10 Things Expats Want Their Friends and Family to Know

In the expat community, we are familiar with Sarah Turnball’s quote, “It is a bitter-sweet thing, knowing two cultures. Once you leave your birthplace nothing is ever the same.'' After moving to another culture, there is no returning to the former self. You become a different person than you were before stepping on the plane. 

But for our loved ones who have never lived outside their passport country, there is another popular saying: You don’t know what you don’t know. There is zero possible way for our friends and families to understand the complexities of how we changed, and who we are becoming as we grow into our new life as an expat without clear communication. We must be willing to share with them honestly.  

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A Liturgy for Making Things from Scratch

A little over a year ago, I hopped on a plane with my husband and our young daughter and moved across the ocean. For years, we had been praying and planning for this day. We participated in trainings about living overseas, received our undergraduate degrees in ESL education so we could teach in a different country, and completed courses on what felt like every element of what it means to live as an expat. However,I soon learned some elements of expat life can’t be taught via a training—they have to be experienced. 

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Am I Doing Enough: Expat Motherhood and Ministry with Littles

A question was brought up on our Instagram page a few months ago; A young mother asked how to have an “active” ministry with a two-year-old and a four-year-old. This question brought up a lot of memories and past emotions.

My third child turned 13 last week. She was my first overseas baby born during my language school year. I think back to that first year pregnant, with two children ages one and two, and it’s all a little foggy. We went to add the fourth kid a year and half after the third. My days were filled with meal preparation, bath time, and feelings of failure. I had so many hopes, dreams, and aspirations for what life would look like as a third culture family with purpose. I barely make it out of the door of our home, let alone out of the neighborhood.

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Grocery Shopping and Other Unexpected Expat Skills

While prepping for the weekend errand run, I stopped and realized the internal dialogue that was running through my head.

We need bread and meat, so we’ll stop at that one store with the good butcher and the bread we like. However, other things are more expensive there, so we’ll swing by the store on our corner after to get everything else on the list. That first store has ramps in and wide aisles, so we can put the baby in the stroller, and they have carts we can put the toddler in. But the stroller does not fit easily in that second store, so one parent will stay in the car while the other runs in. Let’s also plan on eating dinner out tonight, so we can pop into that other store after to grab any final things left on the list. Oh, and they have that cheaper brand of diapers, so we can get those there too. And of course, I’ll do the produce order for delivery on Monday morning as well.

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The Do's and Don'ts of Home Assignment | Episode 15

We’re usually quick to notice where we fall short and often forget to celebrate the progress. In this episode, we’ll be sharing stories about milestones we’ve reached in our own expat life—and we invite you to do the same! It’s a great habit to acknowledge and celebrate the progress we’ve made. And speaking of celebrating, we recently reached a milestone for our podcast that you all played a huge part in!

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