At the time the family set sail for Singapore, neither Magí nor Alguer had turned six, and therefore, their schooling was not compulsory. "We knew they were of the age for compulsory schooling, and we firmly believe in the experiential learning that occurs during the trip itself," their parents point out. Even so, the topic of schooling was the one people asked them most about before the trip. How did the family ultimately resolve the issue of education? Jaume and Patri believe that education "is a dynamic and flexible process, not rigid or immutable," and they celebrate the fact that their children have had the opportunity to experience different types of education, from more traditional models to much more experiential approaches. During the long trip, Alguer was still very young and hadn't started school, while Magí was in Grade 15 at a traditional school. "We focused on the experiential learning that the trip itself offers. We homeschooled, had materials to work on literacy, and were in contact with their school teacher," their parents recall. After a year, upon returning from Southeast Asia, Magí returned to school without any difficulty. "We were very positively surprised by how naturally and quickly she adapted, without needing any additional support," they recall. In December 2023, the family moved to South Africa, and the two children are currently enrolled at the Green School in South Africa, an alternative school with a strong connection to nature.
The Catalan family with the flexibility to live all over the world
Jaume and Patri form La MochiFamily with their children Magí and Alguer, a nickname that captures their semi-nomadic essence.
Barcelona2019 marks a turning point in the family history of Jaume and Patri, whose sons, Magí and Alguer, were then five and a half years old and 17 months old, respectively. At that time, the family embarked on a year-long trip through Southeast Asia, a dream that had been brewing since 2015, before their little one was even born. The family had already traveled the world quite a bit, adventures that began to appear on the blog in 2017. The Mochi FamilyThe big adventure, however, came in January 2019, when the family boarded a one-way flight to Singapore. Jaume and Patri had always dreamed of taking a long family trip, and the birth of their children didn't stop them. "It pushed us to want to share a life-changing experience with them, as well as spend quality time together, break away from the hectic pace of everyday life, and experience the world from a more relaxed and familiar perspective," they say six years later.
Fears as a family
The couple were already established travelers even before they met. Curiously, they explain, one of the great trips they took separately was the same: a four-month backpacking trip through India that Patri took with her best friend, and Jaume with two of his friends. Fate would have it that the two met at the airport when Patri was returning from the trip and Jaume was about to leave. "This coincidence was the beginning of our story," Patri concludes. Since then, the two have traveled together to Japan, New Zealand, Venezuela, Morocco... "Travel has been a part of us from day one; it's like a common thread that has united us and that greatly defines the way we live," Jaume adds.
As the departure date for Singapore approaches, the couple explains that their concerns about having Magí and Alguer join them on the adventure were primarily about their health and adapting to constant changes. "We also wondered if we'd find a good balance between the logistics of the trip and the emotional needs of the children and the family itself, and we soon discovered that with flexibility and calm, we felt very comfortable," they emphasize. The news of this great trip fell like a bombshell on the extended family, "because it's not easy to tell grandparents that they won't be seeing their grandchildren for a while," they explain. Luckily, after the initial shock, they have always supported them. "In fact," they explain, "during the trip, we had a family get-together with grandparents and aunts and uncles in Bali, and it was an incredible experience that we will remember for a lifetime."
The first days in Singapore
Although it wasn't their first family trip, it was the first time the four of them had flown so far. The flights were long, but Jaume and Patri admit that "with patience and a little organization," everything went well. jet lag also made an appearance in the first few days, "but it was a matter of adapting to the pace." The couple was clear that "it wouldn't be a static trip," as they wanted to visit many countries in Southeast Asia and, if possible, Australia as well, which they also ended up visiting. Before leaving, they had only booked the hotel in Singapore, the flight to the Philippines, and the first accommodation there. From then on, they were "on the fly." They booked flights between countries a bit in advance "to find a better price," but once in the country, transportation and accommodation were quite improvised. "It's true that we made longer stays in cities like Kuala Lumpur, where we spent three weeks to rest from the trip," they note.
On this trip through Southeast Asia, Jaume and Patri note that what surprised them "very positively" about Magí and Alguer as potential travelers was their ability to adapt and curiosity about everything around them. "Magí, especially, being older, showed great openness and interest in cultures, tastes, languages... And the beautiful thing was seeing how she experienced each experience with a clear perspective, without filters or prejudices," say her parents. Jaume and Patri note how surprised they were that "the presence of the children opened many doors for them to connect with the local people."
School of life for the four
In December 2019, after a year of traveling through Southeast Asia, Jaume, Patri, Magí, and Alguer returned home just before the pandemic began. On that long trip, they visited nine countries: Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and China, an adventure the family describes as "a school of life for all four of them." For the children, their parents explain, "it gave them a great capacity for adaptation, confidence, flexibility, and a very open view of the world." Living in contact with other realities from a young age has made them "more empathetic, curious, and resilient. They have learned to value what they have and understand that not everyone lives the same way," they continue. As a family unit, it was an experience that brought them closer together because they were able to fill their backpacks with a wealth of experiences and anecdotes they had shared.
After this long trip, Jaume (formerly a pharmacist) and Patri (formerly a social worker) also reinvented themselves professionally. To be able to leave, they took a leave of absence from work and funded their trip with savings. "What the trip gave us was a lot of clarity about what our priorities are and how we want to live; that's why, when we returned, we were clear that we wanted jobs that fit our lifestyle, not the other way around," they emphasize. Today, they both lead La MochiFamily, a family travel blog, and since 2021, Patri has had a travel business. network marketing in a cosmetics and food supplements company.
And now what?
After their great adventure through Southeast Asia and Australia, the members of La MochiFamily continued traveling as a family. They've been to countries like Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Senegal, and the Maldives. Since 2023, they've lived in South Africa, where they've realized another dream: enrolling Magí and Alguer at the Green School of South Africa, a school that focuses on values, innovation, sustainability, nature, and creativity. "Watching our children grow up in this environment excites us every day," Jaume and Patri explain, just before packing their bags again to spend two months as a family traveling through Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. "We don't know how long we'll stay, but right now we have the flexibility to live wherever we want. We'll assess the needs of all family members to decide whether to stay here longer, return, or change countries," they conclude.