Moving Beyond the Tourist Sites as Worldschoolers

Summary

A family of worldschoolers discovers the enriching value of exploring lesser-known historical sites, like the Etruscan tombs in Orvieto, Italy, during their two-year global educational journey.

Abstract

The author, along with her daughter, serendipitously encounters an ancient Etruscan necropolis while exploring the less-trodden paths of Orvieto, Italy. This experience epitomizes the essence of their worldschooling approach, which emphasizes immersive travel and deep engagement with local cultures over conventional tourist attractions. Despite having visited iconic Italian landmarks, it is the unexpected discovery of the 2,500-year-old tombs that becomes the highlight of their Italian adventure. The family, who has embarked on a two-year period of travel, work, and homeschooling, reflects on the challenges of avoiding the internet's most popular destinations. They advocate for a more personal and interactive form of education through travel, which is also the focus of the author's online worldschooling course.

Opinions

The author values authentic experiences and educational opportunities that arise from interacting with the world beyond typical tourist sites.
Worldschooling is presented as a lifestyle that offers a rich educational experience through real-world exposure and hands-on learning.
The family prioritizes immersive experiences, such as caring for street animals in Thailand and hiking in Northern Vietnam, as part of their educational travel.
The author acknowledges the difficulty in stepping off the beaten path due to the influence of the internet, which often directs travelers to popular tourist destinations.
The discovery of the Etruscan tombs is highlighted as a personal and impactful experience, emphasizing the importance of exploration and the joy of uncovering unknown historical treasures.

A travel tale featuring Italy

My daughter and I wove down cobblestone streets and out a primary gate of Orvieto, Italy, a town that sits atop a plateau of rock high above the plains of Umbria. To reach Orvieto, one must ascend 1,000 feet via elevator, funicular, footpath, or windy road. With no destination in mind, my daughter and I walked a curving trail down toward the plains.

Partway down, we spotted rectangular buildings resembling Hobbit houses capped with sod. Intrigued, we descended to find a crumbling ticket booth, a single employee, and the entrance to a 2,500-year-old necropolis populated by the deceased of an Etruscan city.

Italy offers a trove of treasures for travelers to explore, and my family spent weeks visiting famous sites and consuming art and history: Rome’s Pantheon and Colosseum, works by DaVinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo, and the ancient ruins of Pompeii. We ate pizza in its birthplace, Naples, and gazed in awe at Brunelleschi’s dome atop Florence’s cathedral.

But stumbling upon 2,500-year-old Etruscan tombs became the apex of our Italian journey.

Our family was spending a week in Orvieto, a quiet place with under 30,000 inhabitants off the radar of most tourists. After two hectic months of traveling through much of Europe, we needed a rest.

Orvieto dominates the landscape in Umbria province, Italy. Photo by the author.

We are a family of worldschoolers, and we’re traveling for two years while working and homeschooling. Worldschooling is a lifestyle in which parents educate their children through intentional interaction with the world outside of their borders.

While adventurous families have always crossed borders for exploration, education, and memory-making, worldschooling has gained prominence since the pandemic began, when parents and students alike embraced remote work. Educational approaches differ from family to family, but one strategy applies to all: Worldschoolers absorb lessons on history, science, ecology, geology, and more by wandering the planet and exploring its sites.

My family prizes immersive travel, moments of deep interaction with local cultures and communities, and we tend to eschew touristy locations. We’ve hiked in Northern Vietnam, floated down the Nile River, enjoyed tortes in Vienna, and cared for street animals in Thailand.

Even with this orientation, though, we have trouble moving off the tourist track, as the internet leads us to the best, most popular, must-sees, most of which are touristy.

Which leads us back to Orvieto.

Gazing in wonder at the Etruscan alphabet. Photo by the author of her daughter.

As we wandered the tombs, we marveled at the script that looked Dwarvish and the benches that held urns for family members who were interred together. Like explorers, we absorbed the sights and scents of a place we hadn’t known of before.

We didn’t care that Orvieto’s City of the Dead wasn’t undiscovered. It was unknown to us, and that was all that mattered.

Stephanie Tolk is the founder of Deliberate Detour and the creator of the first complete worldschooling course on the market. Check out Worldschooling: A Comprehensive Guide to Long-Term Travel to learn how to plan a life-changing international journey that’s just right for your unique family.