Reina was born for this.

Not All Babies Are Soothed By The Car

One of the first things I learned is that the image often seen on tv of parents driving around town at night just to get their baby to sleep is definitely not true for all babies. My daughter HATES the car seat. In fact, she made it from Singapore to Tokyo and from Tokyo to LAX without so much as a cry. But she lost it completely on the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. I figured at the time she had just had enough of traveling. Not so. She was miserable pretty much every time we got in the car. Hopefully this gets better as she gets older, but the lesson learned here, since car rides are unavoidable, bring lots of toys for the distraction. It was also tremendously helpful to be able to ride in the back seat with her at all times but of course that’s not always possible. The baby back seat mirror helped her to have something to look at when it wasn’t possible for me to be back there with her and it helped me to be less anxious since I could see her.

Pick Your Airline Wisely

We decided to fly with Singapore Airlines to the United States because they are always very professional and accommodating. We selected Delta for our second leg because it was the only non-stop from Los Angeles to Costa Rica which meant less travel time and we figured it would be nicer than the budget airlines. Both airlines promised us a bassinet. And since we were traveling for two months we had to bring a lot of stuff for the baby. I’m talking stroller, car seat, travel bassinet, vibrating chair for her, clothes, toys, bottles, etc. Singapore Airlines is always fairly generous with the baggage allowance, but I was surprised by how much Delta let us carry on for free. They pretty much didn’t charge us for any baby accessories. But that’s where the pleasant surprises with Delta ended. They lost the legs to our travel bassinet making it utterly useless, and the plane didn’t even have a bassinet on that particular plane. We had to hold our daughter the entire flight all while being wedged next to someone who, no shade, probably should have had to buy two seats. Delta was a hot mess. We were upgraded on the way back due to the awful experience we had, but if I had to do it over again I wouldn’t fly Delta at all or I would at least have paid extra for more room.

She actually slept better on the flight than she does some nights in her crib. And when not sleeping, the bassinet also doubled as a change table.

Murphy’s Law

I’m not a big believer in Murphy’s law. The whole “If it can go wrong it will” is so pessimistic. But with AirBnb outside of the US, if it can go wrong, be prepared because it might. We planned to stay in ONE house the entire time. Instead we stayed in seven-yes, seven-with an infant and a ton of family. We experienced everything from having no water for 6 days straight to water pipes bursting in the middle of the night and flooding the whole first floor. Plus rolling blackouts, terrible WiFi, and bugs that made it impossible to sleep at night. We even woke up one morning to find a scorpion near the crib. Some of this was due to the tropical surroundings that I love so much, but some of it was just straight up b.s. That being said we also stayed in some spectacular places with stunning views. The moral of the story; don’t get attached to your plan. Things change and when you have to keep a baby’s best interest at heart that means places and activities that looked good on paper may not really be suitable. See things first if possible before booking or have some flexibility to cancel if you need to.

Reina and I enjoying one of the many gorgeous beaches of Costa Rica.

Babies Are Resilient, But They Also Need Structure

We definitely had the most frustrating vacation perhaps ever. But we also created beautiful memories with our family. So even though it can sometimes be a headache or a handful to travel with an infant, it is possible. But the one question I find myself asking after this experience is “Was it worth it?” I think my daughter would have been just as content if not more if we had stayed at home. And quite honestly we could have taken the small fortune we spent due to all of the mishaps and instead put it in her 529 college savings plan or flown a handful of family members to Singapore to visit us instead. So in the near future we will probably travel mostly within Asia or do house sits to have family friendly accommodations that don’t cost us anything.

Our next scheduled trip is to Perth and it cost us little to nothing. We used our miles to book the flight and we are doing a house sit that comes complete with a stroller, crib, high chair, etc. So here’s to future travel that is more cost effective and less disruptive for our daughter. Cheers!

Family time at a lodge we found one day while out exploring the Costa Rican countryside.

The post Lessons Learned From Traveling Internationally With An Infant  appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

Continuing on with my series on the different routes one can take to become an expat, this month I was privileged to get some insight from expat Linda Eboukle. She drops some jewels and is a fine example of what you can achieve if you put fear aside. I hope you enjoy reading.

Hi Linda. Can you briefly tell us a bit about yourself and describe your background, education and work experience? How did you first end up living and working overseas?

I was born in the Ivory Coast and moved to the US at a very young age. I grew up in Massachusetts, went to college on Long Island N,Y and stuck around the New York City area until my move to Singapore 2 years ago. I have a bachelors in Accounting and a masters in Taxation. I began my career in public accounting then moved into the banking section. I currently work in the private banking industry as a compliance officer.  

Living and working abroad had always been a goal of mine, it was just a matter of when and where.  In the summer of 2016 I went on a 3 month work assignment in India, and as part of my stay I took a few trips around southeast Asia, with Singapore being one of the places I visited.  I immediately fell in love with Singapore and decided that this would be the place to live and work.

Six months later I had found a job and was relocating to Singapore. I think maybe the stars were aligned and I was extremely lucky and blessed. It was actually the only job I had applied for in Singapore. I went right on the company’s website and found the exact role that I was looking for and submitted my resume online and by end of December 2016 I was on my way to live and work in Singapore.  

Can you talk more about your 3 months work assignment? Is that an opportunity others should inquire about with their employers or do you know of finance companies that offer the opportunity? How did you find out about it?

Prior to coming to Singapore I was at one of the big 4 accounting firms.  The particular line of service in which I worked had a sizeable back office team in Hyderabad and Delhi. As such they had a rotation program where senior associates and above can go to India to provide and build  relationships with the team on the ground in India given that we worked with them a lot remotely. The program ranged from 2 weeks up to 12 weeks.

Apparently they were struggling to find people to go. It seems folks in the US just weren’t too keen on going to India or didn’t want to be away for so long.

As I previously mentioned I was already at a point in my life/career where I wanted to experience living and working abroad, so I jumped at the opportunity and signed up for the longest amount of time away.

Funny thing is, the incentives to get people to go were actually very good. They put you up in a  5-star hotel for the duration of the assignment. You get a daily allowance for food. You get a driver to pick you up to and from work and back to the hotel, and depending on how long the rotation was, you get a free flight back home or anywhere else so long as the price doesn’t exceed the price to go home. Lastly, after completing the rotation you get a bonus for going.

For me I was flabbergasted as to why people weren’t tripping over themselves to go, but in retrospect I think people are just nervous to travel that far.  For me personally, I was extremely nervous and apprehensive about going. I didn’t know what to expect, whether I would love it or hate it or how I would manage to make it through 3 long months.  But the experience far exceeded my expectations in every aspect. I got a chance to interact with both the local team in Hyderabad and Delhi. I also got a chance to interact with others from various states in the US who were also part of the rotations.

It was through rotation that I got a chance to travel in south East Asia for the first time. I was exposed to so many new amazing cultures, lifestyles and ways of thinking and seeing the world.  That is not to say everything was 100% perfect all the time, but the positives out-weighed the negatives. It was truly an amazing experience that I still look fondly upon.

Most international companies have a rotation program or short term assignments abroad, if anyone is interested I would say to find out what your company has to offer, network, also be excellent and stand out doing what it is that you do to increase your profile within your respective firm.  And when you find out where those opportunities are, don’t be afraid to put your hand up.

Even if you are afraid, do it scared because what you will find out is that there is nothing to be apprehensive about.

How did you go about your job search for jobs in Singapore? Did you just start with a simple Google search for example?

I knew exactly what I was looking for and which companies I wanted to target, so I just went on those companies’ websites.  As previously mentioned this one company, which is the one that brought me to Singapore, had a role that fit exactly what I was looking for.  So call it luck or fate that the job posting was posted at exactly at the time I was looking to move, but that is essentially how I got the role and moved out here.  I did apply to other places, and the process was essentially the same, I went on the career page of those companies and looked for roles which I felt I was qualified for.

But I would also add that the particular area that I am in is a very specialized area. As such the talent pool for those skill sets may be limited, thus the reason for successfully landing the role.

What has been the best part of living overseas?

One of the best parts of living overseas for me is the opportunity to meet and interact with different types of people from all over the world.  I have met and befriended people that I would never have interacted with if I was still in my comfort zone back home.
Another aspect that I like about living abroad is the travel opportunities, once you move away from home, especially somewhere as far as Asia you realize that the world is a much smaller place, and suddenly the fear and hesitation about traveling disappears.  

What has been the most disappointing  or difficult aspect of living overseas?

The most difficult part of living abroad for me has been constantly being reminded that I am a foreigner. I will sometimes get the inquisitive stares… mainly from the older local folks.

I wear my hair natural and for some reason it has been a source of amazement and wonderment for many people around here.  I have sometimes encountered people wanting to take pictures of me. This happens quite frequently when I travel outside of Singapore. It all is generally harmless and people are genuinely intrigued, but for me, after a while it gets tiring. I would like to be able to go grocery shopping without someone wanting to touch my hair. 

Has living overseas allowed you to save more money or live a lifestyle different than what you experienced living in the US? 

Living abroad, particularly in Singapore, not only allowed me to save more money but it has allowed me to live a very different lifestyle than I probably would be able to live in NYC.

I would say some of the main benefits of living in Singapore are 1) the low tax rates, 2) how those taxes are calculated and paid and 3) also the fact that salaries are paid on a gross amount.   Unlike the US where they deduct all of your taxes before you even see your paycheck, in Singapore you get paid the full amount upfront with no taxes taken out. This is particularly great because you get full use of the money you earn upfront, so from that perspective you are able to do more with your money.  Then after year end the government in many cases will calculate the amount you owe in taxes then you can get on a payment plan to allow you to pay the taxes owed over the course of up to 12 months.

In terms of lifestyle, I would say my quality of life in Singapore is definitely higher than when I was in NY. For one, the tax and salary payment system in Singapore allows you to put your money to greater use.  

Additionally, being an “expat” can give you automatic access to many different things and many different people that you would not have access to otherwise, because you are within a smaller community of foreigners.   It is almost as if your status gets a bit of a “boost” and you find yourself at events and interacting with people from many different circles.

What advice would you give to someone with a similar background looking to do what you have done?  

Just do it, it is not as scary as it seems. But more importantly network, network, and network. Do not be afraid to reach out to people who are where you would like to be.  What I have found is that people abroad tend to be more open and willing to share their story and tips on how they got where they are.

I also think that many times we disqualify ourselves from doing the things we want to do out of fear. We don’t even present ourselves and our talents to the table. Take the chance, search for that job, send in that resume and let them make the decision as to whether they want you or not.  

Has living overseas impacted your travel? If so, how? 

Living overseas has allowed me to travel a great deal, during my first year in Singapore I think I was traveling to a new country every other month.

The location of Singapore makes it very easy and convenient to travel, you can literally be in many different countries with a 1 – 2-hour flight so it is easy to do long weekend getaways.

Also traveling in this part of the world is very cheap if you compare the costs in US dollars.  

Thanks again to Linda for sharing her experience! 

The post Expat Pathways: The Finance World with Linda Eboukle appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

The women in my family always talked about the importance of wrapping your stomach after giving birth, but what they didn’t mention was how hard that would be considering I still looked to be about 6 months pregnant. So I decided to try bengkung postpartum massages. An Indonesian therapist came highly recommended from a friend of mine and the best part was that she came directly to my house. She performed a bengkung wrap which I believe is a traditional Malaysian technique. Using just ginger cream and olive oil, the massage actually focused on my entire body with an emphasis at the end on my stomach. It involved lots of pulling and pushing of my stomach muscles to pull everything back to the middle. The ginger cream was incredibly strong and felt more like icy hot than anything else, but I felt so much better after each session. In total I had seven 1-hour sessions for $580 SGD in total. It seemed like a lot of money when I was considering it, but can I really put a price on my well being?

Here is what I looked like 7 days after giving birth, before having any massages.

Benefits of Bengkung Massage and Wrap

• Helps shrink the uterus to its pre-pregnancy size
• Tones the stretched skin
• Speeds the recovery process
• Stimulates milk production
• Reduction of postpartum depression
• Relieves constipation and helps remove blood clots
• Helps eliminate toxins and excess gas

After each session I had to wear the wrap for at least 6 hours and I was bound in two different cloths. Both had zero stretch, so at the end of the day I was more than ready to take it off. I think this would have been much easier to handle in a cooler climate, but with all of the wrappings I was pretty uncomfortable after only an hour or so.

This was taken after the first massage. I have two layers of wrappings on here, which I kept on for about 8 hours.

But, did it work?

Absolutely. I felt more like myself after each session. It was incredible how it really did help me to get rid of excess fluids and pulled everything together. Is my stomach back to its pre-pregnancy shape…not yet. But I feel like once I can actually do some abdominal exercises I won’t have such a hard time getting myself to snap back. More than anything it helped tremendously with my mental state. Not being able to exercise when I’m used to working out five days a week was awful. The wrap was essentially the only thing I could actually do while my body recovered from childbirth. I truly felt so much better with each massage and wrap. I will say that I think eventually my body would have eliminated waste and returned to its original state on its own, but this definitely helped speed up the process. The only thing I didn’t love about it was being separated from my newborn baby each day for an hour. With breastfeeding on demand it was almost impossible to do. And the only benefit listed which I can confidently say it did not help with was my milk production. However, I think the other benefits really did come as a result of the wrap and I’m glad I did it.

After just one massage and wrap.

The post Postpartum Bengkung Massage and Wrap appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

The post Expat Pathways: The U.S. State Department with Eleesha Lewis appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

Properties

Before moving overseas I really tried to acquire everything I thought I had to have to live the American dream. Enter two condos. I purchased two condos, one of which I lived in and the other which was an investment. When I moved overseas I rented them both out and made it a goal to pay them off as soon as possible. I paid off one over three years ago then about two years ago I paid the second one off in full. Between both condos I paid just over $200,000 total. And I can honestly say I struggled to make any progress towards that debt while living in the US.

I ultimately sold one of my condos as soon as it was paid off. It was a complete headache and had been vandalized to the tune of $50,000 so I was ready to let it go. But I used the money from the sale to put a sizeable down payment on a larger house in Puerto Rico.

Student Loans

Although it pained me to make these payments and education really should be free, I also started making larger student loan payments as soon as I moved abroad. And I did so, aggressively. When I sold my house I used some of the proceeds to make a large final lump sum payment to knock out that student loan debt once and for all. In total I paid off about $70,000 in student loan debt. Luckily I was able to get one smaller loan forgiven, otherwise it would have been about $10,000 more.

Investments

Now here is where I wish I was able to make more progress. And if not for so much debt in the first place I am sure I would have made more progress. But still I have to take some pride in the fact that even with so much debt I have still been able to save $59,500 towards retirement.

Getting Back Into Debt

My husband and I are big believers in investing in real estate as part of our retirement strategy. He owns two homes and I own two homes, and we have just purchased a home in Singapore together. But this strategy involved us taking on more debt. As I have stated in previous posts, one of the major perks of being on an expat contract is that your employer takes care of your housing. So we figured why not take that perk and rather than give it to a landlord every month we can put it towards our own mortgage. We are very happy so far with this decision and have already accumulated a good sum towards our principal, but we had to be creative with the downpayment. Singapore is not like the US where you can sometimes find 100% financing. Instead we had to come up with a 23% downpayment. 23% of about $875,000 Singapore dollars to be exact. So while we are able to chip away at the principal every month with just what we would normally pay for rent, we are also having to pay off a huge debt towards the down payment which we creatively managed to come up with. We also paid a pretty penny to renovate it, which I won’t include in these numbers. Hopefully, the renovations have increased the value of our home. It has not been a year yet and we have already paid $39,748 Singapore dollars or roughly $29,350 US dollars towards the debt. And this number does not include any of the money we have gained towards the equity of our home, which already is about $15,000. It has all gone toward the down payment.

Interest

Who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars I have spent in interest? I haven’t counted, nor will I. I know it’s a lot, but I know without the debt I wouldn’t have been able to go to college or buy a home. In the future I want to be more conscious of the amount of interest I’m paying, but I know that sometimes it is a necessary evil. That being said, there is some debt I’ve sworn off forever; for example credit cards and car loans.

Expat Factor

While I’m proud of what I’ve been able to do financially since becoming an expat, this is no where near what I wish I’d tucked away. But what I will say I’m pretty proud of and what I’ll call the “expat factor” is how much I was able to travel while also paying off this debt. In the past 9 years I’ve saved/paid off a grand total of about $358,850 USD and have done all the traveling listed below.  In this time I’ve been blessed to go on safaris, a cruise, have two destination weddings, island hop, scuba dive, surf, spend summers traveling with my family and just genuinely enjoy life. I haven’t really had to cut back or go without.

Even though I want to be able to say I’m financially ready to retire, I’ve already had life experiences that people work and wait their whole lives for. I’m not sure where the future will take me travel wise, especially with a baby joining our family any day now. But I hope that in another 9 years I’m fully prepared for retirement and to actually move into one of these vacation properties to enjoy it and enjoy the fruits of our labor. It’s a big goal, but hopefully I can share the journey along the way. Thanks for reading!

The post So, How Much Debt Have I Paid Off? appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

I didn’t know what to expect of Chiang Mai. I knew the major attractions-elephant sanctuaries, hill tribes, temples and shopping- but I didn’t anticipate it being such a large city. And coming from Singapore the last thing I wanted to see on my vacation was a city. Surprisingly, as soon as I stepped onto the Khum Phaya Resort and Spa grounds, the city faded into the background. The hotel itself was beyond tranquil. With the lush gardens, flowing fountains and calming music, the entire hotel seems like an extension of the spa. And coupled with superb hospitality I really didn’t even need or want to leave the resort. It made for the perfect girls trip. We were able to toast at the happy hour, sit around the pool and chat for hours, and of course eat well. It was great because my friends could try all of the local specialties without even leaving the hotel. In fact, I actually had much better food at the hotel than I did at some of the restaurants in town that we had researched and sought out.

I didn’t get to try the spa because I’m pregnant, but it was one of the most impressive spas I’ve seen. They even had a suite with its own sauna and massage beds, along with a private steam room outside (yes, so that’s one inside your room and one in the private courtyard attached to the room) and a gorgeous outdoor tub. Even my room, which was more modest, had a fantastic shower which I did not want to leave. The showerheads were strategically placed so you have complete body coverage and great pressure. So I didn’t necessarily miss the spa because the bathroom was so well equipped. I also loved that my friends and I could step into the pool right from our front porch. As a pisces who loves being in the water, this was definitely one of the highlights for me.

We did eventually leave to explore Chiang Mai, but even that was made easier by the location and services of the resort. We were able to take advantage of the free shuttle to visit the night market and that was a huge plus. We were also able to have the tour company we used for the elephant sanctuary pick us up directly from the hotel. Because of the hotel’s location there were no additional charges for transportation. And anyone who’s familiar with my love of travel knows that I’m always looking for ways to save money while traveling. Saving on transportation costs certainly helps.

I must say I had a great introduction to the Centara Resorts and this experience has made me curious about their other properties. If I received this level of customer service and was able to enjoy the property and relax even if it wasn’t in the most relaxing location, I can only imagine what their properties on the sandy beaches of Maldives, Sri Lanka or Thailand must be like.

I found tranquility at every turn.

The post Girls Tripping With Centara Resorts appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

Secret Flying is my new obsession. I check it constantly to see what deals are out there and it is always something good. If you are flexible with dates or location you can really get some great deals. My husband and I went to London this summer for about $300 total, non-stop, from Singapore. And when we got there we stayed at a couple of places, for free. We did a house sit in Dublin a few blocks away from the beach then we did a two-week house sit in the countryside of Northern England in a very picturesque town with four lovely show dogs. It was honestly one of the highlights of our summer. And did I mention we stayed there for free? If you haven’t already seen my post on Trusted House Sitters check it out. There is also a discount code here if you’re interested.

We flew to London for next to nothing. Once we were in the UK we were able to hop all over. Isn’t Scotland beautiful?

The other travel site I’m loving at the moment is www.deltaairbnb.com. What’s better than getting a great deal on a fabulous Air Bnb? Getting miles for it. I’ve racked up quite a few miles this year just because I paid through this site. And this summer I’m planning to rack up even more with our summer vacation to Costa Rica. You get one frequent flyer mile for every dollar spent. Not bad, right? 

As always, I love hearing about new travel hacking sites. If you have one you’re in love with, please comment below.

Es difícil de creer, pero hoy en día viajar es más barato que nunca. Pero hay muchas personas que no saben cómo encontrar las gangas. Estos son mis sitios favoritos para encontrar un buen precio.

www.secretflying.com

Secret Flying es el mejor. Puede buscar de su ciudad a todo el mundo. Por ejemplo, ahora hay una oferta de Phoenix a Beijing desde $439, ida y vuelta. También puedes ir a Islandia de Phoenix por solamente $244 ida y vuelta. Los precios, destinos y aerolíneas cambian todo el tiempo, pero hay una variedad todo el tiempo. Mi esposo y yo fuimos a Londres desde Singapur por $285 en total, directo.

https://www.deltaairbnb.com/

Air Bnb no es un secreto. Pero para muchas personas, Delta Air Bnb sí lo es. Si vas a quedarte en un Airbnb, solo tienes que pagar en https://www.deltaairbnb.com/ y ganas puntos. Mi esposo y yo vamos a alquilar una casa en Costa Rica este verano y vamos a ganar 5,000 puntos solamente porque vamos a pagar usando este sitio. También voy a ganar puntos doble porque voy a pagar con mi tarjeta de crédito favorita.  

www.trustedhousesitters.com

Trusted Housesitters es como Air Bnb, pero gratis. Solo tiene que cuidar a un gato, o dos perros. Bueno, depende de la situación. Este verano mi esposo y yo nos quedamos en una finca lindísima con cuatro perros y dos gallinas por dos semanas…gratis. El pueblito en esta parte de Inglaterra fue tan bello con muchos senderos y un lago pintoresco. Disfrutamos mucho. También nos hemos quedado en Irlanda, Los Ángeles, y Playa Hermosa en California completamente gratis. Si quieres un descuento de Trusted Housesitter haz clic aquí.

Tienes su propios sitios favoritos? Comentas debajo.

The post My Favorite Travel Sites/Mi Sitios Favoritos de Viajar appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

Without a doubt the highlight of the cruise was visiting the ports. They were all pretty spectacular but Bari, Italy, Mykonos, Greece and Dubrovnik, Croatia were our favorites. They were just so scenic and absolutely gorgeous (and easy) places to stop. We knew very little about most of the ports but were able to hop off the boat each day and book tours with the competing tour companies outside the terminal gates. We completely avoided the ridiculous prices that the cruise itself charges for excursions and effectively avoided most of the crowds. In Athens we actually had a guided tour with only 10 people and we beat the crowds everywhere we went. In Dubrovnik we had finished the old town before the mass of people from the cruise ship even arrived.

Beautiful Mykonos.

Hello Dubrovnik!

Equally impressive on this cruise was the staff. I honestly had no idea what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised by how courteous, kind and thoughtful the staff were. I also enjoyed that there were staff members from all over the world. I used my Spanish more on the cruise than in most places we travel and had some great conversations with the staff about where they are from and what brought them to the ship.

For all of the relaxation and enjoyment we had there was one sore spot; the other guests. Don’t get me wrong; some of the people were lovely. But there were a number of people on this ship that acted like inconsiderate assholes. They cut the lines, couldn’t seem to say excuse me in any language and generally acted like rules didn’t apply to them. I think MSC could do a much better job of managing guests in general, starting with actually calling people out when they see them break the rules. For example we saw a family of five bypassing a line full of people, myself included, waiting to be seated for lunch. Apparently they were too good to stand in line and not one staff member said a thing to them. But I can understand how that can be hard to police. The trouble is that it negatively affects the guest experience for those of us actually waiting patiently in line. In another instance I saw a near fight break out over a lounge chair. Some people place towels over lounge chairs then walk off for hours at a time leaving a bunch of people without a place to sit. It seems some people would benefit by reading a few children’s books before they set sail so they can be reminded that sharing is caring and all that good stuff.

As a side note, my husband and I opted for the Aurea experience which we paid more for, but shot us to the front of the line in some cases (priority boarding and disembarking) and upgraded our dining options. I would say it was definitely worth it. It also came with a 50-minute welcome massage for each of us, a private sun deck for those with the Aurea experience, and was all-inclusive with meals and drinks (including alcohol). I probably would have tried to strangle someone if not for this package.

So what’s your favorite cruise liner? I’m ready to book my next cruise. Comment below.

The Athens stop of the MSC Poesia. We found our own tour at a much better price.

The post Sailing With MSC appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

Teaching is a great way to become an expat and move abroad, but it’s not the only way. Meet Toddré. When life handed her a pink slip, she booked a flight…to Zanzibar. Check out her unconventional story of becoming an expat.

I loved my job.  I worked as an online stylist for an e-commerce start-up based in Santa Monica, California.  I loved researching the attire for themed events and helping my clients look and feel their best on the most important days of their lives.  I felt that for the first time in a long time, I was going places.

My life changed when I was called into the main conference room and told that I was being laid off.  I mean, I knew that it was the slow season. I was listening during the meeting when we were told that our department would be shrinking.  I knew that we had recently outsourced a great deal of our workload to the Philippines . . . but I knew that wasn’t nobody gon’ let me go!  

I was incredulous.  I vacillated between wanting revenge and phoning lawyers to laughing out loud at the absurdity of it all.  I mean, who would get rid of a stellar employee like me?!!!

That following Monday, I went through all the motions of filing for unemployment, food stamps, state subsidized health care and even general aid.  Then I hopped on Linkedin and started looking for other online styling jobs. But none of it felt right. In my soul. In my gut. I didn’t want to do it.  The thought of sifting through online job posts, sending out my resume, prepping and getting dressed for interviews, then getting the job and possibly having to commute was NOT the business.  

My roommate and I shared a beautiful 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in Ladera Heights,  Los Angeles (The Black Beverly Hills according to Frank Ocean’s Sweet Life). We had a gorgeous balcony overlooking our Disney like pool, tropical landscaping, underground parking, security guards and most of the amenities 2 single women would want.  My roomie and I were like sisters and we lived in harmony. Her life had recently taken a turn: she was newly in love and planning to cohabitate with her man and his daughter.  Here’s the kicker, she was terminated just one week before I was laid off.  We discovered that her unemployment wasn’t going to come through and now she was left wondering how she was going to make the rent.  

We went back and forth, weighing up all the options.  About a week later, I texted my roomie and told her I was moving to Zanzibar.  Why Zanzibar? Well, I had gone the previous year for my birthday and had a damn good time.  The weather-gorge, the food-fresher than I’ve ever had and well seasoned, the architecture-mystifying, the sea-clear blue with whole sea shells and multi colored starfish + all the male attention had me shook.  I planned to return the following year in 2017 for my birthday but my money was funny and I hate travelling broke.

My roomie and I gave our 30 day notice and I sold nearly everything I owned on OfferUp.  The buyers were curious about why I was selling such nice things, and when I told them my plans to move to Africa, they wished me well.  I boxed up a couple of collector’s items that I couldn’t part with along with most of my shoes, clothing and accessories; a total of 8 large Home Depot boxes and gave them to my Dad for storage with plans to send for them once settled.

My father couldn’t understand why I wanted to leave.  I left home at 17 to attend Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana for 4 years.  The goal was to get as far away from home as possible. I went straight from undergrad to grad school and studied law for 3 years in Denver, Colorado. In seven years I had been home once.  During my studies, I travelled and worked in Africa in preparation for a career in International Development. Following my academic career I moved to Washington DC; got married, bought properties, opened a women’s shoe boutique and divorced within a time span of 13 years.  The last few years in DC, my father was urging me to come home. Telling me that there were people like me with weird hair in San Francisco and that I could get in where I fit in. Following my divorce I did move home, but home was far from idyllic.

As my father wrestled with fear, skepticism and judgement for his oldest child, I reminded him that the reason why it was so easy for me to pick up and leave was because home was never comfortable for me.  Home was never a warm and fuzzy place. This made him cry, but it was my truth. The wheels were in motion, my ticket was bought and my personal items up for sale.

When my plane took off from LAX I was elated.  When it landed in Zanzibar, I thought, “What have I just done?!!”  I stepped through my fear. My father taught me that the only thing to fear is fear itself.  I quieted the sense of lack and limitation inside of me with the realization that I chose this life, had wanted this life for a long time and I was more than ready for my new journey.    

I have fallen in love with the beautiful, warm Indian Ocean.  Whenever I get wrapped up in my head about the future, I look to the ocean as a reminder to stay present and appreciate life’s simple blessings.  Although overbearing at times, this tropical heat and humidity has done wonders for my skin and hair. I love the sense of community here; something that I was missing in L.A.  Everyone seems responsible for each other and willingly helps one another. It’s a relief to see that the elders are protected and respected. When greeting an elder, one must say, “Shikamoo” (I am beneath your feet).  He or she responds with, “Marahaba” (God is love).  So that I can integrate properly and out of respect for the culture, I have been learning the official language, kiSwahili.  

In Zanzibar mothers can let their children play outside unsupervised without a care.  It warms my heart and puts a smile on my face to see kids actually PLAY outside and reminds me of how we used to be.  A lot of the clothes sold here are second hand and/or very low quality. As a result, most of the garments I’ve purchased are bespoke.  Fortunately, you can get a bespoke garment made in 1 week for $32/TZS 73,000 or less; including fabric!

Life isn’t all crystal clear warm water and mojitos.  I’ve experienced people being rather small minded and judgemental because they haven’t been exposed to life outside their little villages; ignorant to the fact that there’s more than one way to be.  I was initially frustrated and combative when I encountered gender discrimination, racism and colorism from Zanzibaris and expats alike.  Now I simply breathe and realize that there is no utopian community. The amount of plastic bottles, rubber flip flops and discarded clothing on our beaches (depending on the tide) and roads is baffling.  I am in the process of forming a self-sustaining recycling coalition to get a handle on this issue. There are no consumer protection laws that I’m aware of. The extremely low quality products sold to Africa is ridiculous.  Most of the body soap and lotions on the market contain bleaching agents. I scrutinize the ingredients of each bottle before I make a purchase. It’s much easier to buy a relaxer than it is to find products that enhance curly hair.  Natural personal care products are extremely limited. Many of the appliances/consumer goods sold on the market are defective.

BUGS. BUGS. BUGS.  My friends keep telling me, “Toddré, this is Africa, we have insects”.  Everyday, I battle ants in my kitchen. This morning I woke up to a scorpion in my living room!  Sometimes I see things crawling in my home and have no idea what it is or how it got in. And the mosquitos . . . don’t even get me started on the mosquitos!!!  There are frequent power outages. As I type this, there is zero electricity in the village. Frequent mobile carrier network issues are a fact of life. I relocated here with very clear intentions to attract My Husband.  It has been a challenge to meet someone who is not an opportunist with whom I’m equally yoked AND is not married. I recently met a brutha in Kenya with whom I am totally smitten . . . only time will tell.

All in all, I’ve realized that I’m only in control of about 2% of my life.  I set my intentions. I pray and I do my best to keep my vibrations high. The rest I’ve surrendered to the Universe.  I’m creating my life as I see it. And I see freedom, light, laughter, travel, beauty, lifelong learning and above all LOVE.

The post No Job, No problem: Expat Guest Post With Toddré Monier appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I could watch Youtube videos all day on natural diy hairstyles. The trouble is, once you try them you quickly see that it’s not as easy as it looks. Add the humidity of Singapore to the equation and working out five days a week and I can firmly say that I have never actually achieved one of these styles. Ok maybe once or twice, but I don’t even want to tell you how much product had to be used to secure it. So after having failed over and over again, and settled for a bun or headband for the thousandth time, I finally decided it was time for something more drastic. I had been building a pretty large Pinterest board for some time with pictures of the most beautiful Sisterlocks, but I didn’t know how or when I was going to make this happen. (This is not easy when you live in Asia.) I even signed up for the class to become a certified Sisterlock consultant, only to have it cancelled. So after all of my wedding planning was done and I had some time to research and plan it out, I pulled the trigger.  I made an appointment for shortly after I arrived home for the Christmas holiday. It took 26 hours in total, broken up over two days, but I am now officially “Sisterlocked”.

Getting Started

I had to do a lot of research before going through with this. For starters you’re supposed to do a tester lock. I didn’t have the luxury of time to do this step, so I found a consultant located in California near my family and did the consultation over email essentially. I then had to find a consultant in Asia that could do the first 6 months of retightening for me. The only consultant I could find and who actually was responsive enough to set everything up with me over email was located in Okinawa, Japan. I relied heavily on the Sisterlock website for suggestions and the listings of consultants. Sisterlocks can be self maintained, but it’s suggested that you have passed the 6-month mark first and have them in good condition before looking into self-retightening.  

My first few Sisterlocks.

I think I may win the award for the biggest sacrifice ever made to get your hair done. I’ve flown twice now to Okinawa to get it retightened and will have to learn to maintain them myself earlier than I originally planned because my consultant is gasp…moving back to the United States. My most recent visit will be my last and I now have to hold it together until I fly to London in June. Thankfully there are a ton of consultants in London, including some who are R-certified and teach retightening.

How’s it going so far?

Well, it is certainly a process and you learn a lot about yourself and your hair. As thick and unruly as my hair can be, I thought it would lock easily. Turns out it’s not the perfect hair type for locks. I went through all of that and it’s still frizzy and unravels on its own quite a bit. In fact I have a few sisterlocks in the front of my scalp that unravel completely in between retigtenings. And I still have a ton of shrinkage. My hair is quite long, but you can’t tell. So far I haven’t gotten the confidence to really wear it out. I can’t wet it much and as a result it just seems a bit thin to me and lacking in texture. In fact if you follow my social media you may have noticed very few pictures of me because, well, I’m still adjusting and becoming comfortable with my new look. Even when I had to throw it in a bun previously I could still slick it down and have a more refined look, but in these early stages I haven’t been able to showcase my hair as much as I would have liked. And in three full months I haven’t used a single product aside from shampoo. I am anxiously awaiting the day I can use conditioner, but I am also finding that my hair is not as dry as I thought it would be. I can’t speak for my scalp though. It has a mind of its own and seems to be purging every product I’ve ever used.

This has been my go to style as I wait for it to grow and thicken.

I can say that I’m enjoying the process and I enjoyed getting to see Okinawa and a bit of the military life here. But I’m happy to not have to travel just to get my hair done anymore. Stay tuned for more updates.

After a wash. I’m going to have to embrace the frizz.

The post Sisterlocked Abroad appeared first on Maya the Explorer - Expat Blog | Travel & Lifestyle.