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Busconversion part 1 – digital nomad, smell of diesel, sunshine gallery

Cecilie Conrad·Aug 17, 2018

A sunshine gallery about the first ten days of bus conversion, sharing visually how we began rebuilding a 43-year-old big red bus to a tiny house.

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How do you do a bus conversion? When I was dreaming and planning, I was also reading a lot and looking at many pictures. Is it doable, is it worth it, is it fun? How do you make it work? How do you succeed?

I would love to share every insight and every detail, but time is of the essence, and life seems to happen. All the time. In a good way.

This gallery captures how it was to begin, and I will take all questions and answer as much as I can. Please ask, do not hesitate.

Bus conversion – how to begin

You see, The most important part of most projects is to begin. You can dream and plan and think and draw and talk for the rest of your life; if you never begin, you can be sure you will never get there.

So, we bought a bus. Because we liked it, well, mostly because my husband liked it. But that was enough, actually. We worked for several years to change our income base so we have something to live from while traveling (digital nomad style), kept the bus at a self-storage for some months, and when my husband stopped working at the office (for the next year), we picked up the bus and drove it to our friend's farm.

The first drive was a catastrophe; the motor broke on the highway, and so did my mind. All of the dreams and the plans, and the bus would not even drive 50 km!

We know this journey is spiritual, and we also know there was an important lesson for us there. Never. Ever. Give. Up. Stay in the present moment. Miracles are right around the corner, and possibilities are abundant.

I must admit it took some days. We arrived late at night with a broken bus, extremely tired and hungry – and our friends helped with everything, including our state of mind. We sat up late, talked, and went to bed happy and tired.

The next morning, we had to get up early to get everyone ready for the most extremely sad funeral: A baby died during birth, and it was just so sad, so unfair, so very, very un-understandable. This story I have shared in another blog post.

After this, work began. Here, on the other side of it, I can see how just doing it was important, how we talked a lot and worked a lot, and never gave up. Ivar, my friend's father, fixed the motor; it felt almost like a miracle. We took out everything from the bus and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. It still felt heavy and dirty, but that was eventually fixed by a healer, who took out all of the negative energy. We fixed a lot of rust and learned to fix rust; we drove away with trash so many times! And we had fun.

Peace and love

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Cecilie Conrad

It is my core value to share, be honest, and dare to be vulnerable. I am grateful you are reading my blog, and I would be even more grateful if you comment, send me an email, or otherwise engage. Thank you.

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Unschooling and Parent consulting, conversations, blogposts, and podcasts on family life and learning

Hi, I'm Cecilie Conrad. I'm a trained psychologist, mother of four, radical unschooler and full-time traveller. I have lived with unschooling for over a decade and help other families find their own path – whether it is about homeschooling, unschooling, or the bigger question of how you want to live as a family.

I offer guidance, conversations and talks. I call my work grandmothering – not coaching in the traditional sense, but presence, professional insight and concrete help navigating motherhood and finding your way home to your own values.

Am I the right person to help you? You can book a free discovery call, and we'll talk and figure it out.

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I share my knowledge and curiosity about family life and learning in my two podcasts.

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