community — Taking Route

Posts tagged community

We Need Each Other

We Need Each Other

Teams comes in all different shapes and sizes. Different passport countries — different experiences that led us overseas, and different life stages — which all add to the diversity that is often found in expat communities.

Diversity can be a beautiful thing, but it can also be challenging. Different perspectives can be helpful, but that means not everyone thinks like I do. Everybody has a unique skill set that complements others’ and each serves to accomplish the task, but that means we have to depend on each other. Experienced team members have a lot of wisdom about the country, the work, and the people, but it can be hard for newcomers to understand and accept that wisdom.

Sometimes it’s easier to stick with those with whom I have the most in common. Working with people who are different than me requires more effort, humility, and grace. It’s hard enough to work alongside those people in my passport country, not to mention overseas where everything is different. My tendency is to gravitate towards others like me.

But I don’t think this is the way we were meant to do life.

Building Community, New ExpatMallory BrooksMarch 31, 2020teaming, team relationships, community, differences, singleness, familyComment

COVID-19 Can Make Us All Better Global Citizens

This morning I woke up to an invitation from a neighbor (via social media) to our whole apartment community. We were invited to sing hymns from our balconies together, since Germany has suspended church meetings.

Inspired by the viral video of Italians singing out their windows across empty streets, our neighbor invited us to do something similar. I'll admit, I was conflicted a bit about joining. I didn't know all the words and worried it would feel like an awkward performance on my part.

But we gathered on our separate balconies and, as the singing began, I forgot all that. More and more neighbors spilled outside, waving as they joined in. A woman stopped on the sidewalk below us and listened, occasionally wiping her eyes. We ended up with nearly half of the balconies between two buildings filled with neighbors singing hymns together.

Home & HospitalityChristie ChuMarch 23, 2020COVID-19, Coronavirus, community, global citizen, kindness Comment

7 Lessons I Learned from 7 Housemates

7 Lessons I Learned from 7 Housemates

During my six years in southeast Asia, I lived with seven different people. They came from the United States, Europe, and Australia, and all stayed for a different length of time, from a few weeks to two years. I became good friends with a few of them and we still keep in touch.

Building CommunityMallory BrooksNovember 18, 2019roommates, housemates, singles, community, conflictComment