Living in Another Language

a travel & adventure blog

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Why it is Important to Blog for Yourself

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

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

The Best Time of Day to Post on Instagram

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel Blogging, travel tips

Instagram. One of the coolest yet most frustrating social media networks ever. It can be such a finicky child to figure out, but once you get it, you can actually do quite well when it comes to exposure, followers, and engagement. One of the things I've noticed since moving to Europe is that my typical Instagram posting times (10am and 8pm) has not done me any favors over here. Unfortunately when I post at 10am in the morning it's 4am back in New York — meaning all my US followers are dead asleep and probably won't even see my post at all as it'll be far buried by the time they wake up. Alternatively, if I post at 8pm, it's 2pm back in the U.S. and most people are right smack dab in the middle of their work day — also no bueno for ... Read More

5 ways to encourage travel bloggers

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel Blogging

Being a travel writer/blogger can be seem like one of the best jobs ever. I mean, what's not to like? We get to travel [sometimes] for free, stay at amazing places, take sweet pictures, and then share it all with everyone else. Although it seems like we're on a never-ending vacation, there is actually quite a bit of hard work behind being a travel blogger. What you don't see are the hours and hours spent behind the computer while visiting that "ultimate vacation spot" due to deadlines and obligations. Or the hours spent pitching stories and jobs, plotting future travels, taking pictures to share, and researching the latest in blogging/social media/computer-everything to stay up to date with the latest trends. I absolutely hated the fact ... Read More

15 Blog Post Ideas for Travel Bloggers

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel Blogging

Hey fellow travel/expat bloggers! Today I'm here to share a little inspiration to help get you out of a serious case of writer's block. Trust me, you're not the only blogger to fall into the 'I don't know what to write about' rut. It happens to every single one of us and it sucks! First of all, I highly recommend not writing anything if you don't have anything to say instead of forcing yourself to write a 'meh' post just to get your weekly credential in. However, sometimes we really want to write, we just have no friggin' clue what to write about. A friend of mine just asked me the other day how I figure out topics for my blog, and 9 times out of 10 it's you, my readers, who inspire me. I read every single comment and TRY to answer every ... Read More

How to Grow Your Travel Blog

Written by: Amanda // Category: Travel Blogging

As a new travel blogger, you can often feel like you're a tiny anthill sitting amongst a bunch of mountains, unseen and barely noticed.  It might seem to you that there is absolutely no hope when it comes to growing your travel blog or gaining interest from readers, companies, and other blogs. You shouldn't fret though, we've all been there. Every single blogger has started from the very bottom with zero readers and influence, and somehow has managed to work their way up to where they are today. Growing a blog takes dedication, commitment, research, and time.   Every once in a blue moon, a blog will pop out of nowhere and grow from 100 to 100,000 readers overnight and it leaves us wondering how the heck they did it. Going viral ... Read More

What 1,095 Days of Travel Has Taught Me

Written by: Amanda // Category: Expat Living, Travel Blogging, travel tips

On February 16, 2012 we hopped aboard a plane bound for South Korea with two carry on bags, two personal items, and four checked bags. Little did we know our short year in Korea would turn out to be three years abroad, but here we are. We've since downgraded all we own from those four checked bags to two due to international regulations and hard core fees (problems with living outside the US), but it's been for the better I think. Our expat anniversary also aligns with the blogiversary of LIAL. I started this blog back in February of 2012 as a way for my family to keep in touch with us. Look at it now?! I would have never dreamed I would be sitting here, writing for thousands of loving followers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you ... 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

Travel Blogging + Marriage

Written by: Amanda // Category: Blogging, Travel Blogging

It's a rainy cold Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting here covered in blankets drinking spiked coffee; just your normal afternoon if you asked me. Some readers may get tricked into thinking I'm living back in the Northern Hemisphere where it is, indeed, almost winter. But nope, I'm sitting here in Spring/Summer New Zealand (which does not at all feel like Christmas)  watching the rain change from water to ice…to back to water again. Apparently we had this weather in for us after making the choice to live so far down south, but honestly we weren't even thinking about the weather when we chose this location. My only hope is that it's just the rainy season here and that sunshine and rainbows soon take over this cold mess of a month. We've had ... Read More

The 5 Types of Travel Bloggers

Written by: Amanda // Category: Blogging, Travel, Travel Blogging

Travel blogging is a tricky industry. I'm realizing there's no cut-and-dry way to travel blog, except for the fact that it's important you get pretty pictures and information out there for readers to wanderlust at. There are solo travelers, couple travelers, and family travelers. There are those that do it for fun and some that do it as a living. But one of my favorite things to figure out while discovering new travel bloggers, is learning what their travel blogging lifestyle is. This can be tricky, especially since the internet allows us to paint pictures of ourselves in basically whatever way we want. Here are the 5 types of travel bloggers I have discovered in my ventures with blogging. In no way, shape, or form are these true ... Read More

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Currently on Instagram

Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays Our adventures may be few and far between nowadays, but the ones we get to take are oh so sweet. 

My daughters are now 2.5 years and 6 months old. Life never slows down, but only gets faster with each day we’re blessed to live. Social media may not be a part of my life how it used to be, and instead I’m working on living life intentionally each day as we raise our girls during these crazy times. 💕
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. 💕
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