BIKE FAMILY NOMADS

anthropologist, photographer, speaker, life coach

BIKE FAMILY NOMADS

anthropologist, photographer, speaker, life coach

April, 2020

Reading time: 6 minutes

Trusting Natural Learning

Nayla is 7 years old and since her birth, she is a nomad

She discovers the world to the rhythm of her bicycle. 36'000 km to meet the local populations and their customs. Everything is a pretext to discover and quench her thirst to learn through the countries we cross.

- Come on! Try my Taiko! Says Kanon.

Nayla attended a Japanese drum concert. She met Kanon, an 8-year-old girl, with whom she immediately became friends. The group of children, ages 3 to 12, are practicing for the next concert. The children's movements impress Nayla. Sometimes they turn into dancers, sometimes into warriors, as the rhythms and beats change. We are here in the heart of Japanese traditions. The drums have been giving rhythm to the lives of the people for centuries. However, when Nayla strikes the Taiko, she realises that it is not so simple to make it vibrate.

Nomads, we offer Nayla and her sister Fibie tools to create their lives. Nayla was swimming at 2 years old. She was cycling and skiing at the age of 3. Dancing is her passion. We teach them to respect their bodies doing yoga and invite them to meditate. Now Nayla is supposed to go to school, so we choose to trust natural learning. Sometimes we create ephemeral art in the middle of a field, we paint in front of the mountains, we learn to write inside the tent. But really, everything is an excuse to learn, even for us.

So we learn about the animals we come across, about the people we meet, about the monuments we see, about the history of the countries. Nayla knows geography because she has been there. She learns languages because she speaks with people, and she is fluent in French and English. She sees different ways of writing or eating, with spoons, hands or chopsticks. She learns by experimenting. We just have to be open to what comes up, sometimes she finds out for herself and sometimes we bring her the insight and knowledge. Her experiences are on the Earth scale and tinged with the traditions and cultures of the countries we pass through.

Meeting the Local Population

- Jump! then a forward roll! exclaims the master.

Nayla has the chance to attend Hapkido classes in South Korea. It's a Korean martial art based on self-defense. More than a combat sport, it is above all a philosophy of life, in search of harmony between body and mind.

- "A pirouette!" exclaims the Chinese dance teacher.

This time, Nayla meets the young ballerinas in Taiwan.

In each country, Nayla meet the local population. And our bikes are often a fabulous excuse. At every break, Nayla plays with children of all ages, developing her social skills and empathy. Language is never a problem, especially between children. They take each other by the hand and go off to play!

As she discovers each culture, she also encounters a fantastic humanity that transcends society. It is the meeting of human beings.

Discovering the Cultures of the World

Nayla discovers the customs and traditions of the countries. On the island of Shikoku in Japan, she learns to pray in Buddhist temples by following the pilgrimage of the 88 sacred temples. She discovers the geishas in the narrow streets of Kyoto. She marvelled at the fabulous Angkor temples in Cambodia. She learns how to make the Chinese tea ceremony in the heart of the Yunnan mountains. She watches a child participating in a buffalo race in Thailand. She participates in the Bunun festival, one of Taiwan's indigenous tribes. She is amazed by the races of draft horses, called Ban'ei, in Hokkaido.

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