For the month of January, I did something a little bit crazy as I work remotely and travel. I signed up to move in with 22 strangers in a small town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia for a whole month.
Craving more community as I solo travel
Let me give you a little bit of back story on how I ended up here.
Solo traveling the world for the past 3 years has been an unbelievable experience full of growth. I’ve learned how to love myself, trust myself and fully depend on myself in ways that have stretched me and made me stronger. But solo travel can also be acutely lonely, and I’ve been starting to notice this deeper longing for community.
I make friends easily on the road and it hasn’t been hard to find people to share adventures and experiences with. But I’ve been longing for deeper and more long-term connections. People I don’t have to say goodbye to after just one weekend. People who don’t have to stay in one place while I keep traveling.
What I’ve been craving, ever since I left Vietnam in September of 2020, is a sense of community. People to do life with. My longing for community grew this past fall while I was living in Mexico City and going through a string of whirlwind romances followed by heartbreaks. It’s what propelled me to apply and go through the interview process of Wifi Tribe.
Making the decision to join Wifi Tribe
Wifi Tribe is a group of 1000+ people who work remotely and travel together for a month at a time in various locations around the world. I’ve toyed around with the idea of joining a group like this (Remote Year, Wifi Tribe, Unsettled, etc.) ever since I started traveling, but had several hesitations. Mainly I worried about the cost, and about getting stuck with a group of Americans and feeling like I was back in the States.
I was accepted into Wifi Tribe at the end of December, but was still unsure about joining or not. Becoming a member required me to pay a $500 fee up front, which felt like a big financial commitment. So I did what I do with every time I feel unsure of what to do next: I turned to my intuition to guide me.
I used a process of writing to my intuition, that I’ve spoken about before.
Here is what I journaled to my intuition:
I think I want to do it, but I’m scared of how much it costs. I feel weird about spending money. I know it needs to come from within. What does my intuition have to say about this? Do I want this?
Yes.
Should I join Wifi Tribe?
Open your heart.
So this is going to be part of my journey of opening my heart.
Yes
.
I heard a very clear yes from my intuition. I felt it inside of me. This expansion. This sense of openness and possibility. That’s how I knew it was something I needed to do.
Moments later, I signed up and paid the $500 to join the tribe.
Even though it felt like a big financial risk with no guarantees.
Even though I was worried about throwing away my money. Am I just paying for friends?
Even though it felt super vulnerable to put myself out there so deliberately in search for community. Did that look too desperate? Shouldn’t I play it cool?
Setting my intentions for the new year
Not only did I join the tribe to work remotely and travel with community, I also signed up for my very first chapter. A 4 week experience of living and working in Santa Marta, Colombia with 22 strangers. I did all of this at the very end of December and then went to an ashram for 4 days to reflect and reset before the new year.
During my time at the ashram I journaled about what I wanted the year of 2022 to look like.
Here are the exact words that I wrote in my journal:
I really just want simple things. Presence and love; dancing and laugher. Shared moments and goosebumps and happy tears. Long hugs. Coffee and slow mornings. Butterflies and hummingbirds; incredible views and time in nature. Good music and singing on the beach and karaoke parties. Adventures and calm. Feeling the wind in my face. Card games and bonfires. Chocolate and sunsets. Savoring all the little moments and relaxing into the knowing that I’m enough. I’m just fully enough.
It is absolutely wild how many of those exact things came to be over this past month with Wifi Tribe.
Dancing in cars and boats and bars to our new favorite song, and the anthem of the trip- Pepas
Incredible views where the beach meets the mountains and the jungle in Tayrona National Park
Karaoke parties under the stars in Minca
Watching the sunset over the Sierra Navadas
Hosting an ecstatic dancing workshop to share the power of movement in emotional processing
Playing one of my favorite card games presidents and assholes with a medieval twist
Goosebumps from my first ice bath/ polar plunge
Spotting butterflies, hummingbirds, flying fish and giant eagles
Endless laughter as I grew to appreciate the sense of humor and quirkiness of my fellow tribe members
Feeling the wind on my face as I sped through the ocean on a bumpy (and slightly terrifying) speed boat
Mornings filled with coffee, yoga, swimming in the ocean and deep conversations.
I didn’t purposely seek out these specific experiences. I didn’t carry this list with me and try to create each of these things deliberately. I just participated in each moment as it unfolded and now looking back I see that I basically checked every single experience off my list (just missing that bonfire!).
This month was such a clear example of the magic that happens when I follow my intuition as I work remotely and travel. I was scared to take the financial and emotional risk to join Wifi Tribe, but I did it anyways.
I followed my intuition, even when I was scared and it led me to the most expansive, heart opening month of my travels so far. Without even realizing it, my intuition was leading me to receive the exact specific things I asked for at the start of the year. Some lessons that I’ve learned through my travels this January
- My intuition knows the way and is always leading me in the direction of my true desires. It’s safe to follow my intuition even when it feels scary.
- Paying for friends is totally worth it. I’m somewhat joking when I say that, but the real lesson is more like: It’s ok to spend money on things that are deeply important to you.
- I’m way more extroverted than I previously thought.
But mostly I’ve learned that savoring those little moments with people I care about adds so much meaning and joy to my life.
