Category: 2016 Blogs

Journaling the Journey Part 3

12/27/2016

As the holiday season is coming to it's close with Christmas behind and New Year's not far away, the thoughts of home have been more in our minds. Being overseas at these times does make the heart yearn for "home" and the traditions of the season. This season we have experienced some wonderful gifts from "home" that have brought such a joy to our hearts! We are so thankful for all who made these special gifts to us possible. As I am journaling this blog I remember the phrase, "keep the home fires burning". We truly have some incredible people in our lives who created an amazing home fire this year and the warmth was felt over these miles! (Here is a link to the World War 1 song: Keep the Home Fires Burning)
Here are a few photos to share the beauty of our season! And never underestimate the power of a "Merry Christmas" or a "Happy New Year" to someone. Being remembered is an amazing gift that you can give someone this season and in the days ahead!

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Journaling the Journey Part 2

10/31/2016

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Connecting and Learning are important pieces to the next part of this journey for us. Connecting with the international community here. Connecting with the natives of this country. And then learning. Learning the language, the culture, and how to live life on a new dimension. Learning how to receive wisdom and help from others AND learning that we have an important supply to give to others also.
So some Lessons Learned:

Make friends by finding the common ground you have. Learn to look past the differences and focus on the common things that connect you together.
Not knowing the language can be a barrier AND it doesn't have to stop you! There are ways to bust through the barrier! Pictures, the internet, hand motions, smiles...all these can be helpful!
Take time to rejuvenate. All the changes and the efforts of adjustment take energy...emotionally and physically. Learn to recognize the need for added rest and down time.
Find familiar. Looking for people who speak your same language and share some of the same culture (like Western culture when you are in the East). Starbucks is one of our "go to" places to meet this need.
Learn your adventure scale. Some people have a high tolerance or desire for adventure while others are lower. Learning what excites me vs what stresses me is really important. When I think of a relaxation time...it is NOT throwing myself into yet another unfamiliar adventure.
Love, kindness, truth, laughter, respect...all people have a desire and need for these qualities to be expressed to them. And at the same time, learn to not expect it back. Not everyone knows how to give it.
Forgiveness is a gift. To forgive yourself for mistakes you WILL make and to forgive others for mistakes (or at least perceived mistakes) that they WILL make.
Have a buddy (or buddies) in the journey. John & I have each other plus other friends that understand us and care about us. We have also learned to make ourselves available to other internationals in our same spot. A sounding board and a hand of support is so vital for us in this journey!

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Journaling the Journey Part 1

9/29/2016

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In the hills of North Carolina

So we began our recent journey to SE Asia in August. Giving snapshots of this journey through my blogging is the theme for the next few blogs.
This journey starts out with us living life for 3 weeks with an American family as we located our own spot to be. We became 2 of this 7 member "family" sharing chores, sharing meals, sharing space, and sharing life stories. This experience meant that I had to be flexible. I had to dig deep and allow myself to move past my uncomfortable boundaries. I had to stay calm at times when my mind and emotions wanted to scream and ask "When will I have my place? When can I stop living out of suitcases?". I had to allow myself to mold into this family life and share life with people who a few days before were strangers to me. So some thoughts from this journey in my expat experience:

Learn to be GRATEFUL-- even when your space is not just YOUR space.
Learn to be GRATEFUL-- even when you feel in a constant state of change and uneasiness.
Learn to be GRATEFUL-- even when you can't see the end of the tunnel.
LEARN TO BE GRATEFUL AT ALL TIMES!
Learn to BELIEVE in one another.
Learn to BELIEVE in the process because you know WHO is helping and directing it.
Learn to BELIEVE in yourself--You CAN make it through one step at a time.

I remember an experience I had a few years back as I went through a survival training weekend...
We (there were about 20 of us) had to backpack (with full backpacks) into our campsite. We had been hiking about 3-4 hours when we came to a small dam that crossed a small lake. We had to cross this dam on a small ledge in the night. On one side was the lake we could fall into and on the other side was the ravine we could fall down into. Neither scenario seemed very inviting to me (ha!). Nervous, cautious, unsure...so many emotions and thoughts BUT I knew I had to do this! So I focused on Believing and Walking. When we came to one spot on the dam, we had to take a large step around a structure. A couple of people on our team decided to help the rest of us. They stood at the structure and took our hands (and back packs for some) as we streeeetched to step around this structure and NOT fall! At that moment I had to also Trust. At that time, I was so glad I had not made that journey alone. I was thankful for the connections with the team and TOGETHER we all made it without falling!

Here are Some Photos of August

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Cindy writes about her adventures, observations, and other nuggets from living in another nation. She and John live in SE Asia. She will also share nuggets from her 58 plus years of life.

New blogs are normally posted once a month.

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Journaling the Journey Part 3

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