The Scarlet Letter that Led to Community: Infertility as an Expat
“Thwack-thwack!” Her cleaver severed the chicken on the chopping block as it came down with each powerful swing. We had been going to the same chicken butcher for about six months. Normally the husband served us, but on this night his wife was there. It was nice to finally meet her. As her toned arm […]
A Letter to Fresh Off the Plane Me
After more than a decade overseas, building community is still both the biggest struggle and the biggest blessing. I wish someone had given a pep talk to fresh-off-the-plane Emily, encouraging me as I established a new life and pursued new relationships. If I could give that pep talk to myself, it would probably go something […]
A Tight-Nit Community
There was nothing on our island that said “community” like a good old-fashioned lice-picking party. The women chattered endlessly as they combed through each other’s hair, diligently searching for those elusive nits. As you have heard the idiom stated, it was not for the faint of heart. Those tiny little eggs were so hard to […]
This Week’s Theme: Doing Community
We get the special privilege of doing community across time zones and borders. Our people are next door and back in our passport country, in our Facebook groups and Zoom screens. This is beautiful and messy and ordinary! It is challenging and a gift all wrapped up in the thing we call doing life with […]