Perspective Series-To Korea

This week I'm happy to introduce Beka from the blog Sunshine to the Square Inch for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. I'm especially excited because Beka is a close friend of mine that I met while she was teaching in Korea. We spent her year in Korea sharing classroom antics, trying to learn how to cook with our limited grocery options and her trying to spread her love of running to me (it wasn't the most successful thing). She's had a huge impact on my life and I can say that living in Korea just isn't the same with out her! *hint hint come back!* You definitely need to check out this sweet girl's blog where she talks about her adjustment from living in Korea to now being married in Oklahoma.

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Hi! I'm Beka and I blog over at Sunshine to the Square Inch. I'm so excited to post over here on Lost in Travels. Not only do I love Chelsea's blog but she was one of my closest friends when I lived abroad in Korea.

I decided to move to Korea for several reasons. Mainly I needed a change from my non-stop busy American life and I wanted a year away to refocus and re-prioritize my life. My friend Alisha mentioned that she was thinking about teaching in Korea and I asked her if I could join. We got all our paper work, stuffed 4 suitcases and 2 large carry ons and off to Korea we went and WOW what a year it was. Alisha and I say it was the best year and the hardest year of our life.

Our teaching job was real interesting. Honestly, when I left for Korea I forgot I was going to go teach. However, that didn't last long because when we arrived in Korea around 9pm and our school had us work the next morning. Hello jet lag! School was the "hardest" part of my year. Our school owners had us work from 9am - 6pm and that's a lot of teaching and wore me out. Ironically school was also one of the "best" things in Korea. I taught the beginners students who knew no English. It took a few months but I absolutely fell in love with those kids. Getting to know them personally, see them grow and develop is something I will always treasure. Another best part about school was that I got to tell the kids about Jesus. Some had never heard of anything Bible related and they were so curious.

Another best part of Korea was my church. I attended Okpo Foreigners Church, where I met Chelsea. It's an English speaking church, has about 30 members and has approximately 23 different cultures represented. They were my family for a year and I met so many people from other countries but our common bond was our faith in Christ.

Korea also is filled with wonderful people. I absolutely loved building relationships through sign language, charades and broken English/Hangul. I learned that kindness and a smile goes a long ways.

Ever heard of long distance dating? Yep, I did that in Korea too. My boyfriend, Dave, was kind enough to let me leave for a year to learn and grow. During our time apart we wrote over 600+ emails, filled up 6 journals, had countless of hours of Skype, traveled together to Taiwan for a week and I flew home for Christmas. Was distance hard? You bet! Was it worth it? Yes! I got home February 6th and married Dave on March 24th: and I'm so glad I did!

Coming back to America was major. reverse. culture. shock. I can't fully explain why but leaving the slower paced land of rice and kimchi to the faced paced land of pizza and burgers took some readjusting. Korea taught me that I could live without Walmart, that I could eat smaller portions, that I could walk and not drive and I enjoyed it all. I left America as one girl and came back as another and I couldn't be more grateful.

Thanks so much for writing Beka! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna, Rekita

Perspective Series- To England

I just want to extend a huge thank you for all the sweet comments on yesterday's post.  I so appreciate all of the encouragement and for those of you who opened up and shared your own story with me. This is why I love blogging so much. It's not only about the joy and creativity of writing but it's also about the amazing community and friends that it brings with it. So thank you again, you guys are beyond amazing. 

This week I'm happy to introduce Jade from the blog An Invisible Crown for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. 

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Hello, Lost in Travel readers! I'd really like to begin by thanking Chelsea for allowing me to participate in her fabulous Perspective Series. This is my first ever guest post on another blog, so I really hope you all enjoy reading about my experience of being an Australian in London.

When I was finishing high school, a lot of my school friends were planning to take a gap year in various parts of the world. London, of course, was the most popular for this large bunch of Aussie teenagers. I had previously travelled to Singapore as a child and loved it but had absolutely no interest in living in a whole different country. I was an Aussie chick, I loved Australia! About a year later, at nineteen, I met my to-be husband, G. G was born in Australia to English immigrant parents and spent the formative years of his childhood travelling between Sydney & London. After university in Australia, he moved back to London and spent two years working hard and travelling even harder. He finally came back to Australia in 2002 and we met soon after his return.

G & I got engaged and planned to move to the UK in the beginning of 2004. We booked our flights and packed our bags and even planned a side trip to Phuket to start off our new adventure with a blast of sunshine before we hit the bleak winter in London. A few months before we were due to leave, after a lot of discussion and soul searching between the two of us, G decided that he wanted to pursue a new direction in life and decided to apply for a University degree. After another three years of living in Sydney, we got married and finally started re-planning our move to London. G graduated in the second week of June 2007 and on 30th June, we were flying to London.

After almost seven years in London, I can look back and reminisce and living in London is one of my favourite topics to write about. We never came here with firm plans on a time line of how long we would stay and I never expected to experience the huge amount of emotions I experienced in the first year of living overseas. I suffered from terrible homesickness for a few months and slowly got used to a life where I couldn't just drive around the corner to visit my Nan or book a flight for the next day to visit my parents. In hindsight, that has probably been the worst experience for me as an expat. However, on the other side, there were so many exciting things happening at the same time. We travelled a lot in our first two years – visiting Spain, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia & the USA. I made new friends quite quickly, work is always good for that, especially if you work in an industry like I do that places a lot of importance on social networking and close, friendly working relationships.

I used to think that Australia and the UK were quite similar but they aren't. I think Australia has become very Americanised (not that that's a bad thing – I would LOVE to live in the States one day) and the UK is so much more multicultural than Australia is. The UK also has a massive pub culture and I quite look forward to meeting friends for a glass of wine or a pint of cider and a good old gossip. I would never have done that in Sydney, we meet friends at their homes or at the shops – pubs are strictly a weekend thing, if at all. However, Australia has that glorious weather that I desperately miss and as I sit here writing, I look out the window at the fifth day of rain in a row and the nth day in a row of a cold, grey sky and I just dream of sitting in my backyard in Sydney, sipping a cold drink and enjoying the sunshine. (Luckily, in a month's time or so, I'll be able to hop on a flight and in two hours, be in Spain where I get all that sunshine as well as some seriously awesome food and a chance to practice my really bad Spanish!)

In 2011, I lost my contract with the company I was working for due to the recession and I decided to go back to Australia for a few months on my own to visit with family and friends. I was really shocked how much both Australia and I had changed in the last few years. Australia was getting really expensive and without having a job, I lived a pretty limited life at my parents house. When I flew back to London in the beginning of 2012, it really hit me now that we may never actually go back “home” - either that or we would consider moving out there to retire, because Australia isn't really home for us any more.

Since moving to London, we have adopted a dog, bought a house and travelled the world and honestly, I can't see us doing this anywhere else. I'm not sure what life has in store for myself or my husband and I may be eating my words this time next year, month or decade but for now, I'm going with the flow and calling myself a Londoner.

If I've managed to keep you reading to all of the way down here, thank you so much for your support and I'd love to see you at my blog, An Invisible Crown, where I share bits and bobs about my life, including travel stories, photos & general bloggy fodder!

Thanks so much for writing Jade! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna, Rekita

Perspective Series- To London

This week I'm happy to introduce Kotryna from the blog Girl With a Movie Camera for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. 

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Hey there y'all! I'm so happy to be here! Lost in Travels is probably one of my favorite blogs and it's a great honor for me to be a part of these series.My name is Kotryna and I blog over at "Girl With A Movie Camera". I've been an expat for almost 4 years now. I'm currently studying in Amsterdam, but my heart is still in UK I'm here to tell you about my first year as an expat in London.My boy and I were madly in love at the time (oh and we still are, even more, probably) and we wanted to do something exciting together. We were both just starting our lives from our parents and we decided that going abroad will give us the best experience. This is how we found ourselves in the capital of England, trying to start our independent life together.

It was pretty tough at first as not only we were in a new country, trying to look for our (almost) first jobs ever, but we also didn't really have a place to stay there. This is how we ended up squatting a house in South London together with some really bright people that will always have a special place in our hearts. 

My love was really quick in finding a job there and it took around a month or two for me to get mine and just before Christmas we were lucky enough to find a beautiful house up for rent in Norht London. I was really surprised how well we were doing on our first months. Honestly, London is probably the best place to start ones expat experience. The city is so multicultural, friendly and open to foreigners that it just makes it more than easy for people from other countries to settle down over there.

 As for us- we are still trying to settle down and this might take quite a few years. As I mentioned  above I'm currently on the semester abroad, but will be getting back to UK in a couple of months. My love is currently living in Brighton and I'll be finishing my studies over there from this coming autumn. However, I'm not sure if we are going to stay living in UK after I graduate. I know this country has so much to offer, but sometimes I catch myself thinking that it's just not my place. We've been living in UK for 3 years and I actually feel more like at home here, in Netherlands, even though I'm staying here just for once semester.

London will always be one of my favorite cities though and I know for sure that I will always be getting back for a pint of beer in Camden Town or a cup of coffee in those lovely coffee shops around the Hampstead Heath.It was a great pleasure to be a part of this expat series. Being an expat is a big part of who I am and I believe that we all should have this experience at least once in our life. If you guys are planning to move to UK anytime soon- feel free to drop me a line, I'd love to help you out with some questions you might have!

Thanks so much for writing Kotryna! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna, Rekita, Melissa

Perspective Series-To England

This week I'm happy to introduce Yaya from the blog Dream It, Darling for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. 

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As I write this I am sitting in my childhood bedroom with the ceiling fan on, and in very springy attire; a welcome contrast from sitting in my flat in the English countryside a week and a half ago and cozying up with a hot water bottle. I tell you what though - let's start from the beginning. 

Hi, I'm Yaya and I like to stand between phone booths.

Over two and half years ago I met a boy who coincidentally was searching for God knows what online, and stumbled across a blog I used to write at the time. A few comments, IM's, emails, texts, and phone calls later we decided that we meshed pretty well and casually met up. All as friends. Just as in a rom-com one thing led to another and voila, we fell in love. After a year of having a long distance relationship and traveling back and forth between the US & UK we decided to take it all up a notch. Being the bold Aries that I am, I decided to be the one to take the leap and leave all I knew behind for the adventure, romance and opportunity to live abroad. 

The Mr. and I at an Olympic event last year

Cornyness aside, moving to the UK was always something that I welcomed with open arms. For as long as I can remember I have longed for something more. To see more, feel more, do more; and I knew that traveling and namely living abroad would help give me that cultural enrichment I so longed for. When I came to England I falsely believed that being in an English speaking country would mean that all I would be leaving behind in America was family, friends, and job; not so much of the culture that made me who I was. I now realize after being back in the States for a few short weeks, that I gave up the aspects of my culture that didn't fully suit my personality. The capitalist mentality, the hustle and bustle lifestyle, among others. I have adopted so many European customs and attitudes and meshed them with what I find positive about the American lifestyle and voila, have a new way of living that works for me. 

big roads and wide open spaces of being home overwhelmed me a bit

One of the things that I have missed the most and that has affected me the most about living abroad was the weather. I am a Texas girl who is used to sun and heat and let's face it - not wearing so much clothes! In England, I have had to adapt to the weather and the effects it has on my mood. All of the other things that have come out of living abroad, such as the culture, humour, food, etc. has all been a very welcome addition.

After being abroad and coming home, even for short holiday, I have seen so many differences and am amazed about how much I have learned from my own country being on the outside looking in. I love being an American - the customs, the traditions, the patriotism; but there are so many things about our lifestyle that I now see from the outside and realize is a bit bonkers. In England I can walk anywhere. I can walk for miles to run my errands in town, and it doesn't feel like a chore. No one looks at you funny for walking on the side of the road. In America they do, at least in the big southwest (probably not NYC or Boston). In England, and I'm sure in all of Europe the lifestyle is so relaxed and slow. When I first moved here I felt everyone was lazy for taking it easy, but now that I have returned to America and see everyone in such a hurry all the time, I know that at least at this point, living in the USA is not for me. I used to joke my family and friends that being in England was like going back in time, it kind of was; and you know what, I like it. People are much more appreciative of each other and the things that really matter as opposed to being obsessed with material possessions and technological advancement whilst forgetting the human element. My European adventure started in jolly ol England, and will soon be taking me to a sunnier (yet, very European) destination. For now, Europe is the place for me.

via

Thanks so much for writing Yaya! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna, Rekita

Perspective Series- To Tanzania

This week I'm happy to introduce Erica from the blog Way to the Sea for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. I'm a new follower to Erica's blog and I can't speak highly of it enough. She posts about inspiring posts and gorgeous pictures about her life in Africa, her world travels and of course, her adorable little girl. 

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Aloha! My name is Erica and I blog over at To the Sea. I never thought I’d live on the African continent. When my husband told me we had the opportunity to move overseas for his military carreer, I quickly said yes. Yes. YES. I had dreams of returning to Central or South America, where I spent a summer studying Evolutionary Biology in the Galapagos Islands. I loved life abroad. I loved being able to work on the Spanish I grew up speaking in South Texas. I was convinced we’d luck out and get to live there again. Or at least I was willing to take my chances. You see, the catch was we didn’t get to choose where we’d be going. We knew it could have been anywhere. Still, when I received the text from my husband saying we were moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania within the month, my response was “You’re f***ing with me, right?” But he wasn’t; and a few weeks later my husband, my 8-month old baby, my two cats, and I made the 36-hour journey to East Africa.

As far as expectations go, I’ve been both pleasantly surprised and shocked since moving here. Before arriving, I was told it wouldn’t be safe for me to walk around alone. “Sure, whatever,” I said, recalling my solo journeys through the streets of Manila, Paris, and Guayaquil. I had always dismissed that advice as paranoia, for stupid people who walk around in dark alleyways with purses and expensive cameras. But when I got here I realized how real the threats are. I constantly hear about muggings, and even sexual assaults, of female expats walking alone in broad daylight, on main roads. I almost can’t blame people for stealing with the intense poverty that exists here. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but it makes poor people in America look pretty well off. It has been truly eye-opening for me, even more-so than I thought it'd be.

I don’t mean to paint Dar in a negative light. For the most part, the locals I’ve met here are awesome and extremely friendly. I’ve been taking Kiswahili classes and trying to practice with them as much as possible. Normally this ends up in laughter, which is never a bad thing.

The beaches here are gorgeous and there are even waves for my husband and I to surf. The surfing community is small, which is also pretty awesome. Unfortunately I can't go to the surfing beaches alone, but my husband and I are able to make it there couple of times a week.

I've been able to find a couple of volunteer opportunities, and I have more in the works. This is probably the coolest thing about living in East Africa.

We haven't had a chance to go on safari yet (because our vehicle still hasn't arrived from Hawaii), but there are a lot of cool animals I can't wait to see just a few hours away. I'm also looking forward to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, if we can find something to do with the baby in the meantime (come visit me, mom!).

I'm optimistic about the next year (or so) that I'll be living here. I know there will be hardships and days that homesickness creeps in and overwhelms me with melancholy. But there will also be moments when the light comes on and I realize THIS. This is why it is all worth it: to learn, to discover, to grow... to not only see what the world has to offer, but to live it.

Thanks so much for writing Erica! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured please email me at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna, Rekita

Perspective Series- In the UK

This week I'm happy to introduce Belinda from the blog Found Love. Now What? for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. I have immense respect for this woman right here. Uprooting her life to follow to love of her life across an entire ocean? Hardcore. But I can definitely relate to being with the one you love and the ease of traveling the world sometimes being worth the heartache of missing home and things familiar. 

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Hello Lost in Travels readers!  My name is Belinda and I blog over at Found Love. Now What? I am so thrilled to be a part of  Chelsea’s expat series.  I am excited to share why I decided to become an expat and my life in the UK.

I have always loved studying maps and globes.  I remember being little studying World Atlases for hours. Yeah, from a young age I was sort of a geek but I have always had a passion to travel and see the world.  Now,  31 years later, I am living my dream of seeing the sights of the world as an expat in the United Kingdom, specifically Northern Wales.

I pulled up my roots in Washington State (Seattle specifically) to move to the UK to be with my British husband.  Our wedding was on May 26th and in just ten short days we were bound for the United Kingdom and it has been an adventure ever since.  (Oh, did I mention that prior to our wedding my husband and I were in a 18 month long distance relationship?  Yeah, I blog about that sometimes too.)

The decision for me to move from the US to the UK, was based on a long, long list of pros and cons.  One of the major pros was the accessibility to be able to travel throughout the United Kingdom and Europe beyond.   One of the cons was that for me to leave, I essentially had to uproot my life to start all over.  But after all is said and done, I know that we made the right decision for me to live in the UK.

But it hasn’t been easy, or a walk in the park. I  was lulled into a false sense of security about living in the United Kingdom.Moving to the UK to a land of same language and similar cultures, I thought I would adjust no problem, easy breezy.   (Especially since there are so many expats who handle it in countries where the same language isn’t spoken.  Say, like South Korea?!) This false sense of security would knock me over at the slightest difference or homesick moment, primarily because I wasn’t mentally prepared for it. Surprisingly, I was wrong. The British culture is different than the American culture that I am used to.  From food to holidays, humor to high street I find that day-to-day life is just a bit different than America.  I find myself in constant adjustment in my new life and culture.  I’ll be honest with you: My first six months in the UK I would find myself riding waves of homesickness because I wasn’t aware or ready for emotional outbursts caused by change.  Now, I think I have a better handle on it.... but trust me, I am not perfect.

My favorite part of living abroad is the sense of adventure and “newness”. Everything is fresh and new to me, making each day exciting.  On the weekends, Neal and I head out to see castles, country parks, ruins or estate homes.  With my camera slung over my shoulder, I am a very happy shutterbug!   We have plans to visit Paris at the end of March (exciting!) and other parts of Europe come summer time.  Weekend trip to Dublin?  Don’t mind if I do.  Long weekend trip to Rome or Berlin?  Yes, please.

The access to travel, and the ability to experience so many incredible places makes the homesick heartache all worth it.

Since living aboard, we have been able to return back to Seattle for a two week trip in December.  To be honest, the trip was overwhelming.  Pop culture and news, fashion and food....I couldn’t absorb everything.  I walked through Target in an daze.  I was overwhelmed by the bullseye.  (In the end, I brought home bags and bags of M&M’s!)

For now, I am looking to be in the UK for at least the immediate future for up to 3-5 years.   Knowing how long I will be living abroad, has me trying not to dwell on the American We are looking to establish a semi-permanent life so it’s important to pace ourselves to create that picture.

Thanks so much for writing Belinda! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured please email me at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna, Rekita

Perspective Series-In Korea

This week I'm happy to introduce Jess from the blog More Adventurous, for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. This lovely lady was a fellow foreign English teacher in Korea so it automatically makes me feel like we have a deep bond. She writes hilarious stories about her travels in Korea which I can so relate to! Check out this post or this for some good laughs from an expat living in the land of kimchi.

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I’ve always loved traveling. I was lucky enough to visit both Korea and Australia by the time I was in Middle School. That’s when it became real: I needed to experience other places and other cultures. It was this weird feeling of being simultaneously entirely out of my element but so incredibly comfortable. While I knew that I loved traveling, I wasn’t ever sure that I’d want to live abroad. Part of my favorite thing about traveling was coming home, and if I lived abroad, it meant those two things would collide.

I sort of had a breakdown my senior year in college. It seemed like all my friends knew exactly what they were doing with their lives and all I knew is that I’d work for my father for the summer and then I had no plans. I applied for a teaching job in Korea because it sounded exciting and I already had some familiarity with the country since I had visited before as a child. I sort of self sabotaged by applying late, knowing that the program would probably be filled, but I thought, “What have I got to lose?” I heard back from the program. They were full. Two weeks before graduation, at the height of my “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE?” crisis, I got a call from the hiring lady with the program in Korea. “Someone backed out last minute. Can you be in Korea in July?” It was one of those moments that completely caught me off guard but after several quick conversations with family members, I saw that this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Things ran a little behind schedule and I ended up getting there in early September, but I knew that I was going exactly where I was meant to go. 

Arriving in Korea was wild. That’s seriously the only way I can describe it. I looked around and couldn’t begin to grasp the concept that this was my new home. It was so strange. I remember trying to get my bearings on the city but I realized that if I was abandoned on a street corner, I probably would have died there.

It didn’t take me too long to get a feel of the city and pretty soon I was navigating it like a local. It doesn’t hurt that Korea has the greatest public transportation ever. I’ve never, ever lived in a place like that before. I grew up in Southern California where you drive everywhere and then went to college in Idaho where you also drive everywhere you need to go. Korea was a dream. I could hop in a cab, bus, or train and get virtually anywhere within the country in a matter of hours and for chump change! The only downside to taking a bus or a cab was you basically risked your life any time you got in one. I swear there were multiple times when I was convinced that the bus I was on would tip over or the taxi would get in a head on collision. I tip my hat to those foreigners living in Korea who drive. You are all infinitely braver than I am!

One of my other favorite aspects of living in Korea was the fact that I was an anomaly. I taught at a relatively poor school so my students weren’t familiar with too much outside of their culture. My first graders would ask my for my autograph every time I taught their class. If kids saw me outside of the school, they would literally squeal with joy! When I arrived at the school in the morning I heard shouts of, “Songsaengnim (teacher)! Jessica Songsaengnim!” I was basically Taylor Swift. That whole “stick out like a sore thumb” thing did have it’s downsides. Sometimes I just wanted to blend in, be a part of the crowd, but even things like shopping would become a little bit stressful because everyone would want to talk to you or look at you.

One of the strangest things about living abroad was how quickly that foreign culture and environment became home. When I first arrived, I thought I was destined to feel like an outsider for the duration of my time there. That wasn’t the case. I got so settled in my routine, I made an incredible group of friends, and I really allowed myself to grow roots in Korea. It’s strange having this huge part of my heart that still belongs to that place. I didn’t think it would be like that. I thought when my year contract was up, I’d pack up and be entirely fine with coming “home.”

I realized that leaving Korea meant leaving a big part of who I had become. It meant leaving children who had touched my life. It meant leaving a place that helped raise me in a sense. I know that sounds pretty heavy, but it was. When you fully immerse yourself into a foreign environment and culture, there’s so much growth that happens in a short period of time. I love Korea for that. I love Korea for helping cultivate me into an “adult.” I wish that a member of my family had been able to visit me while I was there. It is hard having something so meaningful that the people closest to you don’t fully understand. I can show them pictures, share videos with them, and tell them stories, but they’ll only ever be outsiders looking into my experience. I am definitely grateful to be home in America though, I have a great job where I am basically paid to be a friend to college students, I can eat delicious Mexican food whenever I want, and I can drive without fear of dying. It’s just funny how life takes you places you never thought you end up  and you fall absolutely in love with your surroundings. How is it possible that my heart calls three very different places (California, Idaho, & South Korea) home? Maybe after graduate school there will be another opportunity to live abroad. I am not exactly sure what life holds for me, but after Korea (and with a little help from Justin Bieber), I’ve learned to never say never.  

Thanks so much for writing Jess! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured please email me at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna

Perspective Series-In Paris

This week I'm happy to introduce not just one guest blogger but the three wonderful girls that make up the blog Stamp in My Passport, for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. These girls bonded over their time studying abroad in Paris and their travels throughout Europe. Jealous yet? Be sure to stop by their blog to read more of their adventures traveling the world together! 

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Emily - It was my junior year of college and I was asking for a sign.  I was sitting in Chapel one day when they were making announcements about Studying abroad. I had always wanted to go but just needed the perfect trip, the perfect city, and the perfect adventure. That’s when they made the announcement, a study abroad trip to Paris for three months and they were offering a discount to get more people interested. So before Chapel was even over I had my dad on the phone and I was making plans with him to set this in motion. 3 things happened pretty quickly after I made my decision. I went to a meeting, I signed a few papers, and I got my best friend to sign up with me. Sam was planning a trip to Greece with our school but she had backed out of that one and Paris was too good to pass up. This was in October of 2011 and we were set to leave January 31^st 2012. So you can imagine this all happened pretty fast. We made our arrangements through the school, finished the Semester, went home, packed our bags and flew out of Dallas to meet our group in the Atlanta Airport. That’s actually where we met Jess for the first time. We hit it off instantly with Jess and all three of us became fast friends. We hopped on the plane and took the long flight over to our new home, our La Ville-Lumière, Our Paris! 

Samantha- Life for us in Paris wasn’t as Anna Wintour-esque as I had originally imagined. I pictured myself strolling down the Champs Elysees on the arm of an attractive French man while walking my poodle. Not so, my friends. It wasn’t nearly as glamorous OR romantic. Since we were there for school, we generally had class in the basement of our long term hostel from 8 am to noon. After that, we were free to explore the city {and do homework} all we wanted. Most days you would find us searching for adventure in the Latin Quarter or spending hours on the metro riding all the way to Montmartre to visit the street artists. Perhaps my fondest memories of the entire trip are of the old man at Café Cluny in the Latin Quarter that made the most delicious Nutella crepes. C’est bon! We also went to the Louvre on a regular basis for school assignments and ate a ton of French food, all in the sake of experiencing the culture. Maybe I’m looking back on the experience with rose colored glasses {it wasn’t always sunshine and pain au chocolat, you know}, but that was honestly the best three months of my life, & I couldn’t have imagined experiencing it with anyone different. What we did there and the memories we made certainly changed me for the better. 

Jess- By the end of our week back-packing through the UK, I was ready to come home. I needed a haircut. My two pairs of jeans had seen better days. And I desperately wanted to find a diet coke that wouldn't cost me $7.

My first day back on American soil was filled with trying to catch up on sleep and eating copious amounts of Chick-fil-a. I love a croissant and café au lait as much as the next expat, but nothing can beat fried chicken, waffle fries, sweet tea and chick-fil-a sauce. 

After hitting the highlights of American culture, I proceeded to watch “The Hills” and “Gossip Girls” episodes set in Paris and cry because I wanted to go back. 

I have mixed emotions about being back in the States, so I’ll give a pro/con list about being in the U S of A instead of Paris. 

Pros of living in America: 

-Supertarget. I love that in America you can go to one store and get everything on your shopping list. Food, clothes, home goods, electronics; you name it they have it. 

-Drive-thrus. Because sometimes I don’t want to sit down for a three hour lunch with multiple courses. 

-Family and friends. As much as I loved being in Paris, our lack of reliable internet made Skype sessions difficult. It means the world to be able to text, call and visit family and friends whenever I want.

-Free refills and free water. Need I say more? We’re a thirsty nation who has had to ban 60 oz. drinks in some areas.

-We only speak English. Some might call this a negative, but I see it as a positive. There is one language for the whole country and area. When traveling a few hundred miles in Europe, you might encounter two or three languages. It’s a lose, lose situation.

Cons of living in America: 

-No crepe stand on every corner. I miss nutella and banana crepes every day. The ones in America are few and far between.

-Loud and overwhelming. Americans are rude and obnoxious, generally speaking. I didn’t realize this until I went to Europe. Since being back, I’ve made a conscious effort to be quieter in public. 

-Terrible public transportation. America should take a page out of Europe’s transportation book and design a rail system, at least regional ones, that are affordable.

Thanks so much for writing girls! Be sure to stop by their blog and show them some love! 

If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured please email me at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.

Perspective Series-In Budapest

This week I'm happy to introduce Meryl from McLendon's in Budapest, for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. I'm a new reader of Meryl's blog but how could you not love her and her sweet family? She blogs about her new life in Budapest (which was never on my travel wish list but after looking through her pictures, it is now!), her two mini me's, and their travels abroad. Hop on over and say hi!

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Hi there, Lost in Travels readers!  I'm Meryl and I'd like to share my corner of the world with you.  Two and a half years ago my family moved to Budapest, Hungary from Houston, Texas, where my husband and I both worked in the oil and gas industry in Texas.  When his company offered him an opportunity to work in Budapest, we jumped!  I'd like to share some of the experiences we have had and some pictures of my favorite spots. 

The moving process itself went smoothly, but adjusting to Hungarian culture proved to be a bigger transition. Hungary has a strong and proud cultural identity. Everything from its language, its food and its many, many festivals is distinctly Hungarian, with very little connection or overlap with any other country or culture. Hungarians even name their children from a defined list of nationally approved names. 

The first order of business was to attempt to learn the language. Hungarian has a 44 letter alphabet, with each noun having 17 different forms. It has no connection to any other language, although some think it sounds slightly like Finish. We started with the highest hopes and ended with the deepest of frustrations. It was a flop. We learned enough to get by and that was enough for us!

Aside from the language, adjusting to Hungarian culture meant a few changes. I (try to) cook like a Hungarian because the ingredients are more limited. I buy a few groceries every day, because our refrigerator is the size of a dorm room mini fridge. I drive like a grandma, because most of the streets here were built to accommodate golf cart sized vehicles. After countless theory and driving lessons and examinations, I still don't have a Hungarian license... and it doesn't look like I ever will. I am no longer surprised when old ladies (strangers) hug and kiss my children... they absolutely dote on children here. Sometimes I am taken aback by the cool nature of some Hungarians, but it's easy to understand when you consider that Hungary was under strict Soviet control for over fifty years, with the last of the troops leaving in 1991. Those that were around at the time will remember this as a terribly oppressive period for the Hungarian people.    

After making the much needed adjustments to Hungarian life, we were able to appreciate the physical beauty of the city, including its amazing buildings and bridges, the blue Danube splitting the city between Buda and Pest, the impressive tree-lined thoroughfares of the Pest side and the villas that dot the rolling hills of the Buda side. Hungarians love festivals. There is never a weekend without a big festival of some sort. Another fun fact about Hungarians: they absolutely love thermal spas. There are several spa houses that offer steamy hot open air baths located inside beautiful buildings I often mistake for museums. They are perfect for beating the cold, Hungarian winters. There's a lot to love about our new home.

 As for our old home, I love and miss Texas and Louisiana! My short list of things I miss includes: drive through anything (fast food, ATMs, pharmacies, etc), Target (or any one stop shop / big box store), Netflix, realistically sized parking spaces and parking lots, and the ability to buy things online. As for the people, I miss the diversity of America. After moving and travelling throughout regions where the people are more homogeneous, for lack of a better word, I realized I took for granted that America is the ultimate melting pot of culture, color and creed. This will be a welcome change when we do return.

Thanks for reading and thank you, Chelsea and Jeremy for letting me share some thoughts and pictures of our home in beautiful Budapest!   Meryl

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Thanks so much for writing Meryl! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured please email me at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Shanna and Rolled Up Pretty