travel vloggers

BLOG #9: How it Started

Hey guys,

Lets be honest, I am new at this “creator” thing and sometimes I don’t know what to write about haha! If you have any ideas, please feel free to share! I figured this week we can go through how it all started and what each of our roles are!

Okay, let’s go back a bit. In the beginning of 2020, David decided he wanted to start a Youtube channel. He was and still is super interested and intrigued with social media and how the algorithms work. WAIT…. back up. Lets go back a little further into the end of 2019 when my niece decided to show “Uncle David” TikTok. Dave at first thought it was just a platform for kids but then slowly started looking more into it. This platform meshed perfectly with his sense of humor and began to dabble with it, making a couple videos here and there and then he became popular. From this, TikTok community began asking if he had a YouTube channel… We also knew that our big move was a possibility at this point (HINT: can you spot it in his first video linked below?). Now at this time there wasn’t much to film, and starting a channel with just daily lifestyle blogging, unless you have a super interesting life, is going to take a LONG time. But, nevertheless, he wanted to try it. Fast forward a couple months and COVID starts hitting Nova Scotia and a shut down is in place. No place to go, not many things to do in the house, and since we are huge Disney fans we decided to make Disney recipes. It helped with the consistency of the channel (needed for the algorithm), gave us something to do and gave David more practice editing.

Now, my whole point of talking about this is that social media, mainly our Youtube channel, is Davids baby. I have to give all the credit to him, he had the dream, decided to take the plunge, studied the algorithm, does all the editing, and to be frank… He did 100% of the work up until a couple months ago. SO, you can imagine, it is hard to let someone help him since he grew this from nothing. With some persuasion, I was able to start to help him out little by little with him showing me the different platforms. I want to be more involved in everything EXCEPT the editing LOL. The effort and precision he puts into his editing is something I don’t think I could compete with.

So, what have I been up to lately with the channel? I LOVE organization!! Without it I don’t feel productive at all. I am the one behind the scenes answering comments, slowly taking over the emails, taking everyones suggestions, researching them and putting them into our list of places to go. Yes, we really do look into every suggestion that you guys give us! From this, they are split into 3 categories: day tips, weekend trip, and “need to take vacation” trips. From there, depending on our availability, we pick from the list and start planning.

I find it so neat that how we are all learning from each other. Well us mainly learning from Kenyans haha and where to go, but at the same time, when have a different perspective and different set off eyes, we are also showing them places that some never knew about. And it would be the same if we were in Nova Scotia. Since I was born and raised there, I feel as though I “saw it all” when in reality, there are so many hidden gems there but I just never looked far enough. I encourage everyone, wherever you are, to explore and travel your own country/province as if it were your first time going there and rediscover the beauty that it has to offer and you won’t be disappointed. Go for hikes, make your own food tours, visit every local cafe, etc.. Just try it! Especially now with COVID, if you are able to not be in lockdown, local businesses need you, they need all the help they can get, especially those places that run and survive off tourism. This is the time, pull together and do what we can to help our world survive, because we all know that the world needs some more positivity in a time like this. 

Until next time,

Tracey

PS. Below is David’s first ever Youtube Video, Check it out!!

BLOG #1: THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING TO A BRAND NEW CHAPTER

I think this is the first time I truly appreciated the quote:

               “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work!”

When we finally got the okay to begin our process, I 1000% underestimated the bumps in the road.

Friday July 24th, we got the official okay for a project that would change our lives forever. Since then, the date has been changed, quite frankly, everyday. Is it 3 weeks or is it 4 weeks away? 3 weeks to pack up our lives, sell all our belongings, book a moving company, get rid of our vehicles, get vaccinated, the list goes on! Oh, might I add that this is in the middle of a pandemic that shut the whole world down? Yeah… cue extra obstacles! LOL. You might ask, why not wait until this is over and easier? This opportunity is a chance of a lifetime for us and honestly, life is too short.

The first time I sat down to write this, I was in the middle of our condo, on the floor, everything sold. Then when the movers came, I lost my notebook (classic…) so let’s restart! Now as I am writing this, restarting, I am on my second last shift at work and I’m not going to lie, there are a lot of emotions. I am a nurse, and this was my first nursing job in my career. Will I lose my skills? How long will I be without a job? Will I be able to find a job in my field? When you are living out of suitcases in a hotel with your stuff being shipped across the sea, feelings are bound to arise. Did I mention we had to inventory EVERYTHING to ship? Yes, 3 spoons, 17 shirts, 5 socks, etc.

ANYWAY… are you ready? Are you sitting down? I’ve strung you along enough… you may have gathered we are moving, but where? Druuuuumroooooollll please……

AFRICA!! We are moving to Nairobi, Kenya for 2 or more years!

Now comes the questions…

Why? Let me introduce myself! My name is Tracey and I am married to my husband David. We got married in 2018 and one of our favorite things to do together is travel. So, when we were presented with this opportunity, it was a no brainer!

Is it all worth it? As many tears shed, stressful moments, questioning whether this will actually happen, I still believe it will be worth it. What is the worst that could happen? Come home? ** Deep thought bubble warning ** we get so stuck in our everyday lives, the tasks, errands, work, repeat, and for some people it works for them, and that is okay! If you have said this would be my life 5 years ago, I would have laughed at you; my goal was that monotony with the house and kids. However, the more I started to see the world, the more intrigued I was about different cultures and ways of life. The more I was forced to let go of the schedule and planning (no, it was definitely not easy, and it did NOT happen overnight), the more I experienced and could have missed out on. I do not want to live the “what if” life.

Okay, sorry! I got off track! So, current situation: finishing work and living in a hotel. Left to do? Say “see you later”, finalize handing over our cars, get our travel visas and passports and finally get COVID tested before we fly out.

We welcome you to follow along on our journey, the ups and downs and adventure that we cannot wait to share with you!!

Until next time,

Tracey

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