Elly Vos: The Wonders of the World are a Gift, Make Sure to Give Back
Elly, 35, US, is deadpan in her humour and generous in her spirit. Her relaxed attitude and friendly nature make her a friend to everyone, but in solitude with nature, she finds the most peace.
Elly has a unique story, she is almost a child with two upbringings. One with the family she was born into in the US, where she developed an adventurous young heart and then secondly, a second family nestled in the heart of France, where she learnt how that family could be more than just blood. This unique upbringing created an Elly to this day that thrives on exploring new cultures and discovering just how much she doesn’t know.
A Year in Another Life
Her story began as many children’s did. With summer road trips exploring with family, which in Elly’s family meant US history lessons, but it was when an opportunity to travel to Versailles, France at 12 years of age that really began her different path. The time with her first host family was incredible, even if she didn’t speak French they welcomed her with open arms. However, it was when she was able to connect to the family who has hosted her brother two years prior that the magic started to happen. Almost like she’d found another part of her family.
A few years later, this bond between Elly’s and her French family had only grown and Elly took the brave decision to live with them and study abroad. Thankfully her French had improved dramatically by this point. It was an eye-opening experience, allowing Elly to truly see the different realities of life and in turn, become a more open-hearted person. She spent 9 months living in France and firmly became part of the family.
Work Opportunities
With her own parents’ adventurous spirit in heart, Elly moved to Orlando, Florida to take up a DisneyWorld Internship after graduating. It was a chance to meet people from all across the world, and it reignited her memories of travel but it wasn’t quite yet meant to be.
After college, saw Elly settling down a little, with a job, boyfriend and apartment. Essentially she got on with living her life, and for five years she spent time building her career, still travelling a bit in the US, but mostly staying put. This was in part due to the fact the hospitality industry isn’t known for its flexibility.
It was only in 2014, after being made redundant, did Elly begin to dream of world travel again. A trip to Kenya to see some old friends sealed the deal and she started planning for a big trip across South America and South-East Asia. Luckily, flights for Elly were cheap due to her parent’s previous job at an airline, and she saved on accommodation by staying with family and friends. Always looking for a good deal. It was a dream trip.
Life Around the World
Elly and her parents made a life-changing decision in 2017 to start an Airbnb in Hawaii of all places, with her parents running the day to day mostly and Elly handling the online stuff, it gave them all a fantastic opportunity to start travelling abroad. For Ell, it meant remote work was now a possibility.
From Thailand to Japan, Elly met people from all over the world, including a whole host of nomads and the best part of it all was being able to work on a beach, whilst still being able to experience the culture and people she was encountering. Elly was never sat waiting for her life to happen. Work and life just sat next to each comfortably. She did, however, miss her dog Griffin, terribly so. From there, there were road trips in Portugal to work aways in Instanbul.
By working and volunteering whilst on the road, Elly could travel on a low budget and see and do everything she wanted to. Her flights were still at a discount, and accommodation costs were kept low by sharing with friends she’d met. Madrid, Bulgaria and Cappadocia, Elly continued to travel to incredible places and there she met a wide spectrum of people. And just like in her youth, taking the leap to live in France, Elly said yes to all the experiences put in her path and truly lived.
Slowing Down and A trip of a Lifetime
2019 saw Elly slowing down her Global Travels. Feeling like she’d disconnected from her home tribe, she began road trips across the US hitting the wonderful National Parks. Full of beauty and grace, and just on her doorstep. Visiting the places she’d always felt at home, Elly took time to see old friends.
She also began to feel the need to do something more purposeful with her life, some previous work supporting disadvantaged people began surfacing in her mind, but she still wasn’t sure what was the right thing for her to do.
In amidst her decision making, Elly went on the trip of a lifetime to Antarctica with her mama-bear. Something she’d wanted to do from a young age. For Elly, Nature was a core part of who she was and being given the gift of seeing all the untouched natural beauty of the earth was awe-inspiring and humbling. The trip had many opportunities to experience things she never might again, such as sleeping on the ice. Elly felt blessed and ready to return home to start following her purpose: To Give Back.
Some Serendipity
Amazingly on the trip, one of the tour guides re-connected her to the project ‘So Others Might Eat’, something that spoke directly into Elly’s heart. A chance for her to volunteer her time over the holidays and give back by cooking for the homeless community in Washington, D.C. It felt right to return the good fortune, especially as it felt like the world had given her so much already.
Moving into 2020, originally it was the year Elly wanted to get back on the road and achieve travelling to the 7 continents but COVID had other plans. Elly found herself with the desire to settle into a home for a time to really just focus on living and perhaps take on some introspection instead of always rushing around.
Her goal is to combine her passions of helping others and sharing her love of cooking. Now more than ever, she believes it’s essential to give back to the earth which has gifted her so much over the years.
Elly’s Top Lessons: “Put your camera down. Your memories change who you are as a person, so make sure to keep something for you. Be in that moment for yourself and no-one else. It can be hard to do but live in the moment. Be ready for now, instead of the next thing.”
