TRAVEL INTERVIEW WITH ZAC OF TRAVELS WITH A NINE YEAR OLD

Zac Sutcliffe With the Motorbike

Young Zac and his mother, Theodora Sutcliffe, set out on a one-year RTW trip in January, 2010, but they haven’t stopped yet! For the past 2 years Theodora and Zac have been traveling the world and writing about their adventures on Travels With a Nine Year Old. (now at EscapeArtistes)

I interviewed Theodora in August  (read interview) and more recently interviewed Zac to get his perspectives on long-term nomadic travel, his favorite places, and schooling- on the road vs. traditional school. To kick off this year’s weekly travelers’ interviews, here’s Zac, now 11 years old…

Q1. Do you prefer being called Z or Zac or Zacco or what? 

A1. Zac.

Q2. You’ve been out traveling nomadically around the world for almost 2 years now. Do you still love it? Are you still excited about your traveling lifestyle? Or are you getting tired? Would you like to stop for a while or keep on traveling? Whatever your answer is, why?

A2. Yes, I’m stopping for a while now. You take holidays because you’re bored of your current lifestyle, right? So I stop holidaying because of the same reason. Am I making sense?

Q3. What do you love about your nomadic travel life?

A3. The constant change of daily routine.

Q4. Is there anything you miss about your previous ‘normal’ life and/or living in one place? If so, what and why? 

A4. Bewilderingly, the lack of change in daily routine. It’s human nature to forever want to change things, ever restless, ever yearning to move on.

Q5. Think back to before your travel life. When you and your mom were planning your trip, what did you think and feel about your big plans? Was there anything you were worried or nervous about? Or were you just super excited? Or?

Q6. You’re mostly not in school while you’re traveling. So, how do you get your education? Do you have to study certain subjects? If so, which and how often? Where/how do you learn- from your mom, on the internet, with books?

A6. My tutors, who shall remain nameless, use Skype to teach me from abroad.

Q7. Do you miss going to school? Or do you prefer your current style of learning? Why?

A7. See A4. Currently, I almost miss school, but reckon that when I go back, I’ll once again wish to stop.

Q8. Which countries have you visited so far since setting off on your world travels?

A8. Umm, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, The Philippines, China, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and East Timor.

Q9. What 2-3 places do you like the best and why?

A9. Um, oh god, errr… Brisbane, Vang Vieng (Laos), and… Pulau Derawan (Indonesia)?

Q10. What 2-3 adventures / activities / experiences have been your favorites so far and why?

A10. Er, SCUBA diving, rollerblading and, a-hem, Assassin’s Creed.

Q11. What important things have your learned from your travels about life and/or people and/or yourself ?

A11. Well, life is unpredictable. Living a life calculated by the odds of success will lead to your demise. But gambling on everything will do the same.

Q12. What advice would you give to other kids about a long-term nomadic lifestyle?

A12. Do what you want. If you like travel, go ahead. If not, no, no and NO!

Q13. How much longer do you want to continue traveling?

website:  formerly at-  Travels With a Nine Year Old  now at- EscapeArtistes