Travel Itinerary for the Week of February 7th!

We have two international writers again this week, including one new writer, so get prepared for lots of traveling!

On Monday, we start off in Cornwall, England, to hear from Mom of two and military wife Jen Warren.

On Tuesday, we fly to Arkansas to hear from Margie Bryant, energetic Mom of energetic boys, who is pursuing a Bachelors degree.

On Wednesday, we are going back across the ocean, all the way to India, to meet for the first time with The Alchemist, who found her way to us through Margie.

And on Thursday, we’re back in the United States, heading to Washington to hang out with Eva Fannon, working Mom who has a passion for travel and the great outdoors.

We will close off the week with our Friday question, which you are encouraged to respond to!

Some news flashes for you this week:

First, the bio for new writer The Alchemist has been added to our Writers page.

Secondly, with founder and editor-in-chief Veronica rushing headlong towards the birth of her second child, several of the writers will be sharing the task of keeping World Moms Blog running for a few months. To see who is doing what, check out the Editing Team page.

And finally, in an exciting milestone, we at World Moms Blog have just celebrated our three-month Blogiversary! Congratulations to all of the writers, thank you to all of the readers, and kudos to Veronica for putting the whole thing together!

— World Moms Blog

Our World Moms Blog logo was designed by the creative Erica Joyner Designs in Virginia, USA.

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

More Posts

EAST TIMOR: Changing Perspectives: From Dili to Sydney

Last week we returned from a wonderful holiday in Australia. After many months of island life we couldn’t wait to experience the delicious food, plentiful shopping, fun family activities and spend time with dear friends.

Immersed in exciting Lonely Planet listings, I didn’t give much thought to the re-entry process. Australia doesn’t feel far away (the Dili-Darwin flight is only an hour), but I found it really interesting to watch our family re-adapt to developed-country living.

It’s all about perspective. (more…)

Shaula Bellour (Indonesia)

Shaula Bellour grew up in Redmond, Washington. She now lives in Jakarta, Indonesia with her British husband and 9-year old boy/girl twins. She has degrees in International Relations and Gender and Development and works as a consultant for the UN and non-governmental organizations. Shaula has lived and worked in the US, France, England, Kenya, Eritrea, Kosovo, Lebanon and Timor-Leste. She began writing for World Moms Network in 2010. She plans to eventually find her way back to the Pacific Northwest one day, but until then she’s enjoying living in the big wide world with her family.

More Posts

MASSACHUSETTS, USA: Traveling with Kids, Destination: China

In the fall of 2007, when our daughter was just 16 months old, my husband studied the fall semester of his two-year Masters of Business Administration program abroad in Beijing, China. He left in September, so he could settle in and get the majority of his fall semester completed.  Then in November, my daughter and I planned to join him for the last two months.

As most mother’s know, traveling with kids can test your moral fiber.

So, imagine the daunting prospect of a solo, 14-hour, transpacific flight with a “lap infant” (meaning, in order to fly our daughter over for free, I had to risk traveling with her on my lap if the flight was full). My biggest tests were: my lap infant was actually an active and inquisitive toddler and the flight was full.

But desperate means call for desperate measures. (more…)

Kyla P'an (Portugal)

Kyla was born in suburban Philadelphia but spent most of her time growing up in New England. She took her first big, solo-trip at age 14, when she traveled to visit a friend on a small Greek island. Since then, travels have included: three months on the European rails, three years studying and working in Japan, and nine months taking the slow route back from Japan to the US when she was done. In addition to her work as Managing Editor of World Moms Network, Kyla is a freelance writer, copy editor, recovering triathlete and occasional blogger. Until recently, she and her husband resided outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where they were raising two spunky kids, two frisky cats, a snail, a fish and a snake. They now live outside of Lisbon, Portugal with two spunky teens and three frisky cats. You can read more about Kyla’s outlook on the world and parenting on her personal blogs, Growing Muses And Muses Where We Go

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
Twitter

Travel Itinerary for Week of January 17th!

We start this week off with a new writer, Kyla P’an from Massachusetts, USA!  Kyla writes about traveling to China with her 16-month old daughter.  Check out her post on Monday!

Tuesday, we fly out to the south Pacific and land in the country of East Timor with Shaula Bellour!

Wednesday, travel with us to the west coast of the USA to check in with Eva Fannon in Seattle!

And Thursday, Sunny Springer, our Japanese-born American mom from New Jersey, USA, returns to the line-up!

Also, meet us for our Friday Question, “What is your most embarrassing moment in motherhood?”  Should be another fun one!

Look out for the announcements of two new international writers to World Moms Blog soon — we are growing!  Thank you for “traveling” with us and helping us spread the word about our blog!

— World Moms Blog

Our World Moms Blog logo was designed by the creative Erica Joyner Designs in Virginia, USA.

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

More Posts

Taking the Leap: A Family Journey to Asia

Nine months ago we uprooted our little family of four and moved halfway around the world, to the tropical half-island of Timor-Leste (East Timor). The physical process of relocating was a monumental feat (one that I don’t want to repeat anytime soon) and the tear-filled goodbyes were hard. Yet the idea of trading our comfortable Oregon life for a new home in one of the poorest countries in Asia seemed…well, normal.

I’d never been to Timor, or even SE Asia, for that matter. Most people I talked with had never heard of the country I was moving to and even I had to quickly educate myself. Though I’d spent many years living overseas as an adult, I’d never done it with kids. Let alone twin two-year olds. It was a daunting undertaking, but the timing felt right, and we were ready for a new adventure. (more…)

Shaula Bellour (Indonesia)

Shaula Bellour grew up in Redmond, Washington. She now lives in Jakarta, Indonesia with her British husband and 9-year old boy/girl twins. She has degrees in International Relations and Gender and Development and works as a consultant for the UN and non-governmental organizations. Shaula has lived and worked in the US, France, England, Kenya, Eritrea, Kosovo, Lebanon and Timor-Leste. She began writing for World Moms Network in 2010. She plans to eventually find her way back to the Pacific Northwest one day, but until then she’s enjoying living in the big wide world with her family.

More Posts

A Japanese Mother’s New Traditions

Japanese Toy CatalogueToy magazines are popping up in the mail almost everyday. As soon as my youngest son learns that a new one has arrived, he goes through every page so diligently, devouring detail upon detail. When he finally returns them to the pile at the corner of my kitchen, his fingerprints are on every page.  The important pages are bent, and some items are marked. It’s plain to see that the holidays are coming soon….

And, I am looking forward to them. Maybe it’s because my children are going to be off from school—I can sleep in with them. Or maybe it’s because I am still new to the whole beautiful idea of the holidays in the United States.

Growing up in Japan, I did not celebrate Christmas as a child. Though my family is Catholic, and we always attended mass on the night of Christmas Eve, there was no family feast or exhilarating exchanging of gifts. Besides, school was still open on the morning of Christmas Eve. It wasn’t that surprising, considering we would go to school six days a week in Japan.

(more…)