Elodie, Recruiting Manager at Ivy Partners, is about to embark on a 1-year camping-car adventure around Europe with her family. Read more about her project and why she decided to take a career break, reconnect with her family and build lifelong memories together.
- Can you describe your family project?
First and foremost, this project is a family adventure. In our eyes, the journey began when we decided to leave and since then, I have learned a lot, especially about letting go. When we started planning this trip everything was settled, we knew precisely where we wanted to go… After 72 changes of plan we said to ourselves this is where we stop.
So, on the D-day, the “plan” is to leave on June 1st for about 13 months in a motorhome and travel through Europe and Asia. We start with Scandinavia, and we go to Mongolia passing through Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Iran and all those countries with “stans”…
These last 2 years have taught us that everything can change very quickly so we’ll see…
- Why did you decide to do it now?
Initially the departure was planned for 2020 but several reasons led us to postpone it to 2021. I then joined Ivy Partners in September 2020 and I did not see myself leaving only a few months later when the company was still in its 1st year. My employers have always been aware of this project and fully support me, but it was very important to me that this trip had the lowest possible impact on Ivy Partners. Today the company has grown well and after so much preparation the time for action has arrived.
- What do you expect from this trip?
Above all, this trip was born from the desire to refocus on my family and to be able to transmit to my children the values I think are essential in the world in which they will grow up. Because of our common passion for travel, my husband and I worked on this project for several years. Some countries, of course, attract us more than others, but the destination is not the main objective. Even if we are always together, in a daily life, I have the feeling of not really “knowing” my children and vice versa. I am sure that we will learn a lot from each other during this year.
- How did Ivy Partners support you in your project?
My managers have always been aware of my travel plans and have always supported me. More generally, they have always respected my private life/personal life balance and it is a relationship in which everyone finds themselves because it gave me the desire and the energy to invest myself even more at Ivy Partners. It is an incredible opportunity and comfort for me to know that when I come back, I will still have my job in the company. They are also a great help in the administrative organization of the trip.
- What is your advice for those who have a project in mind but do not dare to go ahead with it?
If I’m sure of one thing, the hardest part of this venture by far has been the decision-making process, that moment that makes you switch from “I’d like to go around the world” to “let’s go, we’re really doing it”. Then everything follows, there are many sites… to help with the organization. Another thing is certain: it will never be the right time, as with all big changes and big decisions, it takes a certain amount of courage.
I am lucky that my family and I are in good health, I am lucky that we are in phase on this project but as for for everything else, it is not luck. This trip has required a lot of sacrifices, a lot of questioning and if we manage to make it happen today, it is because we have given ourselves the means to get there and that all our choices for several years have been made in this respect.
Go after your dreams, no one will go for you.
- 1 week before departure, how do you feel?
A perfect mix of excitement, stress, euphoria, fatigue, impatience and apprehension. I have endless lists and I have the feeling that I will never get there, but it has never been so concrete. We left our apartment, stored all our things, and are living temporarily with family so finally it has already started.
We wish you an amazing trip Elodie! Enjoy each moment of this unique experience with your family!
