tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.comments2018-12-17T07:36:10.370-08:00The Unlost WandererMaia Manchesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-34497419823502062842018-12-17T07:36:10.370-08:002018-12-17T07:36:10.370-08:00I can't even begin to fathom moving that much,...I can't even begin to fathom moving that much, lol. But then I suppose I DID live in one house for most of my life, and I've never moved beyond about a two mile radius of that place. I love visiting other locales, but there's nothing like home sweet home. If still moving around works for you, though, that's great that you know as much! :)<br /><br />I'll have to ponder the "who are you" question a bit more, I guess. I find myself considering it less and less as time goes on. I've found the answer "loved by God" is enough for me. All the details end up just being icing on a cake after that.JK Rikihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678696948889040126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-8676979259169617922017-11-15T12:59:20.778-08:002017-11-15T12:59:20.778-08:00Maia...I remember you from Douglas Shaw days...i&#...Maia...I remember you from Douglas Shaw days...i'm a friend of Paula's and her parents. Love you blog...this one particularly. We now live in Ecuador...in Cuenca. I love it as well. We plan for this to be our permanent home. No going back, except to visit. SHould you ever make it back, you're welcome at our home on Pasaje Daniel Alvarado in Cuenca.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12910207955558647415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-87511615752011155752016-07-26T01:39:47.607-07:002016-07-26T01:39:47.607-07:00I love this: "I just realized that you went y...I love this: "I just realized that you went your whole childhood never having to renew a visa or your passport. Wow. That's kind of weird." <br /><br />We all think of "normal" as being "what I commonly experience/d". In the Third Culture world, it's the monocultural experience that is "strange"!!Tanya Crossmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14210314923634696270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-42508471089455499112016-04-07T19:38:50.448-07:002016-04-07T19:38:50.448-07:00Well said! That little phrase about mourning what ...Well said! That little phrase about mourning what I didn't have hit a little close. We need to put more energy into what we DO have otherwise people start avoiding us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-82042109090551649542016-03-30T07:39:04.922-07:002016-03-30T07:39:04.922-07:00The older I get the more everything "normal&q...The older I get the more everything "normal" seems unbelievably strange. Once you start really looking at alternate possibilities, things that made sense before fall apart rather quickly. Still, people will fight you to the death to maintain their normal, so I tend to keep my mouth shut about it outside of a few small circles. :)<br /><br />I was at a Christian funeral yesterday, as one example, and it was a mostly-somber affair. This makes little sense, given when we believe occurs at death. Particularly because the person who died was in extreme pain for years leading up to this past week, and did not hesitate to tell anyone visiting that she was beyond ready to move on. What seems to me should have been a celebration was subdued for little reason other than society training everyone to "be sad and quiet at funerals." We are a very strange species indeed.JK Rikihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678696948889040126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-90105099062567435012015-08-25T08:32:47.767-07:002015-08-25T08:32:47.767-07:00I look forward to following your journey and can&#...I look forward to following your journey and can't wait until we can get you back here to speak as an expert on TCK life!cairo-kairoshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05454122301440246154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-79843205201174258912015-08-25T04:25:22.149-07:002015-08-25T04:25:22.149-07:00LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! From one ATCK to another, I...LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this! From one ATCK to another, I am so excited to watch you in this role. When you do write, I will follow, but you must be over the moon being in this place and role. As I said in one blog series "The journey of the Third Culture Kid is to turn a multicultural past, into a meaningful present." You are so doing that! Marilynhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03826328602433993680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-13201401075353764332015-07-07T17:35:00.885-07:002015-07-07T17:35:00.885-07:00Exactly!Exactly!Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-35226195660208943452015-07-07T17:31:06.767-07:002015-07-07T17:31:06.767-07:00What a fun memory! What a fun memory! Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-63846508194101740172015-07-02T06:12:26.484-07:002015-07-02T06:12:26.484-07:00Thank you "we are us" is who we are. No...Thank you "we are us" is who we are. Not better, or superior but just who we are. It is good being me and having others who understand.sharyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04446839310725898958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-58590393464285578802015-07-02T06:04:06.046-07:002015-07-02T06:04:06.046-07:00Very well said. The barrels were a very important ...Very well said. The barrels were a very important part of life. Once when empty we filled them with water on a hot day. We put in a metal chair and sat and enjoyed the coolness of the water.sharyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04446839310725898958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-32934518030648104882015-06-21T15:17:43.069-07:002015-06-21T15:17:43.069-07:00Exactly! The world can become such a small place w...Exactly! The world can become such a small place when you have family on the other side of it. What a cool experience! I am still meeting Tim's family (his dad is one of twelve kids...) and each one I meet makes my family that much bigger. It is amazing! And he is slowly meeting people who have been family in my life from all over the globe. In fact, he just recently met someone who knew me as a little troublemaker in Perú who I thought I would never see again, much less be able to introduce my husband to. It was a moment I will always cherish, introducing new family to old family, sharing moments with people I love. Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-42339689472297192982015-06-21T15:13:07.237-07:002015-06-21T15:13:07.237-07:00Anne! Enjoying/surviving is exactly what one does ...Anne! Enjoying/surviving is exactly what one does in Cairo. If I live out of a suitcase that long it just stays at bay over time until I get a chance to breathe. Then it all comes crashing down on me. You are absolutely right. The pain is redeemable. One ATCK I follow wrote that we need to learn to honor the loss. I love that idea, what a healing way to deal with loss, by honoring it. It's something that I am learning to live by. I would love to hear about your Egypt experiences and to hear your heart as you have worked with TCKs now. It really is something special. <br /><br />Dios te bendiga!Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-65179818340601799002015-06-21T14:49:39.273-07:002015-06-21T14:49:39.273-07:00Thanks Mom. We are feeling the same way after leav...Thanks Mom. We are feeling the same way after leaving Cairo, then Monterey after a year, and then of course now Lynchburg after just a year. It does all build up. We'll be praying for you and Dad in your own transition.Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-31532896293746475842015-06-20T21:35:22.549-07:002015-06-20T21:35:22.549-07:00It was fun visiting my wife's family in China ...It was fun visiting my wife's family in China shortly after we were married, because it was a similar feeling! I was in a country totally foreign to me and suddenly had an extended family I never knew before. :)<br /><br />Glad to hear you guys have some connections already where you're headed next!J.K. Rikihttp://www.jkriki.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-35324173236900751172015-06-11T12:42:47.394-07:002015-06-11T12:42:47.394-07:00Hi Maia,
Miss you, girl! It's been too long. I...Hi Maia,<br />Miss you, girl! It's been too long. I've been enjoying/surviving a year in Cairo, and many people ask me if I've known you when I say I grew up in partially Ecuador. I feel your heart in this, and I'd have to agree with your point. Packing is not easy, no matter how many times you have to go through with it. I guess I've survived on the adrenaline of the excitement and tried to push back the pain, knowing these feet find it hard to settle. Since arriving here in August, I have moved eight times because it's been tricky to find a place to stay. So, I entirely resonate with you right now. . . not easy, but I believe the pain is redeemable. Still figuring out why I believe this, but it has something to do with the Feast of Succoth. I've been meaning to write a summary of my experience here. Teaching TCKs is a very healing experience, though, to say the least. I will be praying for you as you step into this new adventure :) <br />It was great reading this, so thank you for opening your heart. <br />Many blessings! <br />AnneAnne Hodgkinsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-15634880581943441462015-06-11T08:05:21.261-07:002015-06-11T08:05:21.261-07:00As you go through the daunting experience of packi...As you go through the daunting experience of packing, I look ahead to the same thing on a smaller scale. Even though we are only packing a few suitcases this time, the loss of the friendships we have made here will affect us as it will be a repeat of what we went through only a year ago. I am not looking forward to it. I will be praying for both of you. Love you tons. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11264196575996131006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-50329177591323864332015-04-26T20:41:54.421-07:002015-04-26T20:41:54.421-07:00I hear that! Then the trick becomes taking a deep ...I hear that! Then the trick becomes taking a deep breath and living in the now, rather than just longingly pining for that day to arrive. :)<br /><br />So hard to do some days...JK Rikihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678696948889040126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-48167963113253137892015-04-24T18:50:03.265-07:002015-04-24T18:50:03.265-07:00I can't tell you how much I am looking forward...I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to that day. Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-90370061667120282342015-04-24T18:48:43.189-07:002015-04-24T18:48:43.189-07:00Thanks Jo. I think that people who travel often pi...Thanks Jo. I think that people who travel often pick up some of these attributes as well. :)Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-9064280990624910362015-04-24T18:48:12.805-07:002015-04-24T18:48:12.805-07:00I like to tell people that everyone can use a litt...I like to tell people that everyone can use a little more awkward in their lives and that it builds character. I pretend I am the tool that brings about that character. But I have also conceeded that small talk has its place and just as my deep conversations make some people uncomfortable, small talk makes me uncomfortable. We have to work on meeting in the middle. And I find that when I do try that people are more willing to step out and try deep talk with me too.Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-62755239782995096452015-04-24T18:45:59.980-07:002015-04-24T18:45:59.980-07:00You are totally right, walls are something we all ...You are totally right, walls are something we all put up and also have come up against. I love thinking about how goodbyes rarely stay goodbyes. But in those harder moments I have kept people out for so long that they did drift away. Now, I think, even just being aware that I tend towards that can help me prepare the people I love around me to help me fight that tendency. Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-61336669376725273342015-04-24T18:43:56.461-07:002015-04-24T18:43:56.461-07:00Auntie Mel, there are a lot of things that can bui...Auntie Mel, there are a lot of things that can build up walls in our lives. I think those walls are always worth tearing down though. That regret and fear doesn't have to stay there, and while I have had to leave some very strong friendships behind to drift into the wind, even little moments of recognition bring back memories and are not lost.Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-22617313333810675552015-04-24T18:41:25.591-07:002015-04-24T18:41:25.591-07:00It takes time and a lot of patience, and while we ...It takes time and a lot of patience, and while we may never be able to fully explain it, we can still try and bridge some of that gap.Maia Manchesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581390169579110351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1944064847322901382.post-32637816538796287842015-04-24T11:50:03.455-07:002015-04-24T11:50:03.455-07:00Well we all say goodbye to everyone we meet at som...Well we all say goodbye to everyone we meet at some point, be it for a day or a hundred years. Thankfully we all say "hello again" at some point too. One day the goodbyes end, but the hellos last forever. :)JK Rikihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00678696948889040126noreply@blogger.com