Some weeks before we jumped in the plane towards Costa Rica and when I was drown in the correction of the exams, wrapping up papers and writing project applications, Frank said “we needed to talk”. And after what seemed to me a very long silence he added: about blogging, how we were going to do … More The thrill of blogging
Oops! Have we been here already for a month?
After 10 hectic days in Alajuela and more than two weeks doing nada on the beach, I finally have the need to start doing something. I am basically getting anxious because I see the days passing by without accomplishing anything, apart from resting and blogging. I realize that part of the problem is that I am so used to do something and moreover to have to do something that the mere fact of having days without plans is scary. This is a bad sign.
… More Why ‘doing nothing’ feels so alien. A reflection on the first 30 days of the sabbatical.
A friend recently asked us how did we find the organizations in which we will be volunteering in Costa Rica, which triggered us to write this blog. Here are some of the strategies that we tried and how they worked for us. … More How to find volunteering opportunities in nature conservation
Among the purposes of this first month of the sabbatical were to sleep, relax, recover and “do nothing”. But even on holidays, we are always doing “something”: reading, birdwatching, organizing photos, strolling on the beach, snorkeling or nowadays, writing a blog. So, what do we mean by doing nothing? … More Learning the art of doing nothing
One of the things that I find most peculiar about the Ticos (Costa Ricans) is their addresses’ and directions’ system. At least compared to the ones that we have in the parts of the world where Frank and I come from. While in Europe, for instance, addresses are based on streets and numbers, in Costa … More Addresses ‘Tico Style’
About a year before the starting date of the sabbatical, there are a number of things that one can start doing in preparation for the sabbatical. Our one year-before to-do list includes the following items: Prepare the wish list with all the things that we ideally like to do during the sabbatical Brainstorm with partner … More To do one year before
Why is a sabbatical wish list useful One of the items that is repeatedly advised in every book or blog about planning a sabbatical is to carefully think about: What is your main motivation for taking the sabbatical, i.e. why do you want to go on a sabbatical? What do you want to get from the … More The sabbatical wish list
So, once that we had decided the date -2020- and the place – Costa Rica- everything became much more concrete. Butterflies in the stomach!. Yes, the time to dream about it was gone. We were going to do it!! (do you also hear the fireworks in the background?). Needless to say, once that the place and … More The planning board
Once that we made the decision to take a year off, the key question was where? We both agreed that it had to be a tropical country. Despite the fact (or may be because of the fact) that we live in Sweden, we both hate cold weather. Spending our money on a one year sabbatical … More Why Costa Rica?
It was probably around the Christmas 2015 that the idea of making some life changes started to take form. The year 2015 had been a particularly tough and frustrating year at work. I had a growing sense of frustration with the direction that my working life had taken. I realised that I used to eagerly … More How everything started…and the books that helped
THE FLIP FLOP LIFE 