Risk-taking, trust, and serendipity are key ingredients of joy. Without risk, nothing new ever happens. Without trust, fear creeps in. Without serendipity, there are no surprises.
Meet Rita Golden Gelman – an extraordinary and delightful world traveler. Now 80 years old, she spent 30 years of her later life without a permanent residence. Author of the New York Times bestseller: Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World, she has endless travel stories and lessons to share. A prolific children’s book author who wrote while on the road, Rita was a working nomad well before the current “digital nomad” trend. She also edited and published a collection of stories from women travelers: Female Nomad and Friends: Tales of Breaking Free and Breaking Bread Around the World.
Rita has literally traveled around the world – living in often rural places in Mexico, Indonesia, Africa, Laos, Thailand, Guatemala, Colombia, India, Tanzania and more. Trained in Anthropology at UCLA, Rita mostly lived with families, immersing herself in local culture as much as possible. Join our conversation as we explore the importance of connecting authentically with people wherever you travel, trusting your unfolding experiences, and going with the flow.
You can follow and learn more about Rita at ritagoldengelman.com
Watch and listen Rita’s TEDx talk: The Joy of Connecting
What you’ll learn
- What led her to start living a nomadic life
- Stories from her extensive world travels
- The importance of connecting with people wherever you travel
- Strategies and resources for finding places to stay when traveling
- How she financially supported a nomadic life
- Her wonderful and simple philosophy about how to approach travel
- Not to underestimate the power of singing 🙂
- Advice for getting started on a nomadic journey
- Why she believes all high school graduates should take a gap year to travel before going to college
Resources
- Servas International – Peace and understanding through travel and hosting
- Servas United States
- Gap Year Association
- Listing of accredited Gap Year Programs
- Chateau Haute Roche – a bed & breakfast housed in a castle in the Loire Valley, France
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