by Matt Colville 

In my twenties, I travelled some. A couple of summer stints working on Hamilton Island in Australia. Two surf trips to Indonesia.  A month in the USA. Two extended trips chasing girls around the European Union.

But I’ve always wanted to live in Europe. And despite the joy of my partner getting pregnant three years ago, it triggered a small nervous breakdown, as I thought my dream was fading.

So, after months of searching, my wife − who has taught in Europe before − gained a job in a small international school, in a tiny village in southern Germany. We swapped roles, and now I’m at home with our son. And by and large, it is great. But there have been many challenges along the way.

Read More

by Mary J. Breen

Mary J. Breen was a member of CUSO, a Canadian volunteer organization similar to the Peace Corps, in Binatang, Sarawak, Malaysia from 1966-68.

In front of my prefab teacher’s house at the school, pink and blue morning glories curled up the wooden handrail and spread out over the landing. Even though this door was seldom used, I would regularly take a cleaver and chop away those lovely flowers. Of course, in the steamy heat of Sarawak, the vines would be back within days, and I’d start chopping again. Perhaps I wanted to instill some order on my world, or perhaps I was obeying some primeval urge to keep the jungle at bay.

Read More

by Nicole Schaefer-McDaniel

“Of course my children are going to grow up speaking German!” I don’t remember how often I spoke words to that effect to friends and family I left behind in Germany when I moved to the U.S. for college. That move marked the second time I had left my home country, as I had already spent my middle school years in America, and uttering these words seemed to reassure those left behind that my native language would remain a part of me – at least theoretically.

Read More