Celebrating Christmas Far from Home
Dec 23, 2019 1:43:27 PM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Life, Living Overseas, Tips, Learning, Culture, community
Spending Christmas far from home, away from friends and family can be hard. And it can feel a bit surreal celebrating Christmas in a country where it’s not an official holiday. Yet, this distance means that unexpected signs of Christmas turn into precious gifts. Some of my favorite Christmas memories come from living abroad.
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How Forbidden Cake Empowered Me
Nov 11, 2019 3:13:51 PM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Education, IDEAS projects, Life, Living Overseas, Learning, Culture
How to Talk Expat
Sep 16, 2019 11:51:45 AM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Life, Living Overseas, Tips, Learning, Culture, community
Recently I realized I’ve learned another language. No, not Turkish, French, or Arabic, although I’ve learned each of those to varying degrees of proficiency. I guess it’s not actually another language I’m learning, but a dialect I call Expat.
How to Survive Culture Stress
Jun 24, 2019 2:28:58 PM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Life, Living Overseas, Tips, Learning, Culture, community
I recently experienced culture stress. The situation: the purchase of a new refrigerator and the fact that it took two weeks for it to be delivered, which meant two weeks of storing my food at my neighbors’ house and two weeks of rearranging my schedule to be available on days the refrigerator might be delivered. This ordeal led me to think about culture shock, ...
What Is My Purpose? An Engineer's Response
Mar 25, 2019 12:50:29 PM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Agriculture, IDEAS projects, Living Overseas, Relationships, community
Why do I work? Am I having an impact? Is my work worth something? These are questions we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives. We want to know we are working towards something more than just a way to earn a living. That our work has some greater value. When I took a position in Jordan with IDEAS, I had no idea how important these questions would ...
Corners Are Cultural
Jan 29, 2019 1:57:23 PM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Life, Living Overseas, Learning, Culture
Culture affects everything. I know this, but even after living in three countries besides my passport country, I am caught by surprise at what culture impacts. For example, recently I was reminded that the concept of corners is cultural.
A Year of Firsts
Nov 27, 2017 12:44:59 PM Sarah Rymer Jordan, Education, Children, Hope, Life, Learning
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a first-year, first grade teacher in your first year overseas? Read how one IDEAS volunteer is learning to thrive in the classroom and navigate a new culture and community!