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- About Me
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- Africa
  - Egypt
  - Kenya
  - Rwanda
  - Tanzania
  - Uganda
  - Zambia
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  - Japan
  - Thailand
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- Middle East
  - Israel
  - Palestine
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  - Bolivia
  - Chile
  - Peru
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Spin the Globe Project

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About Me

Welcome! I’m Anna, a nomadic storyteller with an appetite for adventure and a passion for social justice and sustainability. Hence why I backpacked around the globe solo, traveled in a tiny home on wheels for 4 years, and now I’m based out of a small off-grid house building a sustainable farmstead.

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We fight on Sundays~ We have been with each other

We fight on Sundays~

We have been with each other almost 24/7 for 27 months, since the day we met. It’s a strange thing to begin a relationship while living in a van, when your life is one thing, and so are you because of it. Then to be thrust into something else, something stressful, something that brings out your worst.

We were tested by the pandemic, working on my mom’s campaign, and a thousand other trials of 2020. Our fights worsened. Tones getting louder, tensions higher, and fuses shorter. I believe we came out stronger and weaker because of it. At least our fragility had been given light. We could identify it, even if we couldn’t give it words.

A while ago, my mom told me about an article about a couple that had been married for 40+ years and how they claim their key to success was scheduled fights. The science has been backed up too by relevant experts, and I immediately felt drawn to the concept.

So I pitched it to Ryan. He agreed, and now, when we feel ourselves about to get into a fight or an argument, we say a code word to pause, diffuse, and take 5 deep breaths. Then we write our grievances and emotions down in a note in our phones.

Then on Sundays, we sit down, and read the ground rules as a reminder:

Listen carefully. No yelling. No attacking. No getting defensive. If one person says something is a problem, it is. And so on.

Then we go through our grievances calmly, one by one. The heightened emotions diffused by time. Our ears more open and our hearts more accepting.

We create solutions to these grievances together, then write them down to hold us more accountable.

It’s working. The turbulence is much more manageable.

I appreciate the clean resolutions and the writing of lists, and Ryan appreciates the ability to walk away in the heat of the moment, to grant himself time to think before reacting.

I can’t speak to the accomplishment of a 40 year marriage, but, I can speak to the dramatic difference these scheduled “fights” have had on our relationship. I would go as far as to say, it’s saved us.

I don’t know if this is revolutionary, but it has been revolutionary for us, and I wanted to share in case you might find this helpful too.

I remember the day vividly. I was living in Peru t

I remember the day vividly. I was living in Peru teaching English and I had just gone on a first date with a nice guy. He tried to kiss me, and this dense, vast, and slimy sensation took hold of my mind. Then it hardened and my body stiffened. “I’m sorry, I have to go,” I managed to say, and I went home to lay in my bed and reckon with the weight of the emotions and thoughts that were suddenly too heavy to bare. Brought on by the mere prospect of a kiss.

I had been walking through my days and weeks proceeding this date, numb. My body had shut down completely, to preserve energy for breathing, eating, and occasional showers.

So much had happened in this city. So many manifestations of my mental health coming undone. New trauma ripped off the neatly tied bows around my baggage with little regard to the wreckage left behind.

I remember feeling everything I hadn’t felt in a long while that night, and then turning it off again.

I made a plan to take action though. And I began to set things in motion to leave the country that had become tainted for me. It took all the energy I could muster up to go home, and face the demons I had there too.

A few months later I found myself in a new country, on a different continent, and I started to notice I could smile again, without forcing it.

That’s not to say that travel will cure your mental health issues, just that for me, it’s helped to exit unhealthy environments and physically place myself in new ones (sometimes they’re far away).

Today is World Mental Health Day.

Mental health has been a lifelong battle for me. At some point, I’ve been diagnosed with clinical depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, and I’ve had severe panic attacks. None of those things have been a constant though.

My depression comes in waves of varying severity. I’ve also gone to therapy in waves.

I don’t really have all of the answers, but what I do know, is that every time I’ve fallen into a deep cavern that feels like I’ll never find my way out, I do.

Happy 30th birthday to the man who drove across co

Happy 30th birthday to the man who drove across country to keep me company while I grieved the death of my dog.

The man that didn’t give up on us, despite an emotionally difficult 2 years full of political campaigning, quarantine, raising two puppies, buying a house, and renovating said house, then buying a bus camper, and renovating said bus, while spending essentially 24/7 together while working remotely and trying to be successful at freelance digital entrepreneurship.

I’m so glad we found each other when we did. I think both of us set out to be alone on the road at the time that we met, but the universe had other plans, and I’m beyond glad it did.

It’s not always easy being in a relationship, especially one with two stubborn and independent people in a tiny space, but I am so grateful to be figuring out life with you.

I love you @ryanthompsontravels and I can’t wait to marry you and see what adventures this road will lead to.

I’m not a mountain biker, or a bike rider of any

Yesterday, we spent over 8 hours in a Home Depot p

Yesterday, we spent over 8 hours in a Home Depot parking lot installing our new compost toilet. I ordered the toilet over 4 months ago, but manufacturing was delayed due to the pandemic. So we kept rerouting it, until finally we picked it up general delivery at a post office in Boise.

Honestly tensions were high, we were both irritated, because we had basically given up on the toilet, and changed our route and decided to skip Canada in large part due to waiting on this toilet and the weather now being too cold. So by the time this toilet arrived in a city with slim to no options on free legal urban parking, we were a bit over it.

We had wanted to install it at home with all our tools and space. But instead we had the dogs cooped up all day, and we had to work on this project, when neither of us wanted to, in the heat, in order to get back on the road. We had to drill new holes in the bus for the vent and had to try to figure out how to cover up a 5 inch hole that led to the black water tank for the old toilet. But nothing went according to plan, and every potential solution to every project problem that arose didn’t quite work out.

Today though, we woke up from our parking/campsite on the side of the road that we arrived at in the dark after giving up on the toilet install…and to our surprise, these lovely and empty hot springs were hiding at the bottom of a steep cliff, so we soaked in this unexpected treat, finished up the toilet install relatively smoothly, and we ended the day at a new but a fast favorite campsite. It made yesterday so worth it.

And in essence these two days combined, sort of sum up my van life experience over the last 4 years.

I often lose myself in daydreams, and then my thou

I often lose myself in daydreams, and then my thoughts loop back to some grim fact, and I deflate, just as quickly as I began to soar with optimism.

I want so many things for my life. For this world. For you. Even for those that are filled with hate.

I want justice and equality to prevail.

I want people to stop impeding others’ happiness and opportunities.

I want to wake up and feel proud to be part of a society.

But I’ve drifted so far from the grips of structure, that I no longer consist of the atoms that kept me together under the roof of my suburban childhood homes or the walls of my tiny NYC apartment.

I’m now a hodgepodge of particles that morph through a pendulum of emotions and ebb and flow with the weather.

Some composite of memories and experiences that live on in my bones.

A string of thoughts, that exist in my head, that sometimes I breathe life to.

And a random assortment of ideas, goals, hobbies, passions and values that fuel me through each day.

In my last moments on Earth, I want to feel with every fiber of my being that I did my best. That I left no rock worth turning, unturned. But also, that I let go of the rocks that are not mine to turn.

I want my ancestors to know that I tried to honor their lives, their struggles, their truths. That while I believe blood isn’t everything, it is something worth fighting for. And I don’t take my role in the story of humans, the space I occupy, or the resources I consume, lightly.

Because in the end, I will have only existed for a blip, but for me, it will be a lifetime of opportunities that I either took or missed. And I so badly want to make it count.

📍Originally land of the Timbisha Shoshone people

Last week, Ryan and I joined my friends @katiecant

Last week, Ryan and I joined my friends @katiecantsitstill , @ydoc_sreym and some others on another Utah adventure.

We did a 4 day/3 night river rafting trip down the San Juan from Sand Island to Mexican Hat. It was my second time doing this route, and it made me so grateful for friends like Katie and Cody that have the persistence to get permits, and the patience to plan out the logistics and do the meal prepping required for trips like this.

We left the dogs with my mom since they aren’t allowed in this area, and we set out to absorb all the archeological history, natural beauty and wildlife that you can witness in this region, while enjoying the occasional white water rapids, and late night rounds of catchphrase.

Our road trip plans and route have already evolved since we hit the road earlier this month, and we’re trying our best to just go with the flow.

We’ve been spending the last few weeks in southern Utah and Northern Arizona, with a quick backtrack to western Colorado to try to sort out some medical stuff.

One of the best parts about traveling in a camper van though, is that you’re more equipped to adapt to whatever the road/life can throw at you.

We’re using this time to do a few more last minute renovations on the bus, visit my mom, catch up with friends, and we plan to start heading North West in a few days (after we receive a few packages).

📍Land of the Pueblos, Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Diné Bikéyah (Navajo), and Hopitutskwa (Hopi) tribes

I need to vent about something. I’ve seen quite

I need to vent about something. I’ve seen quite a few prominent people in the vanlife social media community posting about the struggles of their romantic relationships while living in vans (inspired by the Gabby Petito case). The theme seems to be life on the road can create a toxic environment for love, and these writers are claiming they can relate to this story on that level. I believe their intention is to be more transparent about the difficulties of relationships under the stress of a nomadic lifestyle…but something deep inside me is bothered by the words I’ve read.

I am a huge advocate of transparency in all things, and I believe the truth about alternative lifestyles is vital to those considering them.

That being said, the moment feels very strange. A young woman was murdered, and whether her fiancé did it or not (even though I’m sure we can agree his actions are unbelievably suspicious), there is now proof of domestic violence from an eye witness who made the 911 call during the incident leading up to this tragedy.

While I can attest to van life putting a lot of strain on a relationship, by no means is it a cause or excuse for domestic violence.

To be very clear, a lifestyle is not the cause of abuse. Abusers are.

As someone who has lived in a home with domestic violence, I feel troubled by someone comparing their yelling matches on the side of the road to (and ultimately normalizing) the very real problem of domestic violence, in the name of bringing awareness to the realities of van life couples.

There is space and a time for an open conversation about the complexity of vanlife relationships, but I have a hard time believing this is that moment (or at the very least, I think a lot more context needs to be included).

I’m truly heartbroken for Gabby and every girl/woman who has suffered at the hands of a partner or family member. I’m especially saddened by all the BIPOC women whose names and stories have never received the same level of coverage or resources to help find them or get justice.

If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence in the U.S., you can call the National hotline at 800.799.SAFE or text “START” to 88788

A road will only take you so far, and then the res

A road will only take you so far, and then the rest is up to you✨
~
Navajo Nation is one of my favorite places to road trip, but if you visit any of the parks or natural wonders in this region please obey all the signs and tribal laws.

Also, consider supporting the Navajo by taking a local guided tour and buying arts or crafts directly from the artisan (while being COVID safe, and wearing a mask etc). Please keep in mind Navajo Nation was one of the hardest hit places due to COVID (in deaths, extreme cases, and loss of income from tourism).

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