Living in Another Language

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Changes, Life in Germany: an Unpublished Year

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me, Germany

It has been a hot minute since I’ve blogged, and have had itchy fingers to write again for some time. I’ve struggled with figuring out how to get back into it, especially since this year has had so many ups and downs, lots of new experiences, and yet has remained somewhat the same for us as we spend another 365 days living as expats in a foreign land. Since I began writing in 2012, I have enjoyed sharing what life is like abroad, trip itineraries, and dabbled a bit in some photojournalism, but sometimes it’s also nice to share a few personal updates so you get to know who I am as an individual. I touched on this last year, and I haven’t changed my mind on it. The few moments I’ve had to even consider writing, I’ve ultimately spent ... Read More

Skydive Lake Wanaka

The Other Half

Written by: Derik Grove // Category: about me

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous For the last four years or so this has been our pursuit; to experience life and the world as much as we can. We started our travels around the time we figured out we just weren’t ready to hold still, we wanted to explore and have some adventure. We both worked jobs that had long hours and little opportunity to travel far. So we decided to pack up, and head out to explore the world.  Until now in this adventure, I have been a silent partner mostly. I’ve held jobs in the countries we have lived in and been blessed to have jobs that have allowed for Amanda and I to travel often. During this time Amanda has done a phenomenal job expanding her business and travel ... Read More

Let’s catch up.

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me

Sometimes I get overwhelmed. Actually, that's a lie — I get overwhelmed a lot, especially living in a foreign country. There's just so much to remember and be responsible for, and issues you have to deal with that you would never have to consider if you were living in your home country. This past week has been particularly stressful for both Derik and I as our property management company of the house we rent has been dealing very unfairly with us. Thankfully, now that we live in an English-speaking country, it's a lot easier to get help and advice from those who have greater legal authority and knowledge than we do. I know in the end it'll all work out, but it does make it particularly stressful when someone preys on you because you're ... Read More

8 Things I Don’t Like About Long-Term Travel

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me, travel tips

I'm the biggest advocate ever about travel, both short and long-term! There are numerous benefits and lessons to be learned from exploring the world, and I honestly believe everyone should go out and spend a year or so abroad sometime in their life. As I've mentioned before though, not everything is all majestic landscapes, yummy food, and a wonderful cultural experience -sometimes traveling and living outside your own country can be downright hard. Have you seen that meme floating around with that dog splayed out on the deck that says " I can't adult today?" Sometimes  I feel that way about traveling responsibly. I am genuinely afraid of all the issues below, but at the end of the day, I have to buck up and take care of them anyway. ... Read More

The Story Behind The Name

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me, Lately, Travel Blogging

I'm seeing lots of awesome new people pop around these parts, and I thought it was about time to take a look back on the three years of Living in Another Language, and give you a brief history of this blog, why it's named LIAL, and where I'm going with it. Our expat anniversary is only a couple days away, and my blogiversary coincides with it! First of all, I know what you're thinking: "Amanda, your blog's name is Living in Another Language, yet…you're an American living in New Zealand. That's definitely NOT living in another language." Yep. I get it. I've spent months debating over if I should make the big change over to something more world-travel friendly (whether we're actually living in another language or not), or if I should ... Read More

Real Life Friends

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me, Expat Living

I feel kind of silly using 'real life friends' as my post title, as it's kind of a new term within our generation. We are so connected through social media and the internet, strangers we've never met can become our 'cyber friends.' However, we all know you can't live on 'cyber friends' alone, and real human interaction and friendship is needed to live a normal life. Everyone wants friends right? The first problem is this: When you live a life of travel, those  'real life friends' you've had your whole life get further and further away as you leave for destinations you only dreamed of.  Sure you can call, iMessage, and FaceTime your friends, but it's not long before that 'real life friend' relationship fades into a 'cyber friend' ... Read More

Your Questions Answered: The Miscellaneous

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me

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

Your Questions Answered: Expat Living

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me

"How do you shake the pressures of adult life and  take the plunge to get out there on an adventure?"-Marla The best part about living and working in Korea is the financial stability it brings. It's no small secret that you can get paid the equivalent of $20-50+ dollars an hour here! Housing is usually paid for by employees,unless you do things independent like Derik and I. Saving is easy here, and so is travel. When plane tickets cost an average of  $100-500 dollars to fly all over Asia, it's to big of a deal to pass up! Korea give quite a few national holidays, so even though we don't ever get contracted 'vacation days' to use when we want to, we have plenty of free time. We feel secure in what we are doing right now. We are able to ... Read More

Your Questions Answered: Travel

Written by: Amanda // Category: about me

Due to all the love and new readers I've acquired over the past few months, I decided it was high time to turn the tables and let you decide what I write about. There's not a better way to do this then a little Q & A. Although the questions often give short answers, maybe this will help you get to know myself, my husband, and our lifestyle better! I have divided the questions into three posts: Travel, Expat Living, and Miscellaneous. Today we'll cover the topic of Travel, but make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the next two posts! Thank you again for your amazing response, I never thought I'd receive so many questions, or have that many people interested in what we're up to. :) "What are some customs that have stayed with you ... Read More

Currently on Instagram

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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