Taking Route

Sorry, Not Sorry: Cross-Cultural Triggers and How to Respond

We have an unusually large kitchen for where we live, but an unusually small fridge. At 5’2” I look down on it, and our 9x12 Pyrex dish with the snap-on lid only fits in perched at a diagonal. Essentially, trying to make everything fit can easily become a game of Tetris, and last week I lost the game.

Without thinking through the consequences, I set a glass bottle of Sprite on a higher shelf on the fridge door to make room for something else. I’m sure you will not be surprised at what happened a little bit later, when I opened the fridge…

Culture Shock and StressCaroline SwartzDecember 17, 2019Comment

Expat Life, Hospitality, and Olives

Everyone in my family loves olives, thanks to a long heritage from my Greek great grandmother. There were always bowls of the briny treats on the dinner table, and my grandpa purchased them in enormous tins to accommodate our large gatherings. You could call them our “Big, Fat Greek” gatherings, but the truth is our family is much more international than that. My Greek great grandma was adopted as a little girl by a French family living in Istanbul. She married a Russian man and raised three boys who all married foreigners, and she immigrated to the United States with her middle son, my grandpa, who had married an American from Washington State.

Reflections From AbroadRosalie DuryeeDecember 13, 2019hospitality, expat life preperation, reflectionComment

10 Tiny Must-Haves for Kid-Friendly Travel

Last weekend, on a whim, we took the kids (including our 7-week-old) on quick trip to a beautiful mountain town here in Germany. We enjoyed sunny skies, crisp fall air, and inspiring views of snowy peaks. We didn't have much of an agenda. We just wanted to get used to traveling again, now as a family of six. We'd taken a travel hiatus during my third trimester and the first several weeks of our son's life, and we were excited to get back into the habit.

Things went pretty well, I'm happy to say. But in bed that night I kept thinking about the things I’d forgotten to pack that I’d wished we’d had with us.

Travel & MovingChristie ChuDecember 9, 2019 Comments

7 Lessons I Learned from 7 Housemates

During my six years in southeast Asia, I lived with seven different people. They came from the United States, Europe, and Australia, and all stayed for a different length of time, from a few weeks to two years. I became good friends with a few of them and we still keep in touch.

Building CommunityMallory BrooksNovember 18, 2019roommates, housemates, singles, community, conflictComment

Off the Edge of the Map

A life overseas takes us to the edge of our known world and into an unknown world. In ancient times cartographers would draw dragons and sea monsters on maps to mark the delineation of distant and unexplored territory. When we move overseas we find ourselves off the edge of the map of our comfort zone, knowledge, and experience.

Culture Shock and StressJulie MartinezNovember 15, 2019self-awareness, the edge, expectations Comment

Developing Your Professional Bag-Packer Skills

Sometimes I feel like all I do is pack and unpack bags. It is kind of a joke in my bio that I am a “professional packer of bags,” but it is also very true. I bet you have also felt like a professional packer of bags at times during your expat journey of traveling and moving across all kinds of borders. I bet you have spent a few weeks just shopping, sorting, organizing and packing those bags to head back to your host country.

Travel & MovingElizabeth SpencerNovember 7, 2019Packing, Moving, downsizing, organizing, movingComment

The Perfect (Emotional) Storm of Visiting "Home"

For a long time, The Perfect Storm was my favorite book. I picked up an extra copy whenever I saw it at a thrift store, so I could just give someone the book when I recommended it to them. I was fascinated by Sebastian Junger describing how the elements of weather, season, and human decision came together and created a perilous situation for so many people.

TransitionChristie ChuNovember 4, 2019furlough, home assignment, expecationsComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 31: Malawi

Hi! My name is Stacy Leigh Hutchens, and I live in beautiful Zomba, Malawi with my husband, five kids ages 3-11, four cats, and a standard poodle. We had the rare privilege of getting to design and build our home here. It isn't extravagant, but it is my dream home, especially the kitchen.

This Global Kitchen | Day 30: Horn of Africa

Hi friends! I’m Sarah, and I live in the Horn of Africa along with my doctor husband and two kids. In my past American life, I worked in communications for a medical non-profit, but at the current moment, I’m about a year and a half into language learning, while helping my husband research and administrate a future NGO project.

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 30, 2019This Global Kitchen, 31 days series, Africa, North AfricaComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 29: Tanzania

Hi, my name is Courtney and I’m an expat living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I’m married and have four children. My kitchen is far from spectacular. It’s the hottest room in the house (we live on the coast of the Indian Ocean), water leaks all over the floor each day from a seemingly unrepairable sink pipe, and yet, somehow, it’s the space we all prefer to spend our time in together.

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 29, 2019This Global Kitchen, 31 days series, Africa, North AfricaComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 28: Egypt

Hi! My name is Kristin! I live with my husband and three kids in Cairo, Egypt. This is our eighth year living in Cairo. My husband and I are teachers at an American International school here, and our kids attend school with us. It's great to all be together at school each day! I've come to love this dusty, busy, noisy city, and we all call it home.

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 28, 2019This Global Kitchen, 31 days series, North Africa, EgyptComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 27: West North Africa

Hi, my name is Abby. I moved to Western North Africa 5 years ago with my four girls (16, 13, 11, and 8) and my husband. Having four girls is wonderful, but we moved to a city that is a little isolated. There were not a lot of opportunities for girls and we needed some sort of outlet, so we took up cooking.

This Global Kitchen | Day 26: South Africa

It is smaller kitchen and with the hopes of opening up the space I decided to go with an open shelf plan which is a fun way to be able to try and minimize my kitchen stuff and gives me a chance to try and be creative about how to store and display things I am using in my kitchen.

This Global Kitchen | Day 25: Botswana

As of now, I don't have a lot of counter space so the kitchen table also acts as as prep station. I was gifted a Kitchen Aid mixer from a missionary friend who left the field. For so long I had wanted one but as you know, they are heavy! I couldn't contain my excitement when she said she was leaving me hers, along with a lot of other things she knew I would love and use. Community is a beautiful thing!

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 25, 2019This Global Kitchen, 31 days series, Africa, BotswanaComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 24: North Africa

I really actually love my kitchen!! This is our third home since we've lived here and the kitchen here is a VAST improvement over the first places we lived (think no counter space at all... so chopping veggies on the table). I spend lot of time in the kitchen, and have learned so much about cooking from scratch since the day we arrived here.

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 24, 2019This Global Kitchen, 31 days series, AfricaComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 23: Uruguay

When we first got here we were overly ambitious and attempted laundry by hand. 2 years in and we realized it wasn't getting easier and we weren't getting better at it. I guess growing up with a washer and dryer all your life makes such chores difficult to relearn. We were blessed this year to be able to get a washing machine! Most washing machines/washing stations are close to the kitchen in Nepal. Ours is on it's own little patio right outside of our kitchen!

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 23, 201931 days series, This Global Kitchen, India, AsiaComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 22: Brazil

Hey guys! My name is Maggie and I am from the great state of New Jersey. I came to Brazil in 2006 to help in an English school run by an American missionary. During that time I met my now husband, who is a Brazilian. We later married and moved a few times between the states and Brazil and finally settling here in Brazil.

This Global Kitchen | Day 21: Ecuador

I’m Tina Ferry and our family of four lives in Ecuador. We’ve been abroad about five years and still feel like we are getting our feet wet. When I saw that Taking Route was planning “31 Days of the Global Kitchen,” I was thrilled to have the opportunity to participate. Food and the kitchen are central for our family’s hobbies, health, sense of home, and our ministry — which often centers around hospitality. Upon returning home from any trip or the start of any week the question is always, “What should we cook?” This is a family discussion with many opinions and much excitement.

This Global Kitchen | Day 20: Nicaragua

My name is Anna Kate and I work in Nicaragua with abuse prevention and restorative care for women and girls who have survived sexual abuse. I started coming on mission trips when I was thirteen-years-old and my love for the people grew from there. I have lived in Nicaragua for almost five years now and, in that time, I’ve learned a lot about how to live in my host country, especially as a single woman.

This Global KitchenTaking Route EditorsOctober 20, 2019Nicaragua, This Global Kitchen, 31 days series, North AmericaComment

This Global Kitchen | Day 19: South Korea

Hi everyone! My name is Kara, and I live in South Korea with my husband and four young kids. We’ve lived here, in this apartment, for almost 8 years now. Our kids are 7, 5, 3, and 1 — so we are all about convenience and functionality in the kitchen. There are several design elements I would change (all the brown, the fluorescent lights, the storage cabinet doors...), but overall, this kitchen gets a solid A+.