There are certain bloggers that I'm just absolutely fascinated with. Their stories, travels, and lifestyle is so intriguing, I can't help but stalk their blogs just waiting for another post! Casey is one of those bloggers. Not only am I insanely jealous over her constant travels, but she also hails from Portland, Oregon. Love that! Please make sure you go visit her blog and say hi! -------------------------------------------------- Hi Living in Another Language readers! I'm so excited to be guest posting here today! I’m Casey from True Colours, a travel blog that encompasses my passion for seeing the world and documenting my trips and tips for everyone with a little wanderlust in their hearts! I do a lot of traveling, both for ... Read More
Archives for February 2014
One Year of No-Poo
A year ago today I stopped using shampoo and conditioner cold turkey. To those of us that practice this method, we refer to it as 'no-poo.' I've only used shampoo and conditioner twice since my no-poo journey began, and that was during my summer vacation when I forgot to bring my BS and Vin mixtures with me. Now that it's been a year, I feel like I can give a somewhat proper review of the process, as well as shed some light on how I've gone so long with this method, and why I'm going to continue this process indefinitely (or as long as I see fit). First of all, as my other no-poo posts have been overtaken by the comment monsters (I have 2 jobs and can't just sit there and answer questions all day people! I need to hire someone), you ... Read More
How to Travel Right out of College
One of the #1 questions a (young) world traveler is often asked happens to be: "How can you afford it?" I can tell you a good majority of us don't have daddy paying for all our adventures. Personally (sorry if I'm about to step on a few toes) I think funding yourself while traveling is a more rewarding and learning experience anyway. So how exactly did we manage to start traveling right out of college? How would you (the reader) go about doing it? It's difficult to answer this question, because honestly, there are so many ways to take the plunge! To give you a little bit of a background, my husband and I both graduated with our Bachelor's Degrees in May of 2010. We fully funded our wedding (held in Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach, ... Read More
The Foreign Familiarity of a New Home (Guest Post)
Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Jessie. You may have seen her hanging out on my sidebar last month, and I was more than happy to share a few of her adventures via Twitter! She's going to be introducing herself, but you should know that if there's a person out there that deserves a well-traveled and courageous award, it's this lady! Please make sure you stop by her blog and tell her hi! ---------------- Amanda always shares interesting insights about the things she encounters every day living as an expat and traveling throughout Korea. Her stories, for me, stir up fond memories of the two years I spent living in Guangzhou, China, of my trips traveling around Asia, and of those visits to family in Taiwan every few summers ... Read More
Two Year Expat Anniversary
The past two years have been good to us. If you've been following along with our journey as long as I've been writing about it, you know it's been quite the adventure. We're happy because adventure is exactly what we were wanting. Today marks two years of being an expat. I remember our initial journey over like it was yesterday, probably because I was sicker than a dog and embarrassing everyone on the plane (ok maybe not that bad, but it felt like it). Thankfully I haven't had any more bouts of travel sickness other than slight anxiety sometimes, and I've been willingly stepping on planes ever since. I couldn't be more excited for this third year abroad, and am very curious to see what the future holds for us. In the past two years, we've ... Read More
Valentine’s Day
I used to hate Valentines Day. As a matter of fact I still kind of do. It irks me that there is a day that men (and women) are obligated to do something for their significant other. I know V-day is supposed to be a romantic, sexy, fun, and amazing holiday, but I can't help but think: "what about the rest of the year?" Why do we have to wait for this one specific day to show our love? There are 364 more days in the year that our special someone deserves to be loved and swept off their feet. Don't you think? I am however, the most puzzling person ever. Derik knows how I feel about Valentines Day, but every time this dreaded day comes I get pissed if he doesn't do anything 'extra' special for me. WHO AM I?! Sigh. Darn all those cultural ... Read More
Nervous in Korea (Guest Post)
So happy to have Ms. Chantal taking over my blog for the day! If you haven't discovered this wonderful lady yet, I suggest you head straight over to her blog: Scattered Seashells. She has an amazing family (including the cutest two year old girl I've ever seen), and her husband serves in the US Army. They were recently transferred to South Korea (ummmm YAY blogger meet-ups soon), and I've enjoyed following her daily adventures via instagram! Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We arrived in Korea at the beginning of December. I wish I could tell you I was blown away by being on the other side of the world, but honestly, we were just exhausted. An 18-hour trip, ... Read More
Lessons of Love (From Abroad)
In pre-marriage counseling, our pastor told us that one of the best things we could do for our marriage was get out on our own, by ourselves. At the time I was still thinking about going to a music school in Australia that I had been accepted to, but we weren't sure how it would all work financially. We were strongly encouraged by the pastor to take the leap and move abroad, just because something like that brings a couple together more than you could ever think possible. You are forced to lean upon each other instead of your families, spend a ton more time together, and learn to genuinely enjoy each other's company. He was right. I'd be lying if I told you the first few months in Korea wasn't difficult marriage-wise. We had been used ... Read More
Your Questions Answered: The Miscellaneous
We come to our last and final 'Questions Answered' post of the three part series! I am so thankful for all your interest in my husband and I, what we're doing, and my blog! I hope you have enjoyed all the Q & A's, and feel free to ask me any more questions at any time! You never know, I may write whole blog post about it. :) ESL TEACHING: "Do they accept non-native English speakers for teaching jobs in Korea?" -Rekha Unfortunately Korea has a very picky hiring system. They enjoy the privilege (and can afford to with how many people are looking into teaching ESL here) of being selective. 99% of the time, Korean schools do not accept non-native English speakers to be part of their English program. The only exception that I know of ... Read More