“Who are we?” Introducing the Veritas Ethnography Project

I first found about Remote Year about two years ago. It came up on Facebook as one of those pages that some of my friends liked. Intrigued I visited their website and almost immediately I knew that this was something that I wanted to do except I didn’t have a remote job so I told myself I couldn’t apply. Yet that didn’t stop me from dreaming.

I often pondered what that life would be like, to travel the world while working and living in a nomadic community. I was fascinated with the concept. I wanted to know, what makes a digital nomad. What does it mean and what is this lifestyle? I wondered about who these people were that were a part of the program. What did they do for a living? Where were they from? What were they like? What were they searching for? In my mind, I imagined they were these brave, fearless and confident individuals. Full of life, energetic and ambitious. I wanted to be one of them.

With all of these questions, I came up with this idea of doing a video ethnography project, documenting a Remote Year group. I considered writing to the company and pitching the concept but I never did. I’m not sure what held me back but I think it was because I didn’t just want to produce a video on digital nomads. I wanted to be one.

When I first started my year on remote, I brought with me this idea I had been thinking about for the past couple of years. I knew I couldn’t live with the thought of completing this year without following through on this project. With a little encouragement and gentle nudging from some of my tramily members, I looked for volunteers to participate in my study of what this digital nomad journey is all about. Big shoutout to Olga and Brendan for their support in that first week and for pushing me to make this project happen.

Sometimes I look around and think how amazing it is to be sitting somewhere else in the world, living the life that I used to daydream about. At times I have to remind myself that this is now my life. Not only did I find a way for myself to become a digital nomad but I am also working on the project that I had imagined creating when all of this was still a dream. So without further ado, it is time to introduce the first edition of the Veritas Ethnography Project. I present to you the beginning of our Remote Year Veritas tramily story:

The Prologue: “Who are we?”

Enjoy.