigtons at a worldschool hub in Bankso, Bulgaria, in 2023. We met the Blackbourns in Chiang Mai at the end of 2023 after Michael met Renee through Facebook. We met the Crabtrees at…
Everywhere you turn in Istanbul a pair of watchful green eyes might peer at you from beneath a café table, or a fluffy tail might flick lazily as a feline lounges on a centuries-old stone wall. Istanbul belongs to the cats, and the people wouldn’t have it any other way. Unlike many cities where stray animals are seen as a…
The next part of our worldschooling journey started in Türkiye. We flew from Atlanta to Istanbul with frequent flyer miles, so it only cost us $100 for our four flights. Michael and Henry had a direct flight from Atlanta. Lucas and I did have to backtrack with a layover in Houston, but it was worth it. Our visit to Türkiye…