A new way of seeing things and people.
I realize I am making an erroneous leap, assuming that all cross-cultural workers are working with people in poverty. I know that is not the case. There are cross-cultural conversations happening all the time across board rooms and school rooms that involve people from two different cultures, but similar level of socioeconomic status (SES). However, thereRead more
The first time I heard about person first language was when I was doing my training to be a special education teacher. We talked about the value of seeing the person before the disability. Instead of saying “an autistic student” we learned to say “a student with autism.” When leading IEP meetings or talkingRead more
For the month of October I am joining thousands of others writers and bloggers and committing to write for 31 days. I haven’t written consistently for years. I compose drafts in my head and never write them. I start posts, only to save them for later, where they accumulate in my draft box like aRead more
We have been back from vacation for almost a week now and usually after being away I am eager to jump back into our routines and the day to day rhythm of life here. I want to call people, post pictures and connect with the life we left. But I have been slowly inching myRead more
This one has been in my draft box for-ever. In fact, I would be embarrassed if you knew how many half-started blog posts are sitting in my draft box right now. (ahem. maybe close to a 100). I figured maybe part of my goal for the year should be to publish some of this half-finished thoughts, eh? IRead more
I am so excited to be guest posting today over at Rachel Pieh Jones’ blog. I kind of think of Rachel as an expert in cross-cultural living, mothering & writing as an expat living in Djibouti. And if we’re ever in the same country I would jump on the chance to grab coffee with her just to listenRead more
On Monday night we boarded a redeye flight from California to Guatemala. We’ve done this numerous times before, the difference being this time the little baby we thought would sleep was wide awake. We sat on the runway for a while before being giving the clear to take off. As she stared out the windowRead more
I posted this picture on Instagram this morning. Sometimes on our morning walks, as the soft light breaks through the trees, I try to imagine our town through MY daughters eyes. I try to imagine, what does she see? Lots of doggies roaming the streets, doggies without collars or leashes, or owners • puddles of rain waterRead more
We have been back for a few days. We’ve done laundry and put away our suitcases, and our tanned face our fading, but I still find little bits of sand in the bottom of the laundry basket and I smile. We needed this vacation. We needed time away as a family where we weren’t jugglingRead more
Most evenings before heading up to bed, I start a load of laundry. The water fills the basin; I toss in half a cup of liquid soap. I dump in the pile of dirty clothes and washcloths and towels that sit in the basket. Why are there always so many dirty washcloths? I close the lid, turn offRead more