I have lived abroad during most of my adult life and now find myself back in my home country.  I love the life I have made here and cherish being near my family.  I do miss traveling and came to this community to reconnect with cultures of the countries I have visited and to explore new cultures that I haven’t yet had the pleasure to get to know.   I learned that forming a community was vital to my adjustment when living abroad and believe that the exchange of information is so important for connection and enjoyment.

Here’s a quick snapshot of places I have lived and visited.  As a recent graduate from University of Michigan, I saved money and backpacked from the Northern border of Mexico all the way to Costa Rica.  This experience was powerful and meaningful and was a considerable influence when making my decision to move to Daejeon, South Korea to teach English as a second language.  I lived and taught in Daejeon for 4 years, falling in love with everything Korean.  I moved back home and met my husband and we moved to Panama together for a year and a half and lastly Santiago, Chile for 4 years where our daughter was born.

I have traveled to Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, and Belgium.  I traveled a ton for soccer, and I think have been everywhere in the United States.

My family is a wonderful example of multiculturalism and I believe that exposure to diversity from birth has had a positive and powerful impact on my life.  My mom is from Nicaragua and came to the US in high school not knowing any English.  My older brother is married to my amazing sister-in-law from Korea and my younger brother is married to my talented sister-in-law who is Mexican.  My daughter was born in Chile, my mom in Nicaragua, my nephew in Korea, and my sisters-in-law in Korea and Mexico.  How beautifully diverse is that?  🙂