by Astrid Warren (Norway) | Nov 18, 2011 | Being Thankful, Infertility, Motherhood, Norway, Parenting, Working Mother, World Motherhood, Writing
I was reminded recently that it was about a year ago when Jen asked if I fancied writing some articles about motherhood. I had never seen or read a blog before, and never thought that I would be able to write one but I tried, and I got hooked!
I just read the first article I ever wrote – and though I recognise everything I wrote, it still feels like a different me and a different time.
I had only been back to work for a couple of months after maternity leave and I was just getting used to this new ‘reality’ – and here I am, a year later, and this is reality now. Both my husband and I are working full-time and the wee lad is in nursery and he seems to enjoy it as he gets to run around as much as he likes. My husband takes him to nursery in the morning, and I pick him up in the afternoon, and we seem to have found some sort of a routine that works, for now at least.
A year feels like a very long time ago, and a lot of things have happened this past year. The wee lad’s first Christmas, and first birthday, first step, first word – a lot of ‘firsts!” Quite a bit of traveling as well to see (more…)
Astrid is a Norwegian thirty something, married, working mum to a wee lad who is almost three and a baby born in 2012! She grew up in Norway, but moved to London, England after she met her husband. After living there during her twenties, she has since returned to Norway and settled down in her nation's capital of Oslo to raise her family.
She finds herself slowly turning into her own mother as her free time is spent reading, walking, knitting and meeting up with other mums for coffee. (Ok, she still secretly loves going to the pub, too!). However, there isn't much time for any of the above, as she now enjoys spending most of her time crawling around on the floor, while playing with her children! Check out her blog, Quintessentially Burrows. She's also on Twitter @MrsSWarren.
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by Melanie Oda (Japan) | Nov 17, 2011 | Childhood, Family, Japan, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? Are you from there?
I live in Yokohama, Japan, which is part of the greater metro-Tokyo area (but don’t tell anyone I said that! Yokohama citizens have a lot of pride.) I’ve lived in Japan for eleven years, ten of those in Yokohama.
My family moved around a bit when I was a child, but when people ask me where I’m from I say “Georgia.” It sounds pretty and it’s more or less the truth; I lived there for seven years. When Japanese people ask me where I’m from I simply say “America.”
What languages do you speak?
I speak English and Japanese. My spoken Japanese is fluent I guess, though I would never be mistaken for a native. Japanese is a notoriously difficult language to read and write, with two different phonetic alphabets consisting of 47 letters each, plus about 2000 commonly used Chinese characters (called kanji). With both alphabets down pat and a little over half the kanji, I’m proud to say I can read better than my first grader. (more…)
If you ask Melanie Oda where she is from, she will answer "Georgia." (Unless you ask her in Japanese. Then she will say "America.") It sounds nice, and it's a one-word answer, which is what most people expect. The truth is more complex. She moved around several small towns in the south growing up. Such is life when your father is a Southern Baptist preacher of the hellfire and brimstone variety.
She came to Japan in 2000 as an assistant language teacher, and has never managed to leave. She currently resides in Yokohama, on the outskirts of Tokyo (but please don't tell anyone she described it that way! Citizens of Yokohama have a lot of pride). No one is more surprised to find her here, married to a Japanese man and with two bilingual children (aged four and seven), than herself. And possibly her mother.
You can read more about her misadventures in Asia on her blog, HamakkoMommy.
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by Kristen | Nov 8, 2011 | Family Travel, Motherhood, Parenting, Switzerland, Travel, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I currently live in Bern, Switzerland. I am originally from the United States. I was born in New York, hopped around to Ohio, Thailand, Malaysia, Michigan and then landed in Texas where I now say I’m “from”. As my family settled down in Texas I married a man, who is on a mission to see the world. Our adventures have taken us to Washington, D.C., Bogotá, Colombia and now on to Bern, Switzerland.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English. And also “survival Spanish”…you know the kind with really bad grammar that gets you through the grocery store and across town in a taxi but won’t earn you the respect of linguists! I must admit, though, that while living in Bogota my survival Spanish got us faster service sometimes than my (more…)
Kristen is a stay-at-home to two little boys, Jackson (4 yrs) and Owen (nearly 2 yrs). She was born in New York, but eventually made her way down to Texas. She and her husband, Seth, met in Dallas and were married in December 2005. Nine months into their marriage Seth received a call that he had landed his dream job, one catch, it involved world wide assignment. The adventure took them from Texas to Washington, D.C., on to Bogotá, Colombia and then back to Washington, D.C before bringing them to Bern, Switzerland! Kristen and her family have currently lived in Bern for more than 1 year, where her husband works for the US Department of State. Four moves and 2 children in nearly 6 years of marriage have made for quite the adventure in motherhood! Kristen finds motherhood to be one of the most humbling and character building things she has ever experienced. The responsibility of raising boys with integrity and respect at times feels daunting, but she couldn’t imagine doing anything else!
Kristen is a Speech Language Pathologist but has taken time away from working to focus on her family. Although she enjoys the travel and adventure involved in her husband’s career, she often finds herself feeling far from home and working to make the most of time abroad!
On her blog, Seasons Worth Savoring, Kristen writes about daily life with two little boys, including her experiences as she navigates a foreign culture and walks by faith. In her free time, or rather in her busy time with two boys attached to her legs, Kristen enjoys cooking, photography, antique and thrift store shopping, working on crafts, and blogging.
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by Lady Jennie (France) | Oct 27, 2011 | Culture, France, International, Language, Motherhood, Parenting, Relocating, Travel, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live just outside of Paris, France.
I am American and grew up in upstate New York, where I attended a small state school. On a whim, I decided to study abroad in Avignon, where I contracted “the travel bug.” From college, I moved to Taiwan for a year, then Manhattan for a year, to Paris for a year, back to Taiwan for another year, and finally back to Manhattan where I traveled to Asia regularly on business and then met my husband. We took a year’s sabbatical in East Africa before having our daughter and moving home. (His home, that is, now mine).
So I feel like I’m from a bit of everywhere.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English, of course. I speak French fluently with a slight accent and lots of charming grammatical errors that endear me to my French listeners; or at least that’s what I like to tell myself. I speak enough Mandarin to translate for the woman whose granddaughter attends the same music theory and classical dance classes as my daughter at the Conservatory. This is accomplished with (more…)
Jennie has lived in Taiwan, New York City and East Africa, and currently lives just outside of Paris with her French husband. She speaks rudimentary Mandarin, passable French and has had a varied career in Human Resources, Asian financial sales and humanitarian work. She is currently a mother to three young children, with writing and teaching gigs on the side, and blogs at A Lady in France.
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by Jennifer Prestholdt (USA) | Oct 25, 2011 | Human Rights, Humanity, International, Motherhood, Working Mother, World Events, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, World Voice, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live with my husband and three kids in Minneapolis, MN, USA. The headwaters of the Mississippi River are in Minnesota, but I’m from the delta – Baton Rouge, LA. Growing up in south Louisiana was great, but it did not adequately prepare me for being the hockey mom that I am today. (My two sons play and I am still trying to learn the rules!) I have also lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Norway and Switzerland.
What language(s) do you speak?
My native language is English, but I also speak Norwegian. I also studied French and Russian.
When did you first become a mother?
October 9, 1999. Nine days past the due date, I might add.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
Since my oldest son was born, I have worked everything from 10 to 100% time at a fabulous non-profit called The Advocates for Human Rights. Currently, I am working 90% time as the Deputy Director. It’s a good balance for me. I took extended parenting leaves with each of my kids and, I have to say, being a stay-at-home mom is the hardest work I have ever done. As my husband says, we “go to work to rest.”
Why do you blog/write?
I started blogging as a New Years Resolution in January 2011. I realized that I had many stories from my experiences in fifteen years of human rights work, but most of them had never been shared. Some of these stories are about the worst aspects of (more…)
Jennifer Prestholdt is a lawyer and the Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a volunteer-based human rights organization that works locally, nationally and internationally. Her work in human rights takes her around the world, but she spends most of her time in Minneapolis, MN, where she lives with her children (two sons and one daughter), her husband, an elderly cat and a dwarf hamster.
As Jennifer’s kids are now all in school (1st, 4th and 6th grades), she is finally finding more time to do the things that she used to love to do, especially running, writing and knitting. Jennifer loves to travel and has had the dubious distinction of having been accidentally locked in a bathroom on five continents so far. Australia and Antarctica await!
In January 2011, Jennifer made a New Year’s Resolution to start writing about her experiences in order to share with her children the lessons learned from 15 years of work in human rights. The result is her personal blog, The Human Rights Warrior. The name comes from her son Simon, who was extremely disappointed to learn that his mother is a lawyer, not a warrior.
You can find her on her blog The Human Rights Warrior or on Twitter @Jprestholdt.
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by Angela Y (USA) | Oct 11, 2011 | Kids, Motherhood, USA, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in San Francisco, CA. Specifically, I live in The Presidio, a old military post that has been transformed into a state park. We live in newly renovated, former military housing. Living in the park gives us access to outdoor space, trees, wildlife (coyotes, raccoons, hawks, and more), all in the heart of a major city; it’s like living in the suburbs without the commute.
No, I am not from here. I am from Northeastern Pennsylvania. I went to high school with Tara B. All of my family still lives there or close by.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English only. I couldn’t even pretend to speak anything else.
When did you first become a mother?
Big girl was born in August 2007. Little girl came along in October 2009.
Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?
Something in-between. I consider myself a stay-at-home mom. Currently, I am working 3 days a week as a contractor doing my pre-children job at a major retailer’s corporate office. I am helping out during a friends maternity leave. I have a brand (more…)
Angela Y. is in her mid-thirties and attempting to raise her two daughters (big girl, R, 3 years; little girl, M, 1 year) with her husband in San Francisco, CA. After spending ten years climbing the corporate ladder, she traded it all in to be a stay-at-home mom! Her perspective of raising a child in the city is definitely different from those who have been city dwellers all their lives, as she grew up in rural Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) surrounded by her extended family.
Angela Y. and her husband are on their own on the west coast of the United States — the only family help they receive is when someone comes for a visit. But, the lifestyle in San Francisco is like no other for them, so there, they stay! This exercise conscious mom is easily recognized, especially when she is riding around her husband-built bike with two seats on the back. And, when she’s not hanging out with the girls, you can find Angela Y. in the kitchen. She loves to cook for her family, especially dessert, and then eats some herself when no one is looking! Sneaky, mom!
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I was reminded recently that it was about a year ago when Jen asked if I fancied writing some articles about motherhood. I had never seen or read a blog before, and never thought that I would be able to write one but I tried, and I got hooked!
