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Spin the Globe Project

Inspiring adventurous souls and socially conscious hearts

Rwanda

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A Weekend in Rwanda

updated on February 21, 2019July 30, 20130 Comment on A Weekend in Rwanda

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 3 years, and now I’m based out of a small off-grid house building a farmstead.

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I used to think I was fine alone. I prided myself

I used to think I was fine alone. I prided myself on being independent. It seemed easier to find love in small doses spread across space and time. I was terrified to depend on the love of just one person for a lifetime, and yet I craved a fairytale.

Then I met you. You entered my life at a time when I was breaking from love. Not the romantic kind, but the aching that can only come when you are losing something you are charged with caring for. You immediately rose to the occasion as I watched my dog pass away. You altered your travel plans, because you saw something in us, that I was too skeptical to believe in just yet. You struck the perfect balance between persistent and pushy. Your presence gave me hope and the depth in your heart, gave me the space I needed to breathe.

I had been beaten down from love, and built myself back up with stronger walls each time. So you found a way to exist within my walls, despite the locks and guards I placed around each vulnerability.

Even though we’re both stubborn to a fault, you’ve shown that you can bend.

I calculate my risks more carefully than you, but you’re patient and understanding, and I secretly admire your courage. You dream big, and try hard at everything you attempt, without letting fear of failure deter you from simply beginning.

Your ability to retain endless tidbits of knowledge and your quick wit never ceases to impress me. Your empathy endeared me to you, and your preparedness in the outdoors pulled me in.

I’ve watched you care for our dogs with compassion, jumping out of bed to clean up vomit, poo or pee, and I know you’re going to be a great father someday.

You’re quiet and shy, and everyone doesn’t get to see the same version of you that I do, but I’m grateful that you opened up to me.

I love your tangled locks, the way your smile can change my mood, and that we can argue about the moon and the stars for hours, and fall asleep deeper in love.

Because the night we met, I wished upon a shooting star that we’d have a happy ending. And while I don’t necessarily believe the entire universe conspired for us, I can’t help but wonder if maybe, it did.

Happy anniversary @ryanthompsontravels 💛

Last week, I cranked out page upon page in my trav

Last week, I cranked out page upon page in my travel memoir that I hadn’t touched in over 2 years. I was parked at a forest service cabin in the woods while Ryan spent 10 hours each day hacking away at dirt to maintain hiking and biking trails (his new job).

I mostly enjoyed the outdoors from the inside, thanks to the many windows in the bus, as I got back to the one thing that makes me feel most like me.

I had so many specific plans to be “productive” for those 4 days, but instead I wrote, and sat silently lost in the trees, and wrote some more. And honestly, I’m so glad I didn’t give in to the feeling that I should be doing something else.

This week, I decided to stay at our house alone while Ryan’s out in the backcountry working on a new trail. It’s strange and a little scary to spend the night in the middle of nowhere in a house by myself, and yet the middle of nowhere in a van solo feels empowering. But if I learned anything from van life, it’s that I am capable of more than I think. And just a friendly reminder…so are you. Oh and, don’t forget to make time for that activity that makes you feel most alive.

In about a week it will have been two years since

In about a week it will have been two years since we met that unassuming Wednesday afternoon on a river bank in Montana, sheltered by our Ford vans. By our third anniversary we’ll have been married in New Mexico.

This photo was taken in Texas, where we spent Halloween in 2019, shortly after we said “I Love You” for the first time in New York.

We’ve already traveled the North, East and southern parts of the U.S. and northern India together. We quarantined at my mom’s cabin in Arizona, adopted two dogs, backpacked, hiked, climbed and kayaked through varying terrains, and have started an unconventional life off the grid in the middle of nowhere Colorado.

It’s crazy to think that we’ve both sold the vans that drove us into one another’s lives, and now, we’re about to embark on a new joint chapter heading west in a slightly larger Ford shuttle bus.

No matter which direction life takes us from here, I’m just glad we’ll be together, scanning the horizon.

My life has changed a lot this last week. I close

My life has changed a lot this last week.

I closed potentially the most profound chapter of my adult life thus far, when I sold Casper the van. Saying goodbye to the vessel that solidified what I’m capable of solo, was difficult to say the least. But I’m happy to be moving further into this new chapter with a partner.

Then simultaneously, Ryan got a seasonal gig maintaining hiking/biking trails which will put him in the backcountry from Monday-Thursday every week until we hit the road in our shuttle bus this September. This is a big deal for our relationship because before this, we had only been apart for two weeks since we met.

So to soak in the summer, and process these changes, my mom and I renewed our old tradition and took to the backcountry ourselves and went for a little backpacking trip out of cell range with the pups.

It was stunningly beautiful with epic vistas, and very few people. It was Juniper’s first backpacking trip and Nova’s second. They both did great and made me realize that backpacking with dogs is so much more fun than backpacking without dogs.

I was also reminded yet again, the power of unplugging in nature. It was the perfect reset as I embark upon the present.

The end of an era~ As of today, Casper the Van is

The end of an era~

As of today, Casper the Van is officially with a new person. And all kinds of bittersweet emotions are coursing through me.

When this hunk of metal entered my life in 2017, I never could have predicted where its tires could take me, and who it would see me become. I wrote the words below 2 years ago, but they ring just as true now:

“I bought Casper as a retired Uhaul with 18,000 miles on it from a dealership in Phoenix. At the time, it was listed as a 2016 flex-fuel Ford Transit low top cargo van, and I was just a girl who had quit my non-profit NYC job, and retired from a short-lived and disheartening career in International Development.

From the outside we had our stuff together, we were both presentable and socially-acceptable fixtures of this world. But upon closer inspection, we were both dinged up and quietly discovering how easy it is to transform.

As soon as I stepped inside its empty metal structure, I could visualize the endless possibilities. Even though I wasn’t certain any of the crazy daydreams about our future together made sense, I knew from years of globetrotting that van life was a logical progression for my adventurous spirit.

So I handed the eager salesman my credit card, and I drove Casper back to my mom’s cabin. We spent two months transforming, until he was a cozy adventure mobile, and I was a girl who felt like she was exactly where she needed to be. Our backdrop shifted often, but my heart remained more steady than it had ever been. Casper became the reliable and loyal vessel that had driven me through various vegetation zones, sheltered me from every form of precipitation, and provided the space to heal and explore my dreams.

We’ve both transformed substantially more since then, each mile painting another layer of experience onto our exterior.

If you check our listing now, it might say something like “nomadic storyteller and cabinesque inspiration machine, durable enough to explore valleys, summits and everything in between; a whimsical blend of imagination and determination; preferred fuel sources include: UV Rays, wind, dramatic landscapes, heart-to-hearts, passion, love, truth, and sometimes ethanol.”

“So you found a way not to work?” ~ A few year

“So you found a way not to work?” ~ A few years ago someone from my childhood asked me this in a condescending tone, and it really offended me.

I suppose I resented the question for many reasons. First, because there is an assumption that if you don’t choose a conventional career path, you’re doing life wrong and you’re not contributing to society.

Also, in the 4 and a half years since I transitioned into a freelance lifestyle, I have worked longer hours than in the 5 previous years where I worked full-time for companies and nonprofits on their terms, while being dramatically underpaid. Back then, I was also drowning in credit card debt just to pay for things like groceries and healthcare, while having roommates.

But I think the reason I resent the question the most, is because it fundamentally misunderstands the point. I never set out to find a way not to work, I set out to find work that I love and work that helps me achieve more freedom. And I guess I found that the key came in the form of lowering my cost of living.

We are taught that we need a big house, and nice things to fill it. Then we need a nice car to get us to our job that pays for all those things. But first, you need a fancy degree from a fancy school, to obtain that fancy job. Meanwhile, you’re in debt to the system, before you even begin.

Living in a van helped me eliminate so many expenses, but the pandemic showed me that I wanted a little more stability, so we bought a small off grid house. Granted, we took on a 15-year mortgage, but we’re not paying a monthly electric bill, and I’m closer to self-sufficiency than ever before.

Combined, Ryan and I only need to make $1000/month to cover all of our current living expenses. Which was my same cost of living while doing solo full-time van life. But now, I’m investing most of that money into something that’s appreciating.

The point is, by living “small” & lowering my cost of living, I’ve found the freedom to live slower, and ultimately to work when and how I choose. So I suppose in a way, that person was right. Just not in the way they were implying.

📍 Land of the Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfoot, Crow, Flathead, Gros Ventre, and Nez Perce

If you’ve been following along my stories, you k

It’s amazing what a little fresh air can accompl

It’s amazing what a little fresh air can accomplish for your mindset.

📍Land of the Jicarilla Apache, Pueblos, Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute)

My mantra these days is slow and steady. Focusing

My mantra these days is slow and steady. Focusing too intensely on the destination, is my most profound pitfall.

No matter how many inspirational quotes I read, or life experience I gain, it’s so difficult to shake the notion that achieving your goals and becoming “successful” is more meaningful if done quickly. We are conditioned by awards like Forbes 30 under 30, to believe that your achievements are more valuable if they happen when you are young. We are conditioned to compare our lives and accomplishments with the media’s deemed pillars of success. Well I call B.S.

I would argue that you can’t fully appreciate success if you get there too quickly. Success also comes in many shapes, much like love and happiness.

Ryan and I bought our small off grid house last year as a lifeline in many ways. At least for me, it was in part, an act of desperation for my mental health. I had been craving stability my entire life, and the prospect of continuing with full-time van life during a pandemic magnified that need.

The second we made the decision, I was onto planning how we would quickly turn our 5 acres into a sustainable farm and glamping resort. But wait, we still want to travel, renovate the house, grow our own food, raise farm animals, create content, juggle freelance work, and I also want to finish writing my travel memoir.

I have a problem with taking on WAY more than I can handle. And somehow, I never learn my lesson.

But most of my stress stems from feeling like I have to do everything now. And I don’t. You don’t either. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by society’s expectations and made up timelines. Take this as your sign and even as permission to slow down.

As much as I’ve always cringed at the cliche quote: “Life is a journey, not a destination” I think just maybe, they might be onto something. But learning to bask in the journey, is a journey unto itself. So here’s to our shared journey, and constantly relearning that each of ours will look different, and that’s perfectly okay.

📍Land of the Shoshone, Nez Perce, Gros Ventre, Blackfoot, and Crow people

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