So, just got a note today that this blog had achieved [the mark of] 1,337 followers… Strange number, right? Not round, not exact… far from cabalistic… But, hey, I’ll take it… For whatever reason it is, WordPress people decided it was worth to send out the note… 
Oh, well, I do appreciate the ‘achievement’, and welcome any positive thoughts towards this blog’s way!!!
Thank you for reading [and following!] <3
March 2011 marked my very first blogpost: shared impressions from the world’s largest street carnival. It was obviously in Brazil, the country that lives and breathes popular festivities, and our assignment with the foreign service from 2010 to 2012.From that point on, blogposts began to come out quite often, increasing the number of subscribers, comments, Facebook Page fans [over 230], Twitter followers [over 350], and blog followers [now at 983]. Being picked to be Freshly Pressed a couple of times by the WordPress editors was definitely a good burst on the social part of it, coupled with the recent popular vote for best Expat Blog about our current home, Bolivia; and the mention of being one of the best parental/family blogs for families wondering about life with kids in the foreign service, according to Gaddling, the world’s top travel blog. Many thanks! 
Today, another milestone was reached, having me surprised and pleased, finding out that our ‘family travel & photoblog‘ displayed over 120,000 visits.
Being passionate about your life experiences, sharing images and impressions, reporting what one sees happening around, somehow, pays back. At least, in the ‘blogsphere‘… I’m inspired by the several bloggers who take part at the writing prompts, Weekly Photo Challenges, FrizzText and Jake Austria, probably being my very first inspiration (thank you both!); as well as, all the beautiful ideas shared by Ailsa, from ‘Where’s my Backpack?‘, with her travel theme challenges, and The Island Traveler, a parent, like many of us, who decided to share some beauty from their regular lives with the world…
Thank you all out there, parents, expats, bloggers, friends, for reading, commenting, following, and for offering a great deal of inspiration… blogging is fun!
What is your NEXT MILESTONE? Your Blog Milestone? Share here, if you care! Thanks!♥
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 68,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Click here to see the complete report.
Image Credit: http://blog.hubspot.com
2012 will be over in a couple of days!
A very intense year, in many levels, scenarios… Our family moved several times throughout the year… we got to live in 3 different countries [Brazil, USA, Bolivia}, lived out of suitcases for a long time; kids had to say goodbye to their dear friends, and say 'hello' to the ones becoming their new friends and teachers, adjusting to a new school, new cultures, and now, we're happily settled in Nuestra Señora de La Paz, capital of Bolivia...
At this moment, looking back at 2012, and preparing the 'retrospective': popular posts, interaction with other bloggers, popular searches/forums... good discussions... Good therapy, some may say - and I'm glad to agree - when it came to blogging, got a lot done this year, sharing our experiences, challenges regarding parenting, multilingual living, cultural adjustments... work... expatriate and family daily life.... So, why visitors, readers, commenters, came to this blog? Most of them are expatriates, like our own 'nomad family', some belong to the Foreign Service community, and are well familiar with the challenges faced by the 5 of us. Others, are parents, travelers, adventurers, looking for images, photos, tips about travel options, or simply... curious eyes in search of a good reading, or a funny/intriguing/amazing image from our travels and/or not-so-fantastic daily life!
Image Credit: http://www.seomoves.org
Now, I find myself with some time after the Christmas holidays, and with a chance to pull together the ‘highs and lows’ of 2012, displaying my gratitude to the readers, commenter, frequent visitors, who always enrich this blogging journey! A big thank you to all!
For a ‘visual summary‘ of 2012, please hop over to this other post, especially crafted for WordPress‘s weekly photo challenge, the last one of 2012: A year through images!
For all the ‘fellow stats junkies’ out there [don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about! ] here it is, this past year, through numbers… Who came in, looking for what, and the most popular posts…
United States
Brazil
Canada
India
Australia
2012 displayed an average of 246 blog comments/month, averaging 186 views a day.
Here are the ‘top commenters‘ [thank you for the very positive interaction!]
journeyman1977 - Lucid Gypsy - colonialist - eof737 - fgassette - travelgardeneat |
And which ones were the most commented posts? The ones with the strongest human interaction? [Again, my deepest gratitude for all the feedback received!]
See you all back in 2013! Let’s all have a great, peaceful and successful New Year!
Thanks for stopping by!
************
…so, the blog morphed into more than just a quasi-travel and photo journal. I liked the idea of organizing not only our travel notes, but also providing resources for other parents, and encouraging an exchange of ideas through comments, questions and suggestions from viewers. The name for the blog came from the term itself: “3rd Culture Children” (TCKs, more information here) are children whose parents come from distinct cultures, and grow up under a hybrid environment, experiencing diverse cultural growth.
‘Adventure‘ popular posts:
Visiting the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, swimming along with marine dolphins (Brazilian Atlantic coast, World Heritage Site, according to UNESCO)
Builiding a Hanging Garden using Recycled PET Bottles - teaching the importance of respecting the environment.
I’m grateful to Ruth Bailey, for the recent nomination – the 7 x 7 Link Award, where one’s supposed to highlight 7 recent important blogposts. Many thanks to Cyclingrandma, for offering the Good Apple award.
Nominated by a couple of bloggers in 2011 & 2012
Thank you, ClaudiaJohnson, for the nomination!
For a working mom, juggling with the work-life balance, in charge of anything from grocery shopping to planning trips, I’m honored. I’m so pleased to share with other expatriates, parents, and traveling families, the beauty and excitement of traveling, exploring nature (I’m a biologist!), languages (we’ve got Spanish, Portuguese and English in our household!), social/cultural adjustments, and our not-so-professional advice as “parents-on-the-go“ - imagine hauling this family of 5 around, raising multi-language TCKs, and keeping the passion for photography and story-telling?!
Credit: Google Images
March 2011 marked my very first blogpost: shared impressions from the world’s largest street carnival. It was obviously in Brazil, the country that lives and breathes popular festivities, and our assignment with the foreign service from 2010 to 2012. From that point on, blogposts began to come out quite often, increasing the number of subscribers, comments and blog followers. 
Today, a great milestone was reached, having me surprised and pleased, finding out that our ‘family travel & photoblog‘ displayed over 100,000 visits.
Being passionate about your life experiences, sharing images and impressions, reporting what one sees happening around, somehow, pays back. At least, in the ‘blogsphere‘… I’m inspired by the several bloggers who take part at the WordPress writing prompts, Weekly Photo Challenges, FrizzText and Jake Austria, probably being my very first inspiration (thank you both!); as well as, all the beautiful ideas shared by Ailsa, from ‘Where’s my Backpack?‘, with her travel theme challenges, and The Island Traveler, a parent, like many of us, who decided to share some beauty from their regular lives with the world… It’s great to have wonderful people out there, to look up to! I’m very grateful for all the support, and couldn’t have found a better time to show my gratitude [Thanksgiving just around the corner!]
Thank you all out there, parents, expats, bloggers, friends, for reading, commenting, following, and for offering a great deal of inspiration… Now, moving on to the next 100K visits… blogging is fun!
Now, now is it, for you all? What is your NEXT MILESTONE? Your Blog Milestone? Share here, if you care! Thanks!♥
We’re all foreigners here in Bolivia… most of us, from the USA, some coming from mixed-culture parents, one from New Zealand, one from Brazil (myself!). But this event brought us all together, as one ‘party nation’, enjoying another foreigner’s performance (he’s Cuban-American).
Several nations under one roof (correction, there wasn’t really a physical roof, since we’re at a soccer stadium!) – were we really foreigners at that moment? Frankly speaking, even though we had different languages being spoken around us, the passion for music (and fun!) transcends all borders… We went from being totally foreigners to feeling completely at home!
Backstory: Armando Christian Pérez (born January 15, 1981 in Miami, Florida), better known by the stage name Pitbull , is a Cuban-American rapper signed to his own label, Mr 305 Inc. The Give Me Everything (Tonight) Songfacts reports that he adopted his canine moniker because, “They bite to lock. The dog is too stupid to lose. And they’re outlawed in Dade County. They’re basically everything that I am. It’s been a constant fight.”
Once in a while, it’s good to feel like an adult, again… In great company, we could enjoy a fun and safe presentation, with the so-called… Pitbull!
Rent a Party Bus! – check!
Buy the Super VIP tickets [oh, so worthy... It does feel great to be so close to the stage!] – check!
Call and confirm the baby sitter for our 3 children – check! [thankfully!]
Group of over 10 adults trying to get back into the ‘fun scene’ (even if it’s only for a couple of hours!), totally organized and in full gear – check! check! check!
Whatever reason he’s got for his life choices, I don’t really care… Just had a fantastic time at his concert!
Although it’s Spring in La Paz, here and there, the weather changes – and a cold snowy front comes up… Beautiful, big, and majestic!
According to Sara Rosso, whose photograph was portraited as this week’s photo challenge inspiration at WordPress, “BIG. It’s larger than life, it’s unexpected, it’s the protagonist in a scene”.
Big: The Supermoon over the Coast of Brazil. In May 2012 (when these pictures were taken), the supermoon appeared even bigger and more glorious than the previous year.
According to Sara Rosso, whose photograph was portraited as this week’s photo challenge inspiration at WordPress, “BIG. It’s larger than life, it’s unexpected, it’s the protagonist in a scene”.
Click below for original post about the Supermoon over the coast of Brazil.
The World Wide Web is saturated with amateurish blogs created by people who’d be lucky to command the devoted readership of their immediate family members, let alone the wider public. There are scores of blogs managed by Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) and while many of them are worth reading, some aredownright bizarre. This post will steer you toward some Foreign Service related blogs that are well worth your time.Domani Spero has no U.S. government connection and thus has the freedom to write about the world of diplomacy without having to worry about his career. Diplodunit is as close as you’ll find to one-stop shopping for a candid look at what’s going on in the Foreign Service community.
Adventures in Good Countries- Getting Along In The Foreign Service
I love this blog. The author, apparently a single female public diplomacy officer who, “doesn’t date outside the visa waiver program,” blogs with style and passion about life in Japan, Pakistan, Jordan and elsewhere, coping with Multiple Sclerosis and whatever else pops into her head. How can you not like a writer who offers advice to protesters on how to construct a good effigy? (“Don’t just throw something together with the rationale that you’re only going to burn it anyway – take some pride in your work.”)
You might not agree with Peter Van Buren but you will want to read his blog, which is sometimes offensive but never boring.
This blog, which details the lives of a family of five living in Recife, Brazil, La Paz, Bolivia and elsewhere, is one of the very best Foreign Service related sites out there. It’s a particularly good resource for parents who are wondering what the overseas experience will be like for their children.
Amy Gottlieb’s Photography & Blog
Gottlieb is a doctor and a USAID FSO currently serving in Vietnam. Her portraits from Jamaica, Nepal, Vietnam, South America, Africa and beyond are as good as any you’ll find anywhere.
Adventures Around the World- A Foreign Service Officer’s Tales of Life Abroad
The author of this refreshingly candid and well-written blog is currently in Kabul and has previously served in Iraq and Nepal. Here’s how she described the “honeymoon” period at a new post: “The honeymoon period is the time frame after moving to a foreign country where the excitement of being somewhere new overshadows certain harsh realities of living in a foreign country. People burning piles of trash in the street give the place ‘character’ and bargaining with a taxi driver is part of the ‘adventure.’”
This is a stunning photo blog from an American diplomat who was born on a farm in China and is currently serving in South Korea. Visiting this site is the next best thing to booking a ticket to Seoul. Also, for those who are curious to know how long it takes to join the Foreign Service, take a look at his instructive personal timeline for some clues.
Wanderings of a Cheerful Stoic
Anyone who features a photo of themselves (I presume) with a Gambian poached rat on their homepage is all right by me. This is a blog from a FSO posted in Conakry, Guinea, a place where “you tend to find yourself without a really specific reason.”
The Slow Move East- Thoughts on Being an Expatriate
Hannah Draper, a FSO currently serving in Libya, might be a “Type-A bureaucrat who professionally pushes papers in the Middle East,” but her writing is compulsively readable.
Where in the World am I? Notes from the Streets of Hyderabad, India
A FSO in Hyderabad who previously served in Burundi blogs about food and life overseas with gusto.
Cross Words- A Blog About Writing and Anything Else That Comes to Mind
Ted Cross, a FSO currently living in Budapest who apparently just signed up for Facebook last week (Friend him!), tells us on his homepage that his “dream is to be a published author.” I like someone who isn’t afraid to tell the world what he wants. He’s into fantasy and science fiction, neither of which interests me, but his blog is unique and his writing is lucid.
Anyone who can pull off being a single mom in the Foreign Service is someone I want to meet. This blog, written by a former Foreign Service brat, isn’t nearly as incoherent as advertised.
Beau Geste, Mon Ami- The Chronicle of my Journey to and through The Foreign Service
Even a quick breeze through this visually appealing blog will give you an idea of how varied and interesting life in the Foreign Service can be. If nothing else, do not miss the photos of the tribal warriors in Papua New Guinea.
Zvirdins at Large- Jamie and Andrew’s Excellent Adventures
If you want a slice of life from the Marshall Islands, this is the place to go. I love this blog but I couldn’t bring myself to click into the video entitled “Pig Shooting” in a post on “Pig Butchering.” Yikes.
Let me know in the comments section if you think I’ve missed any great FSO-related blogs and if you’re the author of ones of the sites mentioned above, tell us a bit about yourself.
Read more from “A Traveler in the Foreign Service” here.
(Photos courtesy of Amy Gottlieb)
Read more from “A Traveler in the Foreign Service” here.
***************************************************************************************
This year’s April issue of the Foreign Service Journal (FSJ, April 2012) discussed the Family Member Employment, and the search for meaningful work overseas. Reading through the whole edition, you’ll find great stories about living and working as a Foreign Service spouse. Several FS spouses shared their experiences and impressions regarding working overseas. It’s an honor to be one of the contributors to this edition. Congratulations to all who contributed to that month’s issue. Here’s the link to another FS blogger, also sharing her impressions about family member employment.
A Traveler In The Foreign Service: A ‘Trailing Spouse’ Speaks Out (gadling.com)
Career options overseas (anagentswife.wordpress.com)
A very interesting comparison. Last week’s photo theme was “Solitary”, and this week’s challenge is to find a photo that says “mine”… very introspective, and I’m almost saying, a bit selfish. Well the word “mine” seems to be part of my household with three little kids, being said, repeated, several times a day, and often times, more than once in the same sentence!
But my impression for this week will relate to myself. ‘Mine’ is for me
- sorry kids!
A nice afternoon by myself, kids in school, decided to venture the local market in La Paz, and found a great stand, for the love of chocolate – Bolivian alfajores (almost sinful caramel sandwich cookies!), and chocolate-made shot glasses, to enjoy your favorite liquor, after a well-deserved coffee… and, the best part: all mine!
According to Cheri Lucas, whose photograph was portraited as this week’s photo challenge inspiration at WordPress, “Solitary. I love capturing a person in a quiet and often unexpected moment. These kinds of images can be reflective, mysterious, or even sad, conjuring strong emotions and stirring up stories in my head… We were strangers—yet alone, together. A solitary moment, frozen with my lens.”
And here, my few impressions of solitary:
This week’s photo challenge is guest hosted by Jon Sanwell of Without an H. Read on for more about this week’s theme and his photography tips!
“Everyday Life. This challenge is all about people and the things they do every day: working, eating, drinking, chatting, dreaming, walking, exercising, or any of those things we do all the time without really thinking about it. Take a walk around your neighbourhood, or around the streets where you work or study, and take a look at the people you see. You might think that your neighbourhood isn’t very interesting, but imagine that you’re giving a guided tour to someone from the other side of the world—what’s normal for you might be extraordinary to them”.
A few interpretations for the idea of everyday life:
Simple pleasures of life. From a toddler sneaking in, and climbing up on the desk, to adults enjoying a bottle of wine with homemade dinner, from getting ready for your first day in school, to being a ‘kid veteran, posing for a shot at your new school… or simply spending time playing outside, a collection of ‘everyday images’.
See what others have to show, for this week’s photo challenge!
I simply love cupcakes – even shared before a personal recipe for “Margarita Cupcakes“, with and without alcohol, for little ones… 
That said, I’m retiring from my “home-baking goods mommy business” – at least, until one of my girls, now aged 4 and almost 2, are able to jump in and help mom in the kitchen. Until then, dear ‘commercial bakers out there’, I’m all yours! 
Loved it! Thanks to Catherine, from Mezzaphonically Speaking for being super sweet and nominating me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award! I appreciate this special honor and opportunity!
Rules for this award include:
- Thank the super sweet blogger who made the nomination.
- Nominate a baker’s dozen of other bloggers:
And answer five questions:
Related articles
near & far in Africa
This week’s photo challenge is guest hosted by Brian Cooney. Read on for more about this week’s theme and his photography tips!
Near and Far. We’re excited about this week’s photo challenge, near and far, and hope it inspires you to play with perspective, which can give sweeping images of beautiful locations more oomph and power. Perspective is what makes a flat two-dimensional image, such as a photograph, appear like it is three-dimensional. To create this effect, you can use features like diagonal lines, which converge within the frame and literally suck in the viewer.
A few interpretations for the idea of near and far: perspectives in 4 different scenarios, 4 countries, one family affair…
near, the flowers…. far away, the Andine mountains
the girl and the Brazilian coast island …
wedding couple placed against the US Southwestern mountains
See what others have to show, for this week’s photo challenge!
Joy and Woe « Flickr Comments El sonido del bronce español « La Mandraka « Form Your Troika Chittle Chattle Just Snaps « The Great Escape » Life from behind a lens A Little British Pea … Cardinal Guzman Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « britten « beyond toxicity Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « e-Shibin Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « Fenland Photos Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « thegirlinthesunglasses Photo Journal – « (With the Wind) « A drifter off to see the world Travel Challenge; Near and Far « So where’s the snow? « Connie’s World « A year in the Life Near and Far | Figments of a DuTchess | nirvanatrails Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « wingrish « The Other Courtney Near and Far « bukaningrat ™ Weekly Photo Challenge : Near and Far | a weirder fetish Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far | Wind Against Current Weekly Photo Challenge – Near and Far « mtlawleyshire Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « Jacob Marchio Miles Away (Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far) | Noke Yuitza Weekly Photo Challenge: Near and Far « Olivia May Photography Photo Challenge: Near and Far « Detours by Deepali Mondrak’s Blog \ acieartikulasi « Queen’s Gems
What a great way to wrap our “blogging time” up, here in Brazil, preparing to face a new adventure at our next post! For someone who began blogging in English & Portuguese, sharing her family challenges, tales & experiences about traveling with kids, life in the Foreign Service, raising multilingual/multicultural TCKs, and collecting “small victories along the way”, it’s quite an accomplishment! Thank you all for supporting our storytelling journey!
Interesting theme for this week’s photo challenge: Today. Today also happens to be the last day of class for the Seniors Class (do you rememeber that feeling? School is over!), at the American School, here in Brazil, and my workplace, since the challenge called for spontaneous, not-before-planned photos… Their last class was PE (physical education), and how it ended? Celebrating their last “formal” assignment with a water gun war!
Surfing in Fernando de Noronha
This week’s WordPress photographic theme is “Summer“. Considering I had a few “pics to spare”, from our sort-of-large collection of paradisiac places in Brazil, here’s a second part of the original post… Hope you all enjoy the images as much as we did!
Hiking trail
Exploring the open waters
This is an experiment in blogging motivation from the folks at WordPress.com. Every week, they post blogging ideas and tips to help you get the most out of the blog. This week’s photo challenge from WordPress is Hands. These first images bring back memories from joining our hands and our lives… our hands look even older today, than they looked that day, back in Albuquerque, NM… but they’re still next to each other – we’re aging together, traveling working, touching, caring, holding other hands… together.
“Hands can be instrumental in a photo – they emphasis, they hide, they reveal. They can be the star of the show, or just a prop to help the main attraction stand out better”.
This last picture displays one of the ‘results’ of the union shown before: believing that the upcoming generations would be responsible for the difference. They’re more aware of their surroundings, they understand the need for change, and know how to use their minds and their hands for a better future… 4-yr-old ballet students show that it’s possible to make a difference, if everyone knew how to ‘give a hand’ to others, building a fair and committed society…
Holding hands in search for an equal and peaceful future…
Greetings from (currently!) Brazil!
Other bloggers: Weekly Photo Challenge – Hands | Just Snaps Photo Challenge: Give me a Hand | La Mandraka Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Lonely Travelog Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Lost in a Great Book Weekly Photo Challenge – Hands | Chittle Chattle Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Transplantednorth’s Blog Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Four Deer Oak Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Disorderly Chickadee Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « acieartikulasi Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « e-Shibin Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | 50 Year Project Hands « Broken Light: A Photography Collective Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Inspired Vision Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Nature in the Burbs Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands (2) « e-Shibin Gimme A Hand « Spirit Lights The Way Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Words And Peace Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « The Urge To Wander FATHER AND SONS – Weekly Photo Challenge – Hands « mywordwall Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Mike Hardisty Photography Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Spiritual World Traveler Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « « The Great Escape » Life from behind a lens WordPress Photo Challenge: Hands « A year in the Life Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « The Neophyte Photographer Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Wind Against Current The Native Leaf Market | Weaving hands and the WordPress blog weekly photo challenge Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Fenland Photos Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Lucid Gypsy The Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | thirdeyemom Working Hands | I Are Geek Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | mothergrogan Weekly photo challenge: Hands « Alice through the Macro Lens Tattoo in progress (Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands) « Cardinal Guzman Weekly Photo Challenge: HANDS « Ink. Weekly photo challenge: hands « The potato blog Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « The World According to Me… Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « Rois Weekly Photo Challenge – Hands « Just Fletcher Weekly Photo Challenge : Hands « Mystiic Weekly Photo Challenge – Hands: Don’t doze off « Janet’s Craft Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Creativity Aroused Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands (pic de jour) « piran café Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « The Incredible Lightness of Seein Hands That Heal | this man’s journey Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | Autumn in Bruges Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands | colderweather Weekly Photo Challenge: Hands « a hectic life
The illusion of two hands together reaching up to the sky creates the Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasilia
The founder, President JK
The capital of Brazil is well-known for its unique architecture, and the use of other media, like the water, to create architectural and sculptural illusions. Here is a bit of the city, showing that, even with the lack of focus on the main feature, the city constructions and its urban art remain unique, powerful and fabulous!
The Cultural Center
Detail from the JK Memorial
This is an experiment in blogging motivation from the folks atWordPress.com. Every week, they post blogging ideas and tips to help you get the most out of the blog. This week’s photo challenge from WordPress is Unfocused. According to Sara Rosso, from WP, “Unfocused”. You may curse or cheer this week’s theme. We’re looking for that picture which is unfocused. It may be completely intentional, or accidental. You might have thought about trashing it, but in the end it definitely conveys something“.
What other bloggers are sharing?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | Street Cat Weekly photo challenge: Unfocused « Musings of a librarian Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | Chronicles of Illusions Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « AbstractUnknownBoy Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Reflections in a Puddle Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « R Shad Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | Long Exposure Zooms « samjgreen WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: Unfocused – woven decor Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Canadiantravelbugs’s Blog Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Simply Charming Weekly Photo Challenge – Unfocused « superkendy Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Colour Me Happy Weekly Photo Challenge (2): unfocused | Het is goed Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Misk Cooks Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | Perpetual Learner Unfocused – Unscharf « picturebandit Photo Challenge : Unfocused « a weirder fetish tunnel « primo piano WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: UNFOCUSED. | Colonialist’s Blog focus pocus « yi-ching lin photography
Getting ready for Cinco de Mayo in Brazil!
Unfocused coconut at the beach
This is an experiment in blogging motivation from the folks atWordPress.com. Every week, they post blogging ideas and tips to help you get the most out of the blog. This week’s photo challenge from WordPress is Unfocused. Let’s see what I’m able to come up with, without losing FOCUS of the theme…
Unfocused people, at the beach
Out-of-focus carnival pirate searching his way to…. the beach?!
According to Sara Rosso, from WP, “Unfocused”. You may curse or cheer this week’s theme. We’re looking for that picture which is unfocused. It may be completely intentional, or accidental. You might have thought about trashing it, but in the end it definitely conveys something“. Greetings from (currently!) Brazil!
Other bloggers:
« MindBlur Unfocused | Because Unfocused « The Urge To Wander Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « juliapuliaUnfocused « Fenland Photos Unfocused « Thoughts Unrestricted Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | { a Memory Bliss } Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « acieartikulasi Weekly Photo Challenge : Unfocused « The if’s and when’s Losing Focus . . . Gaining Clarity « Spirit Lights The Way Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « My Daily Posts by Flynn Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Mike Hardisty Photography Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused II « The Urge To Wander Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Words And Peace Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | Cee’s Healing Journey Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused « Cee’s Life Photography Blog Weekly Photo Challenge: Unfocused | Nature in the Burbs Weekly Photo Challenge : Unfocused « Mystiic Weekly Photo challenge – unfocussed « The potato blog
child #1 welcomes child #2
This week’s photo challenge from WordPress is Together. Let’s see what I’m able to pull together, without losing track of the theme… In my very humble and personal opinion, nothing says “together” better than this:
child #1
welcoming child #3
Our family in 2012
Greetings from (currently!) Brazil!
Thank you, Namita, for the recent nomination... We're all beautiful!
First, let me thank Namita Lad from What Life Says for this nomination. Much Appreciated!
And I’ll soon be fulfilling the so-called “requirements” for this Beautiful Blogger Award. For now, just needed to show my appreciation to the very positive feedback this blog constantly receives. I’m thrilled and honored. Never thought it’d reach such a wide audience… Thank you! Thirteen months of blogging… WOW – an incredible experience. I initially began this blog to share my impressions, observations and along-the-road experiences with our families and friends, and later, with other expats experiencing similar challenges/adventures…
…so, the blog morphed into more than just a quasi-travel and photo journal. The name for the blog came from the term itself: “3rd Culture Children” (TCKs, more information here) are children whose parents come from distinct cultures, and grow up under a hybrid environment, experiencing diverse cultural growth. As I’d said before, sharing our life experiences, travels and lessons learned through this blog, has been a great experience! I’m passionate about sharing our travel pictures, telling stories, discussing our challenges and the discoveries we’re making along the way – people and places.
Travels in Brazil, posts related to outdoors activities, cultural events, such as attending the world’s largest open air theater for the Re-enacting of the Passion of Christ, as well as the ones showing scientific investigations and natural discoveries, seem to be quite popular!
Visiting the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, swimming along with marine dolphins (Brazilian Atlantic coast, World Heritage Site, according to UNESCO)
Builiding a Hanging Garden using Recycled PET Bottles - teaching the importance of respecting the environment….
…or, sharing lifetime experiences as a working mom, trailing spouse with the Foreign Service… 
And finally, a quite popular recent post: Impressions from the Cirque du Solei in Brazil! Definitely worth experiencing… we recommend!
For a working mom, juggling with the work-life balance, in charge of anything from grocery shopping to planning trips, I’m honored. I’m so pleased to share with other expatriates, parents, and traveling families, the beauty and excitement of traveling, attending artistic expressions of culture, exploring nature (I’m a biologist!), languages (we’ve got Spanish, Portuguese and English in our household!), social/cultural adjustments, and our not-so-professional advice as “parents-on-the-go“ - imagine hauling this family of 5 around, raising multi-language TCKs, and keeping the passion for photography and story-telling?!
So, what do I have to do to complete the “requirements for the award nomination”? Here is the list [coming soon, very soon...]
Done:
1.Thank the person who gave you the award
2.Paste the award on your blog.
3.Link the person who nominated you for the award.
yet to do:
4.Nominate your choice of bloggers
5.Post links to the blogs you nominated
Related post: Daily Post WordPress
“Two Subjects”. That’s the inspiration for this week’s photo challenge from WordPress. This “theme” is more of a composition challenge, than the usual single themes we’re used to post about. Let’s see how this week’s compositions turn out… mix of natural and man-made two-subject themes…
Other posts from WordPress bloggers
“Journey”. That’s the inspiration for this week’s photo challenge from WordPress. Before, I’d shared a post that deeply stated what “journey” meant to us, trying to translate our intense lifestyle into something sweet and emotional… This time, I present a lighter version of JOURNEY, very enjoyable… Enjoy, you too!
Other posts from WordPress bloggers
“Journey”. That’s the inspiration for this week’s photo challenge from WordPress. For this time, I decided to collect a few images that speak “journey” to me, and they’re close to my past and my heart… Right now, we’re getting ready to end our current journey, and begin a new one… Remembering our time in Africa, and our present in Brazil… The future? That’s an unknown journey everyone must embrace…
Other posts from WordPress bloggers
Twelve months of blogging… WOW – an incredible experience. I initially began this blog to share my impressions, observations and along-the-road experiences with our families and friends, and later, with other expats experiencing similar challenges/adventures…
…so, the blog morphed into more than just a quasi-travel and photo journal. I liked the idea of organizing not only our travel notes, but also providing resources for other parents, and encouraging an exchange of ideas through comments, questions and suggestions from viewers. The name for the blog came from the term itself: “3rd Culture Children” (TCKs, more information here) are children whose parents come from distinct cultures, and grow up under a hybrid environment, experiencing diverse cultural growth.
As I’d said before, sharing our life experiences, travels and lessons learned through this blog, has been a great experience - and I’m totally in love with this incredible journey! I’m passionate about sharing our travel pictures, telling stories, discussing our challenges and the discoveries we’re making along the way – people and places.
I’m grateful to Ruth Bailey, for the recent nomination – the 7 x 7 Link Award, where one’s supposed to highlight 7 recent important blogposts. Many thanks to Cyclingrandma, for offering the Good Apple award. I’m still owing them a decent blogpost, following the guidelines described to all “award receivers”… It’ll come… for now, a big THANK YOU to all the visitors & readers!
Recent popular posts:
Visiting the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, swimming along with marine dolphins (Brazilian Atlantic coast, World Heritage Site, according to UNESCO)
Builiding a Hanging Garden using Recycled PET Bottles - teaching the importance of respecting the environment.
Nominated by a couple of bloggers in 2011 & 2012
Thank you, ClaudiaJohnson, for the nomination!
Thank you for the double nomination!
Getting positive feedback from other families in the Foreign Service, was definitely a breakthrough during this past year. Writing about the Brazilian Folklore and the integration of expatriate children, got this blog featured by WordPress. Features also included picks made by Ecopressed, PopPressed and The Social Moms network.
For a working mom, juggling with the work-life balance, in charge of anything from grocery shopping to planning trips, I’m honored. I’m so pleased to share with other expatriates, parents, and traveling families, the beauty and excitement of traveling, exploring nature (I’m a biologist!), languages (we’ve got Spanish, Portuguese and English in our household!), social/cultural adjustments, and our not-so-professional advice as “parents-on-the-go“ - imagine hauling this family of 5 around, raising multi-language TCKs, and keeping the passion for photography and story-telling?!
Related post: Daily Post WordPress
Another fellow blogger, who joined our post in Brazil!
Found this excellent article/post, and had to share it with other expatriate families, not just expat women – very well written, and so very true! It’s about the myths and truths faced by women when moving abroad – things that many of us may related to. Thank you, Global Coach Center for the opportunity to share!
“Moving abroad is a perfect opportunity to start something new. Not necessarily a new job or a new business, but rather a new YOU. Perhaps tap into talents you never had time for or explore parts of yourself that you didn’t know were there. But before you do that, there are a few things you may want to leave behind. For starters, here are your first 10!
Stop allowing guilt to ruin your days. Feeling guilty serves no useful purpose. You don’t grow or evolve because you feel guilty. Nor do you become a better mother, a better daughter, a better professional, or a better friend because of guilt. So next time the familiar pang of guilt shows up, notice it and then choose to put your attention elsewhere – somewhere where you can feel good about yourself.
Stop being everything to everyone. Being a perfect mother while also being a perfect relocation manager for your family while also being aperfect professional woman while also being a perfect daughter to your aging parents you are leaving behind while also being a perfect friend is not possible. Repeat – NOT possible. Recognize it and give yourself a break.
Stop putting your own needs and wants aside. Losing yourself in the messes and stresses of the expatriate life and forgetting that you are special too is common. Children, husbands, employers, clients, parents, and friends are all in need of being taken care of. How much space does that leave for you? You decide! If there was ever the time and the place to engage in your passion and do what matters to you, it’s now. Remember that.
Stop trying to be someone you are not. Take the roles you want to take in life and don’t take the roles imposed on you by others. So what if people back home think you should be able to learn a new language right away? Maybe that’s not what you want. So what if your friends at home are surprised that you are happy not working full time in your new country of residence? Maybe it’s time for a sabbatical. Bottom line – take the time to discover (or remember!) who you are and be that.
Stop blaming others. Research has shown that only 10% of our happiness depends on life circumstances, while 40% of our happiness is intentional. So next time you decide to blame your spouse for taking you to this God-forsaken country or you blame the company for not enough resources, think again. Change your thinking. Change your intention for your life there. Changeyour attitude.
Stop holding on to the past. Yes, you probably had a great job and a promising career. And yes, you were financially independent. And yes, you felt like you were contributing. And yes, you have none of that here where you are living now. But you have something else. So stop peering longingly into the door of the past and open the door of the present. Discover what it has to offer.
Stop hanging out with the wrong people. You want to have a positive experience while an expat, don’t you? So why surround yourself with unhappy complainers? Choose your alliances wisely – remember the energy of people around you has a huge influence on your own.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and commit to change. Perhaps your move wasn’t as smooth as that of your neighbor. And perhaps your spouse works much longer hours, your kids are hating the new school, and you are feeling like you’ve lost sense of who you are. Take that as a sign that change needs to happen to how you are in the world and commit to that change. Don’t skimp on resources here – this is the time to act and get all the necessary support you need. Buy a self-help book, join an online course, hire a coach. Move forward. Sitting at home and feeling sorry for yourself won’t get you anywhere.
Stop explaining yourself to others. Yes, you may have been a professional woman back home, but now you’ve chosen not to work. And you may have decided to indulge in a history class at a local university while a nanny watches your kids. You don’t owe any explanations to your friends back home who have been expecting you to start working as soon as you land. And you don’t have to explain to your family why you are not spending every waking moment with your kids. What YOU do with YOUR time and resources is no one else’s business.
Stop pretending like everything is good when it is not. If you are not happy, voice it. If you are missing something, speak about it. If you need help and support, get it. Pretending that everything is fine and that you are a brave soul who can wither all the difficulties on her own is silly. After all you can be spending your energy on actually enjoying yourself rather than pretending that you are enjoying yourself…”
A big THANK YOU to all the visitors & readers! 2012 will be here before we know it! That’s also my perception regarding this family/travel photoblog – before I could really understand the true nature behind blogging, I was completely immersed into it – and totally in love with this incredible journey! I’m passionate about sharing our travel pictures, telling stories, discussing our challenges and the discoveries we’re making along the way – people and places.
The New Year is coming!
Nominated by a couple of bloggers.Thank you(s) to come!
I initially began this blog to share my impressions, observations and along-the-road experiences with our families and friends, and later, with other expats experiencing similar challenges/adventures. So, the blog morphed into more than just a quasi-travel and photo journal. I liked the idea of organizing not only our travel notes, but also providing resources for other parents, and encouraging an exchange of ideas through comments, questions and suggestions from viewers. The name for the blog came from the term itself: “3rd Culture Children” (TCKs, more information here) are children whose parents come from distinct cultures, and grow up under a hybrid environment, experiencing diverse cultural growth.
“The result of this transcontinental growth can never be taught or learned or fully understood by anyone who hasn’t actually experienced it. The developing child takes the culture of their parent’s passport country, or their first culture, to a foreign land. The child (and later on, the adult) adopts the qualities of the Second Culture into their preexisting First Culture, creating a unique cultural perspective known as the Third Culture”.
Blog of the Week, Dec 2011.
As an expat who is now raising 3 children, all aged 6 and under, the titled fit naturally! I’m so pleased to share with other expatriates, parents, and traveling families, the beauty and excitement of traveling, exploring nature (I’m a biologist!), languages (we’ve got Spanish, Portuguese and English in our household!), social/cultural adjustments, and our not-so-professional advice as “parents-on-the-go“ – imagine hauling this family of 5 around, raising multi-language TCKs, and keeping the passion for photography and story-telling?!
This is our intense life, and we’re lucky to have a very supportive environment, with good friends, family and exciting new places to visit and discover!
Thank you, ClaudiaJohnson, for the nomination!
Thank you for the double nomination!
Getting positive feedback from other families in the Foreign Service. was definitely a breakthrough. After blogging for a little less than four months, saw one of my posts, about Brazilian Folklore and the integration of expatriate children, featured by WordPress. Features also included picks made by Ecopressed, PopPressed and The Social Moms network. For a working mom, juggling with the work-life balance, in charge of anything from grocery shopping to planning trips, I’m honored.
the greatest partner...
I’m ending this first ‘blogging year’ bordering 250 posts, with almost 130 followers and over 180 curious tweeters - and yet, blogging remains very fun, intriguing, exciting and challenging – thanks to the ongoing inspiration from PostaDay2011 & PostaWeek2011. Proof to that, is the passion brought by the Weekly Photo Challenges – what a ride!
Still need to thank all the fantastic readers & bloggers for all this year’s nominations! I promise it’ll get done – first thing in 2012!
Now, leaving 2011 with a smile… If I had to define my favorite part of blogging I’d say it’s the ability to convert ideas, impressions and images into stories, shared advice, resources to other parents/families/travelers. The excitement of spotting a routine event and transforming it into a surprisingly positive post. I’m a traveler, a researcher, an author, a mom. With an endless desire to learn, discover and share… Happy New Year to all of us, and a very successful 2012 – “keeping us posted“!
Related post: Daily Post WordPress
Another fellow blogger, coming to join our post in Brazil!
This week’s inspiration is “wonder”. Here is my interpretation:
“Some, made by men,
some, made by nature,
and one, we can only wonder, still a mystery…”
“A wonder from above us all: Table Top Mountain, in Cape Town, South Africa…”
**** UPDATE: A LITTLE AFTER THIS POST WAS PUBLISHED, THE TABLE TOP MOUNTAIN, FEATURED HERE, BECAME ONE OF THE 7 WONDERS OF NATURE, BY POPULAR VOTE. HERE IS MY POST HONORING THIS MAGNIFICENT CREATION. THANK YOU! ******
in Brazil
in England
http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/weekly-photo-challenge-wonder
A few interpretations for the idea of hidden:
behind the door
under snow
bathing outside
behind the armchair
See what others have to show, for this week’s photo challenge!
When I first began blogging, sharing with family and friends bits and pieces of our expatriate lives, the idea was to have a living “travel journal”, populated with impressions, photos, and experiences.And this blog came to life – the first post, about the World’s Largest Street Carnival, was published in March 2011.
The list of comments, the emails, the suggestions, and compliments really surprised me. I guess I wasn’t ready for such positive feedback, and it kept me going. I was used to writing scientific articles and lectures, not about daily routines; but apparently the inspiration had always been there. Born and raised in Brazil, I grew up surrounded by Portuguese and Spanish languages, and the idea of expressing thoughts in a third language was an intriguing endeavor – so, I did it!
And I’m still trying to do it. Some lively bilingual posts are also there, reminding me of my origins. Keep it real. Keep moving. Keep writing.
This week I found out the blog had reached 1,000 comments – quite a milestone! I’m especially thankful for the “spam-prevention” tools. I’m not quite sure how they work nor am I a fan of the “extra work” that comes with deleting undesired links, so thanks WP for that!
I appreciate everyone’s visits, comments, inputs, suggestions, and shared experiences. I was gladly surprised with the first Freshly Pressed post, as well as the ones spotted by Ecopressed and PopPressed. Some “posts from the heart” resulted in good feedback and responding to the comments was personally rewarding.
When you’re an expat, living away from the so-called “comfort zone” (although, really what is home, for an expat?), raising children under hybrid cultural settings, and trying your best to stay afloat, the notion of others out there willing to share their thoughts, advice, and recommendations, is definitely comforting and inspirational. I haven’t been a blogger for long – a little less than 8 months – so I looked up to two dear friends, for inspiration: they’re both expat women, moms, travelers, and artists. Patty is a fantastic photographer, with an unique eye for beauty, and I thank her for being a close friend. Melissa is a passionate blogger, intense in every single way, loving, caring, intriguing, and fun. Our 3 families have been friends for quite a while, and we´re always trying to find ways to get together, despite our distance or current work assignments…
Now, showing my appreciation: I’m glad I’ve stumbled upon amazing photobloggers, via the weekly photo challenges… Thank you guys for stopping by – I feel like your comments and critiques have made me a better amateur photographer. At least, I’m embracing the passion!
Finally, I should thank my recent visitor, for leaving the 1,000th comment. There’ll be no prizes, though, so no jumping or flipping moves. Just my honest appreciation… (it is good enough, right?)
Back to the drawing (Dash)board, I’ll kindly respond to Ann Marquette, from Georgia – she made this blogpost possible. “If you write it, they will come…”
Keep ‘em coming!
Brazil
Table Top Mountain, South Africa
East-Timor, with ongoing construction of a smaller version of the Christ the Redeemer
East-Timor
Along the West Coast of Brazil
Burgundy Mountains in Brazil
view from the top of Table Top Mountain, Africa
Cape Town, South Africa
Mid-West of USA
A couple of ‘refreshing’ images for the challenge this week. Ahhhhh!
drinks by the poolside at Nannai Resort
ahhhhh!
Finding Beauty & Laughter Everywhere
The Epicenter of Epi's Thoughts
My adventures as a 20-something expat in Barcelona, Spain
a peek into the realms of my twisted mind
#art #Caribbean #fashion #spanish #portuguese #reggae
Promoting Kindness, Offering Forgiveness & Sharing Gratitude
in the United States
brasileiro? latino? no speak americano?? click!
Photo Project: 52 Bolivian Sundays
good feedback!
Trackbacks & Pingbacks