Category Archives: Expats

Bonfire

July 29, 2016Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, New York, Third Culture Kids, United Statesbonfire, campfire, family, farm, fire, marshmallows, New York, rehearsal dinner, smores, summer, weddingbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Crackling flames, melting chocolate, and campfire songs. All the sounds and smells of summer are wrapped up in a bonfire under the stars. When the Johnson and Brown /Wilson families got together for Stevie and Kirsten’s wedding, we all gathered on the lawn of the farmhouse for a bonfire before the big day.

Both families love to spend time together singing Gospel songs, reading the Bible, and praying. On the Johnson side, this time of family devotions is a nightly tradition that is being passed down through generations. We love to sing family classics that Ben’s mom wrote down years ago for his dad as a wedding gift. We also sing songs that Ben’s brother, Jesse, wrote, as well as French, Swahili, and Kirundi songs. With so many people from around the world present, we were able to sing some of the hymns in multiple languages, including American Sign Language, Spanish, and Arabic. Several of the family and friends present took turns leading worship songs to thank God for the good things He has done in our lives and praise Him for who He is.

Check out the guitar Luke is playing. Jesse had it made out of an old hand-carved guitar neck and heavy-duty can.

When the prayers had been said and the singing died away into the night, the smell of melted chocolate and roasted marshmallows began to permeate the air.

It was time for the time of day that the kids looked forward to most! Okay, I’ll be real– I was probably more excited about the marshmallows than the kids were. But I was good and I didn’t sneak more marshmallows than I was entitled to.

One by one, the chairs emptied. The fire died down to embers, and a lone guitar played soft tunes in the fading light. Ben poured water over the glowing embers, and they extinguished with a slow hiss. All around me, the fireflies flickered silently in the night. Inside the barn, the horse stomped his feet in the damp hay. I looked up and sighed with awe. Above me, a billion points of light pierced the velvety black of the night sky. It had been a long time since I’d seen the stars so clearly, and I could hardly look away. Even that night, as I lay in bed in the farmhouse, I kept my drooping eyelids open long enough to drink in the sight of the big dipper shining on me through the open window.

Cousins Camp at the Farm

July 29, 2016Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, New York, Third Culture Kids, United Statesadventures, animals, boating, camp, country, cousins, cow, explroe, family, fields, friends, fun, hammock, horses, New York, pont, rural, swing, tire swingbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

IT WAS A PLAIN TWO STORY FARM HOUSE
I WISH TIME DID NOT GO BY SO FAST,
OH, THE MEMORIES OF THOSE YEARS LONG AGO
JUST TREASURES OF MY CHILDHOOD LONG PAST.

-Adine Cathey

Every other year, the Brown grandkids come to the farm in New York to spend a week or so at “Cousin Camp.” This year, the Johnson kids were fortunate enough to be a part of this tradition! We were all staying on the Brown farm for my brother-in-law Stevie’s wedding to Kirsten, one of the Browns’ granddaughters.

One of the Cousin Camp activities is decorating t-shirts for the event. The kids loved this, of course! Each shirt was unique and creative, and all of them said “Cousins Camp 2016” on the back to commemorate the occasion.

The Brown side of the family stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Brown’s farmhouse, and the Johnson family got to stay at Jeff and Lindsay’s house down the street. The new house wasn’t quite finished, so we got to help a bit in the process of building the house, which they are building themselves from scratch. I came later than most people, so all I did was sand a couple of window frames, but it was still cool to be a small part of the process! It was so generous of Jeff and Lindsay to let us stay in the house– they had 19 Johnsons staying there for almost an entire week! They had even left us things like shampoo and a coffee maker. What I loved most about the house was the little girl’s room. It looks out into a field with grazing horses. I could imagine her waking up ever day and looking outside on the wildflowers and horses– so wonderful!

I loved the rural neighborhood. It is so quintessentially rural American, with sprawling lawns, bales of hay on the fields, and signs for fresh milk and eggs at the end of long dirt driveways. If I didn’t want to live overseas, this would be my dream. Naturally, I took full advantage of the time in the country, and so did everyone else. It was a great place to run, and it is safe, which is a nice change from home.

The kids, of course, were most thrilled by all the water activities of Cousins Camp. They loved fishing in the pond (as you can see by Zach’s enthusiastic fist-pumping) and splashing each other in the pool.

The farm is a fantastic summer getaway. There is so much to do there, and none of it includes screens or electronics. In fact, I didn’t have internet or much cell service the entire time I was there! And guess what? I hardly missed it. It was refreshing to my soul to have to unplug for a week.

Every day, there was something new to discover. I snapped peas, fed a calf, got a new bread recipe… even hanging laundry on an outdoor line for the first time in a decade was fun and fresh to me.

I guess I’m sort of a city slicker now, but I remember a time from my childhood when we lived in the country and could spend our days gathering wildflowers in the field and chasing cottontail bunnies. Oh, to be little and in the country! It was so nice to be able to relive some of those memories with my nieces and nephews.

One of the most wonderful parts of the whole experience was the sense of belonging that permeated the entire week. The Brown side of the family treated us Johnsons just like their own side of the family. We got the same welcome and the kids got the same treatment. I had to stay a couple of extra days after the rest of the Johnsons left, and the Brown/ Wilson family invited me to stay in their house and made me a part of their family. I’m not even their in-law (does that make me their out-law?), and I still got a family welcome. Even the kids accepted me like family and invited me to do this or that with them.

I got a whole new branch of extended family. It’s a picture of how Jesus has made us all one family, despite our last names or bloodlines.

The whole week was so much fun. You can see by all the smiles that everyone had a great time! What kid (or kid at heart) doesn’t love being barefoot and berry-stained?

The Last Wedding

July 27, 2016Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, New York, Third Culture Kids, Uncategorized, United Statesbarn, ceremony, family, farm, front yard, handmade, Johnson, marriage, married, New York, reception, romance, romantic, rural, weddingbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Well, it’s official—all the Johnson kids are married! Jesse and Joy were the first to get married 14 years ago almost to the day, and Stevie and Kirsten tied the knot last week, about two years after we did. The wedding was lovely, and it was a huge blessing to be there for it. My brother-in-law Jacob thought that “The Last Wedding” would be a good title for a blog post, so here you go!

Kirsten and Stevie met in high school at Rift Valley Academy, the Kenyan boarding school that Ben and all his siblings attended through high school. They met and started dating in 2010. I met both Stevie and Kirsten during my RVA visit in 2013. Stevie proposed on Lake Kivu in Rwanda last year, after their second year of long-distance dating in college.

Kirsten’s grandparents live on a farm in New England, and the wedding was held in the front yard.

The flowers are all wildflowers that Kirsten and her bridesmaids picked from the rural countryside around the farm. The orange lilies were particularly lovely.

Ben was a groomsman, and a rather dashing one! I loved the African cloth ties that the men in the wedding party wore. It was a nice touch of Tanzania to represent Stevie’s childhood.

The ceremony was beautiful. My nieces Esther and Emily were flower girls, they did a great job.

The pastor gave a wonderful message on love and the hand of God in our lives. Stevie and Kirsten’s relationship is and always has been centered around their love for God and for each other. It’s been cool to watch as their relationship has grown and finally come to result in the beautiful marriage we witnessed.

The bride and groom decided to do a sand ceremony, but with jelly beans instead of sand. One of our nephews, who shall remain anonymous, admitted to me in a whisper that he swiped one or two after the ceremony.

The Johnson family sang a song from Mom’s songbook during the ceremony. Unfortunately, my video didn’t catch everyone in the frame, but most of us are there!

Kirsten’s mom and aunt also sang a song together.

The parents gathered around the bride and groom to pray over them and their marriage.

And finally, the moment that Stevie and Kirsten had dreamed about for years: The vows and the pronouncement of husband and wife!

After the ceremony was the reception. We ate homemade chicken tika, rice, salad, and veggies. As you can see, the tables were decorated to reflect Kenya, where Kirsten and Stevie met.

We took lots of pictures with the barn as our backdrop. So lovely. I found out later that the barn was only chosen as a background because it was the only place with shade. It really couldn’t have turned out better, though. The red of the barn contrasted nicely with the bride’s white dress and the bridesmaids’ navy blue sundresses.

After the wedding paparazzi had subsided, it was time for toasts, cake, and celebrating.

One of Kirsten’s aunts made the wedding cake. She even made the edible flowers on top—they aren’t real flowers, believe it or not! They look like the Gerber daisies that the bridesmaids held during the ceremony. The cake stands are made from a tree that Kirsten chose in the forest, as are the stumps that lined the aisle for the ceremony.

The wedding favors were bags of Kenyan chai. This is the best kind of tea in the world. You steep the tea in scalding water, then add almost the same amount of milk as there is tea, and finish it will a ridiculous heap of sugar. A little chai masala sprinkled on top creates perfection. Then you dip your toast or mandazi (doughnuts) in it.

The bubbles on the table were intended for the getaway line, but the kids couldn’t help breaking into them during dinner.

All of the wedding party introduced themselves and gave a toast. As usual, Ben was hilarious. He has quite the collection of funny stories about the adventures of Ben and Stevie.

At the end, Stevie and Kirsten sang a song together. You can’t tell from the photo, but Luke and Lisa accompanied on guitar and drum.

When it was time for the bride and groom to go, we all stood at the edge of the driveway and blew bubbles for them. If was fun to watch as the grown-ups had just as much fun with the bubbles as the kids did! We waved goodbye as they drove away in a cloud of bubbles and balloons.

5 Signs You’re an Expat

July 16, 2016Expats, Expats and TCKsadventures, countries, cultural, culture, Expat, International, learning, Med school, moving, overseas, TCKbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

If you’re an expat, some things that aren’t too typical start to look normal. Can you relate to any of these?

Duolingo

This screen has become very familiar as you desperately try to re-learn all that Spanish you never actually absorbed in high school. After a while, it turns from a language learning tool to an obsession….

As a bonus, buildings without emergency exits do, in fact, become commonplace. As do the lack of smoke detectors, hot water, and electricity.

2. You drive like a maniac

Right side of the road, wrong side of the road, middle of the road, not even on the road. Everyone else drives like a kangaroo on seven Red Bulls, and so do you, now.

3. Your change purse looks like this.

Seriously, if I take that Kenyan shilling from Ben’s high school laundry money stash to the laundry room one more time, I am going to fling the entire washing machine out the window.

4. Knock-offs

You can’t tell me this isn’t J.C. Penny in disguise.

5. Your passport is like our third arm

Your passport is literally worth more than your entire net worth combined. You would rather fall off a cliff into a moat full of hungry sharks while wearing a flaming straight jacket than loose that thing.

What are some other signs that you might be an expat? Tell me in the comments!

Busy Writer!

July 7, 2016American University of the Caribbean, Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, Spouses Organization, UncategorizedAmerican University of the Caribbean, articles, AUC, Caribbean, fiverr, freelance, freelancer, posts, rev.com, work, writingbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

As every freelancer knows, there are up seasons and down seasons when it comes to work. Since I can’t get a work permit as an expat where I live, I do a lot of freelancing, especially writing. I usually sell my skills on Fiverr.com under the username BreJay. Lately, I’ve been getting a small avalanche of commissions, which is why I’ve slowed down a bit on posting here. Well, that and the daily power outages. But don’t worry– I’m not giving up on blogging!

If you want to read a bit of what I’ve written lately, you can visit a few sites here:

Luxurious Eco-Friendly Resorts

Underwater Observatory

6 Wild Places in Florida

You can see my complete portfolio here.

The work has been slowing down my blogging a bit, but I certainly can’t complain. I’m so thankful to be at the point where I feel busy with work. It can be so discouraging to not have a full-time job, but I’m on my way to building a sustainable freelance business that I can stick with for a long time. I also recently got a “freelance” job with Rev.com, which allows me to fill my extra time with transcription work. I’m praising God that after a year of no regular income, I’m getting the chance to take a bite out of all that student debt we’re accumulating! That first paycheck from Rev was the best feeling ever.

See you soon with more Sint Maarten posts! I have a ton of photos on my camera just waiting to be uploaded for you all. Until then.

Dear America, Love an Expat

July 4, 2016American University of the Caribbean, AUC, Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, Uncategorized, United States4th of July, America, American University of the Caribbean, celebration, cultural, culture, Eating, Expat, moving, overseas, travel, US, USAbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Dear United States of America,

Happy birthday! You’re looking good for 240. Sorry I had to miss celebrating this one with you, but I hope to be there for the big quarter-century next decade.

You know, I think I like you better now that we’ve been apart for a year. I guess I sort of took you for granted when I couldn’t get away from you. Now that I’m gone, I appreciate you a lot more.

You’ve done some strange things lately, and there’s a lot we should talk about, but today’s not the day for that. Today’s a day for me to tell you how much I love you.

I do love you, I’ve found. I never really loved you until I left you. I guess I didn’t have anything to compare you to. But let me tell you, I know now how lucky I am to be a part of you.

America, you are beautiful. You have virtually every kind of biome within your borders. You cover the plains, the hills, the mountains, the deserts, the tundra, the beaches, and the tropical forests. Even better, you have every kind of people within your borders. You are beautiful.

America, you’re great to live in. International comparisons say your food kind of stinks, but you do well in quality of life, equality, innovation, education, and freedom. And you’re always pushing to do better.

America, you stand out globally. Of all the nations in the world that receive immigrants and refugees, you’re among the best at integrating people and upholding their well-being and their rights. It’s expected of you, and you do your best to deliver. I didn’t recognize that until I left. I didn’t see how unusual it is, because to me, it just makes sense to operate that way.

America, you’re a good place to be able to go home to. It’s nice to know that I could always go home without any trouble. It’s good to have a passport from you that opens so many doors. It’s good to be confident of the freedom to move from place to place, to speak without fear, and assemble with others as I please.

America, I miss you some days. Some days I don’t. But I’m always glad to know I belong to you. I keep the Stars and Stripes on my wall, right next to the flag of my new home. I used to see the flag every day, and I never thought twice about it. Now, I am glad whenever I see it. It’s strange; I usually see it everywhere on your birthday, but today I only saw it on a Digical ad and on a French man’s t-shirt! I miss seeing it fly high and proud on a pole on every corner.

Happy birthday, America. I hope you make good choices this year. It’s sad to think that this could be one of your worst years, but I’m praying that it will be one of your best. Happy birthday. I’ll see you soon!

Love, an expat.

Breana's Blog

A writer's adventures around the world