One Year of Blogging!

May 28, 2016Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Traveladventures, birthday, blog, blogging, popular, posts, websitebreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Sticking with something for a year always feels like an accomplishment. This month, I am celebrating the first birthday of this blog! It’s funny to look back to when I started it and see all the ways life has changed.

To read my first blog post, click here.

To be honest, I don’t really remember what I was originally going for in this blog. I think I wanted to create a newsletter for family and friends to keep up with us while we are overseas. I thought I might post every couple weeks to keep people updated. One year, ten thousand views, eighty WordPress followers, 140 Facebook followers, and 130 posts later, I guess I’m going in a slightly different direction. I’m still looking for my niche, but I think I’m almost there. This blog is for my friends and family, but it’s also for the traveler, the expat, the international student, and you.

I don’t have the sky-high stats that some blogs have, but I do hope that it makes a difference. I hope that those who read this blog think of it as something positive in their day. I hope that it’s interesting, inspirational, and encouraging. I hope you see the touch of Jesus in the things I write and the things I do.

Thanks for being a reader! It’s great to see that people take the time to click on my posts and read what I have to say. Thanks for the comments, the likes, and the shares. It’s the little gestures that keep me going.

This year, I’ve had a handful of posts that have been read, liked, and shared over and over again. Here are the links to my post popular posts:

Transitioning Overseas With Ease

A Day in the Life of an AUC Spouse

2016 St. Martin/ St. Maarten Travel Guide

Dear American Tourists

Papa Dan’s Pizza, Behind the Scenes

I wonder where I’ll be in another year, and where this site will be? I’ll be on another continent, but I plan to still be typing away about all the things that life brings. What would you like to see from 3rd Culture Wife in the coming year? Let me know in the comments!

As always, please like, subscribe, and follow.

One year down, many to go…

The Dean’s List Again

May 27, 2016American University of the Caribbean, AUC, Saint Martin/ Sint MaartenAmerican University of the Caribbean, AUC, Caribbean, learning, Med school, medical school, Saint Martin, Sint Maartenbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

We’ve started Round Three of medical school, and we’re celebrating two semesters of achievement in the books! Ben made Dean’s List once again last semester.

Tonight was the recognition ceremony, complete with a speech by the lovely Dr. Julie Taylor. I think Dr. Taylor is one of the coolest people I know– she’s had over 100 publications and a lot of important jobs, but she doesn’t act too important to talk to someone like me. I’m pretty low on the totem pole as far as the medical world goes. If I ever end up in a prestigious position, I hope I’ll remember to be like her.

Speaking of awesome people, here is Ben receiving his second Dean’s List certificate! I’m so proud of him. He has worked so hard these past eight months to stay toward the top of his class and, more importantly, perform to the best of his ability. He’s going to make one great doctor someday.

The night ended with an Asian dinner catered by AUC staff and time spent with friends. Here’s a photo of us on the patio of American University of the Caribbean. Don’t you love that view? Too bad the students have to spend more time staring at textbooks than they can staring at those mountains. But as you can see, it pays off!

Two semesters down, three to go!

A Red Dive Platform in the Ocean

May 26, 2016American University of the Caribbean, Caribbean, Expats, Expats and TCKs, International Travel, Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten, Spouses Organizationadventures, American University of the Caribbean, AUC, beach, Caribbean, diving, Expat, French Side, International, Island, Med school, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, st martin, St. Maarten, SXMbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Some days, you just need to forget life and find something weird to do.

Like this diving platform floating in the ocean. You need something like that.

After block week, which is the week leading up to Ben’s big quarter-term med school tests, we sure needed a red floating dock to jump off. Ben and Matt wanted to surf after their tests, but I had hurt my shoulder. So Stacey and I decided to wander around Galion Bay Beach, and this was what we found.

It might seem silly, but this thing was the best medicine for a couple of tired, stressed-out med school spouses. Sometimes, you need to let loose and act like a kid!

How’s your week going? If you’re feeling stressed, maybe it’s time to tap into your inner child and do something weird.

French Food and Fashion in Marigot

May 19, 2016American University of the Caribbean, Caribbean, Expats, International Travel, Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten, Spouses OrganizationAmerican University of the Caribbean, AUC, Caribbean, culture, Expat, French Side, International, Island, Marigot, Med school, medical school, Saint Martin, Shopping, Sint Maarten, st martin, St. Maarten, SXMbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Where in the Americas can you find France? The Caribbean, of course! The French side of the island Saint Martin is definitely tropical, but there are pieces and pockets that feel just like a part of Paris. This afternoon, my girlfriends and I went for lunch and fashion in the capitol town, Marigot.

There are a lot of places to get a croissant and coffee in Marigot, and all of them are delicious. This is France, after all. I never liked pastries all that much until I moved here, where real pastries are made. The most popular shops are the touristy ones by the port, but within the winding streets of Marigot, you can find even better treasures.

We stopped at The Coffee Shop Club, where we were greeted by brightly-colored walls and kind faces. Seriously, the people who work here are some of the friendliest I’ve met on the island. I’ll go back just because of the people. All I got was a tea, but the other girls ordered smoothies and lunch. It was delicious! I know, because I sampled a little of other people’s food. We were lucky to have Aqiyla with us, because she is the only one of our group who speaks French fluently. The rest of us needed a little help with the French menus.

St Maarten Shore Excursion: Beaches and Shopping in Marigot
from: Viator

What’s an afternoon in France without a little fashion? We went shopping at some of the more affordable boutiques in the area, and they reminded us of the familiar mall stores back home.

Jennyfer has a lot of sweet, trendy styles that I hadn’t seen yet because I haven’t been shopping for clothes since I visited the States a few months ago. I have to say that classy must be making a comeback, and I actually liked most of the clothes here. I wanted to buy a dress I loved, but then I thought of our mounting med school debt and the closet full of dresses I have at home.

Pimkie is pretty much the clothing store version of Pinterest with a tribal flair. I loved browsing through and looking at all the sayings on the shirts. One of them said, “The Dream is Dedication: Dedication is Expensive.” I think that shirt should be the official medical school uniform! My favorite tank was based on a quote from the book Peter Pan. When Peter Pan is wounded and left to die on a rock in the ocean, he says bravely, “To die will be an awfully big adventure.” The shirt was a bit more inspirational: “To live will be an awfully big adventure.” I might go back and buy that one.

We stopped for a while at Z Boutique on Rue du Republique, but most of the men’s clothes were in an odd size and I didn’t see anything that I wanted. I also forgot to take a photo, because I was so eager to get to Roland Richarson’s art gallery!

Roland’s wife, Laura, was at the gallery when we arrived. Stacey and I have been to the gallery often, and we introduced our friends to her. She let us wander the grounds, and we showed everyone the paintings of me and Stacey that Roland has done.

All of these ladies with me are fellow Caribbean med school spouses, Canadian and American expats in the Caribbean. Being an expat is bittersweet, because your heart is divided into pieces, and “home” has many definitions. There are a lot of things we miss about home, but I think that when we return, we’ll miss times like today. These days are short and precious.

7 Ways to “Travel” Europe from Home

May 17, 2016International Travel, Uncategorizedcooking, Europe, Google maps, home, journal, research, staycation, summer, trip, vacationbreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Are you stuck at home this summer, wishing for a European vacation? Turn your staycation into a virtual vacation with these seven activities! You can do this on your own, with friends, or with your kids.

1) Plan your itinerary. The wonderful world of the web (that’s what “www” stands for, right?) has unlimited information on every destination in the world. Lay out your travels in Europe by researching places you want to visit someday.

2) Get a travel journal. It will feel almost like you really went when you fill a notebook with photos, impressions, and information about the cities you “visit.

3) Go to the library. Check out a few books and movies about your destination of choice. Try the kids section for big pages and lots of pictures! You may even find a travel mag or two. Go home, make some tea, and soak in the sights. If you’re a bookworm, find a novel or two from the European location you’ve chosen. There’s nothing like creative writing to transport you to another place and time

4) Read blogs. Blogs are the best way to experience a place for what it is. Most bloggers have no ulterior motives, unlike travel brochures. Leave some comments and save some photos. Print up the pictures for your travel journal.

5) Bring Europe to your kitchen. Search the internet for authentic recipes—the best ones come from somebody’s grandmother who immigrated from the Old Country. Try your hand at a few dishes, and be sure to light candles for atmosphere.

6) Explore the city on Google Maps. Did you know that you can “walk through” not only streets, but also important buildings and even museums on Google Maps? Make the most of this online treasure by traversing a city from the comfort of your kitchen table.

7) Make a scrapbook. Sure, it might be out of style, but it’s still fun. Since you’ve spent time learning about a new place, record your newfound knowledge to look back on later. If you’re adventuring with kids, this will definitely be the best part of your European staycation.

Do you have any other ideas for exploring Europe from home? Tell me about your staycation secrets in the comments!

Kids Write Funny Stuff

May 13, 2016Expats and TCKsCaribbean, children, cute, funny, kids, letter, note, teach, thank you note, thank-you, tutor, writing, zoobreanamjohnson@gmail.com

Kids write the best letters. One of the best parts of tutoring some of the local kids is getting to read the stuff they write! Coach Tom requires the kids to write thank-you notes for everything they receive. You might recall my post about taking the kids to the zoo for the free Endemic Animal Festival. You heard what I thought of the event, but here is what Eric wanted to say about it:

“Dear: Zoo. Thank you for seeing all the animals and playing in the Pirate shap [ship] and sorry for poking the aliegater and for vomating all over the place and for drinks and I had a lot of fun.”

This is one worth pinning and sharing, folks. As Coach Tom says, “You can’t make stuff like this up.”

Breana's Blog

A writer's adventures around the world