Musings from the Movement

Taylor is a 20 year old Canadian from the “true north” of the Yukon Territory and currently lives in High River, Alberta.

She’s studying Animal Welfare through an online certificate program with Thompson Rivers University. She is passionate about the rescue and rehabilitation of abused and neglected animals, and hopes this trip will provide helpful insight and inspiration to continue in this career direction.

Luckily the Southeast Asia locations on our trip have an abundance of animals in need of care (and homes!) that will surely convince Taylor that she’s on the right path.While she was weighing her options at home and deciding whether she really wanted to put herself through years of school, she discovered Edumadic and a long-term traveling experience easily became a priority.

“I have been wanting to travel for quite some time, but haven’t had anyone to go with and haven’t desired travelling solo without gaining sufficient experience first…this is such an interesting and unique program, and I would love to be part of something that emphasizes both furthering one’s education through experience and creating a community of like-minded people.”

After her travels end this year, Taylor plans to head back to Canada and complete a diploma to become an Animal Health Technician, continue traveling, and see where in the world she can put her passion to good use!

Daphne is a 20 year-old from the Netherlands who's taking a year off from both university and her life as a competitive diver.

Daphne has been a part of the Dutch national diving team since 2011 and is on the road to the 2020 Olympics. But before committing more of her time to the intense training process, she knew she needed to take some time off.

“I recently discovered I needed a break to get out of my isolated life in the pool. I realized, to become a better and stronger athlete, I needed to take a break and do something completely different. Resetting my mind with a program like Edumadic, I believe I can find the inspiration and motivation to face my fears and continue my training after the summer to further pursue my dream to becoming a Olympian.”

This year off has also allowed time away from a university life that didn’t quite feel right. She’d begun to study Communications after graduating from high school, but soon realized it wasn’t the path for her.

“When I started my gap year a couple months ago, I was ready to travel the world. However, following some research online, I realized I might not be suited to be a backpacker girl and also missed studying.”

And so she made her way to Edumadic, feeling it was the perfect combination of travel, community, education, and a taste of a completely different lifestyle outside of the known.

“After spending six weeks in Bali, I’m more confident than ever that I want to continue my career as a competitive diver and pursue a degree in Sports Marketing.”

During her time on this trip, Daphne is taking a photography course to add this skill to her marketing portfolio.You can catch her swimming in the ocean, browsing the Canggu shops, and practicing new photography techniques on the gorgeous Bali scenery.

Hendricks is from Boston, USA and is between his 3rd and 4th years of college.

Having studied a variety of things from clinical psychology to marine ecology and sustainability, he has come to realise that whilst he is grateful for his education, he is his best self outside of a traditional education setting. This led him to study abroad for a year in the Bahamas during his junior year at high school.

“It was one of the most influential experiences I have had in my life. I was coming from an all boys, competitive environment where we wore suits and ties every day. I didn’t realize how rigid it felt until I had a chance to get away from it. I was excited to go experience a new climate, both socially and environmentally. The Island school was a complete lifestyle change, from the very beginning”.

With a passion for deep conversation and the arts, he has been working on his poetry and creating content for his YouTube channel since joining our Bali program. He also spends his time here, meditating, reflecting to build a better sense of self and understanding of this new world he finds himself immersed in on Bali.  

A fun fact about Hendricks: He is an amazing dancer, who is able to express through his body, what he feels his mind cannot. You will often find Hendricks busting a move by the pool when a good tune comes on, and on the odd occasion, centre stage at the local bar!

Charlotte is a 24 year old Canadian who has recently graduated with two degrees in French and Education.

Charlotte first heard about Edumadic way back in 2016 before a single program had ever run! Since that mysterious ad popped up on instagram she’s been eagerly following the growth of the company, waiting for a moment where an Edumadic program would fit into her life. That moment finally came!

“I’ve just graduated with two degrees, I’m not yet ready to dive into full-time employment, and am hoping to continue life as a student for a little while longer. The opportunity to travel with a group of people with similar goals sounds fantastic! It seems as though every Edumad that’s showcased is a person who I’d really love to get to know.”

Her most recent degree was from teachers college. Charlotte hopes to put that to use in the near future, but first she wants to add a few more strings to her bow before signing on with a school board, all of which she plans to do while on this Edumadic program! She’s taking 3 additional courses that will allow her to teach French and History at High School level, and also qualify her to teach special needs children.

It was a year spent in France that gave Charlotte the travel bug.

“As cliché as it is to rave about your year abroad, I absolutely adored it. I met so many amazing people, including lots of international students, with whom I did a lot of travelling.”

Having jumped around Europe during that year, Charlotte is ready to branch further afield to the more humid and culturally diverse region of South East Asia!

These days you can find Charlotte floating around the back streets of Chiang Mai, thanking and politely declining every offer of a tuk tuk ride that is thrown her way, as all good Canadians do!

Katia is a 23 year old San Franciscan.

Since she was little, Katia had dreamt and worked toward becoming a ballerina.

“At the age of 17, after having trained and performed for over a decade, personal circumstances prevented me from pursuing a career. Without ever considering a “Plan B”, I went to college because I figured that was what I was supposed to do”.

Whilst Katia loved the materials she was studying, she wasn't completely happy and  just knew this form of education wasn't for her. Instead, she has decided to wait until she is truly passionate about something, to then commit to studying it in depth. Katia has travelled quite extensively growing up, having made trips to France and Russia on multiple occasions as well as Hawaii, Spain, Mexico and even lived in New York during the duration of her time at college.

Whilst Ballet is her life, even still today as she works as the operations manager for her parents ballet school, Katia loves photography.

“I have always had a camera by my side, and could spend a whole day just editing pictures - it is one thing that I can see myself doing every day. I very much enjoy taking abstract pictures - I like putting a twist on how we are able to see things - to create a new perspective”.