I sat with a woman from Somalia in her small apartment living room in Nashville. She was one of our older students who had grown up and spent most of her life in a refugee camp in Kenya. She had never been to school, never learned to read in her own language. This woman was [...]
Ok. So there are way more than three things to unlearn when working cross-culturally, but who would read a post called 537 things to unlearn? That’s overwhelming. And that is part of the issue when working cross-culturally, there’s a lot to learn, unlearn, and relearn. But here’s three big ones! 1. The idea that no [...]
Good morning! Welcome! How are you? It’s so good to see you again! These are the things I repeat over and over again the first week of English classes. I love the first week! I love seeing our returning students after the summer break. I love seeing their smiles and excitement to be back in [...]
When I first moved to Erbil 15 years ago, it was becoming a small city. Most people who could afford it were buying or building new, modern homes. There was a neighborhood called English Village where Western/American style homes were the trend and where everyone assumed I lived. I did not. My house was in [...]
The biographies of the chefs in The Kitchen without Borders: Recipes and Stories from Refugee and Immigrant Chefs featured several common themes. Many of them started cooking by growing up watching or helping loved ones cook in their home kitchens: mothers, grandmothers, and even uncles. Several also hope to pass down their cooking and cultural [...]
Last time, I explored both my familiar grocery store and an unfamiliar one to get all the ingredients to make a few Middle Eastern dishes. Now, let me tell you how those ingredients are being put to use as I (attempt to) cook. This post is not a “how to make” the following dishes, but [...]
Equipped with The Kitchen without Borders: Recipes and Stories from Refugee and Immigrant Chefs, I was tasked with creating two to three dishes from different places. Over the next three posts, I explore what it was like to find the ingredients, make the dishes, and experience the reactions toward the food as well as the [...]
Between Iraq and a Hard Place: Episode 62 We're back with Erik! And he shares a more thorough walk through the old history of the Kurds. Learn more over on our Iraq page! And send us questions and comments to Hannah@servantgroup.org. Here's a bunch of links for resources and people Erik mentions for Kurdish history. [...]
I love to be cozy. Snuggled under a blanket on a cold day, good book in hand (or a nice social media endless scroll), and nowhere to be. It’s one of my favorite things to do. But there comes a point when it is not comfortable any more. Lounging around too long makes my body [...]
Between Iraq and a Hard Place: Episode 61 Part 2 of our interview with Erik about life and culture in Iraq. Also, an amazing story of how he survived a 100mph crash on a highway! Learn more over on our Iraq page! And send us questions and comments to Hannah@servantgroup.org. Here's a Rough Transcript of [...]
