Guest Bio
Jackie Nourse is the founder of Traveling Jackie and host of the award-winning podcast JUMP with Traveling Jackie, where she shares stories that inspire others to explore the world boldly. A lifelong traveler and storyteller, Jackie chose a path of global adventure at age 18 and never looked back — turning her love for travel into a full-time lifestyle over the past two decades.
She has collaborated with leading outdoor brands including Osprey Packs, Oboz Footwear, Atomic Skis, Carve Designs, and Four Wheel Campers, and earned recognition for the documentary short film “Chiloé,” created in partnership with Osprey. Through her podcast and guided group trips, Jackie invites her audience to take the leap — building confidence, connection, and courage through travel. When she’s not exploring the world, you’ll find her in Montana playing ice hockey or road-tripping in her truck camper with a mountain bike in tow.
Show Summary
In this episode of the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Jackie about her inspiring path from travel blogger to podcasting powerhouse. She reflects on the life-changing decision to study abroad in Costa Rica, a leap that sparked her lifelong love for travel and set the stage for her global adventures. Through candid storytelling, Jackie shares how stepping into the unknown again and again has shaped her identity and career.
Jason and Jackie explore how language, culture, and even loneliness play a role in personal transformation through travel. Jackie emphasizes that the most meaningful growth often happens during the most challenging moments. She offers advice for aspiring travelers, encouragement for parents of adventurous kids, and heartfelt reflections on the relationships and resilience that form through a life on the move.
Key Takeaways
- ✓ Jackie’s love of travel and language began early and shaped her life direction.
- ✓ The name “JUMP” reflects her belief in bold choices and transformative leaps.
- ✓ Studying abroad can be a turning point in personal growth and worldview.
- ✓ Staying with a host family offers immersive, eye-opening cultural experiences.
- ✓ Loneliness is a natural part of travel — and a catalyst for inner strength.
- ✓ Facing discomfort while traveling builds confidence and resilience.
- ✓ Language fluency improves rapidly through real-life immersion and practice.
- ✓ Travel allows people to redefine themselves outside their usual environments.
- ✓ Parents can play a key role in supporting a young person’s desire to explore.
- ✓ Cross-cultural experiences build empathy and meaningful human connections.
What You’ll Find on Traveling Jackie
- Immersive group travel experiences curated for adventure-seekers
- The award-winning podcast JUMP with Traveling Jackie
- Resources for language learners, solo travelers, and cultural explorers
- Community trips that foster connection through shared adventure
- Creative partnerships that support ethical and inspiring travel
Learn more about Traveling Jackie and connect with Jackie at:
https://travelingjackie.com
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Podcast Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated on recording, and has not been edited by a human. It may contain lots of mistakes, crazy words, and stuff that makes no sense. The host and the guest are not responsible for the accuracy of the transcript.
Jason Elkins (00:00.964)
Welcome back everybody to another episode of the big world made small podcast for the adventure traveler. Very excited to have each and every one of you back today and super excited to have my guest as well fellow podcaster and travel junkie. I’m not sure she would use the word, but she travels an awful lot. So we’ve got Jackie Nourse here. She’s a podcaster. She’s got the traveling Jackie podcast. know many of you have heard her show, so I don’t need to go too much into that, but Jackie welcomes so much. I’m so happy to have you here.
Jackie (00:29.922)
Thank you. It’s great to be here. It’s nice to be on the other side of the mic every now and then, you know, so thank you.
Jason Elkins (00:35.106)
Right. Well, and it’s and it’s fun for me as well to have another podcaster. I don’t know why it’s just it’s just kind of a fun treat. And especially with someone that’s been doing it for so long, and definitely very focused in this this travel space. So on the off chance, there’s anybody listening to this that doesn’t know who you are doesn’t know about your show. Let’s give them kind of the elevator pitch on traveling Jackie and what you’re doing in this world to help make it feel like a smaller place.
Jackie (01:02.094)
Okay. yeah, well, I actually have, I have about 20 plus 22 years of traveling under my belt. So, I mean, I, I moved abroad when I was 18 to study Spanish and Costa Rica, and that kind of just snowballed into then studying Italian in Italy and Portuguese in Brazil. And I just kept going and kept going. And 10 years into my travels, I started, a proper travel blog. And then I started the podcast.
the year, just one year after that. And that kind of set me apart and kind of took off on its own trajectory. So yeah, that was 12, almost 12 years ago now. And, I have been podcasting for that long, which is wild to me. And throughout that adventure, I also started leading trips for my own audience. So I started organizing adventures all over the world and inviting my podcast listeners to come and join me instead of just, you know,
watching me and listening to me go and do these things. I said, hey, let’s do these things together. You can do this too and started inviting them. And that was 10 years ago. And so it’s been quite the journey. It’s been kind of an organic, a very organic feeling, evolvement of the journey, the entrepreneurship journey. And also of my personal
you know, development journey along the way. It’s all kind of just, I’ve just like brought this business with me and brought my people with me. And, um, yeah. And my podcast jump with traveling Jackie is, is it actually just one last year at one, um, best travel podcast 2025, uh, by I heart radio, which yeah, thank you, which is a wild thing, you know, but I guess there are people out there paying attention. So, but yeah, that’s a little bit about me.
Jason Elkins (02:47.056)
Well, I’m happy. Couple of things. One is I’m happy you said specifically jump with traveling Jackie, right? Because I didn’t really say it that way, but that is the way it is. And that’s the way I’ve seen it. And then every time I come across it, I say, jump. Yeah. So thank you for clarifying that. you said a few things that are really super interesting that I think we’re going to pick up on kind of as we go through the conversation, but I did want to ask you right off the bat. Did the, did you stick with the blogging? Cause I see your podcast all over the place, but
Are you blogging as well or have you completely shifted into the podcasting?
Jackie (03:19.372)
You know, I, I have always been a writer. so the blog, that was the first thing that I learned about as meaning I had, you know, 10 years of experience. All these people were coming to me, asking me questions. And I decided that I would actually write a book about it. That’s what I did 10 years ago. Actually it was 12 years ago. And while I was writing the book, I also learned, you can do this like professionally as a, as a blogger. Like you can start a proper, I say proper because I had had a blog.
that I think my mom and my friends read for the past five years already. But when I jumped into blogging professionally, I set it up as an online business. And that’s what really set me going as doing all of this as a business. yes, in the beginning, was very blogging, like writing heavy. But the podcast is the thing that really has set me apart and has really identified my unique journey in this arena. And so I have.
Jason Elkins (03:50.926)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (04:10.47)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (04:18.079)
while I’ve always written, I mean, along the way, I just, I always write, I write every single day. You guys just don’t see it, you know? but yeah, I started the traveling Jackie.com. essentially it’s a website blog, whatever. It’s my home online. It’s where all of the things that I do kind of come together. And occasionally I still do write a blog post for it, you know? but I don’t consider myself a blogger.
Not anymore. I consider myself a podcaster because that’s the thing that I’m known for. And, but I’m also working on writing a book. so soon here, I’m going to be hopefully known as, as, you know, even more than just a podcaster. So, but yeah, I mean, I have a big heart for blogging because that’s, know, as a writer, it’s just, was part of the beginning of my journey. And, I think it’ll always be to an extent.
Jason Elkins (05:09.264)
Very cool. Are you ready to discuss kind of the book a little bit? What’s the book going to be about that type of thing? Are you going to hold off until you release it to announce to the world?
Jackie (05:19.37)
I’m gonna hold off, but I think I could probably say, let’s see. I have a lot of stories to tell and it all begins from the original decision to move abroad at age 18. And so that’s what I’m starting with, which yeah, it’s a long time ago, but like I told you, I’m a writer, I’ve always journaled. So I have journals from back then. And so…
Jason Elkins (05:38.886)
Alright.
Jackie (05:47.212)
That’s what I’m kind of using to support my writing of that time. But yeah, it’s going to be one of what I hope is many because I have so many books inside of me that need to come out that I want to write. So got to start somewhere. So why not start at the beginning? But that’s what I’ll say for now.
Jason Elkins (06:03.718)
Very cool. Well, you look very excited about it for anybody that’s just listening to this and isn’t able to see you on the screen. You look very excited about this. So I’m excited to see and read and hear more about it when we get a little closer. We’re going to go back and discuss some of that story that I’m sure is going to be in the book as well. We’re going to go back to that, probably around that 18 year mark, because it sounds like obviously it a profound thing for you to do.
Jackie (06:16.92)
Thank you.
Jason Elkins (06:30.042)
But before we do that, let’s discuss real quick the naming of your podcast because your business is Traveling Jackie, but then the podcast is Jump with Traveling Jackie. How did you come up with that name? What’s the significance of the word jump for you?
Jackie (06:35.864)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Jackie (06:42.668)
That’s so fun. I love this question. It actually has lots of meanings for me. The most obvious, I’ll start with this, is, but this is, mean, you can’t just leave it as something so simple because I’m such a complex person. So we’re going to start with the surface and then we’re going to go deep. But I have for years, I mean decades, I don’t even know when I started doing this.
Jason Elkins (06:57.062)
I figured there was some meaning, some deep meaning behind this. So let’s go.
Jackie (07:08.346)
I love to do these fun like jumps in like the most random and epic corners of the planet. And I started doing this by myself, you know, just like, I just would have somebody take a picture of me jumping, whatever. So fun. and when I started doing my group trips, I brought that tradition onto the group trips ever since the first one. So there is a picture from every single group trip that I’ve ever orchestrated of a group jump in some cool, epic corner of the planet. Right. So
There was that, which was just like a fun little kind of sprinkle on top because the deeper meaning is that I’m, I’m really, really all about courage. That’s my thing. and I think I’ve been quite brave with, not only with my life, but also with my writing and bringing people with me and sharing my story and being transparent and vulnerable about vulnerable about it and just saying, Hey, you know, if I can do this, so can you like, let’s get out of that comfort zone. You know, I mean, there’s that whole quote about taking the leap.
and that’s really what it is. Like I want to invite people to take the leap, discover for themselves what courage feels like, what it feels like to get outside of the comfort zone and stretch those muscles and learn something new and then be able to stand on their own two feet and look around and say, Hey, I’m in a new place. I’ve never been here before. Like I got myself here, you know? And so that, that therein lies the profound kind of meaning of.
Of jump is like, it’s an invitation to get outside of your comfort zone. And I will facilitate as much as I can, you know, or I will sit back and say, Hey, you go do your thing, whatever it is, even if it doesn’t look like one of my group trips, whatever, just do it, challenge yourself, get out there. And so it really is an invitation. Jump, get outside, get outside your comfort zone. That’s what it is.
Jason Elkins (08:50.22)
Absolutely love it. I figured there was some some of that type of meaning in there. It’s which is great. That’s what’s great about the name of something also alludes to what it’s all about and jump out there. It’s kind you know, with my big world made small. There’s a reason I named it that I want to make the big world feel smaller by encouraging people to get out, you know, and go do something. So it’s I get that completely. All right. So 18. What was going on right before that? That maybe inspired you to you said Costa Rica was the first place.
Jackie (09:06.338)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jackie (09:19.586)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (09:20.142)
So what was your childhood like that what made all, what was the early things that were happening that kind of sparked all this?
Jackie (09:29.142)
well, just so I actually had been learning Spanish since I was, you 11 or whatever. and that was the only subject in school that I was super jazzed about. I always knew I wanted to study abroad. I was fascinated by all things foreign. I wish at the time that, like when I was really little, that
I would have been able to be exposed to another language because I wasn’t. I grew up with only English speakers and so I didn’t have that privilege of being exposed to any other languages, but I think I would have eaten them up as a child because I loved language. I used to write still when I was young. I wrote poetry, I played with English and I think it would have been really fun to delve into the world of foreign language then, but I didn’t have that opportunity.
until it came to me in middle school when I was able to start taking classes. so I knew from, I don’t know, sometime in high school, I was absolutely certain I wanted to study abroad. And we had a foreign exchange student from Germany come live with us my senior year of high school. So I have an older, I grew up in the West. So I grew up my young years in Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, California.
Jason Elkins (10:40.57)
Where did you grow up? What part of the country are we discussing? Okay.
Jackie (10:50.934)
And then when, by the time we went to high school, we had moved to the Nevada side. And so, I went to school in of all places, Carson city, Nevada, which is where this German student got placed with my family. mean, we kind of picked her, but, I look back on that now and I’m like, man, you’re from the middle of Germany. You could have gone anywhere in this country and here you are standing next to me, brushing your teeth in the sink next to me, you know, like.
Jason Elkins (11:19.846)
Yeah.
Jackie (11:20.054)
This is so wild and she, her name’s Lydia and she’s still my sister to this day. mean, we, we really bonded that year in all of the ways that I feel like I’ve never had a sister. I always had a brother. My, brother is a year older than me. And as part of the reason that we invited Lydia into our house, he graduated from high school and went away to college. And that was the year that we had Lydia come. And so she lived with me for a year and kind of just.
even more opened my eyes to the experience of studying abroad. And I mean, she obviously had come to learn English, but I think that we probably learned, I probably learned the most. I got a front row seat to her courage, to her bravery at age 16. We were both 16 when she came. and I mean, to, to witness something like that and to grow alongside of her and to kind of just, have that experience from the host sister perspective.
was really lit a flame for me, you know? And I mean, by the end of that year, by the end of my high school, I was, you know, absolutely certain. I didn’t know exactly where I was going to go, but I knew I was going to go for a year. because that was another thing that she told me was, you know, wherever you go, go for a year. Don’t think twice. That was her advice to me. And that was one of the biggest, best pieces of advice I’ve ever received because, man, if you know the story, you, you can’t stop it at semester. mean,
Everything comes home. Everything comes together in the second semester. And I just, my life would be so different if I hadn’t gone for the whole year. And so, yeah, that was what was happening right before.
Jason Elkins (12:51.718)
Do you think, so do you think, so it sounds like Lydia’s the one that said, if you go, go for a year. And she was like, she said that when she was 16, when she was with you. Okay.
Jackie (12:58.535)
she did.
Jackie (13:02.67)
2017 when we were just finishing our senior year of high school. Well in the States. Yeah before she went back to Germany She said that to me so and not like I had I don’t
Jason Elkins (13:10.774)
And I know I don’t, yeah, I was just gonna say, I don’t wanna ask you to put, you know, words in her mouth, but I’m curious, like from what you recall, like when she first showed up in Carson city, was she excited about where she was? I mean, what can you share on her behalf about maybe what her experience may have been like?
Jackie (13:23.094)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jackie (13:30.873)
Yeah. Well, she was, I mean, it was immediate overwhelm and we could see it. Like she was so tired. Her brain was so tired all the time, um, because she was constantly having to, you know, work through the language and she wasn’t, I mean, she was competent, but she wasn’t fluent. I would say in, English yet. I mean, it was the same as me. was competent in Spanish, but I wasn’t fluent yet when I went there. So I, I mean, I
A couple of years later, I completely understood what was happening with her. Um, but yeah, she, she was so determined. She’s still one of the strongest, bravest people that I know. And she’s down for absolutely anything. So she had absolutely the right kind of, um, mindset and attitude to. To accomplish, to do something like this at such a young age, especially age 16, leaving her family for the whole year. She didn’t allow any of her.
friends or family to come visit her because she said it would just be too hard. You know, which I didn’t understand at the time, but I totally get it now. mean, it’s you know, it’s one of those situations that you simply cannot grasp unless you’ve done it. I mean, study abroad is one of the best, the best thing I’ve ever done, like every time I’ve done it. Absolutely.
Jason Elkins (14:29.734)
Mmm.
Jason Elkins (14:40.272)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (14:46.574)
Yeah, yeah. So were you like introducing her to friends? was going to school presumably with you? You guys were the same age, in the same classes and stuff?
Jackie (14:53.934)
Yep. Yeah. She was, she had to be a junior for whatever reason. Actually, I think I was young for my age or I was young for my grade. And so while I was a senior, she was a, she was a junior and she did make her own friends. She also became friends with my friends. And I mean, yeah, we had, we had a great time. We did a lot of adventures together and, and yeah, we still, I mean, I’ve
Jason Elkins (15:01.094)
Okay.
Jackie (15:20.65)
spent Christmas with her family in Germany since, you know, and I see her in Europe and it’s, really wonderful. She’s really a family member.
Jason Elkins (15:28.688)
Did you experience maybe the other kids in school that you knew but maybe weren’t already close friends that when Lydia showed up and they started to see you around her, they were interested in her, so they became more interested in you. Did your friend network change at all as a result of her being part of it?
Jackie (15:48.75)
I mean, yeah, little bit because she, of course, would meet people that I didn’t know. I mean, our school wasn’t that big, I guess. But I mean, she did have different classes than me. And she was in a different grade. So she did have different friends to an extent. And there was a lot of overlap. But yeah, I mean, there were also the other foreign exchange students. And so we, together, got to know them.
Jason Elkins (15:53.223)
well, yeah, of course.
Jason Elkins (16:06.468)
Yeah, I suspect.
Jackie (16:16.962)
Yeah, it just really kind of opens up. I I guess it’s like having a regular sibling in your house though, you know, like there’s some, well, I would assume there’s some overlap in friends and there’s some not, especially when you’re in different grades.
Jason Elkins (16:27.598)
Yeah. Well, I, cause I grew up in Sheridan, Wyoming, which I don’t know in my head, it may be a similar to growing up in Carson city. I’m not sure, but we didn’t have a lot of kind of international influence in Sheridan, Wyoming, but we had some exchange students, you know, and I became very close to one of them and kind of got to see what that was like through the lens of her eyes. And, and I remember other
Jackie (16:44.942)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (16:54.73)
friends that maybe really wanted to have a conversation with her or some of the other exchange students, but they were a little intimidated because they just weren’t really sure what to do with it. But so I found that oftentimes they would kind of use me as a conduit. They’re like, I mean, I’d really like to get to know this person, but they were too intimidated just to walk up and start a conversation. But they knew that I knew one of them. So it was it was kind of fun. And I think it definitely left an impact on me as well, because obviously I got into the whole travel thing. That was just one of the things. But
Jackie (17:23.864)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (17:24.742)
All right. So you made the decision to go to Costa Rica. What, where did that come from? Tell us a little bit more about that. And maybe even from an angle of somebody that might be listening to this, that has a child that’s interested in that, or maybe a young person that wants to go do study abroad. So tell us how that all came about.
Jackie (17:43.726)
I mean, I didn’t have a lot of options because I decided to use a specific study abroad program that was through a university that I had a scholarship with. So it was like, okay, this is, here are my options. I could do Spain, Chile, or Costa Rica. I didn’t wanna do Spain because I didn’t want the accent. This is super random, but it’s true. So I’m gonna share it. I just had a friend, my senior year of high school.
going into that year, we had a friend who had been at our school in my classes. I played soccer with her. She had just spent the year in Chile on a rotary exchange and she came home and was in a horrible accident and actually passed away. And that, I know it was wild. It was wild. And that was like right when Lydia arrived, actually, it was like right at that same time. But there was something about that that said, I’m not going to Chile. just, can’t do it.
Jason Elkins (18:31.694)
Yeah.
Jackie (18:40.894)
which in hindsight is very interesting because Chile is my favorite country now. I, I, yeah. I mean, it’s, it’s so interesting how that happened, but it, but it was my truth when I was 17, I didn’t, I just wanted to kind of, I didn’t, I wasn’t ready for Chile. so, so I had two options in Costa Rica and one was on the beach and one was in the mountains.
Jason Elkins (18:40.976)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (18:46.009)
I was going to ask you, have you been since that? I actually I kind of know you have because I think you were just there weren’t you?
Jason Elkins (18:59.994)
Yeah, I get that.
Jackie (19:07.118)
And I chose the mountains. Essentially, that’s all it was. I’m a mountain person. I’m not an ocean person. And I’m really happy with the decision that I made. So between those two options, it was like, OK, I just kept narrowing it down until I knew that this is where I’m going to go. And I said, I’m signing up for a year. Here we go.
Jason Elkins (19:28.334)
And other than we already discussed a little bit about going for a full year. got that. But what are some, maybe some of the surprises that you didn’t expect or anything that you could share with somebody that’s thinking about doing the same that maybe kind of a heads up either positive or a, you know, just whatever.
Jackie (19:39.918)
Well, okay. Yeah. It was such an interesting year because it was the first time that I ever kind of landed somewhere and realized I am not known here. The people around me don’t know who I am. And I can choose to be whoever I want to be, you know, because there’s no history here.
And that was kind of a big thought to have as an 18 year old. So I was exploring that. I mean, it kind of felt like.
I don’t have to be trapped by the same stories as high school. know, this is now, I mean, I had spent, I had been one year already in university. I was a sophomore at the time that I went. But it was really just like a clarifying, like, okay, this is, really on my terms. I’m gonna figure out who I wanna be here, you know? And that was a really powerful kind of underlying theme for the whole year.
Jason Elkins (20:39.771)
Yeah.
Jackie (20:45.806)
And I also will say the first back going to going back to what I was saying about being gone for a whole year and not stopping at semester. That is a really, really big choice for people. It’s very intimidating because here you are committing to spending a year of your life away, right? It sounds like what you’re doing is giving up a year of your life to go have an experience somewhere else. But I am telling you that what actually happens
Jason Elkins (21:04.186)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (21:12.454)
Yeah.
Jackie (21:15.072)
is you are gaining a year of your life that you can’t possibly gain in any other way. It is not giving up. It’s not giving up a year. It’s gaining a year that will blow your mind. And you can’t do it in four months. the four, the four, I was super competent in Spanish when I arrived and my biggest goal was to become fluent in Spanish. That’s what I thought I was going to Costa Rica for, but the amount that I learned and experienced and kind of just went through and how I transformed
I can’t, mean, this is why I’m writing a book about it because there’s so many things that happened. And I, and the, one of the biggest struggles was that that first semester I was ready to come home. was like, bum, bumming, you know, I was having culture shock. was like in, I just was kind of, I mean, I loved it. I, there was so much I loved about it. And there was also so much that I felt like I was missing out on like my life. left this life behind and blah, blah, blah. And I ended up going home for Christmas and
Jason Elkins (21:47.15)
Yeah.
Jackie (22:14.102)
realizing that, no, I’m not missing anything. Like, I’m not actually missing out on anything here. You know, like, everything here is exactly the same, you know? And like, no way. So I, you know, got back on that plane to Costa Rica just with kind of bright-eyed and bushy-tanned. I was ready to, like, just get back in there. And then when I did, when I arrived that second semester and the sun was shining and I just was like, yeah, this is me. This is who I am. Like,
Jason Elkins (22:19.718)
Everything’s still the same.
Jackie (22:42.782)
man, all thoughts of the negativity, the weight, the hard part. It was like I was already through it. And that’s why that second semester matters so much. It matters so much. Like four months is nothing. It’s not enough. A summer, not even close. I mean, if that’s all you can do, go do that. Really, like I’m not, but if you want to actually change your life, go live somewhere for a year when you’re 18.
Jason Elkins (23:07.75)
Do you think in hindsight, did it ever occur to you, has this thought ever gone through your head, if I had stayed home when I went home for Christmas, then I would have went a totally different direction with my life?
Jackie (23:24.43)
I haven’t actually like played out that narrative in my mind. I know for sure that my life would be so different. Like I don’t know if I would be sitting here right now doing all these things. just, don’t think that I would. I think that that’s.
Jason Elkins (23:34.523)
Yeah.
Because there’s potentially, yeah, because there’s potentially a, okay, I went and did it, but it wasn’t for me. I said I was going to go for two semesters. I only went for one. So I guess maybe I’m not cut out to be this world explorer or whatever. And maybe you’re less likely to then go on to the next place. Cause you did, you went on and did this in other places as well. And I can, yeah, I, so I could see.
Jackie (23:47.214)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Jackie (23:59.508)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. For another year. For y’all.
Jason Elkins (24:04.398)
I could see a scenario where if you’d given up at Christmas that one year, it might’ve changed. You know, you might still be in Carson city. I don’t know. but no, I like now.
Jackie (24:07.096)
Yeah.
Jackie (24:11.092)
No, God, no, I never wanted to be there. I never wanted to be there. That’s one of the things. I I went to that university because there was a scholarship that would follow me overseas, you know? And I mean, that was the beginning of me getting out and getting away. And that’s what I really, really wanted.
Jason Elkins (24:21.967)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (24:25.904)
Did you, did you go like when you went to the university, did you go to the campus at all? Because you were 18. So you had at least one, two semesters on campus. Okay. All right. Before you allow. Okay. Yeah. Well, I remember you said something about that.
Jackie (24:34.151)
yeah.
Jackie (24:38.028)
I had a year on campus. Yeah. I was just young. had to turn 18 before they would let me fly overseas by myself too. mean, come on. Like, God. Out of the house and you’re still like, I can’t, you don’t even recognize me on paper yet. Come on. But no, I was just young.
Jason Elkins (24:46.534)
you
Jason Elkins (24:53.99)
And then you got there and you’re like, I get to be whoever I want to be here. I love it.
Jackie (24:58.26)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. man. There was a lot that went into the preparation to launch. I mean, that was… I didn’t choose Nevada. My parents did. You know, like, my home was California, and I always wanted to go to a California school. And it wasn’t until I was about a junior in high school that I realized, no. Like, I can’t… I’m not in state anymore. What? Like, it didn’t hit me until people were starting to talk about college. Like, I can’t…
go to a California school. didn’t have a college fund. I didn’t have, I had to put myself through college. So, you know, I was, I was dependent on my scholarship and I had a really good one for that Nevada school. But luckily it has an incredible study abroad program. And so I used it for two years and it helped me get out.
Jason Elkins (25:30.66)
Yeah, yep.
Jason Elkins (25:41.094)
Pretty cool. Pretty cool. When you went to Costa Rica, were you staying in like in a dorm situation or did you stay with the family? I don’t know if you mentioned that. I might have missed it.
Jackie (25:53.046)
I didn’t, I lived with a family though. So then I was on the other side of the situation. I had a host sister, I had two brothers in the house and then my parents. And then there was a brother outside of the house already too, who had already moved out.
Jason Elkins (25:55.685)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (26:10.234)
Had they had your host family traveled at all or was it just a totally okay. All right.
Jackie (26:14.56)
yeah, yeah. They actually had lived in the States for a while. My dad was a teacher. And so it was such a cool situation for me because he also is a lover of language. And so we would sit and like learn. He would teach me vocab words, which might sound boring to a lot of people. I loved it. We would sit around the dining table and just like.
Jason Elkins (26:18.51)
Jackie (26:40.426)
You know, he’d pick a subject like soccer, for example, and then we’d go through all the vocab words like offsides and corner kick and penalty, all these things. But we did that for so many things and we did it very often. And so he loved to teach. I loved to learn. It was a really, really great situation. They didn’t speak English with me, even though most of them could like quite fluently. I mean, the youngest one, he was only seven. And so he was really shy to it. He never spoke English.
Jason Elkins (26:49.126)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (27:01.595)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (27:09.198)
But yeah, the other family members, while they could, they didn’t speak it with me. And I appreciate that because I was there to not speak English.
Jason Elkins (27:16.708)
Right. Did you feel pretty fluent already or I mean, you were there to learn Spanish. So I’m guessing you weren’t completely fluent, but was that a challenge?
Jackie (27:22.401)
Right.
I wasn’t completely fluent because yeah, that’s I had finished though all of the I mean pretty much all of the grammar studies that I could take. There weren’t any more grammar lessons in Spanish like I had finished all of that. So when I got to Costa Rica, I was taking like business Spanish and ecology and poetry like literature ceramics I took like random things other things that all
Jason Elkins (27:40.645)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (27:48.965)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (27:54.43)
used the language, but it wasn’t back to any of the basics. I’ve already been through it. So as far as you can get on paper, that’s where I was. But conversationally, it’s a completely different game. And then you put regions and I mean, the dial, the accents change, the slang changes so quickly in Spanish. So, you know, once you get one version of Spanish and then say you like go from Costa Rica to Mexico, it’s like, wait, what?
or to Chile, my favorite, because it’s so different down there. You know, the accents and the words that they use. So it’s like having to relearn a lot. mean, but I have a very, I mean, I definitely became fluent in the first, I would say, four months. Like it did happen for me in the first semester. And then it just got better in the second semester. And I had what the locals complimented me on as a native accent. Like I spoke it very well. And that was my goal. And I mean, that was…
Jason Elkins (28:23.29)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jackie (28:52.288)
I decided as soon as I got there, you know, that I was going to commit to the accent, to the language, everything. And that’s different. That’s on me. Anybody can go and do a study abroad program and come out not knowing a single word of the language, you know, but I knew what I was there for and I didn’t want to squander the opportunity.
Jason Elkins (29:12.25)
Did you, mentioned about four months saying you felt pretty fluent with the local dialect and the accents and stuff. I know in my experience, I have not really trained in Spanish, but I can communicate. I get there, you know, and I can have conversations with people between myself and them because they speak a little slower. They kind of recognize that they need to be a little bit patient with me.
And, and I can feel like, wow, I’m really doing great. I, you know, I’m really able to communicate and then I’ll hear them speaking to each other. And I’m like, no, I don’t know Spanish at all. I’m I’ve, I’m almost embarrassed that I said, Oh, I know how to speak. know Spanish. And then I, or like sometimes I’m traveling with my kid or whatever. He’s like, Oh, what are they saying to each other? I’m like, I have no idea. But you, you, you were able to listen to other people speak and just, and feel like you knew what they were talking about. Right.
Jackie (29:43.032)
Ha ha ha.
Yeah.
Jackie (29:55.453)
Yeah.
Jackie (30:02.464)
Yeah. mean, in Costa Rica, for sure. It’s, it’s a very clean accent. a lot of programs, a lot of even corporate and government companies will send people specifically there or like to Columbia, kind of those central ish countries because their accents are so much clearer than in some other places. mean,
Jason Elkins (30:04.836)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (30:28.782)
Right.
Jackie (30:29.442)
But that still happens to me with a lot of other places. I don’t know if it would happen now with any Costa Rican Spanish because that’s my base, you know? But even like I’ve lived in other countries, other Spanish speaking countries since then. And I actually, my accent has changed quite a lot and people never know where I’m from, which is…
Jason Elkins (30:38.446)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jackie (30:53.87)
really fun. it’s, mean, I’ve spent, for example, I spent a few months living in Argentina, in southern Argentina. And I know I picked up a lot of the intonation because people think I’m from Argentina when I, you know, or, but people from Argentina, I don’t know, it’s like, it’s a mix. And I like to keep people on their toes because they’re like, I can tell you’re a native. They say like, I can tell you’re.
Jason Elkins (30:55.013)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (31:04.336)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (31:16.334)
It’s interesting though, isn’t it?
Jackie (31:20.558)
you’re a native speaker, I don’t know where you’re from. That’s basically what it is. I’m like, oh, cool. And that’s the best compliment I can get. But yeah, I think.
Jason Elkins (31:27.462)
I had something similar, not the same. It was the first moment that I realized that there was so much variation between Spanish speaking countries was when I was in Medellin and this guy on the street started talking, chatting with me and we’re speaking in Spanish. And then he asked me, he’s like,
Jackie (31:35.918)
Mmm.
Jason Elkins (31:46.746)
I don’t know if he asked me or just told me he acknowledged that I was obviously from Spain. And I thought that was so crazy. I’m like, really? You really think I’m from Spain? My Spanish is horrible in my mind, but that means that he thinks Spanish people from Spain speak horrible Spanish as well, I guess is the conclusion I came to. Yeah. Really.
Jackie (31:51.522)
yeah, yeah.
Yeah. Mm-hmm. That’s the one I get the most. Yeah, it’s so weird.
Jackie (32:06.624)
It’s got something to do with the accent. don’t know, but I get that more than anything too. guess, I think Spain, Argentina, and also Venezuela, which I’ve never lived. I’ve never even been to Venezuela. Spain, I think it’s because they’re confusing. There’s a piece of my accent that comes from Argentina that has to do with S’s. And I know that that’s what’s happening and that’s where that, but I also look like I could be from Spain or Argentina. Like I have that look. And so I think when people.
Jason Elkins (32:33.574)
Yeah. Well, that, that may have been why he said Spain, because I don’t look Colombian. You know, there’s a wide variety in Argentina. I might not have got the same response because you see a lot more European looking people there, but anyway, it’s, it’s interesting. All right. So after Costa Rica, the next spot was you mentioned Italy and Portugal, but I’m not sure what the sequence was.
Jackie (32:36.384)
See me, they just assume.
Jackie (32:42.574)
Yeah, sure. Yep.
Jackie (32:49.026)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (32:59.68)
Italy and Brazil, Portuguese, Brazil. Yeah. Actually, I came back after Costa Rica for a year and moved to Montana for the first time, which that’s where I am now. That’s my home now. But it was, that was an important moment too, because that was essentially the turning point at home in the state side where I came back from that year and said,
Jason Elkins (33:01.904)
Portuguese, Portuguese, right? Okay, yep.
Jason Elkins (33:11.366)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (33:22.565)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (33:26.21)
There’s zero chance I am staying here. Like I went back to, the Carson city Reno area and I just, I think I stayed for a couple of weeks and I left and that was not the plan, but I came and I moved, to Montana to live with my brother. That’s where he came to go to school. So he was here and I learned, I started learning Italian super randomly in Montana because there was a girl.
Jason Elkins (33:50.766)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (33:52.204)
who like me had gone and learned Italian and she wanted to give Italian classes to adults. And she came into the place that I worked with a flyer and I was like, I’ll take that. I’m gonna, you know, I wanna do this. I thought that I was gonna do French after Spanish, but Italian came and got me. And so I started learning Italian and then I ended up spending a year, the next academic year.
Jason Elkins (34:04.772)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (34:18.73)
In Italy, I went to Northern Italy and I used the same study abroad program, which again, my scholarship went with me. I was still able to afford everything. And I went to Italy for a year and that was, it was so different. It was so different from Costa Rica because in Italy, we weren’t living with families. We lived with each other. So I had a roommate who’s still a dear friend of mine. I didn’t know her before. didn’t know anybody before same kind of situation.
Jason Elkins (34:29.83)
Nice.
Jackie (34:48.14)
I got offered a job the first night that I lived there at the bar that was like right by my place. And I didn’t end up working there right away, but I did end up working there in the second semester. I bartended in two different bars. It was a really wonderful experience. Also, that was the semester, that was the year that the
Jason Elkins (35:04.102)
Was, were you, I was going to ask, were you able to do that legally or was this an under the table type of thing? Yeah. Okay. All right.
Jackie (35:11.116)
it’s all under the table, but they don’t care. Yeah, it’s cash, but they don’t care. But that also was the year that the Olympics came to Torino. It was 2006. So, 05, 06, I lived in Torino and the Olympics coming was an incredible experience. yeah, I ended up the whole year there. I actually only did my program for the first semester and then I opted.
to not do the program and I took classes online through my university, had my books shipped over and just stayed and worked and lived in Italy because why not? I was already fluently speaking Italian and I mean, yeah, just a totally different world, right? And at this point I was 20, 21. I turned 21 in Italy.
Jason Elkins (35:47.696)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (35:52.474)
Why not? Yeah, absolutely.
Jason Elkins (35:57.7)
nice. So the other students in the program, were they mostly from North America or a good mix?
Jackie (36:05.078)
Mostly North America, yeah. Our study abroad program is based in North America with a bunch of consortium of schools all over the US. But so whether the students are actually from the US or not, they’re enrolled in that school. then they, so like a couple of my friends actually were from other countries originally, actually a lot of them, but they were currently enrolled in whatever school. so then.
Jason Elkins (36:20.454)
Okay, right.
Jackie (36:34.41)
But we had our, close knit group was, had a friend from Columbia, a friend from Germany, from Jordan, from Sweden, one other person from the US, we had New Zealand, we had, I mean, was really cool. I called it the, I called us the international crew. Cause it was just so fun.
Jason Elkins (36:50.67)
Isn’t that cool?
Jason Elkins (36:55.458)
It is one of, it’s very cool. it’s, I haven’t been able to do the study abroad, but I’ve spent a lot of time living and traveling. And that’s one of my favorite things about it is those memories of, know, just the top of my head comes sitting in Kuala Lumpur one day on top of a hostel on top of a tower with people from, you know, everywhere. seemed like, you know, Saudi Arabia all over Europe, South America, all these places and just.
And just that moment of, isn’t this friggin’ cool that I’m here able to connect with all these people from all these different places all at one time is really cool. I mean, obviously I love collecting, just connecting with the locals on a one-on-one or one-on-group level as well. But sometimes when you see a group of travelers come together like that, cause you’re all kind of like-minded, you’re all in the same tribe. You’re all there pretty much for the same reasons. And yeah, that’s, would you?
Jackie (37:27.955)
Mm, it’s so cool.
Jackie (37:34.008)
Yeah.
Jackie (37:43.596)
Mm-hmm.
yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah.
Jason Elkins (37:51.75)
If you, if a younger person were to approach you and say, Hey, I heard you on Jason’s podcast and I want to go do a year abroad. Cause they’re going to go for a year. Cause you’ve already made that clear. They should do that. But they have a choice between going somewhere where they’re going to stay with a family, a host family, or they’re going to share rooms and a dorm with other travelers. I know it’s, I know it depends on the person. I know it probably depends on what they’re trying to get out of it, but do you have a general?
words of advice for a person like that.
Jackie (38:25.742)
I actually would very much challenge them to consider their priorities because
Well, it also depends on their age because you know, I studied abroad the most recent that I studied abroad was age 33. And so by then, I mean, you’re, you know, I was, I had already been traveling for like 10 years and whatever. And I lived with a host at that time. And that was not the right choice for me because I just, I’m at a point now where I won’t know. And then too, you know, where I just need my space. Like I know what I’m doing. I’m not, I don’t need my handheld.
Jason Elkins (38:51.494)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (39:01.958)
It was your, like your host host mother was the same age type of thing.
Jackie (39:05.358)
It actually happened in Brazil. think I was 23 and she was 30. And so we ended up more like sisters. It was so fun. but so here’s the thing though.
There is no way to get the full kind of inside scoop of a language without really immersing yourself. And if you are not prepared to fully, fully immerse yourself, you’re not going to fully, fully become fluent. And so the reason that it worked for me in Italy is because with the friends that we were making, we had also Italian friends. I mean, we spoke Italian together. I worked, like I told you, I was…
Bartending. mean, there were entire relationships I had that were only in Italian, even though my roommate was from California, you know, just like me, but we put ourselves out there. And I mean, if you’re not willing to do that, then that’s where, that’s where you’re going to fail. If your priority is learning the language. so in Italy, we didn’t actually have a choice. That was just what we did. Everybody stayed in, we got assigned apartments essentially, and we got assigned roommates.
Jason Elkins (39:49.018)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (39:58.288)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (40:16.25)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (40:18.698)
Um, in Costa Rica, was the opposite. Everybody was assigned families. Um, but I, we were all young men too. mean, most of our group was young and I mean, at 18, I’m like, sure. I’ll live with a family. Like I didn’t even think about it. That’s what I knew. Lydia came and lived with us. You know, I’m like, I’m going to go live with the family. I I loved living on my own when I was 20, 21 in Italy with my roommate, we had such a great time, you know, and of course, I mean, in Costa Rica, I had every freedom. They, they didn’t.
Jason Elkins (40:26.63)
Mm hmm. Yeah.
Jackie (40:46.83)
put curfews or weird rules on me. wasn’t like I was a child. I was an adult and I could come and go freely and all of that. And they re totally respected my space and everything. So it was great in that sense, but it was also, I mean, there were things that I learned. mean, I would wake up in the morning and walk into the dining room and, my host mom in Costa Rica would say the way that she said good morning and how are you was something like a phrase I never would have picked up on the street. And it taught me the word.
Jason Elkins (40:50.406)
Great.
Jackie (41:16.576)
Amanecer means to dawn. El amanecer is the sunrise and amanecer as a verb is to dawn, essentially. And that’s how she would ask me in the morning was essentially translated. It literally means, how did you wake up? Like, how did you dawn this morning? know, I’m like, Como le amaneciste, or como le amaneció. Como le amaneció, because in Costa Rica they use usted, they don’t use to, which was also quite interesting.
Jason Elkins (41:34.712)
Is that like, come come on, they might I say or something? How do you say it? No,
yeah. From your roommates.
Jackie (41:45.81)
but like stuff like that, you are not going to pick that up on the street. There’s a lot you’re going to pick up on the street, like dancing, whatever, like with friends having, having relationships in, in that language, of course. But there are things that are extra special that you get within the house that you just wouldn’t otherwise. And so it really comes back to your priorities and you need to understand why you’re there. And if this is your opportunity, don’t squander it, you know,
Jason Elkins (41:54.725)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (41:59.408)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (42:11.78)
Right, right. And I think also I want to ask about issues of, you know, social, maybe loneliness. I mean, did you run into situations where maybe other students or even yourself dealt with, geez, you know, it’s less lonely if you’re with a family. I mean, is that a consideration to somebody that maybe is not super extroverted, that’s not going to go out and probably make a lot of friends? Are they better off staying with a family? Or I mean, do you have any thoughts on that? Or did it even come up?
Jackie (42:38.824)
are you kidding me? Every person who studies abroad battles loneliness. It’s, mean, and I am an introvert. I, I, I can be very shy. even in my family, was shy in my host family, you know, and I think that’s one thing that when you have an apartment, makes you feel almost better. Cause like, you don’t have to show up for anything. Like your roommates not expecting anything from you, you know,
Jason Elkins (42:44.941)
I feel better.
Jason Elkins (42:56.824)
Okay.
Jason Elkins (43:03.555)
Yeah.
Jackie (43:05.958)
I think it’s, takes a lot more courage to live with a family than it does to live by yourself, you know, with, within a study abroad situation. but no, no matter who you’re around, where you’re with, if you are alone in another country, you will feel lonely at times. It, it’s going to happen. You’re going to feel culture shock. Like you’re going to go through all of the things that make you question what the heck you’re doing there. Didn’t I want this? And you know, all of that, you’re going to miss people. People are going to miss you. You know, you’re, you’re going to.
probably experience homesickness, even if you’re not used to that. Yeah, that’s happening no matter what. So brace yourself and understand that the rewards are worth it.
Jason Elkins (43:46.208)
I’m happy we went there because that is a thing that people don’t always anticipate. I think, isn’t this going to be great? And I remember when I started my full-time traveling, was the first moment that it even occurred to me that I would be homesick. I never thought I would get homesick at all. And I was in a guest house trying to make some dinner and the pans were horrible and the knives were horrible.
Jackie (43:54.188)
Hmm. Hmm.
Jason Elkins (44:11.854)
I just had this moment because I’m a grown ass man who used to have my own apartment with all my own stuff. I really enjoyed cooking. And I remember I had a breakdown right there in the kitchen over pans and it’s not about the pans. wasn’t about the knives. But it was what happened as I started thinking, I miss my stuff. And then boom, all this was probably four months in. And it was the first moment of holy shit. I’m homesick. I didn’t expect it. it’s and I went immediately what the fuck am I doing with my
Jackie (44:28.778)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Jackie (44:35.619)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (44:41.178)
my French, but what am I doing with my life? And if I if somebody had told me that was going to happen, I might have actually been able to get it out of the way sooner because I might not have avoided it so much. And just you know, but so I’m happy we brought that up.
Jackie (44:56.962)
think it’s possible to avoid. It’s part of the journey, right? Because this thing of studying abroad, of living in another country, it’s not about the destination. It’s just not. It’s about the journey, you know? And that’s part of it. It can’t be all rainbows and butterflies. It won’t be. If you are, something’s wrong. Like, definitely something’s wrong, you know? Because that’s just not how goes. That’s not life. Like, that’s just not life. And so you…
Jason Elkins (45:09.52)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (45:15.674)
Yeah.
Jackie (45:26.516)
While you are aspiring to experience all these lovely things, and you will, you’re going to have the highest highs and the lowest lows you’ve ever experienced if you’re taking yourself alone to another country. That’s just how it’s going to be.
Jason Elkins (45:42.694)
Yeah, I think I think people need to hear that. Because that’s I suspect there’s an awful lot of people that started out on this grand journey of, I’m going to go spend a year abroad or whatever. then three months later, they’re like, I’m going home. Screw this. This sucks. Yes.
Jackie (45:53.582)
Yeah, if you can pull through though, which I mean, that’s the difference of it’s okay to give up and go home sometimes, right? There’s a time and a place for that. I would say that that’s okay if you think that that’s really what’s best for you. But if you can get through those hard moments, like those are the ones you learn from the most, know, pushing through that, that’s where your new muscles are getting strengthened.
Jason Elkins (46:16.422)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (46:21.888)
And you can never be the same on the other side of that. That is the threshold of the comfort zone. You choose to stay in it or you choose to push through it. And what you come out on the other side is not the same as where you were. And you can never go back. And nothing that you’ve accomplished in this time can ever be taken away from you. That’s like the real reward of doing the hard thing.
Jason Elkins (46:44.592)
Yeah, I love it.
Jackie (46:48.298)
It can never be taken from you. You get to keep that with you for the rest of your life.
Jason Elkins (46:52.344)
And people need to hear that. So thank you. Because I, I agree. think people need to know that there is another side. Cause otherwise they just run into the wall and just think, this is my wall. I guess this is where my journey stops because they, it’s a really, it’s a really big wall for some people. It’s just even starting the journey. I mean, I remember the walls that I had to break through in the, you know, given
Jackie (47:05.422)
Yeah. And it’s a big wall and it wants to keep you inside. Uh huh.
Jackie (47:16.588)
Mm-hmm. Sure.
Jason Elkins (47:18.224)
putting notice on my apartment, selling all my stuff, selling my car. All of those are really, really hard. And then I thought it’ll all be easy once I get to wherever I’m going. And then I’m like, geez, there’s walls here too. Damn. but, but it’s good for people to hear that because they know, yeah, there’s going to be a wall. I might as well just prepare for it now and, and just say, I’m going to push through it. You know, I’m going to at least push through it before I decided to go home. Let me get through the wall before I make any rash decisions about, okay, I’m, I’m at the end of the line. So.
Jackie (47:20.844)
Yep. Mm-hmm. Yep.
Jackie (47:27.2)
Jackie (47:45.73)
Mm-hmm.
Jason Elkins (47:48.294)
So yeah, very cool. Do you, um, so we’ve, we’ve discussed a bunch of different things and I, and obviously you’re, you do podcasts all the time. You got a lot of things to share. Appreciate that. But I also want to be respectful of our time here on this episode. Um, and I know there’s a lot of things we didn’t touch on, so I’m just going to ask you directly, Jackie, what should I have asked you? What do you wish I would have asked you? What other things do you want to kind of share with our listeners here? Um,
Either about yourself, your business, your podcast, life in general, we’ve shared a lot. Anything else you’d like to cover before we wrap up?
Jackie (48:21.676)
You know, I have done so many interviews like this and, you know, had a lot of conversations like this. And I don’t think in any of them I’ve ever dived this deep into the initial study abroad, which honestly, I feel is so important. And so I appreciate that you asked me the questions that you did because that, I mean, it’s like such an easy thing for people to just glaze over, you know, instead of digging in, what did that actually look like? Like, what was that about?
You know, and it was such a, I would say pivotal, that makes it sound like a very short moment in time, but it was such a pivotal year for me and such a foundational year for the person that I am now that, no, think that that was, I love talking about study abroad. I am such a big component for study abroad. I just, I’m a champion for study abroad. I encourage everybody to do, I mean,
Jason Elkins (48:58.608)
Doesn’t it? That’s a weird word.
Jackie (49:20.438)
I’m 41 now, so I’m kind of like, I’m past the years of like the people who are listening to me aren’t thinking about studying abroad. Like they used to be, cause I used to, I used to be more in that age group, know, but I mean, now people have kids that are maybe considering it. And I mean, there’s nothing better that I could encourage an 18 year old to go do then drop absolutely everything. And remember that you’re not giving up a year you’re gaining.
an experience that you cannot gain any other way. And so few people even attempt it that, no, I think there’s one thing I like to say, and that is we know who we are if we stay, right? We have exhibit A, we have exhibit B, like we have history, we know what this looks like, we’ve got this life down, right? But who will you be if you go? You cannot answer that unless you go. And this is your one life.
you know, what are you gonna do with it? Do you actually wanna stay and just be like, okay, I’m good. Like comfort zone, check, I’m gonna stay here. You know, we need people who do that too. We honestly do, because if everybody would be, if everybody was like me, the world would be a wreck. But I mean, for those of us who have the inkling even a little bit to go and try it out, like you’ve gotta go. You exercise that right to a passport. mean,
Jason Elkins (50:25.636)
Yeah.
Jason Elkins (50:30.426)
Mm-hmm.
Jackie (50:45.962)
Especially these days, you’re talking about big world made small. mean, there is one way to do that and it’s to get off the couch and go travel, you know, go do the thing and meet the people on the other side of the world that you have only ever heard stories about, you know, make them part of your story so that next time something happens over there, you’re interested in it, you know, and that’s, that’s the world becoming small and that’s people just connecting with each other and, you know, learning to.
Jason Elkins (50:46.202)
Yeah.
Jackie (51:12.706)
to accept and tolerate and love and protect. travel is capable of so much. I mean, really, so.
Jason Elkins (51:18.022)
you just said, you just said everything I everything that I feel in my heart. So thank you. That’s I agree with you completely. I do want to ask this. I got it real quick though, is you mentioned you don’t have maybe too many 18 year olds listening. I probably don’t have too many 18 year olds listening, but we have parents listening. And if a parent, if I were to listen to the conversation you and I just had, I might’ve heard
If my daughter or my son goes away for a year abroad, they’re never coming back to Carson city. I may have heard that there may be somebody that heard that. So other than what you’ve already said, is there anything else you’d like to say to a parent that maybe is thinking, maybe I should let my, maybe my kids talking about it, whatever. there anything either to ease your concerns or just ease their concerns or just make it a little easier for them or just get out of the way.
Jackie (52:09.422)
Honestly, my parents were very, my parents were very, I wanna use the word and bear with me, cause this is a positive thing. They were very hands off. Like they were very, I’m the one in my life who’s gonna go after something, right? And so it was me, it was my decision all along and they just supported me. And that I haven’t realized until, I mean, I guess I realized more through my adult life. a,
kind of like what a blessing that was because they weren’t ever saying, no, you can’t do that. No, they were saying, you want to do this too? Go ahead. Like we support you, you know, and that without having them worrying over me all the time, I was able to really kind of spread my wings and do my own thing and discover for myself. and really like, I’m not a parent. never will be. can’t possibly hope to.
speak to another parent on a level that makes me sound like I know what I’m talking about. I will say though.
Jason Elkins (53:10.67)
Well, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this. Do you think that your relationship with your parents was better because they supported your decision or if they had held you back and said, no, we don’t want you to go. It’s too far. It’s dangerous. We want you to stay in Carson city. So what’s the benefit to the parent? What’s the benefit to the parent?
Jackie (53:25.706)
that’s not a thing. Yeah. No, they, this is my personality too, but they had to let me go. You know, they weren’t letting me do anything, honestly. Like I did it. but if they had tried to put any kind of chains on me, I would have been very resentful, you know, cause I mean, I knew what I wanted. And so, yeah, no, I mean, and as the person who went, it completely made my life. Like, no, you, you need to let,
Jason Elkins (53:43.78)
Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to get across. As as a parent, that’s what I would need to hear is like, look.
Jackie (53:55.904)
Let it happen. Step back. Let it happen. Let them take the leap and figure out the lessons themselves. Yeah. Yeah, we have to. mean, yeah.
Jason Elkins (53:58.936)
Awesome. Jump. Just let them jump. Jackie, what a, what a great, what a great place to wrap it up. Thank you so much. This has been a real pleasure for me. And I think you brought an awful lot of value to the listeners and look forward to collaborating with you on some projects in the future and watch what you continue to do. So thank you so much. Appreciate it. You have a great day.
Jackie (54:21.102)
Yeah, thank you. Thank you. It was great to be here.
Jason Elkins (54:25.414)
Thanks, bye bye.
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