Through the Eyes of the Traveling Child – Travel With Bender Kids
(Mia and Caius)

1. Provide us with a little background on who you are, where you are originally from, name, age and what you are doing with your family, any siblings?  
   • Mia Bender  – 5  – Australia. I travel all the time with my Mum & Dad.
   • Caius Bender – 4 – Australia. My Mum and Dad are taking me around the world.
   • Mums note –  We left Australia in May 2012 and have been travelling the world ever since. Mia was 3 and Caius was 2 when we left. Caius has now been travelling half his life.

2. Where do you call home?
   • Mia – Here where I am.
   • Caius – Australia
3. What do you like most about traveling?
   • Mia – Eating new foods.
   • Caius – Um, mummy and ipads and all the playgrounds.

4. How long have you been traveling and where have you lived so far?
   • Mia – I don’t know, Mummy told me my first trip was when I was 8 months old, but nomadically 2 years. I remember some of the places, but not all – I’ve been to 37 countries.
   • Caius – Same as what my sister said.
   • Mums note – The kids have lived anywhere from SE Asia, USA, Central America, Middle East, Europe and Australia. Currently we have 5 weeks in Bulgaria.

5. What have you learned from your travels thus far?
   • Mia – I’ve learned other languages. I’ve learned about animals and I know how to read a map.
   • Caius – How to play with a phone and go to the toilet.
   • Mums note – The kids are great with a map, knowing where we are and where we are going. They have learnt how to play with other kids without ever being able to speak to each other, smiles are universal. They have learnt to be great flyers and try strange foods.

6. Tell us about how you are receiving your education?
   • Mia – I love to work on ABC Mouse or practice reading and writing with mummy and daddy in my workbooks.
   • Caius – I’m only 4!

7. How many languages can you speak and at what level? Was it difficult to learn?
   • Mia – I can count to 10 in 4 different languages. It wasn’t hard to learn.
   • Caius – Just English and Dora teaches me Spanish.

8. Do you have many friends?  Tell us about them. 
   • Mia – I have friends in Australia who I’ve known since I was born. Then I have good friends in Bali, Guatemala and lots more places. I miss my friend Indy in Australia the most.
   • Caius – Daddy and Mia are my friends.
   • Mums note – No mention of mummy here, Caius haha.

9. What is your favorite adventure?
   • Mia – Disneyland for my 4^th birthday was fun. I also loved the chocolate cooking class we did in Antigua, Guatemala.
   • Caius – Water parks are my favourite. I like the one in Dubai and Guatemala and Bali and everywhere. We are going to two in Bulgaria next week.

10. Do you have a favorite game you play when you travel?
    • Mia – I like playing the Minion game on my iPad. (Despicable Me). I also love reading with my Leap Frog tag pen.
    • Caius – Angry Birds.
    • Mum’s Note – The kids are thinking iPad games, but the majority of the games we play in the car or in a restaurant involve naming as many animals as we can with a certain letter or we like to do additions too.

11. Is there anything you miss seeing, having, doing?
    • Mia – My dog Snuffy. I miss gymnastics and my friends.
    • Caius – I miss my monkey and teddy bear toy.
    • Mums note – Caius lost his monkey and teddy during travels, I find it very sweet that this was his answer.

12. What is the one thing you are happy you brought with you?
    • Mia – My Superwoman costume.
    • Caius – My baby monkey toy.

13. Where do you want to go next?
    • Mia – Australia.
    • Caius – To Earth.

14. Do you have your own blog or write about your experiences? 
    • Mia – Not yet, but I will soon. For now my mummy write’s all about me on her award-winning travel blog, you can also follow her on Facebook, or catch her tweeting on Twitter.
    • Caius – No

We don’t often get exposed to the opinion of the kids and perhaps think we should.  We all know the Wagoner kids are full of their two cents worth and are loving travel.   If you would like to read other interviews in our Traveling Child Series, just click the image below.

Thanks for following along!  Do you have a traveling child who would like to be part of our series?  Just let us know.