Real Families: An Interview with 13 year old Miro, Traveling the World

My kids and I dream of traveling the world, and love to read about kids who are doing so. Miro is a 13 year old nomad who has spent 3 full years on the road, experiencing life in the fullest. He enjoys Manga, video games and Cryptozoology. He says he’s not very good at photography, but he does try.  His greatest fear is “the norm.” My two 7 year old interviewed Miro about his travels, from a kid’s perspective. If you’d like to learn more, his mom Lainie has an excellent travel blog called Raising Miro on the Road of Life, where she chronicles their nomadic adventures, with photos, videos, and podcasts. Enjoy!

What is your name and how old are you?
My name Miro and I am 13 years old.

Where are you from, and where do you live now?
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, but we no longer reside in that
part of the world. As for where we live now, that’s a tough question.
Currently we’re settled in Lima, but we’re bound to get up and leave
sometime soon. I think home is where our bags are.

Our mom told us you are traveling around the world: where have you traveled? What is your favorite place to live and then your favorite place to visit for vacation?
We’ve been to every single country from Mexico to Panama and from
there we’ve been to Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. My favorite place to
live would probably the same place that I’d like to visit, and that
would be Guatemala. Sure, we were there for 10-ish months, but I feel
we haven’t even reached the tip of the Iceberg.

What languages do you speak?
I’m fluent in 3 languages, which are English, Spanish (half fluent),
and Gibberish, but Gibberish is less useful since only 63 people are
completely fluently in it.

Have you tried any interesting food? Did you like it? What do you
do if you don’t like it?
Well some of the more interesting foods I’ve tasted are Anticyclone (cow
heart), Octopus Ceviche (raw fish cooked in lemon without heat), and
Alpaca Ravioli (it’s exactly what it sounds like.). Although I haven’t
tried Cuy (guinea pig), it’s on my to do list. I think all of the
food that I’ve stated are pretty good, but when I do happen to get
food I don’t like I try and it as much as I can and then remember to
never order it again.

What do you like to do in your freetime?
I spend a large amount of my free time on the computer. I read Manga
(Japanese Comic book), watch videos, and play games with my friends
online.

Do you have a Nintendo DS or other electronic/game to play with
while you are traveling? (this is my son! LOL)
I do have a Nintendo DS, but it’s been worse for wear for a while. It’s lived a good life, considering I’ve had it for a good 5 years. First generation too.

Do you read when you are traveling? If so, what are your favorite books?
I do read while we travel on our kindle. My favorite books have got to
be Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z, both by Max Brooks.

What kind of schoolwork do you have to do, and what is your favorite subject?
I don’t have to do any school work because I’m unschooling.
Basically, how it works is, I do what I want, when I want. It has
allowed me to study things that I wouldn’t be able to study if I were
in normal school, like Cryptozoology, Botany, and the Biology of
Zombies.

Wow, that sounds cool!! We love animals. What’s your favorite animal? Have you ever seen it in person? Where?
My favorite animal has got to be the “Elegant, Graceful, Majestic
Tapir.” I have actually seen it live (in a zoo, I don’t know if that
counts) in a zoo here in Peru. Also, they’re not elegant, graceful or
majestic. Just sayin’.

Oh, by the way last month I was in the Peruvian Amazon region.
We saw caiman, capybara and agoutis everywhere. Also, we also saw
fresh Jaguar tracks in the mud.

An agouti is in the same family as a capybara, but much smaller.
Here’s a picture of one we took in the Amazon in Peru.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I don’t know. I think I might want to be a Cryptozoologist, and if I
get better at drawing, possibly a Manga illustrator. It really depends
on if I get better at drawing.

What’s a Cryptozoologist?
A Cryptozoologist is a person who hunts down unknown creatures. Big
Foot and Lochness Monster are some of the more mainstream ones, but
there are a lot more of them out there.

How has traveling and visiting different cultures and countries
changed you or your vision of the world?
Obviously it’s hard for you to see changes in yourself, but my outlook
on the world has definitely changed for the better. I now see the
world as a very accessible and safe place. If only more people would
get out of their shell, they would realize the world was much more
reachable. If only.

Doesn’t Miro sound like such an awesome kid? I love his adventurous spirit, his open-mindedness, and his curiosity. If you’d like to learn more about family travel, one of my favorite posts is her compilation of the Benefits of Family Travel, with 25 other traveling families. Have you ever traveled the world- or dreamt of doing so- with your children? Tell us in the comments, and share your travel blog with other interested families!