Originally selling all of their stuff to move to Hawaii, Seward residents Emma and Riggin Rixstine decided to travel the world with their two children instead.
“Once we were selling our things, we thought about our options,” Emma Rixstine said. “We could travel now, or wait until our kids graduate and have to sell our stuff again. We decided to take the leap and travel the world now.”
The Rixstines, Emma, mother; Riggin, father; Araeya, 11; and Tytan, 7, are currently in Indonesia and will visit many other places around the world such as Thailand, Vietnam, Africa, Europe and the east coast of the United States. They’ve already been to other places such as Sydney, Tahiti and New Zealand. They’ve traveled by many modes of transportation such as planes, ships, camper vans and will eventually take a train.
Emma Rixstine said the trip has been a great educational experience for her children.
“Culture is a big part of these places, and there are a lot of cultural differences,” she said. “It’s been a shocking difference for our children. They’re getting to see the difference between America and other countries.”
Teaching her kids about geography, beliefs, ecosystems and other things has also been a good experience for her children. Rixstine said it’s been an eye-opening experience for their family.
In-depth tours of the places have also been a great experience for the Rixstine family.
“We like to try and book tours that aren’t just the tourist traps,” Rixstine said. “We try to do tours that will teach us about the local area.”
Along with seeing each country’s culture, the Rixstines said one of the best parts of their trip has been the time they’ve spent together.
“We’ve really learned a lot about each other,” Rixstine said. “When you have no one else to talk to, you learn a lot that we surprisingly didn’t know.”
She said seeing the cultures in other countries has been great too.
“It’s so different and not what people imagine,” she said. “You really need to see it in order to know.”
So far, things have gone smoothly for the Rixstine’s, however, they have had a few minor issues along the way.
“Our kids are pretty picky, so when we got to Indonesia, we had to find food they would at least try,” Rixstine said. “When we were in Australia, we had to turn in our camper van earlier than expected for a hotel room because it was extremely hot and humid. Other than that, so far our trip has been smooth.”
Although the Rixstines were planning to move to Hawaii, she said it’s looking like they will come back to Seward once they finish traveling.
“I got accepted into a graduate school in Hawaii, but my daughter has struggled leaving Seward,” Rixstine said. “She’s struggled to leave our family in Seward, so I can always go back to Clarkson in Omaha.”
Now that she’s spent some time traveling the world, Rixstine encourages others to travel.
“Take the leap and get out of your norm,” she said.
Anyone interested in following the Rixstines on their journey can follow @radrixstines on Instagram.
