Challenge Accepted
The most recent Instagram viral trend is women posting black-and-white selfies with “Challenge accepted.” It’s been popular among Instagram users in the Philippines as well. I was recently tapped to post one and realized that it’s nice to know that some ladies thought of me.
Women In My Life
There are a countless number of women in my life who have lifted me up to be who I am today. My mom who raised 4 daughters (I’m the oldest of 4 girls in my family) is definitely on top of the list. My 3 sisters, my grandmothers, aunts, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and other female members of my in-law families come to my mind. Then, numerous female friends that I have met and known since my childhood to present have influenced me in various ways.
I won’t bore you with the details about how my childhood friends, middle school and high school friends, college friends, friends I made through my marriage, former colleagues, and women I’ve met in our expat life have shaped who I am. One example, though, is my friend, Meredith, whom I met in Okinawa in 2006. She’s the one who let me borrow her DSLR camera and taught me how to use it. I wrote about her here. She is also the one who taught me how to blog when she founded a blog for expats in Okinawa called Okinawa Hai!
Female Camaraderie In Expat Life
Having moved around across the globe with my husband for his career while establishing home for my family wherever we have relocated in the past 20 plus years, I’ve met incredible women from all walks of life. Female camaraderie has always been in the center of my life abroad. It has inspired, supported and encouraged me at different stages of my life. I couldn’t imagine navigating this lifestyle as an expat woman, wife and mother without the female figures and role models in my life.
Regardless of backgrounds, employed or unemployed, I am grateful for the expat women who have helped me along the way in the expat life. I write this blog as a token of appreciation so that I can pay it forward. Hopefully, it can help lift up other women.
Accompanying Female Spouses
I’d like to put a spot light on accompanying female expat spouses I’ve connected with in our life journey. I’ve seen a great deal of women (men as well) selflessly support their life partners and children during their assignments abroad. Often times they have given up their careers or put them on hold if it was an option in order to accompany their partners overseas. Against all odds, a very small number of accompanying expat spouses manage to sustain their careers as they follow their partners from one country to another. However, the majority of them are unable to move with their paid jobs overseas. As a result, they are faced with challenges to reinvent themselves in a foreign environment every time they move.
Challenges and struggles of accompanying spouses in expat life are often in the shadow of gratifying travel stories. While I do love this lifestyle and am very grateful that I get to see the world with my husband and our three kids, it hasn’t always been easy to assert myself. My expat lady friends and mentors alike have lifted me up when I was feeling down. We speak our common language of pain, frustrations, and challenges that come with this lifestyle. That is to say, I see women who may feel invisible as expat trailing spouses and understand the struggles.
What I’m Wearing
Initially, I was going to write a typical fashion post, but instead, I switched gear and wrote about #womensupportingwomen. Thus, I have some photos of myself posing in this post. Here’s just a tiny bit about what I’m wearing. The white shirt is from Zara and the shorts are from H&M. The sandals are my favorite brand from the Philippines called Matthews. I can walk around in them all day and my feet will be fine. They are the best!
The Moment Of Lift by Melinda Gates
In light of women supporting women, I’d like to recommend a wonderful book, “The Moment Of Lift.” It was a very powerful book. There are many girls in the world who don’t get the same opportunities for education as those girls who live in advanced countries. The book taught me how lifting female individuals by providing education and choices can help the entire society. Empowering women signifies the growth and development of societies themselves. Let’s lift each others up.
This was very inspiring. Thank you!
Thank you for reading my post, Jody!!
I would love to take you there!