by Dee Harlow (Laos) | Jun 7, 2011 | Childhood, Inspirational, International, Kids, Life Lesson, Mexico, Motherhood, Parenting, Travel
The cliche that becoming a parent changes your world view in a profound way gets kind of old, but it is so true. My outward view of the world and how my children’s lives will be affected by their environment is at once richer and more complex.
The breadth of information and experience I desire for them to know is infinite; the protection I want for them emotionally and physically is visceral – all pretty predictable stuff in the cliche. What has surprised me, however, is the inward reflection on myself, particularly my memories, the way they have shaped who I am today. It makes me wonder how my children’s own memories will shape who they become.
Do you have memories from your early childhood which make you wonder if they actually happened the way you remember them? How did you feel at the time and how has that feeling stayed with you? Real or not, your memories exist and how you feel about those memories has probably impacted certain decisions or actions in your adult life. They have certainly impacted mine…in significant ways. (more…)
One of Dee’s earliest memories was flying on a trans-Pacific flight from her birthplace in Bangkok, Thailand, to the United States when she was six years old. Ever since then, it has always felt natural for her to criss-cross the globe. So after growing up in the northeast of the US, her life, her work and her curiosity have taken her to over 32 countries. And it was in the 30th country while serving in the Peace Corps in Uzbekistan that she met her husband. Together they embarked on a career in international humanitarian aid working in refugee camps in Darfur, Sudan, and the tsunami torn coast of Aceh, Indonesia.
Dee is now a full-time mother of three-year old twins and continues to criss-cross the globe every two years with her husband who is in the US Foreign Service. They currently live in Vientiane, Laos, and are loving it! You can read about their adventures at Wanderlustress.
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by Shaula Bellour (Indonesia) | Jun 1, 2011 | Childhood, East Timor, Family Travel, Husband, International, Kids, Multicultural, Shaula Bellour, Twins
In a few weeks’ time, we will be heading to the US for our much-anticipated annual home leave. Once a year, our organization covers the cost of flights to our “home on record.” Though our last physical address was in Oregon, our permanent address is my mom’s house, in a suburb near Seattle.
It’s the place where I grew up and where I usually say I’m from, even though I haven’t lived there in nearly two decades.
For our kids, home is here, in Dili. This is where their stuff is, where their beds are, and where their friends live. Although they don’t really remember our life before we moved to East Timor, they do know that they aren’t from here and will occasionally ask “Mommy, where am I from?”
I usually tell them that they are lucky enough to be from two places: England and America, just like one of their friends is from Sweden and Vietnam, and another friend is from Italy and Germany. Still, it’s a pretty abstract concept to a three-year old mind. (more…)
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.
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by World Moms Blog | May 27, 2011 | Bilingual, Child Care, Childhood, Eva Fannon, Family Travel, Friday Question, Holiday, Husband, International, Italy, Japan, Kids, Motherhood, Oceania, Tara B., Third Eye Mom, Transportation, Travel
This week’s Friday Question comes from World Moms Blog writer Eva Fannon of Washington State. She asked our writers,
“If someone gifted you tickets to travel anywhere in the world, where would you go, and who would you take with you?”
Here are some of the exciting places some of our World Moms would love to visit…
Asta Burrows of Norway writes:
“I would take my husband and wee lad to Western Australia. We have been there several times; I love the wine tasting and my husband loves the windsurfing. However after reading Tara’s article about flying with kids, I am not sure I could handle such a long journey – but it would probably be worth it!” (more…)
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.
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by Ewa Samples | May 18, 2011 | Bilingual, Childhood, International, Language, Motherhood, Poland, Polish Mom Photographer, Post Partum Depression, USA, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview
When did you first become a mother?
My first baby was born in 2010. Second in 2012.
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in San Jose, California. I’m originally from Poland.
What language(s) do you speak?
Polish, English, planning on learning Russian.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
I’m a stay-at-home mom (SAHM).
Why do you blog/write?
I started my blog on September 2009. My first post had one picture and these words:
“… talking through my pictures and while English is not my first language this blog will be mostly about my photos.”
Right about that time, I also found out that I was pregnant, but my blog wasn’t about me getting ready for motherhood or anything like that. (more…)
Ewa was born, and raised in Poland. She graduated University with a master's degree in Mass-Media Education. This daring mom hitchhiked from Berlin, Germany through Switzerland and France to Barcelona, Spain and back again!
She left Poland to become an Au Pair in California and looked after twins of gay parents for almost 2 years. There, she met her future husband through Couch Surfing, an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals.
Today she enjoys her life one picture at a time. She runs a photography business in sunny California and document her daughters life one picture at a time.
You can find this artistic mom on her blog, Ewa Samples Photography, on Twitter @EwaSamples or on Facebook!
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by Purnima Ramakrishnan | May 2, 2011 | Childhood, Education, Exercise, Family, Health, Hobby, Holiday, India, Kids, Life Lesson, Motherhood, Parenting, Sports, The Alchemist
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When we were little kids, my brother and I used to look forward to summer holidays. Usually, it was a full two months in most parts of South India. Both of us were book worms, and being the voracious readers we were, our parents had no problem in managing us during the summer holidays.
We both learned to read by the age of six because we were products of a strict education system, unlike today where the education system requires children to learn by themselves. And, most kids learn to read by eight or nine.
To make matters simpler for both us and our parents, there was a library just across the street where we used to live. We used to go there together, select our books, return the previous day’s books, pay our dues and come back home with a fresh huge stack to pour over.
The librarian became a great friend of ours. Life and holidays were indeed benevolent. We used to visit our maternal grandparents during part of the holidays, and there too, we became members of the local libraries.
In those days, in our little town in India, the concept of summer camps, summer activities for kids, special fun classes, and the like was still a novelty. And, even if some such classes sprung up in our locality, not many kids garnered enough interest to go over and check them out.
Everyone was more or less satisfied and well pleased with their own thing to do during the holidays. And, we were more than happy that our summer pleasure of reading from morning to bed time was not disturbed. Oh yes, our parents were a lucky lot in this aspect. They never had rambunctious kids at hand.
Ah, and now fast forward to the present day and, it is summer holidays for my son. He will be in the next grade sometime in mid June. I have 2 full months stretching in front of me, and I need to keep him entertained not only in the most educative way, but also with fun things in mind. (more…)
The cliche that becoming a parent changes your world view in a profound way gets kind of old, but it is so true. My outward view of the world and how my children’s lives will be affected by their environment is at once richer and more complex.
