In this episode, we’re doing our first round of “ask us anything.” We didn’t have time to cover all the questions, but we do discuss our friendship, how to maintain long-distance friendships and family relationships, meeting neighbors with limited language, and embarrassing moments (well, we only had time to share ONE moment this time because Melissa’s story took us by surprise). We also give some rapid-fire answers to questions about books, pets, and what goodies we shove in our suitcases.
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We’re usually quick to notice where we fall short and often forget to celebrate the progress. In this episode, we’ll be sharing stories about milestones we’ve reached in our own expat life—and we invite you to do the same! It’s a great habit to acknowledge and celebrate the progress we’ve made. And speaking of celebrating, we recently reached a milestone for our podcast that you all played a huge part in!
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Our home is set to the back of campus, so we appreciate some quiet and privacy while still living in community. The campus is set up on a hill, and we enjoy a view down the valley below – never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have a view from my home here! This photo was taken during a recent, and very rare, snow. Yes, it does snow in Africa! ;) Last year, we planted our front garden with all indigenous plants, and it’s been such a source of joy for all of us – blooming wild irises, pincushions, birds of paradise. So much beauty!
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Before we moved to Diosd we spent nine of the best and hardest years of our lives living in a cozy (and by cozy, I mean small) apartment in Bucharest, Romania. I bought plants there like some people buy cut flowers - sparingly, and with the knowledge that their days were numbered. Our local playground, surrounded by concrete apartment buildings, was our backyard.
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We love having a green space to enjoy time together as a family. We spend time almost everyday playing with our dog and having adventures with our toddler. We also love stepping out on our balcony and feeling like we have a place of solace. Living in the midst of another culture has unique challenges that are often taxing mentally, physically, and spiritually. We are thankful that we have a place of retreat just one step out the door.
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Culturally, you invite visitors into a covered area to have meetings/visits. For us, it provides much needed privacy so that the house isn’t under the constant siege of people that flow through daily. The house is technically the volunteer house and our organization’s “headquarters”.
I love the fact we have so much property. Due to security, the majority of the time the girls and I really can’t go anywhere, and it’s wonderful to have the back yard for them to run around.0 when we were in a fairly strict quarantine and our son wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment complex. Thankfully we have very understanding neighbors who didn’t mind him scooting in the front entryway or allowed us to go up on the roof to get some fresh air and blow bubbles! Will learned how to ride his bike on the roof of our building.
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One might think of the Sound of Music and all the green spaces when thinking of Austria. Vienna, though, is a city of 2 million people. Most apartment buildings are 5-7 stories high, which means that the city is quite spread out. There are laws, though, about having a certain number of green spaces (parks, playgrounds, even trees!) per area.
Although there are some homes on the outskirts of town, many people live in apartment buildings. Many of the older apartment buildings do not have balconies, whereas many of the newer ones do.
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So, we have two main outdoor spaces. This is a picture of the outdoor patio that is on the back of our house. You can access it through a door in our kitchen, or through a door from our living area. Initially, this space was just kind of there, and I didn’t know what to do with it except to hang our laundry. But, after a few years (... just being honest about how long it takes us to make home improvements), we added the table and chairs. Now, this is one of our favorite spots because we often eat dinner together outside here in the spring and the fall!!
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One of my favorite things about our outdoor space is our covered patio. Even in the midday heat, we can sit outside in the shade and enjoy the fresh air.
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