Category Archives: Uncategorized

Reflecting on September 11

July 31, 2016International Travel, New York, Uncategorized, United States9/11, attacks, city, Ground Zero, New York, nine 11, NYC, reflection pools, September 11, Sky Scraper, Twin Towersbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

They say everyone in the United States can remember where they were when the terrorist planes crashed into the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001. I was seven years old, and I was asleep in bed.

The last time we visited New York City, in 2005, Ground Zero was a big hole in the ground, surrounded by extensive wrappings of yellow police tape. Over the last decade, it has changed tremendously. Two beautiful reflection pools have replaced the holes left by the Twin Towers’ basements, and a museum has replaced the rubble.

We didn’t go into the museum, because the line wrapped around the building, but we did spend some time at the reflection pools. I was wondering why they are called reflection pools when they don’t really reflect the buildings, but then I realized that they aren’t meant to physically reflect anything. They are there for people to reflect on what happened, the lives that were lost, and the heroes that were made on that terrible day.

You know, it’s easy to let our differences tear us apart. Everything seems to become a political agenda these days. Sadly, it often takes a tragedy like 9/11 to draw us back together. As I reflect on September 11, 2001, my hope for our nation is that it won’t take another terrorist attack for us to realize that we are all American, and we should cherish that commonality high above all that separates us.

Where were you on September 11, 2001? Comment below to share your story.

Ellis Island: Stories of Our Past and Present

July 30, 2016International Travel, New York, Uncategorized, United StatesAmerica, city, Ellis Island, history, hope, immigration, New York, NYC, refugees, Staten Island, Statue of Liberty, united states, USAbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

What is more representative of America than New York City? I was going to write that a trip to New York is the quintessential American experience, but the United States of America is too broad and too mulita-faceted for me to make that statement. Still, the diversity within New York is a fantastic sampling of the cultures and subcultures with the U.S. as a whole, and the city’s history and modern status makes it the perfect place for one to begin a journey through the States.

Appropriately, just as my journey home from the Caribbean begins in New York, my ancestors’ journey from Europe also began here.

The sight of the Statue of Liberty inspires me. It inspires me because it is a timeless representation of what the United States is supposed to be. No matter what political trends rise and fall, Lady Liberty stands at the edge of sea, beaconing the traveler and lighting the way to a place of hope. She inspires me because she is what America is, and the hope that America embodies. This is the first sight of our nations shores that my ancestors saw those many decades ago, and she still stands to welcome the immigrants of today. I hope that we never forget that most of our families came to these shores as immigrants and refugees from other places. I hope we won’t forget that it was once our great-grandparents who arrived, footsore and travel weary, hoping for a better life. Maybe the memory of our own narrative will help us to see the humanity in the great crowds who stand knocking at our gates and give us hearts of compassion.

Those of us who have ancestors who arrived in the United States before 1954 have likely had at least one family member come through the processing center on Ellis Island. For me, the trip to the Ellis Island Museum was significant because I have many ancestors who came through this location. Although I know only a few names, it was amazing to me to stand in the same places that my first American family members stood. After learning about everything it took for people to make it to America and get through Ellis Island, I am in awe of how brave these men and women were. Today, although processes have changed, the people who have the tenacity and drive to make it here and thrive in an unfamiliar culture still must overcome a lot. I have a lot of respect for people who are brave enough to do that, and I’m thankful for my ancestors who made that leap for their children, grandchildren, and me.

Two of my ancestors who traveled from Europe through Ellis Island are my great great great grandpa Nicholas Kocina and his wife, Anna Kocina. Nicholas was Austrian and Anna was Czech. They arrived in the United States in the late 1800s and lived in Chicago before they settled in a Czech community in Nebraska. I tried to imagine what it must have been like for them to climb these stairs and enter the registry room. Although it was fairly empty when we visited, it was absolutely bursting with people when they arrived.

Besides the Kocinas, my family arrived in the United States from Germany, Ireland, Norway, and England. Most of them came through Ellis Island, I assume.

Even more than the history of Ellis Island, I was very interested in the modern refugee and immigration exhibit. I’m working on a master’s in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies, so I was able to glean a lot of useful information from the museum. The issues of refugee asylum and immigration are hot-button topics in the U.S. right now, and I found that the Ellis Island Museum did an excellent job at presenting an informative and well-balanced look at the aspects. There are so many facets to these issues and it’s valuable to be able to hear a variety of voices on the matters, just as the museum presented.If you’re ever in New York City, I’d highly recommend a stop at the Ellis Island Museum. A short ferry ride past the Statue of Liberty will take you there. If you’re short on time, bypassing a tour of the statue and opting for Ellis Island is well worth it. Come discover our nation’s past, our present, and our hope for the future.

It’s Always Goodbye

July 30, 2016Expats, Expats and TCKs, Third Culture Kids, UncategorizedExpat, family, good bye, hope, in-laws, kids, missionaries, missionary, missionary kid, nephews, nieces, sadness, TCK, third culture, third culture kids, travelbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Marrying into a missionary family is hard. It’s the most wonderful thing in almost every way, but it is so hard to always have to say goodbye. For third culture kids, who grew up in another culture and lived a life of transition and change, goodbyes have always been a part of life. Ben and his family are all third culture kids, with the exception of myself and two other in-laws. They’re so used to this goodbye thing, and they’re so good at it. They know how to leave with grace and meet up again and start right where they left off. I’m not good at good byes. They are the hardest thing in the world for me.

This last Johnson family reunion has been particularly hard, because each family left one-by-one, and I was the last to go. Every time someone left, I’d say my goodbyes and then find somewhere to be alone and cry.

The hardest people to say goodbye to are the kids, especially the littlest ones. We adults are okay at all staying in touch, despite lack of good internet. We video chat with them, and we write to them, and everybody’s on Facebook and email, but none of the nieces and nephews are old enough for that yet. We only get to see them when we actually see them. Since the Johnson family lives in six different countries, we see them only every couple of years. There’s a lot of growing up that happens during those years, and I’m missing it. I’ll meet a baby who’s crawling around on the floor, and the next time I see her, she’s running around the house and telling me all about her favorite princesses. I’m missing the little tea parties, I’m missing the end-of-school-year ice creams, I’m missing lazy Saturdays at the beach and dinners together. With every turn of the calendar is another two or three birthdays come and gone, and I wasn’t there.

It stinks that I have to spend the first day or so of every family reunion getting to know the kids all over again. I have to gently let them warm up to me, and I have to re-introduce myself to the littlest ones for the second or third time. They have no idea that I think about them and miss them every day of their lives. And then when I finally get to see them, it’s for just a few days and then we’re all off to our own corners of the world again. How am I supposed to form close relationships like this? How am I supposed to be a significant part of their lives in I can’t even see them but once every two or three years? Even when we do move to Africa, we’ll only live near one or two families at a time. And by the time we get there, the oldest ones will be in high school. Sometimes I wonder, will that be too late? Will I have missed out entirely by then? It’s not fair to love someone so much and to be so far away. I have to let my heart break over them again and again.

In my perfect world, Ben’s whole family and my whole family would all live in the same place as us. We’re so lucky that everyone on both sides gets along and genuinely likes each other, and I just wish we could take advantage of that all the time! We’d have big family dinners every week. We’d share all the holidays. I’d get one-on-one time with every kid. I’d get to hang out all the time with our parents, my sister and Ben’s siblings. And nobody would have to say goodbye.

I’ve learned something important about goodbyes from my TCK family: goodbyes are never forever. Even if my dream of being close geographically will never come true while we’re alive, Jesus’ death and resurrection has made it possible for us all to live that way forever in Heaven. I don’t know if I’ll ever stop crying about goodbyes, but focusing on eternity rather than this temporary situation will help me to cope with this ever-transient lifestyle we live. Furthermore, it will keep my eyes on Jesus and on the end goal of glorifying the Lord and enjoying him forever. When that day comes, I’ll spend all eternity worshipping the Lord with my family—and never have to say goodbye again. What a beautiful hope.

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.

Puppy Photos

July 21, 2016Uncategorizedadorable, black, coconut retriever, cute, dog, funny, mutt, photogenic, photos, puppybreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Dogs are funny. They know when they want attention, whether or not you’re ready to give it! This week, I have been busy preparing to move out of our apartment. For me, that meant scrubbing the walls for hours with Magic Erasers to get rid of all the marks. Kito was apparently pretty excited that I was on floor level, and she spent most of her time standing directly in front of the wall where I was trying to clean. I tried to take some before and after photos of the wall to make myself feel better about my progress, but she hijacked those, too.

At this point, I finally gave up and took advantage of the rare opportunity of catching Kito in a photogenic mood.

I sure am going to miss this puppy during my travels! She is the sweetest.

Taco Macho

July 11, 2016AUC, Caribbean, International Travel, Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten, Spouses Organization, Uncategorizedfood, mexican, restaurants, Sint Maarten, st martin, SXM, tacobreanamjohnson@gmail.com

And another big block test over for Ben, and other date night for us! Gebe, the power company, is having struggles lately, so the power has been spotty. Think every day for two hours. Today it was six hours. When it went out 30 minutes before dinner and ruined my cooking plans, I suprised Ben and took him out to Taco Macho!

Taco Macho is located in Maho, past the airport beach. Parking in the Alegria complex, where the restaurant it located, costs $4, but you can park for free outside the gate on the airport side of the road.

I had heard a lot of good things about Taco Macho, expecislly about their $2.50 tacos! The place reminded me of home and places in Mexico that I love. Arizona has the best Mexican food in the U.S. (Sorry, Texas). It’s hard to find tacos on St. Martin, so I need my taxo fix sometimes.

So if you’re looking for a good Mexican place on this island, try Taco Macho. My suggestion is to stay away from the combos with their tablespoon-sized sides and go for the delicious tacos. Yum! We will be back.

Breana's Blog

A writer's adventures around the world