What inspired me?

People inspire me.
Tammy, a woman in my community who adopted 2 children from China and raised countless dollars for other families wanting to to adopt.
Emily, age 19, from Prince Edward Island, who did the El Camino, not once, but twice!
Trudy G, a fellow jeweller from New Brunswick who has been going to the Chapala region for several years to teach the adult women new jewellery making techniques.
My kids! Loudon and Brennus are age 12 and 10. I want to teach them that there is a whole wide world out there. They are so fascinated by my venture and with the ease of technology, they can follow ever step.
My children's uncle inspired me when he and a group of other doctors went to Africa to provide free health care to a village. One year, he took his two oldest children with him, who were just tweens at the time.

I lived in Canada's Arctic for 5 years. Living in another culture inspired me.

Other people's stories and adventures inspire me. Stories of Inuit being lost on the tundra and surviving. Modern day adventurers like Don Starkle, Paddle to the Arctic and Victoria Jason, Kabloona in a Yellow Kayak who paddled through the Arctic. I read both of their books while living in Repulse Bay, NU. While living in Inuvik, NT, I recall many stories of people travelling the famous MacKenzie River by any means, even rafts.
I was once on the Dempster Highway with friends having a picnic and out of nowhere comes an elderly man on a bike. Coming from the south meant that he would have had to travel over 700 km on a gravel highway. He told us it was a personal journey.
When in Inuvik, there was a film screening about a husband and wife team who followed the Canadian herd of Caribou on foot. Karsten Heuer and Leanne Allison documented this powerful adventure; Being Caribou.
Adventures by actor Ewen McGregor and friend Charley Boorman when they traveled by motorcycle all around the world going through many countries and therefore encountering many cultures. Both adventures were filmed; Long Way Round and Long Way Down are a must watch.
Movies inspire me: Into the Wild, The Wild, Tracks, The Way...

Why...why this and why now?

I want to wake myself up.
I grew up in a small town in a traditional family. My mom was a stay at home wife and my father worked every day.
I always wanted something different. I dreamed of travelling and seeing the world. I moved to another province (PEI) when I was 18 to attend university and met so many people from other places and other cultures.
From there, I moved to another province (Ontario) and met more and more people from more and more cultures. I was fascinated.
After art college I moved to Canada's arctic where I was completely immersed into the Inuit, Inuvialuit and Gwich'in cultures for 5 years. It was a dream for me and I loved it.
When I had my first child I imagined him coming with his dad and I to many different places. He was born in Inuvik, NWT. His first flight was across the country at 6 weeks old. His second flight was moving to PEI at 8 months old.
I had my second child 2 years later and I became a stay at home wife for 5 years. We bought a house, and became a traditional family.
This was not what i had planned, not what I had dreamed of. My marriage ended 5 years ago and it honestly took 5 years to get past it. Lawyers, legal fees, division of property, child custody, etc is crippling.
Now, my children are well adjusted to two households and are old enough to not miss their mom (too much). My finances are back on track and I have a job that will permit me to take a month leave without pay (and I've saved my vacation days).
It's time for me to get back to my my childhood dream, to live an non traditional life, to travel, to explore another culture. It's time to teach my children too.
I don't want to work 9-5 every day without life experiences that will change me. I want to grow as a human. I want to feel and see and smell and taste a different place that will stay with me and become part of me. I want to wake myself up to how well I have it. How much we have. How lucky I am.