My Story

I have been living abroad in my childhood dreams since the age of 9—in my 4th grade class—when I first encountered France and its beautiful language and culture.

Returning home from school that day, I told my mother, “I’m going to live in France one day!” I caught my dream, and I never let it go!

My love for France and the French language grew throughout the years. One day, while sitting in a college French literature class, I heard a quote by a famous French philosopher that would forever change my life.

Montesquieu said, “Teaching is learning twice.”

That day, I decided that I wanted to spend my life learning languages and cultures and sharing my passion with others.

Studying the French language, literature, and education would open doors for me to study abroad in France for a year at the age of 19. You can read the story about my year abroad here.

This year abroad began as a nanny (au pair) in a tiny village north of Paris. My life changed during my first week when I met my future French husband and fell in love. We have now been married for 25 years and have four awesome boys.

Our shared love and passion for learning foreign languages and living in different cultures would lead us both to pursue our Master’s Degrees in Inter-Cultural Studies and to travel to more than 30 countries. Enjoy reading about my travel adventures in the story, “Oh, the Places We Will Go!”

 

STORIES TO TELL!

My mind and my heart have so many stories to tell—about the joys and challenges of married life with someone of a different land, language, and culture—and raising children “somewhere in between.”

 

Our family has spent our lives traveling in more than 30 countries and living among worlds in Europe, Africa, and North America . . . studying foreign languages and cultures, and rubbing shoulders with people so different from ourselves yet, in reality, so much like us.  

DURING OUR YEARS ABROAD, I HAVE ENJOYED . . .

—Consulting and training in oral communication and storytelling.

—Coaching new arrivals in language and cultural acquisition.

—Teaching French and English to adults and children.

—Renovating a run-down building into a community activity center.

—Working in government-run community centers to teach women health and languages.

—Drinking hundreds of glasses of mint tea while sitting among our dear friends—refugees and immigrants around the world—listening to stories of their families and their lives . . . and telling stories . . .

THAT IS MY FAVORITE THING TO DO. I LOVE TO TELL AND WRITE STORIES. 

 

My passion is to share my own stories and the stories of others . . . stories that inspire us to think, to feel, to change, and to believe. I also love giraffes, McDonald’s Happy Meals (especially the French fries), maple-frosted donuts, and Dr. Pepper. Please don’t tell!

 

A Surprising Global Connection

One afternoon, while living in the United States several years ago, I went to the local library. It was so refreshing for me to discover an issue of AramcoWorld on the magazine rack. The cover jumped out at me when I saw the women wearing traditional attire with Arabic writing woven throughout.

Something felt strangely familiar. These women represented “home” for me. We had just been uprooted from the place we called “home” in southern France. 

In France, immigrants from around the world gather in communities. Many are refugees, forced to flee their beloved families and homelands. In France, I would cross paths with women from diverse cultures throughout my day. Since arriving in Pennsylvania, this only happens when I venture into city airports and densely populated urban centers.

Still standing in the library entrance, I opened up the magazine and read its “raison d’être” (purpose statement): “We distribute AramcoWorld in print and online to increase cross-cultural understanding by broadening knowledge of histories, cultures, and geography of the Arab and Muslim worlds and their global connections.” I liked what I read. We need more cross-cultural understanding in this world.

Much of my life and work revolves around loving people from other nations and helping others grow in their love and appreciation for people who are so different from themselves.

IT’S KIND OF LIKE BRIDGE-BUILDING—CLOSING UP THE DEEP CHASM THAT DIVIDES US AND BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS THAT SEPARATE US—LINGUISTIC, CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS, RACIAL, ETC. 

 

My Dream Job

When I got home, I devoured the articles in several issues of AramcoWorld. I especially loved one of the feature pieces entitled “Kanga’s Woven Voices.” At the end of the article was the biography of the author. I was fascinated to read about this nomadic woman who devoted her life to traveling the world, rubbing shoulders with people of different languages and cultures, and then telling their stories to others living worlds away. 

At the end of my reading, I turned to my French husband who was sitting next to me at the kitchen table drinking a cup of afternoon coffee. “If I could do anything in the world right now, I would be a travel writer.”

 

 

“IF I COULD DO ANYTHING IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW, I WOULD BE A TRAVEL WRITER.” 

A few weeks later, a dear “global” friend came to visit. We had lived and worked together in France not long ago. We shared a deep love and passion for people from around the world. One day, over tea, I dared to share my dream with my friend. 

I had encouraged her to read the feature magazine article on how women of certain cultures secretly communicate through their traditional clothing, and she appreciated the article as much as I did. When she was done reading, I confessed to her my dream job. “Why don’t you just do it?!” she replied . . . as if it were that easy. “Really, why don’t you just try it and see?”

 

Just Do It!

“THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR STORIES AND YOUR EXPERIENCES.”  

So, that’s what I’m doing. Honestly, if my friend had not believed in me and encouraged me to chase my dream, I don’t think that I would have had the courage to leap out in faith.

My mind hasn’t stopped telling stories since that day. I just need to take the time to write them down for others to read. 

My mind and heart tell stories from my first years living abroad to my most recent days.  

There are stories about my joys and challenges of being in a cross-cultural family and marriage with a French man for 25 years and raising four boys “across worlds.” I also write stories with travel tips and advice, stories to build cultural awareness, along with global stories of beautiful, and sometimes struggling, people from around the world with whom we have been blessed to live among during all of our years abroad on three different continents. Finally, there are stories of delicious ethnic and cultural foods from around the world, stories and tips about language learning, and cultural (and language!) mistakes and bloopers that hopefully will make you laugh as much as I did when I wrote them.

I even have a number of my stories recorded on audio so that you can enjoy listening to them while you drive in the car, exercise, or clean your house!

 

 

I HOPE THAT THESE STORIES WILL BE A BRIDGE FROM OUR WORLD AND FROM THEIR WORLD TO YOURS. MAY THESE STORIES BRING THE GLOBE TO YOUR DOORSTEP, OR EVEN BETTER, TO YOUR LIVING ROOM. 

SO, POUR A CUP OF TEA (OR COFFEE, OR YOUR FAVORITE DRINK) AND TRAVEL THE WORLD WITH ME. 

Don’t miss the “About” page, as well as the story called “My Life as a Cultural Thread Collector” that tells you more about why I chose the name of my cultural story blog.

 

–THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER

MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—”THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!

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LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!

At the end of each story post, there will be a cultural challenge called, “Let’s Weave Cultures!”

We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below each story.

IMPORTANT:

In all of these cultural stories about ourselves and people from other lands, languages, races, and religions . . . we are not judging, criticizing, or mocking! Our family loves people from around the world, and our intention is to share our personal experiences of crossing paths with people who are different from ourselves. We want to express our passion with our readers, so that they, too, can learn to love and appreciate people from other cultures and languages. If ever there is something in our stories that is offensive (in a big or small way) to you or to someone else, please contact us and tell us about it. Thank you for your understanding!

For more information, contact me at theculturalstoryweaver@culturalstoryweaver.com.