31 days series — Taking Route

This Global Walk Outside | Day 31: Turkey

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 31, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Asia, TurkeyComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 30: Romania

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 30, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Romania, EuropeComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 29: South Africa

Our home is set to the back of campus, so we appreciate some quiet and privacy while still living in community. The campus is set up on a hill, and we enjoy a view down the valley below – never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have a view from my home here! This photo was taken during a recent, and very rare, snow. Yes, it does snow in Africa! ;) Last year, we planted our front garden with all indigenous plants, and it’s been such a source of joy for all of us – blooming wild irises, pincushions, birds of paradise. So much beauty!

This Global Walk Outside | Day 28: Hungary

Before we moved to Diosd we spent nine of the best and hardest years of our lives living in a cozy (and by cozy, I mean small) apartment in Bucharest, Romania. I bought plants there like some people buy cut flowers - sparingly, and with the knowledge that their days were numbered. Our local playground, surrounded by concrete apartment buildings, was our backyard.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 28, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Hungary, EuropeComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 27: Slovenia

We love having a green space to enjoy time together as a family. We spend time almost everyday playing with our dog and having adventures with our toddler. We also love stepping out on our balcony and feeling like we have a place of solace. Living in the midst of another culture has unique challenges that are often taxing mentally, physically, and spiritually. We are thankful that we have a place of retreat just one step out the door.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 27, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Slovenia, EuropeComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 26: DR Congo

Culturally, you invite visitors into a covered area to have meetings/visits. For us, it provides much needed privacy so that the house isn’t under the constant siege of people that flow through daily. The house is technically the volunteer house and our organization’s “headquarters”.

I love the fact we have so much property. Due to security, the majority of the time the girls and I really can’t go anywhere, and it’s wonderful to have the back yard for them to run around.0 when we were in a fairly strict quarantine and our son wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment complex. Thankfully we have very understanding neighbors who didn’t mind him scooting in the front entryway or allowed us to go up on the roof to get some fresh air and blow bubbles! Will learned how to ride his bike on the roof of our building.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 26, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Africa, DR CongoComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 25: Austria

One might think of the Sound of Music and all the green spaces when thinking of Austria. Vienna, though, is a city of 2 million people. Most apartment buildings are 5-7 stories high, which means that the city is quite spread out. There are laws, though, about having a certain number of green spaces (parks, playgrounds, even trees!) per area.

Although there are some homes on the outskirts of town, many people live in apartment buildings. Many of the older apartment buildings do not have balconies, whereas many of the newer ones do.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 25, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days seriesComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 24: North Africa

So, we have two main outdoor spaces. This is a picture of the outdoor patio that is on the back of our house. You can access it through a door in our kitchen, or through a door from our living area. Initially, this space was just kind of there, and I didn’t know what to do with it except to hang our laundry. But, after a few years (... just being honest about how long it takes us to make home improvements), we added the table and chairs. Now, this is one of our favorite spots because we often eat dinner together outside here in the spring and the fall!!

This Global Walk Outside | Day 23: Benin

One of my favorite things about our outdoor space is our covered patio. Even in the midday heat, we can sit outside in the shade and enjoy the fresh air.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 23, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Benin, AfricaComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 22: Spain

While Spain has recovered fairly quickly, it faced a lot of suffering at the beginning of the pandemic. We spent 46 straight days inside our flat… which has no private outdoor space. It’s just a three bedroom apartment; no yard, no patio, no terrace, no balcony. So, I try to create a sense of the outdoors with houseplants.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 22, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, SpainComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 21: Paraguay

This is the outdoor space right before you enter the apartment building. Unfortunately, there is no green space at this place but the different trees inside and outside the complex help brighten things up. During different times in the year the Lapacho tree blooms different colors of flowers like yellow, pink, and purple.

Most houses in Paraguay have chairs right outside their living area (for my host family there’s are in the back out on their patio). Paraguayans love community and being together drinking terere outside under shade trees because it gets really warm during the day in the sun.

This Global Walk Outside | Day 20: Dominican Republic (No yard)

This is our balcony. Seeing the palm trees from the balcony is a constant reminder we are not in Oregon anymore. Mornings are spent here drinking coffee before the sun pounds down on it at about 3pm everyday. The balcony is a place for coffee to be sipped, bibles to be read, clothes to be dried on, and the place you run when a moto arrives honking and you don’t know if it is for you or someone else. It provides a place for retreat while being a place of practicalness.

This Global Walk Outside | Day 19: Dominican Republic (Small Yard)

Our yard here is much smaller than the one I grew up with, and full of rocks instead of grass. Most houses, including ours, have slatted windows that let in all the heat, sounds, and smells of our neighborhood. We feel like we are outdoors all the time. When we visit the US, being indoors feels sealed off and so quiet! The DR doesn’t have big public green spaces or parks like the US, so on the coast where we live, if you want to be outdoors in nature, you’re pretty limited to the beach.

This Global Walk Outside | Day 18: Peru

We live in a second-floor apartment in a little 5 apartment building in Lima, and unfortunately we do not have our own outdoor space. We would love to have a outdoor yard, or at least a balcony, but houses and larger apartments in Lima can be quite expensive to rent.

We really lamented not having our own outdoor space from March to August 2020 when we were in a fairly strict quarantine and our son wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment complex. Thankfully we have very understanding neighbors who didn’t mind him scooting in the front entryway or allowed us to go up on the roof to get some fresh air and blow bubbles! Will learned how to ride his bike on the roof of our building.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 18, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Africa, South America, PeruComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 17: Honduras

Our mission hospital almost touches the Caribbean, and a large part of the hospital housing extends up a hill with marvelous views of the ocean. Every morning we can see rustic fishing boats setting out early looking for their catch of the day. Just in the distance we can make out a chain of small islands called the Cayos Cochinos, and during the summers the sun lowers over the ocean bringing us spectacular sunsets.

This Global Walk Outside | Day 16: Mexico

There are so many things I love about where I live. One thing is how big the space is on the Ranch. I love going for walks around the Ranch and taking in the beauty of the mountains around us and the palm trees that make the desert an oasis. I also love that I can walk out of my room and start hiking within a couple of minutes.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 17, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Mexico, North AmericaComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 14: Philippines

Welcome to our little corner of the jungle. We finished building our home in 2019 and have been studying the local culture and language since then. Our community is located in a lovely valley nestled between lush green mountains.

This Global Walk Outside | Day 13: Malaysia

A lot of people here live in high-rises, and many buildings are shaped so that you can see the ocean from nearly any apartment. Most apartment buildings have a common outdoor area with a pool or tennis court, and a lot of the apartments here have balconies. I never had a balcony before moving to Malaysia, but now I have four of them! It’s by far my favorite part of my apartment.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 13, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, AfricaComment

This Global Walk Outside | Day 12: Thailand

When we were choosing a home to rent in Chiang Mai, we wanted space for our energetic kids. (What parents don’t think that?) However, yards with space are few and far between. Another desire of ours was a space to get outside when it rains and not always have to get wet. Sometimes is great to have fun in the rain, but with three kids I wanted a dry option.

This Global Walk Outside | Day 11: Indonesia (Small Town)

In April 2021, we moved into a new home in our small town! There were many reasons for the move, and while I was sad to say farewell to our previous house, this new one had SO many benefits. Like a beautiful front yard & front porch! Growing up in Florida, I am used to huge backyards with playsets and swimming pools. But this little green space in our front yard is simply perfect. We love the neighborhood, the neighbors and the location.

This Global Walk OutsideTaking Route EditorsOctober 11, 2021This Global Walk Outside, Series, 31 days series, Southeast AsiaComment