Taking Route

On War, Hospitality, and Carrying On + a Stir-Fry Recipe

I was standing by the soundboard turning on the projector and the mics when I saw her enter. From her shiny brown hair and trendy clothes, I could tell she was young—maybe college aged—and possibly an international student. She stepped timidly into our meeting room and looked around for a free seat. Once she found one, she gently pulled it away from the rest of the row. Social distancing has made everyone think they must sit alone if they come alone, putting a seat in between ourselves and someone else. So, she sat alone, and I had a sense that what she needed was company. One person spoke to her, and I could tell from her halting Spanish that she was from my own passport country.

Home & Hospitality, RecipesRosalie DuryeeMarch 18, 2022war, hospitality, Recipes, easy recipes, loving well, loving your neighborComment

Celebrating Milestones in Expat Life | Episode 14

PodcastTaking Route EditorsMarch 13, 2022Podcast, podcast, Taking Route Podcast, It's Tea Time Somewhere, ITTS, milestones, accomplishments Comment

Four Free Ways to Love Your Expat Friends From Afar

Reflections From AbroadMallory BrooksMarch 13, 2022friendship, friends of expats, friendshipsComment

Handling Conflict in Expat Friendships | Episode 13

Podcast, Building CommunityTaking Route EditorsFebruary 23, 2022Podcast, podcast, It's Tea Time Somewhere, friendship, local friendships, Friendships, TCK friendships, making friends abroadComment

Ten Ways to Show Simple Hospitality

Home & HospitalityHeather FallisFebruary 17, 2022Comment

Expat Paperwork Fallout

Family & TCKsRosalie DuryeeFebruary 11, 2022stress, paperwork, marriageComment

Rich and Red: Loving Fully Even When Goodbyes are Imminent

Reflections From Abroad, Building CommunityTaylor MayFebruary 8, 2022goodbyes, saying goodbye, stayingComment

10 Encouragements for Language Learners

Language LearningMallory BrooksFebruary 3, 2022Language Learning, encougement, language, language mistakesComment

Moving Again After Moving Abroad | Episode 12

PodcastTaking Route EditorsFebruary 1, 2022moving, ITTS, Podcast, podcastComment

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.