Cultivating Authentic Experiences as a Nomad
Nomad Profile
Known as the first digital nomad, I met Jeff when he was leading a tour to Cuba. That trip was so much fun—full of art, music, and dancing with healthy amounts of rum drinking and cigar smoking mixed in. Let’s just say, all the ingredients were there for a friendship that has lasted more than 10 years.
You can follow Jeff’s adventures here, including his upcoming Himalayas Writer’s Workshop.
9 Fun Facts
First Name: Jeff
Age Range: (early) 70s
Nationality: USA
Nomadic Stance: Episodic
Last Corporate Job: Nope
Current Job: Author, journalist, stage performer, and executive director of www.EthicalTraveler.org
Favorite Countries: Nepal, Mexico
Next Stop: Kathmandu, via Doha
What do you like best about the nomadic life? Immediacy
2 Questions
1. As one of the pioneers of the digital nomad community, how have you seen travel change over the years?
During my earliest years as a digital nomad—in 1993/94, as I was writing The Size of the World—connections on the road were still made mostly by accident, personal introduction, and word of mouth. The “social network” in a place like Kathmandu was a bulletin board outside a local hostel. I remember dropping in at a Peace Corps volunteer house in Mali, knowing I would find like-minded people (and possible traveling companions) there.
Those opportunities still exist; the big difference is that digital nomads are now part of a global community of travelers who can discover each other, offer hospitality, and plan trips together far in advance of reaching their destination. All of those resources have been gained.
What's been lost, perhaps, is the thrill of total uncertainty. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. once wrote that “Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God.” I’ve found there's less surrender to that kind of spontaneity in our tightly networked world.
2) What advice would you give to nomads today who are looking for authenticity and community as they travel?
Rely less on information-driven technologies and spend more time connecting directly with local people—in markets, at train stations, in cafés, behind the counter of a museum gift shop... you get my point. Visit the office of the local newspaper or radio station.
Rather than going online to find a good restaurant or a beautiful destination hike, ask a sympatico-looking local. The most transformative travel experiences I've had have been with people who never laid eyes on a guide book—from the Palestinian family I stayed with in Hebron to the spontaneous kindness of picnickers in an Isfahan park.
In Fiji some years ago, I asked the bellboy at my hotel where I might find a Kava ceremony, and ended up at his home that very evening, passing the kava bowl with a dozen of his closest friends. These were all people just going about their lives, but whose kindness and generosity were more memorable than the most esteemed architectural marvel.
Have you ever had a spontaneous travel experience? How did it come about? What made it memorable?
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Christened “Wander Woman” by National Geographic, Erin Michelson is a professional speaker and author of the Nomad Life™ series of curated trips and travel guides, including the #1-ranked “Explore the World with Nomads.”
Spontaneous is tricky nowadays unless we make the conscious effort to connect with people live and disconnect from our devices. It sounds like he has had some amazing experiences throughout his life. Also, the first digital nomad is quite a title to hold.