I haven’t explained in detail why I took a year off of blogging/social media/promotion, but it comes down to the fact that life took me other ways. I was also incredibly burnt out by constantly checking stats, making sure I posted my Instagram during the 'right' hours, and staying on top of promoting myself everywhere. Blogging is time consuming and overall extremely tiring especially if you’re doing it day in and day out. I got sick of comparing and constantly researching ways to be better. The fact is, there are too many talented humans out there that completely knock the socks off the rest of us, so honestly I didn’t even know how to compete with it all. Was it writing one blog post a week or five? Was it making sure I shared three ... Read More
Oh Hi, We Moved to Germany
It’s been a while since I’ve done a personal update on our lives. As many of you know, I basically took the last year off from blogging (posts were VERY few and far between). I have plenty of destinations, pictures, and advice to share, but after moving back to the U.S.A., Derik and I got busy living life outside the internet and blogging took a back-burner. I’m not sad about it. Sure my stats have tanked, my Instagram is hanging on by a thread, and half of you are probably wondering who the heck I actually am over here; the simple fact is, Living in Another Language took an overly-long hiatus and I may be starting from scratch again to gain momentum but that’s completely fine with me. We’ve had a lot going on in our lives the ... Read More
A Clean Slate
Oh hey! It's been a loooonnng time since last I wrote. I could say I'm sorry, but I'm really not. Life has been absolutely nuts, and I'm here to fill you in on all the dirty details. I took well over a month off from blogging, and I'm back with a brand spankin new site design (still working out the bugs and have yet to design a few pages so don't judge too harshly), a new chapter of life, and a new author for LIAL! How's that in a nutshell? So where should we start? Let's start at the beginning of the change, which happened to be late March. Derik and I were in a constant state of discussion as to what our future held, and although we had/will always have a major love for New Zealand, we were ready to get back on the road and put some ... Read More
The Story Behind The Name
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
Let’s Chat
Let's have a little chat today ok? As much as I love writing travel posts, sometimes I think it's nice to connect to you on more of a personal level with what's going on day-to-day in the lives of those behind Living in Another Language. I've been seeing a lot of new faces around these parts, as well as those who have been following along since it all began. To those who are new, I send a warm hello, and to those that aren't, here's to you faithfully sticking with me. :) Shall we begin? +You know you live in New Zealand when…the top article that appears on your newsfeed for the day is about a sea lion that somehow waddled through two sets of automatic doors and into the [saltwater] pool at a neighboring beach. The thing is, I wasn't ... Read More
Thoughts
+Nature has been taunting me with it's delicious sunrises, dewy grass, and warm sunbeams in the morning, but by noon the rains have set in for the rest of the day. Must be coast life/spring weather? +Speaking of literally living 200 yards from the ocean, I'm not even sure I've seen a typhoon/tsunami evacuation route here. Our house and the neighbors' on either side of us are the closest houses in town to the water. The neighbors have lived here for 30+ years, so I'm guessing there isn't a problem? One of the many things I think about at night. +Let's talk about seasons. My entire Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Bloglovin' feed are filled to the brim with everything fall. New Zealand is just going into spring, and my brain is all ... Read More
Thoughts
-Can you wear black to a Korea wedding? Wait, what exactly are the rules of a Korean wedding? My first one is in three hours, I'd better get to googling. -Why do cheese bagels have to be so delicious? Why can I only find them for 4 dollars at Starbucks? Korean grocery stores really need to get on the bagel bandwagon. Yesterday. -Headed up to the city to go shopping tomorrow. It'll be the first time in over 5 months. Here's to hoping I only get what's necessary and not the impractical. Sigh, a girl can wish (and so can her husband who is staying home). -Derik and I have had almost all the ingredients to make chili since November. The only thing we've been missing is chili powder. I could easily order it on iherb.com, but it seems I ... Read More
Lately in Korea
It's actually been a whole heck of a while since I've written a lately post. I figure it's about time you know what's up with us as we continue our journey of living (and traveling) abroad. >> I've been designing my life away. Six full designs in the last couple of weeks, plus I'm in a constant state of rebranding. That being said, I've started a design blog over at The Suitcase Designs! If you're interested in what I've been designing, premeades, Blogger & Wordpress tutorials, my referral program, and more, you should probably follow along via Bloglovin' (yes the design blog has it's own Bloglovin' page! eeeep!). >> We found a Thai restaurant in our town. It's owned and operated by the sweetest Thai family. I'll tell ... Read More
Lately [10]
The only thing that's been on my mind lately is the vacation that's literally just around the corner for us! I'm super excited about our trip to Borneo! It's been very strange trying to plan our vacation; Borneo isn't the typical tourist location. To be honest, I didn't know much about it until earlier this year. This island holds one of the oldest rainforest in the world, and has a fantastic tropical feel as well. We are wanting for sure to do a hiking trip up the largest mountain in SE Asia, a canopy walk, and a snorkeling trip; the rest will have to be on the fly. Unfortunately, due to the 'newness' of it hitting the tourist scene, I was unable to book anything online besides hotels! It's scary yet exciting at the same time. An unplanned ... Read More