Travel Stories | Expat Life
A modest gift.
The very sweet staff at my school gave me a very lovely going-away gift: an abaya!
It’s not an abaya I would have selected for myself (too jazzy), but I think that makes it more authentic.
Now I have a little piece of Emirati style to bring home with me.
xo, jill
Thanks to Sarah for the photos!
2 down, 4 to go!
For my March and April Kiva Loan I decided to lend to Alice in Kenya. Alice has been selling carrots for the past 7 years. She plans to use her loan to buy more carrots to grow her business. She also hopes to supply carrots to other parts of her city.
I like how Alice specializes in one simple product. You don’t see that too much these days. I also like carrots!
xo, jill
1. Current address:
I am travelling the world with my husband on what we have dubbed the “Two Year Honeymoon”. It’s quite the big undertaking! We are currently in Panama, country #33. This will be the last country of our trip.
2. Previous address(es):
Before setting out for our big adventure, we lived in Vancouver, Canada. It’s quite the amazing place, and after travelling for so long I quite miss it. My family (and where all of our stuff is- all 10 boxes of it) is in and around Montreal, Canada.
3. I landed here because…
My husband and I met while travelling. It was 2006, we were both on solo vacations and found ourselves in the same dorm room in Sydney, Australia. Travelling has always been a shared passion of ours and is quite addictive: as such, as soon as our first big trips ended we started to plan the next one. We wanted to see the world once more before settling down and starting a family. We didn’t want to have any regrets.
4. The best part of living abroad is…
The freedom! Although we aren’t actually living anywhere specific except out of suitcases, the flexibility of it all is amazing. We can pretty much come and go as we want and see and do what we feel is important to us. We make our own schedules and answer only to ourselves. We get up when we want, eat when we want, go to bed when we want… the ability to be as lazy or as productive as we wish is really, really lovely. Then there is the food, the cheap beer, the great wines, beautiful beaches, stunning mountain ranges…
5. The most difficult part of living abroad is…
Living out of a suitcase and constantly moving around can really make you miss stability. As much as freedom is exciting and priceless, sometimes I really miss having my own place. I miss my bed, a good pillow. I miss having a closet full of clothes and right now I really miss hot showers. Or a bath! It’s also hard to go around and see so many lovely things and not being able to buy any souvenirs. Is it worth the sacrifice though? Totally.
6. Before living here (abroad), I never realized…
How easily I could live with so little. Even on my first big trip (7 months, 11 countries) I didn’t realize how easily I could adapt with only having 4 t-shirts, 2 pairs of pants and a few pairs of underwear. Obviously that’s not the entire content of my bag, but all I have is what I can carry on my back. Yes, sometimes the consumer in me struggles with not having more (see previous question), but often I am totally at ease with it. We have also realized how quickly we adapt to new places, new cultures, and how quickly we can feel cozy and comfortable in tiny spaces. Most of the world lives with a lot less stuff that what most of us have in North America, and there really is something to that. We don’t need so much “stuff” in our lives to be happy.
7. An addition to my day to day vocabulary is…
Because we move around so much, we usually pick up a few words and forget them as soon as we leave the country. Yet, my husband will still say “jalan jalan” (walking) to transportation touts everywhere even though we aren’t in Indonesia anymore and we canít talk about 7-Eleven (the convenience store) without pronouncing it the Japanese way: “seben-ereben”.
8. Three words to describe my host country are…
Panama: beach-tastic, ceviche, historic.
9. If I could live anywhere (hometown excluded) I’d choose…
Singapore. I’ve been there twice and hands-down Singapore is my dream city. It’s in Asia, which I love, and it’s the perfect distance from everywhere else in Asia, so it makes for a great hub city. I love the mix of cultures (Malay, Indian, Chinese and everyone else) and how well everyone seems to get along. English seems to be the unifying language. The food is incredible, tasty and cheap – it’s quite the passion for the locals. I love the architecture, how colonial buildings mix with tall skyscrapers and smoky Chinese temples and colourful Hindu temples. I could go on and on… I just love it! We visited Singapore in the early days of our trip and I was so happy that I managed to make my hubby fall in love with Singapore too.
10. A traveler or expat (famous or not) I admire is…
I would have to say Tara and Tyler from Going Slowly. We met them on our trip while we were in Cambodia, and they have been an inspiration to us. They cycled through Europe and Asia for two years and documented every single day of their journey. They had so much drive and discipline! I admire how much they interacted with the locals and never seemed to shy away from getting in real close when taking pictures. They are back home now, but are starting a new journey, much like we will be soon as well, towards land ownership and greener living.
Thanks, Magalie! I know all of you noticed her gorgeous photographs. Go see more at her blog, Magalie Travels.
xo, jill
My dear friend Molly is no stranger to adventure and travel, or my blog. Today she’s sharing her experiences living abroad.
Here’s Molly’s 10 Questions:
1. Current address:
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
2. Previous address(es):
Washington State, USA; Angers, France; Buea, Cameroon; Schladming, Austria; Carnforth, England
3. I landed here because…
There were layoffs in my school district and doors kept opening. I found this teaching job online and thought, “Hmm this sounds interesting.” The interview was an hour away on a day I could make it. It just all worked out. I never thought I’d come here. I saw Abu Dhabi and thought it was Addis Ababa in Ethiopia!
Ready to visit the mosque in abaya and shaila / Molly – left4. The best part of living abroad is…
meeting people from all over the world. Abu Dhabi has so many expats that you always have the opportunity to meet people from new and diverse places.
Modern day camel caravan.5. The most difficult part of living abroad is…
Missing my family and that things you think are going to be simple…are not. It always requires ten extra steps to get whatever you are trying to do accomplished. You want to make one recipe, you have to go to five different grocery stores! And don’t even get me started on all the ridiculous stamps you have to get… [referring to doing anything official in UAE]
At the top, a view of Dubai from the Burj Khalifa.6. Before living here (abroad), I never realized…
how kind and welcoming the Arab culture is. I have had the opportunity to get to know a very kind Emirati family who has taken me in and been a great support. I’ve also realized that the stuff you hear about on the news means so much more when there’s a face to go with it. For example, the uprisings in Egypt mean so much more when your Egyptian co-workers are talking about relatives back home. In addition, I never realized how thankful I am for what I had on a systemic level. For example, how much collective bargaining has done for my profession. Lastly, I’ve realized that when you are far away from home your friends become your family.
A lovely evening with genuine Arab hospitality.7. An addition to my day to day vocabulary is…
“Too much” – to mean a lot or so much, “Wallah” – to mean, “really!” or “really?”, “Same-same” to mean the same, “Keen” – from Canadian friends, “Washroom” instead of bathroom or restroom.
8. Three words to describe my host country are…
patriotic, up and coming, eclectic
Ishi Biladi – UAE National Anthem9. If I could live anywhere (hometown excluded) I’d choose…
For the long term -Bellingham, Washington or Missoula, Montana –
For the short term – A little mountain town in the Alps
10. A traveler or expat (famous or not) I admire is…
Colin Angus, the first person to circumnavigate the world using only manpower. What he did was so incredible! I read his book, Beyond the Horizon, over a year ago and I’m still thinking about the challenges he faced and his perseverance.
Thanks for sharing with us! You can visit Molly at her blog, My Suitcase Heart.
xo, jill
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in Saudi Arabia? Em, from Ice Cream Cone Life, is doing it! She answered 10 Questions for me (+you) about her life as an expat living in a place that very few travelers get to see.
Here’s Em’s 10 Questions:
1. Current address:
Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
2. Previous address(es):
St. George’s, Bermuda; Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica; Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee; Carmel and Syracuse, Indiana
3. I landed here because…
I love science and I can’t sit still! I left the beautiful but unforgiving job of a farmer when offered a position at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. I knew I was being given a very rare opportunity to not only experience life in the world’s most guarded country, but also, I was being given the opportunity to pursue scientific research in the mostly untouched Red Sea.
4. The best part of living abroad is…
Viewing life through the eyes of others. Learning how other people live, learning what is important to them and what isn’t. Trying their foods, speaking their words, exploring their nature. This constant stimulation and education makes it easier to see every day, every person, and every thing as special.
5. The most difficult part of living abroad is…
Saying goodbye to the people you love. Over and over again. That last look you get from your dad when he drops you off at the airport, those friends that you know you might never see again, not being around for your little sister’s graduation, or your big sister’s break- up. Missing mother’s day, and father’s day, and always Thanksgiving Day.
This photo was actually taken on a vacation in Oman at the Sultan Qaboos grand mosque. The abaya (scandalously short!) and hijab are required dress in all mosques and abayas are mandatory dress for all women in Saudi Arabia.6. Before living here (abroad), I never realized…
How truly skewed our (United Statesians… or at least those I have met) vision of the Middle East is. We know hardly anything about this region and we fear it. When we see women covered head to toe in black with only their eyes showing, we immediately think negative thoughts. Repression, Terrorism, religious extremism. We, thanks a lot to our media, think Arabs or Muslims, or the guys in robes are the bad guys. And maybe some of them are, 9/11 did happen and was an atrocity, but when you group an entire people into one box you do an injustice to humanity. While living in Saudi Arabia, I have realized love and friendship for my abaya- wearing sisters, I have realized that the Quran mostly advocates love and compassion for your brother, and I have realized that most importantly, education should be gained before judgments are made.
7. An addition to my day to day vocabulary is…
شكراً جزيلاً (shokran jazeelan)- thank you very much; يلا نحش دحين (yalla n’hosh dheen)- let’s gossip now
8. Three words to describe my host country are…
unique, traditional, sandy
9. If I could live anywhere (hometown excluded) I’d choose…
Pandora (the planet of James Cameron’s Avatar 2009)
10. A traveler or expat (famous or not) I admire is…
First, my friends Maiken and Brenda. These two ladies amaze me in their ability to make friends wherever they go and to stay connected with them long after they’ve moved on to the next adventure. Also, people like Greg Mortenson and Paul Farmer who go out and see the world and do something to make it better. And lastly, the true exploratory scientists, Jacques Cousteau, E. O. Wilson, and Jane Goodall.
And now we all know a teeny tiny bit what life inside the kingdom is like! Thanks for sharing, Em.
xo, jill
A little rough.
There were so many cats running around in Kuwait! Unfortunately, they were especially rough looking. But still so cute.
xo, jill
