It all started when I was feeling overwhelmed by my mental to-do list as we prepared to move overseas for the first time as a family. There were emails to answer, deadlines to meet, and people to see. There was a twenty-page visa application to complete, a college course to finish, and a baby’s arrival to prepare for. Not to mention the stress involved in sorting through every single possession—deciding what to take, what to store, and what to give away.
Read MoreIn order for you to buy into this post, I’m going to need you to forget anything you’ve ever heard about dating apps. Especially if you heard that in the USA. Because this post is all about dating as an expat and in order to do that in 2020 and beyond, your best bet is probably going to be employing some dating apps.
But those are for losers! Isn’t Tinder just for hooking up? I’m not into sketchy late night texts! That is not for me.
I kid. I know none of us are that closed off to new experiences, right? After all, you did (or have, or will soon) move out of the country you were born and into another. That is not for someone who isn’t at least a bit adventurous. That’s right, my friend, you are an adventurer! Now let’s talk about how to apply that to your love life.
Read MoreFor the first time in weeks, my soul felt alive again. Feeling the wind wrap around me, holding my girl close and watching her hand float through the air, while my guy guided us with ease through traffic that was once again wonderfully chaotic. It was the most glorious feeling. After many months of lockdown, we were free. Rumors of lockdown starting again only pushed us out the door faster, to see our friends that have turned into family.
Stripping off our helmets and coats, I thanked God for His mercy in holding back the rain. As soon as we crossed the threshold and got inside the downpour began. I smiled, acknowledging His little nudge and imagining Him grinning mischievously. We climbed a single flight of stairs and the reunion began. Cooper went first and I could hear little squeals. Charlie and I walked in and then came the gasps. Three months ago she was just a baby, now she is a full-grown toddler. COVID-19 had indeed robbed us of watching one another grow through each moment. But nothing could dampen this sweet reunion, this sincere embrace. COVID-19 reminded us just how much we’ve come to love this place we call home.
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 pandemic spread to each of our corners of the world earlier this year, many of us had to consider access to medical care (or lack of it) as we made decisions about staying or evacuating. When Rachel and her husband found out they were pregnant with their fourth child right as lockdowns began, they had to make the hard choice to leave their home in India and evacuate to America. In this episode, Rachel recounts her experience of leaving on short notice, while sick and pregnant, with three young children. She shares how she and her family have dealt with unmet expectations and loss upon their return to their passport country, and how their experience with cross-culture transitions has equipped them to be an encouragement and support to others in this challenging season.
Read Moreears of desire and prep and waiting for the right timing.
You research, seek advice, and connect with those who have gone before you.
Then that huge shift…and you realize that no amount of groundwork or education could have adequately prepared you for what you’re currently experiencing.
Am I talking about bringing home a baby or moving overseas? Both.
My husband and I just brought home our first baby. As I was feeding her last night, I realized that life with her has a lot of similarities to moving to a foreign place. Here are a few of them:
Read MoreAs I’ve watched the events following the death of George Floyd unfold in the United States, I’ve been tempted to despair. Despair systemic racism and the ignored cries of people of color. Despair for George Floyd and his cries for his mother. Despair for Americans whose ancestors were enslaved by people honored by statues and that wretched flag that stands for the defense of slavery. Despair that although black Americans are no longer enslaved, slavery is alive and well throughout the world. Despair that the consequences of the slave trade, segregation and racism still seem to prevail, and that Civil Rights are still trickling in less that 70 years later.
I have despaired. It’s easy to think that my passport country is broken beyond repair.
Read MoreIs anyone else feeling overwhelmed by statistics, headlines, and confirmed case counts? It didn’t take me long to get there. I can only handle so much bad news before I start feeling numb. I don’t have the mental or emotional capacity to process every single update. I haven’t been in my host country long enough to know the reliable news sources and I can’t sift through the word-of-mouth news to determine what’s just a rumor (or translate it, for that matter).
This is a serious situation. Everyone is concerned about their loved ones. We have all been affected by this virus in some way. When my company informed us of a potential country-wide lockdown, we stocked up on food and diapers. We have the resources to be able to do that without a second thought. My family has a reliable income, but even if that goes away, we have savings. We will be okay. Then I started thinking about my neighbors. They don’t have the resources to save. They go to work, get paid, and eat. Rinse and repeat. I just stocked my cabinets full of food, and my neighbors might not eat tomorrow.
Read MoreAlthough it’s unexpected—and far from ideal—I've seen some good coming from this time of distance learning for my kids, made necessary by COVID-19. They’re able to be more relaxed, and we have more time together. But recently I caught a concerning negative development. My three-year-old daughter now looks at her coloring pages and says, "I'm not good at drawing. I'm bad at this,” and then gives up. She hears this from her brothers.
My secret fear is that they learned this behavior from me.
Read MoreIf there is one word that is universally used and understood in the Year of Our Lord 2020, it is the word interruption. Across the globe, everything has been interrupted — family life, education, careers, finances, church, sports, future planning. We now realize our future is not what what we were expecting, and that is a tough and unsettling place to be.
Read MoreWherever you currently find yourself in the world, it’s no secret that all our lives have been affected by the Covid 19 pandemic. Our circumstances and situations might be different, but in an effort to create some solidarity between us we are starting a new mini-series titled “This Global Pandemic.” Each episode will have an interview with a new expat woman who will share her perspective on what life in the time of a global pandemic has been like for her.
In today’s episode you’ll hear from Kim, who lives in Ukraine with her husband and their six kids. They also have guardianship of three men with special needs and they work to deinstitutionalize people with disabilities. Kim shares with us what is was like for her family to unexpectedly welcome several new people into their home to quarantine with them, help a family get their adopted son to America in the middle of the pandemic, and what the Lord has been teaching her about releasing her love of control. Grab your favorite beverage and a comfy seat and prepare to be blessed by Kim’s story.
Read MoreI remember standing on my balcony in Cambodia when I was younger, the streets bustling with life below, and watching the sunset take over the sky with such theatrical colors of warm pinks, peaches and gold. It was so brilliant. Too brilliant, perhaps.
In the USA, people like to bask in that brilliance, you know? Get a nice, golden tan. Where I grew up, people shielded themselves from that same brilliance (well, those who could afford to). The Cambodian sun is hot, brutal, and unforgiving.
Read MoreI could sit on the porch of the coffee shop just outside of the farmer's market forever. As long as I've got something to sip on, I'm content to sit and watch the myriad of expats pass by with their totes full of things to make dinner with, or to share with friends. I spot several Trader Joe's shopping totes and look down at my own and grin. Some of the passersby and I come from the same place. Most of the expats around me are clearly from other places. They look and sound very different.
Read MoreWhen we first moved overseas it was on a two-year commitment, unsure of what our future beyond that would hold. After a few months, we knew we wanted to make a life here. We enjoyed our jobs, had great chemistry with our co-workers, and loved the culture and people. Our kids adjusted exceptionally well, and although we dealt with our share of challenges, overall we had a wonderful first two years in our host country. When we left, we were excited to return.
Read MoreI remember holding my kindergarten class picture while snuggling with my mom one night at bedtime. She pointed at each face and asked me to tell her something about that kid. Was he kind or funny? Was that girl a good friend? We still have inside jokes that came out of that conversation, like the classmate I said was nice, "but…he farts." We've laughed a lot about that description over the years. We certainly did that night.
Looking back, I realize she had so much to do in the evenings—she was a full-time working mother with a husband and two kids. But I never felt that she was looking at the clock. She had time for me. She wanted to know what's going on in my world, and what I thought about it.
Read MoreIn this episode, we are speaking specifically about the work of racial reconciliation. In this conversation, we discuss what we’ve been learning, what racial reconciliation looks like while living abroad, and how we’re teaching our children about race and racism. We can’t “out-write” our experience, so to speak, but it’s our hope and prayer that Taking Route will see growth in the area of better representation as we look inwardly and examine where we can do better and how we can do better. This conversation was important for us to have on the podcast so the Taking Route community can hear where we’re at on this journey and hold us accountable. Thank you for the grace you’ve extended to us thus far. We are confident the Lord — who gathers people from every race, tribe, and tongue to His throne — will continue to lead and make a way for this to be a community that represents a truer picture of His Kingdom here on earth.
Read MoreWhen you experience a major life change (moving to a new country, starting a new job, getting married, or isolating during a global pandemic), it's natural to shift into survival mode. For many expats, significant changes occur together, so survival mode is a given during those seasons.
But what happens when you stall—get stuck—there?
A few months ago, I realized survival mode had become my daily reality.
Read MoreDuring this pandemic, we expats have fallen into one of two categories: those who stayed and those who left. Expats who made the decision to evacuate their host country have undoubtedly faced some very unique challenges in leaving and finding a new normal in their passport country. In this episode of It’s Tea Time Somewhere, Denise interviews Alicia about her family’s decision to leave Indonesia and evacuate to the States, how they came to that decision, and the lessons she’s learning through it. Alicia’s story will help those who stayed abroad to better understand the realities of our friends who left, and will encourage fellow evacuees that you’re not alone in the ups and downs of repatriating during a pandemic.
Read MoreAll of us on the Taking Route team carry passports that say United States of America, and we know many of you do as well. The events happening in our home country right now are devastating. The murders of Black men and women like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor (and so, so many others) have opened our eyes to something that has been going on for a long time. As U.S. citizens living abroad, we find ourselves grasping for something that we can do right now to work for justice in America.
We are not experts and we are still very much on the journey of learning (and unlearning) things when it comes to racism. Because of this, we are pointing you to the voices of men and women who have done a lot of work to help us listen, learn, and take action. We wanted to share some resources we have found to be helpful in educating and or/prompting actionable change to fight racism in America.
Read MoreWhen I was in college, I lost my passport.
At the time, I studying in the States and my parents were living in Kenya and I was scheduled to fly there for Christmas a few short weeks later. Honestly, looking back now, my parents were way too nice about this, and we got an expedited new one that arrived in time for me to still be able to go. I probably was not as stressed as I should have been about getting the replacement (nor felt as guilty as I should have about losing it in the first place), but I did feel the loss of that passport – the actual object itself – deeply.
Read MoreJenilee Goodwin opens up with us about the time in her life that included a tough medical diagnosis, family issues, cancer and the quick death of her mother-in-law, putting her girls in boarding school for the first time-- all of that on top of regular expat stresses, expectations, and responsibilities. These combined circumstances led to a very intense time in her life. In this episode of Taking Route Podcast, Jenilee shares tools and lessons she and her family learned persevering through these difficult times. She shares some truths about communication, sleep, and giving yourself and your loved space and compassion. Grab your cup of coffee and enjoy our chat with Jenilee!
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