Suzy

I'm Suzy and welcome to the Wander World School and Slow Family Travel podcast where we discuss the stories, logistics and finances of long-term traveling families and the multitude of ways to learn and educate along the way. Today I'm joined by Kate McAllister. Kate shares her journey from educator in the United Kingdom to running a world school education center in the Dominican Republic. She shares her tips for self-regulation, living in the Dominican Republic, and navigating time away from loved ones. Welcome

Kate McAllister

Hi, lovely to meet you, Suzy. I'm Kate. I live in the Dominican Republic. I have two children. One is grown and flown. He's back living in the UK and my daughter is with me in Dominican Republic. I'm an educator. I've been an educator for more than 20 years.

Suzy

Great, so I'm excited to dive into more about your educational offering in the Dominican Republic. But first it'd great to get to know you a little bit better about your travel origin story, such as early travel experiences that help shape your desire for travel as an adult.

Kate McAllister

my father was a long distance lorry driver. So he would go away for a week. And then he would come back and he would bring gifts from wherever he'd been. So I already had the sense as a small child that the world was a big place. And then we used to go on holiday when I was a child, we'd go to France or Spain and drive all through Europe. I went and stayed with family friends in France. I think when I was about my daughter's age, actually, about 13, I went as a kind of au pair for a few weeks. And I had my first international experience of being myself in the world, but somewhere completely new. I think I fell in love with being the foreign version of me at that point and just the language and the culture and the food and the clothing and everything being different. So that went in early and it never went away.

Suzy

what a great experience. you mentioned Laurie Driver and we've been living in Spain half the year. So if we read English books, they're often British English books. And when I first started with my son reading these books, I thought, I'll understand every word. Like there's a few British words that are different than American or Australian English. And I didn't realize how many words I actually didn't know. Laurie, knew, but candy floss was new for cotton candy. And then there were a couple I said, I honestly have no idea what that is. So it was a good reminder that even in a language that we're very familiar with, there are still differences around the world. And so when people in Spain talk about differences with other dialects in Spanish, I'm like, okay, I get it now because there is a difference. So tell me a little bit more about your family travels, such as how you ended up in the Dominican Republic or even some travels that you took as a family before that experience.

Kate McAllister

when my son was small, well, he was born in France. So we already were not in England living a traditional life as he entered the world. So we used to do lots of traveling back to the UK. So that was always part of his childhood was traveling. And then when I started teaching when he was a bit older, I would organize school trips to France or Italy or wherever I could. And then I could get to take him as well because otherwise I would not have been able to afford to do it. So I was always trying to figure out how I could make my life more interesting and his life more interesting. there's quite a big gap between my children. And so when she came along, I was older and it was easier for me to be even more adventurous. So we ended up in Dominican Republic after I'd done all the kind of traditional forms of traveling I could do. And then I realized I needed to kind of step off the map and be braver and do something more exciting with my life. And that's how I ended up here.

Suzy

What was it about the Dominican Republic that led you to want to land there?

Kate McAllister

So we did not intend to root down here at all. So I got to the, as far as I could get in my traditional shaped life and I realized I wanted more. So I sold my house, my car, my things, my everything. And my daughter and I went off on this grand adventure. We were going to travel around the whole world and meet all these people who world school and understand much more about how it all works. Cause I'm an educator and a researcher and that's fascinating to me. And so we set off two weeks ahead of COVID. And then we had to stop. Well, we had to stick or twist, we had to make a decision. And we had no idea where to go forward to. And Dominican Republic is beautiful. And there's mangoes on the tree and there's fish in the ocean and the people are gorgeous. and the sun shines. And at that point it was the apocalypse, right? It was like, we're all gonna die. And so I kind of figured, well, if I'm gonna go out anywhere, this is the place to do it. So we decided to stick and then we ended up inadvertently making a whole life here and we've been here five years.

Suzy

if you're going to isolate being on a small secluded island is a great place to be.

Kate McAllister

Really, we lucked out, we really did.

Suzy

Lots of outdoor time, not as many people. when you were traveling, how did your children express their thoughts around traveling? Did it evolve as they grew up?

Kate McAllister

We always used to travel and then go back to home. I still have a home base. I've always had a home base. They've just been in different places. So we'll move and we'll experience the culture and go deep and make friends and live there and then maybe move to another place. So my son has lived in France. My daughter's lived in France. We've lived in the UK. Now we live in the Dominican Republic. So we've moved around, but I've never been a traveler. I've never done the backpacking thing. So there has always been a sense that we have a home, a route, a place where we live. And from there we go off on adventure. So I think that's been different. That has suited us. And even when I sold everything and ended up with two suitcases, very soon we put down roots, we made a little home nest and we go off adventuring from here. So that's clearly what suits our collective vibe.

Suzy

We've done the same thing by being in Spain having that home base, having a place there, some items there, some comforts. And then from there, there's a lot of opportunities to explore. I consider that slow travel. I don't think there's any definitions to any of this. It's really all what we feel and how we define it. how old was your daughter when you first arrived in Dominican Republic? Okay.

Kate McAllister

seven.

Suzy

growing up there, living the island life, which is pretty different than the weather in England. Is that correct?

Kate McAllister

It's very different, yes.

Suzy

What is your favorite part about the demand current public?

Kate McAllister

gosh. I think the weather, being an English woman and having grown up in Europe mostly. So yeah, I do love the sunshine. And I didn't think that I would. When I set off, I said to my mom, well, I won't be long in the Caribbean. I don't think I'll like it. I think I'll miss having seasons. And I was like, I'm not coming back. my nervous system loves it. the freshness of everything like you can really sense nature. You know that you're connected to nature here and the sunshine. So all of that, I really enjoy. I feel very alive and present here.

Suzy

I assume there's a lot of opportunities to live outdoors instead of inside There's just a lot of nature. But you mentioned you're an educator and what did that look like in England and how has your role as an educator evolved?

Kate McAllister

So I started off as a very traditional teacher. I was a French teacher, languages teacher in a secondary school, mainstream education, public school. And I slowly became more interested in how children learn than how I should teach. And that kind of led me on a journey which took me up to the edge of mainstream and then looking out into alternative models for education, how are other people tackling the same issue that some children seem to thrive in mainstream schools and others, really the opposite? And, and what what's being done about it. So that's been like a 15 year journey. And then I left mainstream teaching about six years ago, maybe. And I went off the map a little bit. And that's when my daughter and I moved to France, we went to a refugee camp and we lived there for six months. And I opened a school in a double deck of bus for refugee children so that we could move around and they could still learn. So that was a whole adventure. And it taught me an extra piece that I think I then added into my, my education model, which was about nervous system regulation and, really genuinely feeling safe in your body and psychologically in order to be able to learn. And so now I've combined everything I've learnt in the last 20 years and I've opened a place that's called The Hive. So it's really an education centre first, but it just so happens that the ideal people to come and visit are world school families because It's in a funny place. It's in Dominican Republic, because that's where I got stuck. So that's where I opened it. And it works really well in small bursts. So people come together, and we all form a community. And we all learn together and with one another. And we're all working towards a shared goal. So we all go on this learning journey together. And then we all reach the end. And then everybody kind of disappears back to where they came from. Some people stay, actually. Some people stay and they stay forever, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the intention. And so that's what I'm doing now. when my son was born, I didn't know any different. I came from a very traditional family. We didn't really travel. were absolutely mainstream in all the ways. And so we all had a standard education and my son went to the local school and he had a standard education. And whenever I could, would take him away from there to show him the rest of the world. But I didn't know that you could just choose to not do that. I remember the day that somebody said to me, you should look up so-and-so on, social media I found this family that had just stepped off the map. that had stepped out of their life. And I thought, well, I can do that. my whole world shifted. And I realized that I could just step out of the shape that was not fitting me, that was not comfortable, that didn't fit me as a child, that didn't fit me as an educator, that didn't fit my children and just. walk out into the world and make a life that was the right shape for us. And so that's what I've done. And now the hive acts as a stepping stone for people. when I stepped off the map, I just leapt into the void and I didn't have anybody to catch me. But I was older and experienced and I've done crazy things before. So I trusted that I would leap into the void and grow wings on the way down. But it would have been nice to land into a community of people who'd done it before me, who knew what they were doing, who could teach me and support me and give me, all of that stuff that you would like to have on the other side of making a big leap. And so that's kind of what the hive is. It's education for the children, but it's also community for the parents. And the parents are all learning from one another as well. Like, how do you travel? How do you earn money? How do you raise your kids? How do you parent through this experience? How do you do when they become teenagers? All of those questions that we have running in our mind, there is always somebody in the group who's been through the bit that you're worried is coming for you.

Suzy

That soft landing can be so important to once you take the leap, realize I'm not alone. There are other families doing this. is the world is safe and I can do this. So that is great to build that community. And you're right, some people are looking for different things. So having the education center means that if they're not quite ready to dive into homeschooling or full on world schooling. What does that look like for a typical day for a student?

Kate McAllister

I've devised a model for learning that I've just been gradually working on for the last, 10 years or so. And so it all follows the self-regulation cycle of the child. So everything goes in cycles. So what that looks like in a day is that we come in in the morning, we check into our bodies, we figure out how we're feeling, and we teach you a way of talking about how your body feels and how your mind feels. and understanding how it works. And then we decide what we need to do in order to feel the way we want to feel. And that's our self-regulation time. So we start with self-awareness and then we move into self-regulation. That could be running around to get rid of energy because we feel too fizzy. It could be meditating. It could be singing, dancing, something that allows us to kind of syncopate our heartbeats and all get into the same... vibe, if you like. So we're all kind of resonating in the same frequency. And then we do some learning. Now, sometimes that's really active hands on learning. Sometimes somebody comes in from outside to tell us something really interesting. Sometimes we go out on an excursion to look at something or meet somebody. But there's like input, right? There's some kind of inspiration. And then the rest of the day is what are we gonna do with that inspiration? So over the arc of six weeks, we are building a project. So we get inspired at the beginning of the six weeks. We then think about what we want to do with what we've learned. Like, why is it important? Who do we want to help with our new knowledge? And then they design a project that is of value and have a social impact for somebody in the community. And so that often what that looks like on a day to day basis is building prototypes, testing things out, testing out theories, writing questionnaires to ask people, all of those kinds of activities. And then at the end of the day, to close that cycle, we have a checkout and we ask, what did we do today? What did we learn from doing that? What did we learn about ourselves? What did we learn about other people? What did we learn about the world? And then the big question is kind of, what? Like what difference does that make? Why does it matter that you now understand how the water cycle works? Why does it matter that you now understand that certain things frustrate other children that don't frustrate you? Like, why is that important? How can you use that learning in your life to make your life better and the people around you better and the whole planet better. So everything kind of flows up and down in these cycles and we have time to integrate what we've learned so that we're learning new ways of being us and so we can take on new behaviors and new ideas and sometimes leave behind old behaviors that don't serve us in the same way anymore as we're growing. and changing as we go through life.

Suzy

connecting to the why is so important. I do that as an adult. why are we doing this? This is for this goal that we've set as a family or this is for this experience that's important to us. And we're going to get through tough times together and be stronger for it. So the cohorts are six weeks at a time. Is that correct? And I love that there's this dedicated time so that families can, or students especially, can get to know each other, build those connections throughout the program. But yet short enough that people can come and go So that sounds like a great combination. also, this is my first time talking with an educator from the UK, the movie Adolescents. as a mom of boys, it was very difficult to watch. I am just curious from your perspective as an educator that came from maybe a school system similar to what was on the screen there, what was your thoughts about that show?

Kate McAllister

Yeah, it was was hard hitting and not that sensationalist schools are difficult places. They really are. There are some children who can somehow within their families learned how to cope with a social situation like that. They have developed enough self awareness and and self belief to to be okay. through the school model. But there are many, many, too many children who don't, who really, really suffer and struggle inside schools. And it's not the fault of the teachers. I honestly don't think there's anyone in education who didn't go into it believing that they could make a difference. I know that I did. And I still like to think that I was one of the good ones. who tried really extra hard to know my students, to understand them and to try to get the best for them. But the system, the way it's set up, it's almost impossible to be as supportive as children need us to be. You're one adult, you have 30 children in each class, you have five classes a day. That's 150 children per day. 150 nervous systems that you have to co-regulate. every day, at some point, you have to dissociate just to be able to survive, like for your for your own needs. And in that moment, children slide through the net. they can then end up in a world connecting to something, somebody else that makes them feel seen. And it's quite terrifying. So I do think the answer are smaller groups. think human beings evolved over all of these years to be in a group of around 100 to 150 people where you know everybody's face and you know everybody's life and you trust them like a big extended family. And we're good at that. Human beings can do that. it's hard because I have many friends who are still in education and they are really doing their best. They're doing their best to make it work with what they have, but what they have isn't isn't enough.

Suzy

It's always my number one goal anytime I am around a teacher to thank them or when my children are in a classroom to make sure they have all the snacks and the things they need because I know they're doing their best. And I agree, if every child could have access to an amazing school education that worked well for them, that would be great. But I love that families get to decide what's best for them. And it's great to have other options that kids can explore. Sometimes they need to dip into a different option and then they can go back to maybe a traditional model as they grow and develop and self-regulate and learn those skills. and teachers too, they need breaks. So it's great for teachers to pursue other passion projects throughout their career as well, like you have. I also would like to jump in a little bit more to just life in the Dominican Republic, because we like to feature the financial and logistical parts of long-term travel, slow travel, landing in a new destination for however long we're there for. What does a one month expense snapshot look like for you in the Dominican Republic?

Kate McAllister

my house like mine to rent is about $1,500 a month. So it has three bedrooms and a swimming pool and a yard and an ocean view. I love it. Every day I come home and I'm happy and I love my house. If you were renting a car, you'd be looking at somewhere between 500 to $800 a month. Renting a car is expensive. Transport is the most expensive thing here. Food is reasonably priced. We probably spend $200, $300 a month maybe for my family. And going out is not expensive. everything that we love to do doesn't cost any money. So we love to be out in the ocean. We love to be going on walks. We love to play tennis. We love to do sporty, outsidey family things. And that's all free here. It suits the way that we like to live. And if you wanted to rent a two bedroom apartment down in town to be right in the hustle and bustle of Dominican life, you're looking at about $600 a month. So you can also get super fancy villas for like $6,000 a month.

Suzy

There's a little bit for everyone and every budget, which is helpful. You mentioned also that you like to grow your own fruit and vegetables. Is that pretty easy to do

Kate McAllister

Yeah, it's really easy. Everything grows here. It makes you feel like a really good gardener, even if you're just mediocre. So we planted lots of things when we got here in the garden. So when I got the hive, was an all dust. And now it's like this lush food forest. and we have papaya and avocado and mangoes and bananas and plantain and all that, just everything. So you walk around and you can just pick fruit. So in five years, it's gone from nothing to this lush food forest. And my house is the same. So there was some coconut trees when I moved in. So I have fresh coconuts every day and we grow. yuca and yautia and lots of vegetables I never heard of before I got here. it's nice. You can just go dig up food in the morning.

Suzy

Sounds delicious. What's the language situation in Jamaica Republic? I know Spanish is the predominant language, but how much English is spoken, especially if a family does not have a background in Spanish, and then you speak French, right? So how has that mixed in with your family for either the languages you speak in the community or at home with your children?

Kate McAllister

So the bit where I live, Cabrera on the north coast, it's a little fishing village really. So there's not much tourism. There's a little bit of tourism now with the hive and there's a couple of big fancy hotels. So they have some staff who are a bit more international, but it's very much a Dominican town. So not much English is spoken. If you go into the stores, most people don't speak English. There are a couple of local schools that have been working bilingually. for the last 10, 15 years. So you're starting to get some youngsters working in the shops who can speak English, which is great. But as a general rule, you need to at least have Google Translate on your phone. And everyone is super friendly and super helpful, but they're not gonna launch into English for you. They don't speak English. You're gonna have to figure out how to communicate.

Suzy

Time to figure it out. Is it a good place if people want to learn Spanish? And is the accent really strong?

Kate McAllister

Yeah, the accent is everybody says it's the hardest of all of the Spanish islands, I'm afraid to understand. if you can get Dominican, then you can go into any Spanish speaking country and it feels like a breeze.

Suzy

So it's good to just jump right in, get the difficult accent done.

Kate McAllister

Yeah, yeah, jump in the deep end. there's no S pronunciation. So in the part of London where I'm from, nobody pronounces their T's. It's like quite, it's just a function of the accent. Accent, not accent. So you don't hear the T at the end. But here it's with S's. So in the beginning, it's really odd. You just hear sounds. But when you realize the S is missing, then you can understand what the word should be. And then it's okay. But yeah, it's a peculiar way of speaking Spanish, but I'm getting used to it.

Suzy

That is like Sevilla. they eat the S's they say. so it's vamos, gracias. It's very much no S's at the end, but yeah, you get used to it and you start to pick up the words and just put the S in and do a little mental translation there. Does your daughter speak Spanish too or French or has she picked up any languages along the way?

Kate McAllister

So she can speak Spanish, she understands really well. And she's just starting to get braver with speaking it. I think seven was a tricky age to come, you know? And it's just a little bit of self-consciousness creeping in. But she can understand it and she wants to learn French. So now, when she was small, she was like, me, I still don't speak French. But now she's older, she's like, why didn't you teach me French? So we're doing a little bit of French as well now.

Suzy

I had a French woman in my Spanish class in Sevilla and she said that there were similarities there. hopefully between knowing some Spanish, the French will come easy. And then if there's a foundation laid when children are younger, I think it just becomes that much easier as an adult when they really are motivated or they land somewhere and are have to speak it. So it's always just good to start. I like to feature both the wins and the challenges of long-term travel, hosting a world school opportunity, inviting families into your world in the Dominican Republic and sharing that with them. what are some of those challenges or struggles that come with hosting a hub and not living where you grew up?

Kate McAllister

I miss my family. I miss my mom, my sister, my son is back in the UK. So that's tough, my friends. People, that's the hardest bit, right? That's the hardest price to pay to have the freedom to move and go where the wind blows and have an exciting life is that that sense of a stable community that you're rooted into is what you lose. And so I have that because I grew up in a very traditional life. My mom and dad lived in the same house, my brother and sister and all the cousins and everybody. So I have that rootedness in my childhood. And my son has it too, but my daughter doesn't. And she is not. not nostalgic because she doesn't have it, but she feels that she is missing what her cousins have. So we go every year, we see her cousins in England and her cousins in Portugal, and they're big, close knit families that all live within three minutes of each other. Right. So she comes from these two deeply rooted families. And for some reason, she was born to the mother that's like a leaf that blows around. Right. So that's something I'm really conscious of. And we try to figure out how to square that circle as much as possible. So we go to Portugal and we go back to the UK every year and we see people, but it's a wrench every time. So it's exciting to see them and it's lovely to feel held in our family community. And then it's really hard to come out. And then we get here and it's really lovely to be barefoot and free and to just do what we want whenever we want. So we do kind of have the best of both worlds, but also there are. has cost us to every opportunity,

Suzy

Absolutely. It's really not as often once you're caught up in busy life and they're caught up in busy life. So I find that If there's this intentionality of we are here at this time and you plan ahead, they can make time and space to see you and you end up filling your cup up in a very intentional way and it just has to sustain you until the next time. But knowing that in reality, what I think might be nice to happen truly doesn't necessarily happen.

Kate McAllister

And I know that to be true. Yes. Because I lived there and I saw my family every few months, maybe for a weekend. And actually they wouldn't all be there and someone would have a this match or that match. And because it wasn't special, nobody gave up the match. So you didn't see them sometimes, But now when we come back, we come for a month and we have this like really intense time and everybody's really present because it's precious. So it's probably actually better, but it's harder.

Suzy

What are some of the current family or world school hub wins that you are experiencing?

Kate McAllister

I think one of the things that's lovely for me is when families are coming, they're on their journey, right? Often families have come out of mainstream because it wasn't a good fit for them. And they've been looking for something, looking for something and life has felt really hard. And then they come to the hive and their kids become themselves again. There's like all of that armor that children have to put on to survive school slowly comes off and their little personalities come out again. And that's really, that's why I do it, right? That's what's lovely for me. And then to be able to see families really making good friends and they're kind of that secret part of themselves that they had inside. I wish the world could be like this, that kind of, wishing on a star stuff that you keep to yourself, suddenly they don't have to anymore. It's like, I'm in a world where everybody does these brave, crazy things and we travel together and we're just living our dreams. Like that's really lovely to be in that energy again and again and again. That's really quite a privilege.

Suzy

I love hearing people's big dreams as well and helping them take action on those dreams and seeing, the stumbles and the lessons learned, but then also the joys and the wins of just getting out there, being vulnerable. The social and emotional piece that you talk about with the children. I feel like there should be way more of that in society, in schools, everywhere. What is like one tip if a family wanted to have some more self-regulation skills in their family or help their child practice that?

Kate McAllister

the most important thing is awareness, just noticing, right? notice, notice how you feel. Ask yourself, how do I feel right now? Just how do I feel right now? so there's something that I love, it's called compassionate curiosity, right? So often by the time you notice you're dysregulated, it's because you said something you didn't want to say. Or you did something you wish you hadn't done, right? That's generally it. And so after that comes all of the beating yourself. you're such an idiot. Why did you do that? Why did you say that? And instead of doing that bit, you go, that's interesting. I was in that room and I said that thing. And now I feel mortified. I wonder why I said that thing. I wonder what made me do that. And from there you work backwards and it's like, well, we were rushing and we weren't ready and a nananana. And then you can be compassionate about yourself and then you can start to think, well, what could I do differently? How could I have intervened in that chain of events to not end up saying the embarrassing thing at the party or shouting at one of my children or whatever it is. And so it's just a series of noticing. So like, I developed a framework which has six parts, which you can just follow by asking yourself questions. I use it for myself still. It's like, noticing that something has happened and how it made me feel and what could I do differently next time? And then kind of just slowly, slowly noticing the patterns inside your family. If Getting ready for going out of the house is always really stressful, right? Does it have to be? Are there other people who don't leave the house in a frenzy of, I get your shoes slamming doors. Like, what are they doing? They're doing something different that you can't see, but it's there. And then be compassionate and curious and ask people, like, how do you manage to get out of the house without screaming at each other? And they probably say, we just leave our shoes by the door or we leave 45 minutes before we have to go. Like they're doing something. There's a strategy. There's always a strategy. People aren't magically calm. They're doing things that enable them to stay and feel calm. And that is co-regulating their children. And so you have this thing where you can either spiral each other upwards or you can bring each other back down. And there's all kinds of tools for doing that. There's like three stages to it. Really often we notice when we've lost, lost it. Right. And then the next stage down is noticing the feeling like you're beginning to lose it. And that's when you can take a breath. You can find a helpful thought. You can go for a walk. You can count to 10. You like, there's all these little strategies that you can put into place to stop yourself from getting there. And then when you're feeling in control, when you're really mindfully going into a difficult situation, you can surf the uncomfortable feeling, but be in control of it. And so you can ebb and flow and you can push yourself into the difficult conversation, stay there, come back. If it feels uncomfortable, you can kind of, you can learn to surf the big feelings. So, but they come one after the other.

Suzy

So like surfing, like staying on top of the water instead of knocked over by the waves.

Kate McAllister

Yeah, so like the first one is the wave came, I didn't see it coming. It's rolled me up the beach. I've got my bathing suit up my backside and sand in my hair. Like how did that happen? And then there's the just like the waves almost coming over your head. But you but you you're just about able to stay in it and not drown. And then the last one is like I can see the wave. I know where it's coming. I'm riding the wave. Sometimes I got a paddle like crazy to catch it. Sometimes I'm really surfing, but I am in control. and nobody's in control all of the time. That never happens. But understanding whereabouts you are in that metaphor can really help you to use the right tools that you need to get back to the point where you feel like you're in control.

Suzy

And our get out the door tricks are that my two boys wear their clothes for the next day, the night before. It helps that they basically live in soccer jerseys and comfortable clothes anyhow, so we don't even own pajamas. And then the socks are by the front door. I'm always saying, take your shoes off by the front door. So those are always there. I would like to wrap up with some lightning round questions so we can get to know you a little bit more. So favorite place, city or country.

Kate McAllister

the Alps, Switzerland, France, anything, Italy, the Alps and Dominican Republic, I have two.

Suzy

Perfect, mountains and beach, you got both covered. Most unusual food that you've ever tried.

Kate McAllister

See you at Chin?

Suzy

Yes, that's unusual.

Kate McAllister

In Shanghai it was not good I wouldn't do it again.

Suzy

One item that you cannot travel without.

Kate McAllister

My toothbrush and my passport. I'm pretty relaxed.

Suzy

bus train or car.

Kate McAllister

Hmm I like spin control so I do like a car but I also love a train ride I Do I love that staring out of the window getting lost feeling just Yeah trains a magic

Suzy

First thing you do when you arrive in a new country.

Kate McAllister

Take my shoes off and feel and feel it. Feel it. I like to feel a country. That might make me sound crazy, but that's what I do.

Suzy

Nope, that makes sense. gotta like get in it. your feet in the sand or on the grass. Are you an early bird or a night owl?

Kate McAllister

Early bird, very early bird. I like to get up about 5.30.

Suzy

So sunrise over sunset.

Kate McAllister

sunrise. somebody said to give yourself the gift of a sunrise And I was like, what are they talking about? Like I remember having too much to drink when I was young and staying up till sunrise and thinking it was magical. and then understanding that I could just gift myself that every day by getting out of bed, and the house is silent and the sun comes up and it's magical every day.

Suzy

So peaceful, What is your favorite subject to world school?

Kate McAllister

Probably culture, human history. Yeah.

Suzy

And one piece of advice for a family that's just starting out.

Kate McAllister

Do it. Do it scared. Do it underprepared. Do it and make mistakes, but just do it. Don't wait. Don't wait. If you've got the itch, if you've got the urge, there's someone out there that can help you. Just do it. Make it happen.

Suzy

That's excellent. If people want to connect with you more, where can they find you and learn more about the hive as well?

Kate McAllister

So the hive is thehiveadventure.com and with that on Instagram, with that on the internet, if you're on LinkedIn, that's where you'll find me.

Suzy

And when are the next sessions starting? And when were the opportunities, in like early 2026, if people are interested?

Kate McAllister

our next six week change maker program starts on November the third. then so there's one in November, December, January, February, March, April. Then it's just the year round membership kids. And then there's a summer camp that's three weeks long in June. That's our marine biology Ocean Heroes summer camp.

Suzy

That could work for families that are even on a traditional school schedule somewhere and they really want to get a couple weeks with some marine biology is fascinating. Is there anything else that you want to cover

Kate McAllister

we've just started doing a year round membership. So families are looking for something more grounded, now they want to do a bit more slow travel, maybe spend more than six months, then I've done a membership, you could get a whole year's worth of the hive for the cost of six months. And so you can still come and go as you please, but all year round. We are there and there's a small cohort of people who mostly live in Cabrera. The idea is it will go somewhere towards solving that problem of wanting to be free and blow around the world, but also come home to people that you know that you can grow up with, that care about you. I'm trying to get the best of both worlds somehow.

Suzy

What is the school year run for that cycle?

Kate McAllister

September the 15th, so we started like two days ago. It will run to the summer.

Suzy

So it could also be an opportunity for people planning ahead. Hey, I'm going to travel for the next few months, but maybe a year from now, I am ready to land somewhere with a great beach vibe.

Kate McAllister

At any point you can join one of the Changemaker programmes and if you go, okay, we love it, we want to stay, you can then sign on at that point and stay for the rest of the year.

Suzy

Great to have options. I can't wait to share everything about this and continue to follow you on your journey with the Hive adventure down into Maker Republic. Thank you so much for your time.

Kate McAllister

I really enjoyed our chat. Thank you.