In the last ten years, I have lived in four countries and six states. At one point I had my belongings stored across three states and one country. I have no permanent residence—unless you consider four boxes in my parents’ attic a permanent residence (that is where I get my mail). Check out the step-by-step guide on the Taking Route Blog.

English speaking friends proved to be way more challenging than my husband and I ever expected. Even though we didn’t know anyone when we moved to this town, I figured that we would make friends fast. That was a very false assumption. Almost a year into our Ethiopia adventure, I still had no friends. If you are in a similar place, don’t lose heart. I have put together this simple step-by-step guide to making expat friends where there are no friends. Read the rest of this post on the Taking Route Blog.

I thought flying with an eight-week-old was hard since I didn’t get to sleep 80% of the flight.  Then I thought flying with a six-month-old was almost unbearable even though she wasn’t crawling yet.  Nothing prepared me for the worst!  A mobile toddler.   (Except maybe a puking mobile child, but let’s not think of such things).  Read the rest of this blog on the Taking Route Blog.

Language has always been a struggle for me but when we first moved to Northern Ethiopia I was determined to learn the local language. I regretted never getting the hang of the local tongue when I lived in Malawi. I hated being left out of conversation after conversation, and Ethiopia was going to be different, as I assimilated into the culture and language. Here are my keys to (almost) being successful. Read the rest of this post on the Taking Route Blog.

Raising my first baby in a foreign culture has been an interesting experience. I didn’t know anything about babies when my girl was born. I remember thinking as the nurse ushered us out of the hospital, “Are you sure you want me to leave the hospital with this baby?” Read the rest of this blog on the Taking Route Blog.