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Archives for December 2013

2013-Our Year in Travels.

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel

One of my favorite things to do is reflect back on all the adventures and fun things we did throughout the year, and 2013 was a heck of a year. We really enjoyed 2012, but had so many opportunities this year to travel, experience new things, and see more of Korea. I'm not going to sit here and write about what I'm expecting from 2014, because I have absolutely no expectations. Life gives us so many surprises and opportunities, it's impossible to predict the future! All I know is that its going to be yet another wonderful year with my husband, filled with excitement, adventure, and yet again…travels! Happy New Year to all, and be safe in all your festivities! Just in case you were wondering, here are Living in Another Language's yearly stats ... Read More

Geoje Sculpture Park

Written by: Amanda // Category: South Korea

Sometimes we get caught up in the 'travel' and 'sightseeing'  part of living, we forget to enjoy the things right outside our front door. We spend so much time planning on going other places, we don't see the beauty in where we are now. Geoje Island is the very south east tip of Korea, and has been home to Derik and I for almost two years. We love it here. Geoje is filled with mountains, beaches, flowers, and surrounded by the bluest ocean.  The other weekend Derik and I woke up to the most gorgeous day, and knew we had to get out to enjoy it! We decided to head over to Geoje Sculpture Park in Jangseungpo. We had heard briefly about it from friends, but had never visited. Although it's a small park, we had fun milling around and taking a ... Read More

Christmas

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays

My favorite time of the year. I (for one) love the snow, bundling up all cozy like in front of the fire drinking hot chocolate, going out and chopping down a tree (thank you Korea for ruining that one, I had to go out and buy a plastic fake tree), making a bazillion Christmas cookies, and enjoying all the holiday parties. Yes, Christmas is good. My love for Christmas hasn't dwindled since we moved to a country that doesn't really celebrate it too much. It's more like: "Oh hey! It's Christmas, <smooooochhh> I love you." The end. I kind of feel like it's my mission to spread the holiday cheer. My students have been crafting snowmen, cutting out snowflakes, writing Santa letters, and singing 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' since Dec. ... Read More

Saturday’s Thoughts

Written by: Amanda // Category: Uncategorized

-I'm wondering how many of you will be confused by the fact that it's Saturday here in Korea and Friday back in the States. Don't worry I get my times mixed up more than I'd like to say. -Dishes are the bane of my existence. I spend approximately 30 minutes washing them every single day, but the next morning I feel like there are more dishes in the sink then there were the night before. -My husband and I can't seem to fall asleep earlier than 3:00am on the weekends. I hate it. Especially since it makes us not want to wake up until 10am and half our morning is gone. -My Christmas tree doesn't look as full of cheer as it did last year, yet I used the exact same decorations. What's going on. -We made a 100% fully Korean dinner the ... Read More

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park

Written by: Amanda // Category: Borneo, Malaysia

Sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate very well while you're on vacation. It's a bummer because it can seriously put a damper on your plans! One of the days we were hanging out in Kota Kinabalu, Borneo this summer, it decided to drizzle all day. Instead of sitting inside doing absolutely nothing, we decided to visit the plants and animals at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. First of all let me say, I would have much rather watched these animals in there natural habitat (we were lucky enough to do with some later in our trip). The park itself was pretty clean, however a lot of the animal exhibits needed some updating (painting, fencing, housing). The animals seemed pretty happy: well-fed, lots of toys, treats, plenty of water. I was most excited ... Read More

Have I Changed?

Written by: Amanda // Category: South Korea

In about two weeks I will take my first step onto American soil since Feburary of 2012. Actually, onto any English speaking country's soil. The only places I've visited while in Korea the past two years have been places in Asia. I have fears. Mostly ridiculous, but they are there-looming above me like a cloud. Not a dark cloud, because I'm not scared, they're just curious fears (that doesn't even make sense but bear with me).    Don't laugh to hard, because these are legitimately serious. 1. Have I lost my knack for speaking English? I catch myself all the time saying really weird things. In an average day I make about 50 grammatical errors in my speech, and painful ones at that. Sometimes I just have to stop talking because I get all ... Read More

Korea has Taught Me…

Written by: Amanda // Category: South Korea

In the (almost) two years I've lived in Korea, this country has taught me a lot. I'm beginning to learn certain customs and ways of life, and some things seem pretty bogus to me, but there are a few things Korea has given me a new mindset about.  Below I've listed the top 10 things Korea has taught (the good, the bad, and the bizarre) me-in no particular order. I've mixed the bogus with the more practical…I'll leave it up to you to decide what's important to know. 1. Never to get mad at that Indian customer service representative again. This one is something I've learned while living with the crazy language barrier. Living back in the US I took speaking English for granted. People around me (as well as myself) would often complain about ... Read More

Not Home for the Holidays

Written by: Amanda // Category: Holidays

It’s been a while since I’ve actually been with my whole family for the holidays. The last time my immediate family got together in one place for Christmas was in 2008. Yes, 2008. That would have made me a fresh 20-year-old and barely a junior in college. You’ll understand a bit more of my story and about why that is if you read this post about home. Being honest with you, I have to tell you that it’s hard. When a person thinks about Thanksgiving or Christmas, they think: family, laughter, cuddles, warmth, and love. Not seeing my family at all in two years, let alone celebrate the holidays with them is a huge burden/let down/ depressant.  I spend a lot of time  moping around wishing that maybe just once life could be normal for the ... Read More

Rokuon-ji (the golden temple)

Written by: Amanda // Category: Japan

 **If you have seen this post three times on your bloglovin' feed I'm so sorry, I've had HORRIBLE technical difficulties with them. Trying to work it out right now! Also to those who have commented, I did see your comments on the previous post of this! Sorry they didn't transfer! Going through our photos from the past couple trips is always a fun thing for me. It also reminds me how much I have yet to blog about! There are certain places that we have visited that I'm still in awe over. I mean, just look at the pictures above! I can guarantee at least a few of you are wondering, "Is that even a real place? How is that real?!" Don't worry, as I go over the pictures myself, I'm asking the same question. Rokuon-ji (also known as Kinkaku-ji) ... Read More

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2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love 2020 has been a year has it not? As much as I love social media, I found myself taking a break as the things we were all going through made social media so insignificant to me. 

In January/February I had a miscarriage. It was a horrible way to start the year, and little did I know it was just the beginning of it all. 

Even with the loss, hardship of moving back to the US in the middle of a global pandemic, and navigating our new lives here, we were given many blessings. The greatest of those was finding out I was pregnant again in March.

It’s a scary time to be pregnant right now, especially after a miscarriage, because doctors visits are very minimal. Also, Derik was never able to come to a single visit. I was terrified something would happen and I would be told bad news and have to face that alone. But God was gracious to us. 

We kept our special little secret to ourselves, and it wasn’t until our third trimester before we told immediate family and close friends. My pregnancy was very private for me, and a special time to bond closely with the babe growing inside me.

Our sweet little girl arrived November 30, and yes I had to deliver with a mask on, but she is perfect and I truly feel our family is complete. 💕🌈
 
“When a rainbow appears, it doesn’t mean the storm never happened or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath. It means something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”
I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/mons I am in love. As I’m sure every other plant/monstera collector is when you get to behold such a beauty in real life. If there were ever #plantgoals, this is it. 

Since moving from Germany, it has been a long and slow process getting our life back to normal. All of our belongings have yet to arrive so we’ve literally been camping in our house on an air bed and camping chairs for two months. 😂 All that to say, having to start my plant collection over again here stateside has been so much fun! I will miss the plant prices if Germany, but the selection here blows my mind. Anyone else obsessed? We’ve lived here for almost 8 weeks now and I already have 11 plants 😂😬😬😬. I don’t have a bed or a couch, but by golly I have greenery. 😂🤦🏼‍♀️🌱
Oh my heart. I’ve been trying to figure out the Oh my heart.

I’ve been trying to figure out the words to say about our time in Germany, but my fingers can’t seem to type out how to express my love, gratefulness, thankfulness, sadness, and heartbreak I feel about leaving. Every country we’ve lived in has taught us something and has given us so many beautiful memories, as well as opened our eyes a little more to different cultures and ways of living.

But Germany was special. The first time we stepped foot into Germany was in 2015, and we loved it so much we stayed the extent of our travel visa (3 months). I was able to visit again in 2016, and then we officially packed everything and moved in 2017. Germany has always had my heart: the people, the festivals, the food, wine and beer, the immaculate home landscaping, and even all the rules that every resident is just expected to follow to a tee (like recycling every tiny scrap of trash). Our family grew from two to three while in Germany. Bringing our daughter into the world, and raising her for a year and a half in a different culture, will be one of the most beautiful memories of my life.

Our move was impacted by the COVID pandemic, and it took three long months of delays, red tape, and countless phone calls to get everything together so we could actually get on a plane and have our stuff packed and shipped to our new home. 
I am breathing a sigh of relief to know all the stress of everything is over and our new adventure can begin. I am mourning the loss of leaving Germany. I am in a weird transition right now trying to grasp it all, but here we are jumping into new things head first! We are back in the US for a while, in the beautiful state of Tennessee, and look forward to many new memories, travels, friends, and being able to spend time with family! 
Photos from my sweet and talented friend @juliejayphotos
I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas m I feel like I failed hard this year at Christmas markets. We went to a total of ONE market, which is exactly 19 less than I told myself I would go to this year to make up for not going to any the year before 🤦🏼‍♀️(I was 40 weeks pregnant and not feeling crowds). I will say, it was a great one and the weather was so nice, we stayed out until the market shut down.

If there’s one thing I will miss most about Germany when it is our time to move, will be the sheer enthusiasm this country has for Christmas, and I’m not talking about consumerism. Food, laughter, friends, family, music, dancing: celebration. Also, Germany shuts down for not only one day, but THREE. Stores are closed, mail is not delivered, people aren’t out and about. Everyone is home enjoying time with family, and I love it. However, I may have gone into full blown panic mode Christmas Eve when I realized I had a total of 8 diapers to get us through until the 27th. 👀
We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whist We spent Thanksgiving back in North America: Whistler, Canada! A 10 hour flight from Germany , and I can’t say this one was better than the one we took over the summer on our trip to Alaska, but we survived! Entertaining a 11 month old for that long is much harder than a 6 month old, especially when they aren’t into sleeping on the plane AT ALL. 🤪

Whistler was beautiful despite the lack of snow, and we enjoyed our time with family, the delicious food, and as much sightseeing as one could do with a jet-lagged baby. 
This was actually my first trip to Canada ever, (unless you want to count the move my parents took up to Alaska from Arkansas when I was two. 😂🤷‍♀️ ) and I loved it! We would really like to take a big Canadian road trip someday and explore more of the country! 😍😍🇨🇦
Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time t Being a mama may mean I don’t always have time to put myself together, but I would rather spend the extra moments making special memories with our daughter that she can cherish forever. I doubt that she will look at this picture and see a tired, messy haired mama that’s barely had time to wash her face nevermind carefully apply makeup, but am hoping she will see a mama that never tires of carrying and cuddling her, or sharing new experiences with her. 💕
Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a coup Oh Switzerland, you beaut.🇨🇭 We spent a couple days enjoying the beautiful weather in the land of chocolate, cheese, mountains, and cows with bells 😍😍🤩. If you remember, we visited the same area  a month shy of two years ago but but the weather was quite the opposite! I’d have to say though, when you visit such a majestic and beautiful area, it doesn’t matter what the weather is, you’re going to be in awe and love it anyway!
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